Edit: the hypothetical diet wouldn’t be pure skittles, it’s just replacing rice/pasta/bread/etc. with skittles and still getting the proper protein and fiber
Edit: the hypothetical diet wouldn’t be pure skittles, it’s just replacing rice/pasta/bread/etc. with skittles and still getting the proper protein and fiber
If you want to have ADHD by the amount of colorants I believe is ok.
Artificial colours don’t cause ADHD I think. And just before you ask, no, vaccines don’t either.
I remember there was this one case where a particular red dye caused a form of cancer and is now out of production, which is interesting. And also Napoleon’s (I think it was him?) walls had a toxic green paint that certainly didn’t help his chances of not-dying
I believe if Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Japan banned some(not all) artificial colors is for a reason. About vaccines I believe it is still a conspiracy theory.
But certainly not ADHD…
Key Meta-Analyses
Nigg et al. (2012) meta-analysis: Examines food color effects on ADHD symptoms (ES=0.22). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22176942/
Full meta-analysis in PMC: 24 studies showing effects on attention tests (ES=0.27). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4321798/
Schab & Trinh (2004): Small but significant association (SMD=0.28). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15613992/
Clinical Trials and Studies
Arnold et al. (2012): 35-year history of evidence on artificial food colors (AFC) and ADHD. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3441937/
McCann et al. (2007, The Lancet): Colors and benzoate increase hyperactivity in 3- and 8-year-olds. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(07)61306-3/abstract
Bateman et al. (2004): Double-blind trial in general preschool population. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1719942/
Recent Reviews
Potera (2022): Potential impacts on activity and attention in children. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9052604/
Arnold et al. (2022): Blue food coloring and ADHD association review. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9573786/
Don’t forget to leave a trace of bread when you go down the rabbit hole.
To note, the meta-analyses all say that more research investigation is needed for a more concrete conclusion. Additionally, they add that the studies may have had publication biases or had small ungeneralisable sample sizes. (their words, not mine)
The third meta analysis says “Improvement in the identification of responders is required before strong clinical recommendations can be made.”
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3441937/ (first trial you linked) states that AFCs are not the main cause of ADHD, but it may exacerbate the symptoms of it. Also, they note that it may not be limited to ADHD (general effect was replicated, they said). Current status of evidence is inconclusive.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9052604/ (first recent review you linked) states that the studies that show positive results (5 of 6 since 1990, 8 of 19 before) that may affect behaviour of children (but does not explicitly state that it causes ADHD) and that more research is needed for a conclusion.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9573786/ (last one you linked) states that the cause of ADHD “is not known, but, along with genetic factors, it is possible that environmental factors including toxins and diet may affect symptom severity.” (again, exacerbating the symptoms!) They also note that more research is necessary. “There is a need for more research to determine how these individual compounds affect humans” “More research is necessary to describe the neurotoxicity of artificial blue dyes in humans.”
I did indeed read those papers. Some of them were decently interesting actually, but none of them say “ADHD is caused by food dyes”, one review paper explicitly states the cause is unknown.
They suggest that food colourings MAY (not do, may) affect behaviour and exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD, and that more research is needed.
As far as I know there is not only one thing that causes ADHD or other stuff like Autism, apparently it is more a conjunction of various factors, environmental things like diet, which includes processed food of all kinds(included colorants), hormones and additives like MSG, there are people who say radio frequency could be related also, as you said there are people who say vaccines could be related, even the use of TV, smartphones and technology in general could be related also.
Personally I believe(I don’t have proof about it) that stuff is caused by a mutation of the DNA of the parents by the combination of all the stuff mentioned above. I mean I think it is not like all this stuff directly causes it but all this stuff degrades the DNA and then the children of these people have a big or small chance depending on the mutations on their parents DNA.
That’s why these studies just find they could exacerbate the symptoms but don’t cause it directly because what they cause is the degradation of the DNA.
The same thing with the lactose intolerance and the hormones which milk producers use to increase the milk production of cows, isn’t like the hormones will cause lactose intolerance but they degrade the DNA of the parents which later is transferred to the newborn.
Anyway maybe what I’m saying could be just another conspiracy theory.
IMHO is not a bad idea to at least avoid as much as we can to consume tainted stuff.