From cheese curls to day-glo drinks, much of the modern food supply is laden with colors that don’t occur in nature and preservatives that keep them fresh on their often lengthy journey from the factory to the food store and beyond. It’s no surprise that these artificial food colors and preservatives are made from synthetic chemicals. But what is a bit of a shock are the results of a recent study, which found that these ingredients may be causing hyperactivity in children.

According to research conducted at England’s University of Southhampton and published in the journal Archives of Child Health, common artificial colors and preservatives found in food products can have what project scientists have termed a “significant” impact on the behavior of otherwise healthy children and make them hyperactive.

The effects that food additives have on health have been a hotly debated topic for at least a quarter century. As early as the mid-1970s, scientists suggested that they could be causing fidgeting and a lack of attention seen in many children. Researchers, however, found this a difficult hypothesis to prove because synthetic ingredients were found in the overwhelming majority of food products consumed by kids. While there were some studies that examined the effects additives had on children previously diagnosed as hyperactive, no one attempted to ascertain their impacts on healthy populations of little people.

The groundbreaking Southhampton University study tested 227 children between 3–4 years of age on the Isle of Wight. The children were fed a controlled diet for four weeks. During the first week, they ate food free of additives. In the second week, half the kids were allowed to drink a daily serving of fruit juice that contained food coloring and a preservative. The other half was given the same drink without the chemicals. During the third and fourth weeks, the process was repeated. Parents, who did not know which drink their own child had received, were instructed to note their child’s behavior during the test period. In addition, scientific observers also administered a series of tests.

The results were startling. Parents of children who did not receive the additive-laden drink noted that their kids were significantly less hyperactive. If and when those children were given the drink with the colors and preservatives, those same parents noted a clear increase in hyperactivity. In children with the highest level of hyperactivity, the incidence of abnormal behavior fell from 15% to 6% when the additives were removed from the diet.

Interestingly, the independent observers noted no differences in the various study populations. The researchers believe this may be because the tests those observers gave the kids were too entertaining and that kids were on their best behavior in the presence of these strangers. Conversely, the parents were more attuned to their children’s behavioral changes and had the observational benefit of watching their children all day long, including those times when they weren’t as well behaved.

The lead researcher of the study, Dr. John Warner of the Department of Child Health at Southampton University said the study suggested that significant positive changes in the amount and level of childhood hyperactivity could be achieved by removing artificial color and preservatives from the food supply. He noted that the amounts of additives administered were on the “low side of normal” and that all the children exhibited effects regardless of any pre-existing conditions like allergies.

The additives tested in the British study were tartrazine, a synthetic yellow; sunset yellow, a similar dye; and carmoisine and cochineal red, two red coloring agents banned in the U.S. The preservative investigated was the common additive sodium benzoate.

Clearly, much further study is needed. There are a wide variety of artificial colors and preservatives added to food, and these other chemicals’ effects may or may not cause any problems at all, or may cause conditions that are different in their symptoms and/or severity. Until their safety can be established, parents would be wise to take a precautionary approach to food additives where their children are concerned and avoid those products that contain colors and preservatives that are chemical in origin.

Sources:
The Non-Toxic Times, July 2004
Jeffrey Hollender, President of Seventh Generation