An alternative history of hyperactivity : food additives and the Feingold diet / Matthew Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Matthew, 1973-

Series:

Critical issues in health and medicine.

Critical issues in health and medicine

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--Nutritional aspects.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--Diet therapy.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder--History.

Food additives--Toxicology.

Food additives.

Feingold, Ben F.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (260 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 1973, San Francisco allergist Ben Feingold created an uproar by claiming that synthetic food additives triggered hyperactivity, then the most commonly diagnosed childhood disorder in the United States. He contended that the epidemic should not be treated with drugs such as Ritalin but, instead, with a food additive-free diet. Parents and the media considered his treatment, the Feingold diet, a compelling alternative. Physicians, however, were skeptical and designed dozens of trials to challenge the idea. The resulting medical opinion was that the diet did not work and it was rejected. Matthew Smith asserts that those scientific conclusions were, in fact, flawed. An Alternative History of Hyperactivity explores the origins of the Feingold diet, revealing why it became so popular, and the ways in which physicians, parents, and the public made decisions about whether it was a valid treatment for hyperactivity. Arguing that the fate of Feingold's therapy depended more on cultural, economic, and political factors than on the scientific protocols designed to test it, Smith suggests the lessons learned can help resolve medical controversies more effectively.

Contents:

Food for thought

Why your child is hyperactive

Feingold goes public

The problem with hyperactivity

"Food just isn't what it used to be"

The Feingold diet in the media

Testing the Feingold diet

Feingold families.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-86464-9

0-8135-5102-1

OCLC:

775302263