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Artificial food colorings and additives (AFCA) have been associated with higher hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention scores in preschoolers. Now, researchers perform a similar community-based study among 153 children age 3 years and 144 children ages 8 to 9.
For 6 weeks, the children’s diet was devoid of AFCA (essentially, red and yellow dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate). Children were then randomized to one of three study arms for a period of 2 weeks; two arms involved daily drink supplements containing AFCA (mix A and a stronger mix B), and the third involved a drink with similar taste and appearance but no AFCA. All children were eventually crossed over to the other two arms. Parents and teachers rated hyperactivity, impul…