concentration, distractibility, impulsivity, and hyperactivity affecting everyone from children to adults. In a year, 4.1% of adults, including college students, are afflicted with ADHD. Due to their symptoms, students in universities always have difficulty concentrating on their studies and even on their extra-curricular activities.

Treatment for ADHD usually involves cognitive behavior therapy coupled with drug medications. Recently, however, an alternative therapy has been the focus of various researches. Some studies have shown that with proper diet, the symptoms of ADHD may be reduced.  Among the diets known to be helpful for the management of ADHD, the Feingold Diet seems to be the most popular.

The Feingold Diet was discovered by Benjamin Feingold in the mid- 1970s.           In the Feingold Diet, food additives, particularly synthetic food colors and artificial food flavors, as well as naturally occurring salicylates, which are found food such as in apricots, berries, tomatoes, are accountable for the hyperactive behavior demonstrated by ADHD patients.

Since Feingold proposed this additive- and salicylate-free diet, researchers have become curious and made studies to validate Feingold’s claim. Even if some studies found that the diet improved the behavior of individuals with ADHD, there are also findings which state that there are no significant effects of diet on behavior. Thousands of families tried the Feingold diet and amidst the amount of negative critiques it received, numerous parents swear by its efficacy.

In these present times, when healthy eating is overlooked due to the abundance of fast food, diet is never given much attention. College students, who are often rushing because of so many things to do, often resort to pizzas, burgers, and other junk food. Given that literature regarding the effect of the Feingold diet presents an assortment of results, recommending the diet as a remedy for ADHD would be challenging to impose. In any case, it would always be wiser and better to steer clear of food laden with artificial colors and flavors and to eat fresh, nutritious, and most of all, natural food.

References:

Jacobson, M.F. & Schardt, D. (1999). Diet, adhd & behavior: a quarter century review. Washington, DC:

Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Schnoll, R., Burshteyn, D., & Cea-Aravena, J. (2003). Nutrition in the treatment of attention-deficit

hyperactivity disorder: A neglected but important aspect. Applied Psychophysiology &

Biofeedback, 28(1), 63-75. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

University of Maryland Medical Center. (n.d.). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-Other treatments.

Retrieved 28 February  2011.

http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/some_alternative_approaches_attention-deficit_hyperactivity_disorder_000030_10.htm.