I have just read the Aug 8, 2002 article on Dr. Kelleys site titled Disorder in Diagnosing Attention Deficit that was attributed to Michael L. Betsch of CNSNews.com.
The section describing the Feingold Program contains some factual errors, some partial truths, and many puzzling statements.
Mr. Betsch begins his description of the Feingold Program:
A nutritional program, marketed by Feingold Association of the United States (FAUS) as an alternative to drug therapy, claims to provide the dietary connection to better behavior, learning and health. But while the diet rejects certain fruits and nuts many people consider healthy, it allows junk food such as potato chips and cheese spread.
It is surprising to hear someone write that we market our program, as though we purchase advertising or send salespersons around the country. Neither is the case. Most of the families who contact us have heard about us from a friend, teacher, doctor, or have read about our work in a book or article.
The Association is composed primarily of parents and professionals who donate their time to share information and offer assistance to those interested in testing the program in their own homes.
We dont reject certain fruits and nuts. We show families how to temporarily remove certain fruits and one nut almonds – for several weeks. This is a form of elimination diet where a food that is suspected of causing an adverse reaction is temporarily withdrawn. The individual can later reintroduce the food and observe to see if it is tolerated. If the food does not cause any problems it can be added back into ones diet. If the food does trigger a reaction, it is kept out of the diet for awhile longer. Even though an individual might have to avoid some fruits, there are others that are well tolerated. Most vegetables are also well tolerated.
We allow foods of all types, including junk foods. The focus of the Feingold Program is to enable people to determine if several groups of synthetic food additives and some common foods are triggering problems. (The additives we eliminate are: synthetic dyes, artificial flavorings and three preservatives.) While we encourage our members to strive for a nutritious diet, we dont tell them what to eat. If a family chooses to buy candy, ice cream or soft drinks, we show them which brands are free of the unwanted additives.
Mr. Betsch writes: FAUS classified itself as a non-profit public charity chartered under section 501 c 3 of the Internal Revenue tax code.
Actually, it is the federal government that classifies the Feingold Association as such. And what is the purpose of the quotation marks? Quotation marks can be used to imply suspicion. For example, if a journalist writes that a congressman was seen vacationing with his wife it conveys a very different meaning than to say he was seen vacationing with his wife.
Further in the article, Mr. Betsch quotes a Dr. Ross, the medical director of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), but in this case he does not see any need to use quotation marks. It reads: ACSH is a non-profit, consumer education, public health group advised by a scientific panel of nearly 350 experts across the U.S.
In their May 1994 issue Consumers Reports magazine wrote about the many so-called public interest groups that are thinly disguised industry fronts. They published a detailed description of the ACSH, the industries that fund it and the pro-industry positions it takes. Among the products the ACSH defended are PCBs, bovine growth hormones and asbestos in schools. The ACSH president described the organization as the great defender of petro-chemical companies. (By the way, most of the synthetic food additives removed on the Feingold Program are derived from petroleum.)
In a segment of the article he titled, Junk-Food Therapy Mr. Betsch states that the Feingold Association publishes thousands of brand name foods to be avoided. The reverse is true. We publish books listing thousands of brand name foods that may be used.
He writes that low-fat and skim milks are excluded from the Feingold Program. No, we consider these to be unacceptable only if the vitamin fortification they contain is synthetically preserved. We list acceptable brands of low-fat and skim milks, as well as whole milk.
Dr. Ross, claims to be acquainted with the medical literature on ADHD, and further claims that there is no dietary approach that has ever been shown to have any benefit in this condition.
The Feingold Associations web site lists numerous study abstracts from peer review medical journals that contradict his claim. Please see www.diet-studies.com
Another good source for information on the science behind the Feingold Program is a small book published in 1999 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The title is Diet, ADHD & Behavior, a Quarter Century Review.
Dr. Ross, the ACSH representative, also makes the claim that Any food additives that have been shown to be dangerous in any way would have been removed from our food supply .The FDA does not permit dangerous or even potentially dangerous ingredients to be added to our foodstuff.
Where does one begin to respond to such wishful thinking? The Public Citizen Health Research Group could provide details on the various law suits they have brought against the FDA for permitting dangerous chemicals to be used in foods. The FDA has acknowledged that Red 3 is a carcinogen, and tried unsuccessfully to have it banned. (Politics intervened.)
I would be glad to supply additional information about the arsenic, lead and mercury that are permitted to be present in food additives, and about the very dangerous benzidine that is in food dyes. The amount of this carcinogen in commercially available tartrazine (Yellow dye No. 5) has been measured at 270 times the permitted amount specified by FDA regulations.
There are other distortions in the piece, but rather than make this column any longer, I would like to suggest that any journalist who is interested in writing about the Feingold Association is welcome to contact me and I will provide him with our materials. Had Mr. Betsch read our literature, I am sure his article would have been quite different.
Written by Jane Hersey – Director, Feingold Association of the US, and published on DrKelley.info, March 5, 2004. Embedded links (if any) may no longer be active. (Ed. 01.11.11)
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