A new study in The Lancet proves a link between hyperactivity in children and artificial food additives.  Many parents and alternatively-minded doctors have suspected this link for a long time, and it is nice to see a study that made publication in a renowned medical journal without being stamped out by food additive companies!

The study focused primarily on food colorings and sodium benzoate (a ubiquitous preservative).  The relationship between use of these products and hyperactivity was profound...the authors wrote that using these products caused a "significantly adverse effect" that was not found in the children consuming the placebo food.  The authors concluded "Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population."

READ YOUR LABELS!  Do not purchase foods with food colorings or sodium benzoate in them--eat your food in as natural of a state as possible.  Remember that the hyperactivity associated with consuming these foods is merely a symptom of a brain and body whose chemistry is altered to the point of dysfunction, and that childhood is a crucial time for brain development! 

Here's a link to the study.