Did you know that removing artificial food dyes and inflammatory ingredients from your child’s diet might help improve their mood, attention, and behavior? Sounds unreal, right? But there is substantial scientific evidence backing up this practice as well as the lived experience of many parents who noticed that when their kids stop eating certain processed foods—especially those with bright synthetic colors and additives—they become calmer, more focused, and more emotionally balanced.

Artificial food dyes like Red 40, Yellow 5, and Sunset Yellow are a very common ingredient in candies, snacks, cereals, and drinks marketed to sell to family with kids. It is cruel but it’s true. These “food” companies bank on the idea that children are drawn to vibrant colors, so they mixed sugar with colors and targeted with ads children and their families. These products are detrimental to the health of children as we are discovering more that many of them are loaded with carcinogens like arsenic. Multiple major scientific studies have shown that colored additives can negatively affect children’s behavior—especially in those children who are sensitive to their effects. One large review from the California Environmental Protection Agency looked at dozens of studies and found that over half showed clear signs of behavioral changes—like hyperactivity, restlessness, or mood swings—after kids consumed food dyes.

Another landmark study, often called the Southampton study, involved enrolling over 400 children and found that a mix of food dyes and preservatives led to an increase in hyperactivity in both preschool and elementary-aged kids. These changes were observed and documented not just by parents, but also by teachers and independent observers. When the foods with dyes were removed, the children’s behavior improved noticeably.

There results were replicated with another smaller study in which children who were already on an additive-free diet were given food dyes like tartrazine (Yellow 5) without knowing it. Some of them showed a dramatic return of symptoms like irritability, poor sleep, and lack of focus—only to improve again when the dyes were taken away.

In addition to these synthetic dyes, other pro-inflammatory foods—like sugary snacks, processed meats, and foods with trans fats—may also impact a child’s mental health and emotional regulation. One long-term study found that kids who ate a lot of ultra-processed foods at ages 3 and 4 were more likely to struggle with attention and hyperactivity by the time they turned 7.

But here is the good news: replacing these foods with whole, nutrient-rich options—like fruits, veggies, healthy fats, and lean proteins—can help support children’s brain development, emotional regulation, and disruptive behaviors. While not every child is sensitive to these ingredients, for many, cleaning up the diet can make a big difference in improving a child’s emotional regulation and can have a significant impact on family life in general.

References:

Behavioral Effects of Synthetic Food Dyes on Children – California EPA, OEHHA (2021) https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-022-00849-9

McCann, D. et al. (2007). Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community. The Lancet. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17825405/

Rowe, K. S., & Rowe, K. J. (1988). Synthetic food coloring and behavior: A dose response effect in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeated-measures study. Journal of Pediatrics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3395307/

*This article was co-created with the help of AI.