290 Sugar “allergy” and children's behavior

Mahan, L. Kathleen; Chase, Mabel; Furukawa, Clifton T.; Shapiro, Gail G.; Pierson, William E.; Bierman, C. Warren

doi:10.1016/0091-6749(85)90425-7

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Wolraich and colleagues [1995] conducted a systematic review of 16 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies examining the effect of a known quantity of sugar on behavior (Table 4). Of these studies, five reported on children with hyperactivity [Gross, 1984;Wolraich et al, 1985;Milich and Pelham, 1986;Wender and Solanto, 1991]; six included subjects who were "sugar reactors" as reported by parents [Behar et al, 1984;Ferguson et al, 1986;Kruesi et al, 1987;Mahan et al, 1988;Wolraich et al, 1994]; and nine included otherwise normal subjects [Ferguson et al, 1986;Goldman et al, 1986;Kruesi et al, 1987;Rosen et al, 1988;Roshon and Hagen, 1989;Saravis et al, 1990;Wender and Solanto, 1991]. After pooling the effect sizes for these studies, Wolraich et al concluded that sugar had no effect on the behavior or cognitive performance of children, although the possibility of an effect on specific subsets of children could not be ruled out.…”

Section: Sugar Elimination Dietmentioning

confidence: 98%

Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Rojas

Chan

2005

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

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Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become widespread in both referral and primary care populations. We review the purported mechanism of action and available evidence for selected CAM therapies for ADHD. Enduring controversies, such as elimination of artificial food additives, colors, and/or preservatives; the effect of sugar on behavior in children; and the use of EEG biofeedback, have been well studied but lack support as effective sole treatments for ADHD. The initial evidence for some emerging CAM therapies, such as essential fatty acid supplementation, yoga, massage, homeopathy, and green outdoor spaces, suggests potential benefits as part of an overall ADHD treatment plan. More rigorously designed studies are needed to evaluate their effectiveness as single therapy for ADHD.

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Section: Sugar Elimination Dietmentioning

confidence: 98%

Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Rojas

Chan

2005

Ment. Retard. Dev. Disabil. Res. Rev.

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“…The majority of controlled experimental studies, however, do not support the notion that sugar intake leads to an increase in activity or hyperactivity. Studies comparing a sucrose challenge with a placebo (usually saccharin or aspartame) did not find differences in behaviours such as activity, impulsivity or locomotion (Wolraich et al 1985;Ferguson et al 1986;Roshon & Hagen, 1989) even when the tests were carried out in children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Mahan et al 1988;Wender & Solanto, 1991). Some studies even reported a decrease in activity levels after intake of sucrose or glucose (Behar et al 1984;Saravis et al 1990).…”

Section: Behavioural Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of diet on behaviour and cognition in children

2004

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Diet can affect cognitive ability and behaviour in children and adolescents. Nutrient composition and meal pattern can exert immediate or long-term, beneficial or adverse effects. Beneficial effects mainly result from the correction of poor nutritional status. For example, thiamin treatment reverses aggressiveness in thiamin-deficient adolescents. Deleterious behavioural effects have been suggested; for example, sucrose and additives were once suspected to induce hyperactivity, but these effects have not been confirmed by rigorous investigations. In spite of potent biological mechanisms that protect brain activity from disruption, some cognitive functions appear sensitive to short-term variations of fuel (glucose) availability in certain brain areas. A glucose load, for example, acutely facilitates mental performance, particularly on demanding, long-duration tasks. The mechanism of this often described effect is not entirely clear. One aspect of diet that has elicited much research in young people is the intake/omission of breakfast. This has obvious relevance to school performance. While effects are inconsistent in well-nourished children, breakfast omission deteriorates mental performance in malnourished children. Even intelligence scores can be improved by micronutrient supplementation in children and adolescents with very poor dietary status. Overall, the literature suggests that good regular dietary habits are the best way to ensure optimal mental and behavioural performance at all times. Then, it remains controversial whether additional benefit can be gained from acute dietary manipulations. In contrast, children and adolescents with poor nutritional status are exposed to alterations of mental and/or behavioural functions that can be corrected, to a certain extent, by dietary measures.

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“…Eighty percent of parents had attempted to implement a diet low in refined carbohydrates and 35% of the families believed that there was sufficient improvement in their child's behavior to continue this dietary restriction (1). On the other hand, results of sugar challenge tests have varied widely: some studies failed to demonstrate any effects (2)(3)(4), whereas other found improvements (5,6), exacerbations (7,8), or mixed behavioral effects (9). These disparate results may be explained, in part, by differences in age, the diagnostic criteria used to define the study populations and in the timing and composition of the challenge meals.…”

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confidence: 99%

Blunted Catecholamine Responses after Glucose Ingestion in Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

Girardi

Shaywitz

et al. 1995

Pediatr Res

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Eating simple sugars has been suggested as having adverse behavioral and cognitive effects in children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). but a physiologic mechanism has not been established. To address this issue, metabolic, hormonal, and cognitive responses to a standard oral glucose load (1.75 gkg) were compared in 17 children with ADD and 11 control children. Baseline and oral glucose-stimulated plasma glucose and insulin levels were similar in both groups, including the nadir glucose level 3-5 h after oral glucose (3.5 + 0.2 mmol/L in ADD and 3.3 & 0.2 mmol/L in control children). The late glucose fall stimulated a rise in plasma epinephrine that was nearly 50% lower in ADD than in control children (1212 ? 202 pmol/L versus 2228 2 436 pmol/L, p < 0.02). Plasma norepinephrine levels were also lower in ADD than in control children, whereas growth hormone and glucagon concentrations did not differ between the groups. Matching test scores were lower and reaction times faster in ADD than in control children before and after oral glucose, and both groups showed a deterioration on the continuous performance test in association with the late fall in glucose and rise in epinephrine. These data suggest that children with ADD have a general impairment of sympathetic activation involving adrenomedullary as well as well as central catecholamine regulation. Parents of children with ADD believe that sugar can exacerbate symptoms in ADD as reflected in a recent survey (1). Eighty percent of parents had attempted to implement a diet low in refined carbohydrates and 35% of the families believed that there was sufficient improvement in their child's behavior to continue this dietary restriction (1). On the other hand, results of sugar challenge tests have varied widely: some studies failed to demonstrate any effects (2-4), whereas other found improvements (5, 6), exacerbations (7, 8), or mixed behavioral effects (9). These disparate results may be explained, in part, by differences in age, the diagnostic criteria used to define the study populations and in the timing and composition of the challenge meals. Moreover, a biologic basis for enhanced sensitivity to dietary sugar in ADD children has not been demonstrated.Recent studies from our laboratory indicate that in healthy normal children even modest reductions in plasma glucose, as observed in the late postprandial period 3-5 h after oral glucose, are able to evoke a sharp increase in circulating epinephrine levels and symptoms related to this epinephrine response (10). We hypothesized that children with ADD might be particularly vulnerable to such vigorous postprandial adrenergic surges with respect to alterations in behavior and cognitive performance. Consequently, in the present study, we compared metabolic, hormonal, and cognitive responses to glucose ingestion in normal and ADD children. The two groups were characterized using objective diagnostic criteria and the responses in each subject were determined during a standard 5-h oral glucose tolerance test.

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290 Sugar “allergy” and children's behavior

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Old and new controversies in the alternative treatment of attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder

Effects of diet on behaviour and cognition in children

Blunted Catecholamine Responses after Glucose Ingestion in Children with Attention Deficit Disorder

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