Do food dyes cause ADHD? The double-blind trial's honest result
- Claim
- FOOD DYES ADHD?
- Catch
- AVERAGE KIDS
- Verdict
- REAL, BUT SMALL
Parents keep hearing that artificial food dyes cause hyperactivity (or even ADHD). The best-known controlled test says something more careful: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover trial (Lancet, 2007) gave 297 community children — 153 three-year-olds and 144 aged 8/9 — drinks containing artificial food colours plus the preservative sodium benzoate one week and placebo drinks another, with neither families nor researchers knowing which. The additive mix produced a measurable but small rise in a global hyperactivity score in 3-year-olds (effect size 0.20, 95% CI 0.01–0.39), and effects of 0.12–0.17 among the older children in the most complete data, and in general-population (not just hyperactive) kids.
The catch: effects of ~0.1–0.2 are a nudge, not a disorder — this trial does not show dyes causing ADHD. Challenge doses and drink patterns exceeded typical daily intake, results moved group averages rather than individuals, and they did not apply only to children with a diagnosis. Sensitivity varies child to child; if you worry about your child's attention or behaviour, loop in their doctor.
SOURCES
- McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, et al. "Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial." Lancet. 2007 Nov 3;370(9598):1560-1567. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61306-3. PMID: 17825405.
Information, not medical advice.
For information only, not medical advice. Talk to a qualified health professional before changing your diet, supplements or treatment.
