Is it the ADHD or the Additives?

Does your child have ADD or ADHD? Maybe not.

Parents often suspect artificial colorings and preservatives in the diet when their kids start bouncing off the walls. But, no large studies offered proof until Dr. John O. Warner from Southampton General Hospital, UK, and colleagues studied the impact of these additives on 277 preschool children.

The results, explained in the Archives of Disease in Childhood show artificial food colorings and benzoate preservatives have a significant effect on hyperactive behavior. The researchers don’t yet know which particular additives are the bad guys, though. Further research is needed before they can make any sweeping recommendations.