Food Additives that May Cause Hyper-Activity in Your Kids

Hyper-activity in kids is no laughing matter. Hyper kids get easily frustrated with their inability to focus, and often have troubles doing well in school or socializing due to their intense activity levels. You do your best to try to keep your kids healthy and doing well in all aspects of life, but who knew that the very foods you are feeding them could be contributing to their behavior? While it's all-too-easy to provide quick, processed meals to our kids (I'm guilty of it, too- Top Ramen is an unfortunate staple in our home...), we may be doing more harm than good. Learn the additives in processed foods that may be making your kids hyper, and where you can find them.

Food coloring and preservatives, mainly found in candies and processed treats, are thought to be the blame for increased hyper-activity in kids. While sugar isn't making our kids hyper (see related article: Does Sugar Really Make Kids Hyper? ) like we thought it was, a recent study found that processed foods and the additives in them actually increased hyper-activity in children by 10%.

The study, performed by the University of Southampton, England, involved 300+ children and their consumption of artificial coloring and the preservative sodium benzoate. In the study, the children were given either regular fruit juice or a concoction beverage with preservatives equalling the same consumption as a few snack-sized candy bars. Observed over a 6 week period by parents and teachers, the children who drank the additive-laden beverages throughout the study showed inability to focus, increased hyper-activity, and inattentive actions in comparison to children who drank simple regular juice.

While experts argue the significance of processed foods and their effects on children, the study sheds light on the possiblity that these additives can be even more harmful than we think. Limiting your child's access to processed foods with lots of additives (if you see colors added then watch out!) can actually make their behavior and attention span improve.

Source:

http://www.rd.com/health/fake-food-jumpy-kids/?trkid=NL-HD-111110