Does Sugar Affect Hyperactivity?

Sheila told me the other day that she's again removing sugar from her son's diet. She's convinced from what she's heard and from her own experience that removing sugar from her son's diet has decreased his level of hyperactivity.

Many people claim that sugar (such as sucrose), aspartame (NutraSweet), and artificial flavors and colors cause hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children. Unfortunately, it's not so simple. As Dr. Michael Regalado summarizes in an article on WebMD.com,

The notion that food can have an effect on behavior grew popular in 1973 when allergist Benjamin Feingold, M.D., published the Feingold Diet. He advocated a diet free of salicylates, food colorings and artificial flavoring for treating hyperactivity. Although Feingold's diet didn't call for eliminating sugar specifically, it did suggest to many parents that food additives might be better avoided. Little surprise, then, that refined sugar soon came under scrutiny.

However, double-blind studies - in which neither the children, their parents, nor the researchers knew which child had sugar and which received a placebo - indicated that "sugar in the diet did not affect the children's behavior." (ibid.)

On the other hand, refined (processed) sugars may have some effect on children's activity. Because refined sugars and carbohydrates enter the bloodstream quickly, they produce rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels. This might trigger adrenaline and make a child more active. Sometimes, falling adrenaline levels bring on a period of decreased activity (Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia).

Thus, an observation that eliminating sugar has an immediate effect on behavior is truly credible. But, similar to the process in the rest of us, the change in blood glucose level doesn't last. And for children who do not have to watch their blood glucose levels (eg, as when they suffer from diabetes), eliminating sugar does not solve the problem of hyperactivity.

Moreover, the expectation that sugar will impact on a child's activity level affects the way we view that child's behavior. A study published in the August 1994 Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology showed that parents who believe a child's behavior is affected by sugar are more likely to perceive their children as hyperactive when they've been led to believe the child has just had a sugary drink (WebMD.com).

Rather, it is the whole context in which that child is managed that impacts on his or her behavior. Monitoring the amount of sweets in a diet is healthy in terms of tooth decay and nutrition; using proper behavior management techniques and setting limits with love and consistency will help the hyperactivity.

Physicians Learn How to Speak

Physicians are beginning to learn the importance of communication. Here's a quote from an article in today's NY Times: Research supports the idea that a few kind words from an oncologist — what used to be called bedside manner — can go a long way toward helping people with cancer understand their treatment, stick with it, cope better and maybe even fare better medically.

Furthermore, when observing the way that physicians speak to their patients, the results were striking:

The researchers recorded 398 conversations between 51 oncologists and 270 patients with advanced cancer. They listened for moments when patients expressed negative emotions like fear, anger or sadness, and for the doctors’ replies.

A response like “I can imagine how scary this must be for you” was considered empathetic — a “continuer” that would allow patients to keep expressing their emotions. But a comment like “Give us time; we are getting there” was labeled a “terminator” that could shut the patient down.

The team found that doctors used continuers only 22 percent of the time. Male doctors were worse at it than female ones: 48 percent of the men never used continuers, as opposed to 20 percent of the women.

The article ends on a hopeful note:

The good news, she and Dr. Tulsky said, is that most doctors can be taught (my emphasis) to respond in more helpful ways. Brief, empathetic responses will suffice, the researchers said; they are not recommending extensive counseling or endless dialogue.

Can the rest of us be taught as well?

Water Flows

There are three photographs of water hanging on the wall in front of me.

In the first picture, the water is raging over the rocks, spilling down in a powerful waterfall. The second shows a more mellow, slower movement of a river flowing into its tributaries, as they join the unseen waters ahead.

The last photograph is the most interesting of the three. There the water doesn't seem to move at all. Covered by lily-pads, the lakes hides the hidden life beneath its surface.

Such are the stages of life: We are bursting with energy when young. We'll tumble over our own feet in our eagerness to pursue our dreams. Then, towards the middle years, we move more slowly. We branch off in many directions, yet move inexorably forward at a steady pace.

Finally, we may seem to stand still. But the wisdom that we've gained nurtures the life within. And though our outward actions may now be minimal, our very presence serves to feed others.

A little movement will produce unending ripples.