With Halloween approaching, kids will soon be considering bright orange cupcakes and otherworldly candy. Though I am all for limiting artificial ingredients in favor of more natural dyes from carrots and beets, at the same time, it is difficult to prove that artificial colors are unsafe.
   
Many studies have been done which have NOT shown an association between food dyes and hyperactivity in children. The FDA has previously stated that these dyes are safe based on a 1980s report. A 2004 study from Schwab at Columbia reviewed available data and concluded that neurobehavioral changes may be due to artificial food colors. BUT a clever 2004 study in the American Family Physician showed that parents perceived a difference in behavior after kids tasted artificially flavored beverages, whereas independent observers did not. So it appears that the parents were either not trained to judge hyperactive behavior, or possibly biased.

A year ago the flood gates opened when the reputable British Journal Lancet published a study which looked at 153 3-year olds and 144 9-year olds and game them drinks containing either artificial colors or placebo.  They were then assessed by parents in terms of concentration, fidgeting, and restlessness. After this study came out, the UK Food Standards Agency asked manufacturers to pull the synthetic colors involved in the study. Here in the U.S., the Center for Science in the Public Interest is now petitioning the FDA to demand that 8 synthetic blues, yellows, greens, reds, and oranges be removed from the market. Yet the current evidence would still appear to be flimsy at best.

BOTTOM LINE: To draw a conclusion on this seemingly conflicting information, I turned to director of the NYU Child Study Center and world expert in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dr. Harold Koplewicz. “There have been multiple studies,” he said. “There is no evidence that the artificial colors effect children.”

Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a FOX News Medical Contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of “False Alarm: the Truth About the Epidemic of Fear” and “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic”. Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

A new report published in the online edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine puts more data behind what we psychiatrists and psychologists have long known from listening to our patients:  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is costing American businesses untold millions in lost productivity.

Studies reveal about 4.5 percent of working Americans suffer with ADHD.  One of the new findings is that each loses, on average, more than 22 days of productivity annually.  That translates into billions of dollars in losses.

I think the toll could be much higher.  Undiagnosed and untreated ADHD not only saps productivity in and of itself; it fuels other substantial causes of suffering and lost possibilities, including substance abuse and dependence, workplace accidents and inability to master new skills and reach increased levels of education and performance.

Many patients of mine only learn after visiting with me that their use and abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs (including cocaine) has been partly driven by searching for relief from the constant psychological discomfort of underlying ADHD.  Treating the ADHD makes it possible for them to become sober.

As an expert witness in cases involving the workplace, I know that ADHD is the music playing in the background of life-altering (and economically devastating) injuries.

Other patients I have treated tell me that they gave up hope for advanced training or for advanced degrees because they cannot focus long enough to master new skills or new knowledge. 

The modern workplace may itself be accelerating the costs.  Voicemail, e-mail, text messaging, video conferencing and telecommuting translate to a free flow of ideas, rapid transfer of information, and flexible lifestyles.  But they also call for quick changes of focus and self-direction.  For those with ADHD, the information super- highway can look a lot more like a maze. 

American employers would be well-served to offer education about ADHD, and confidential screening and treatment for it.  Even more could be saved — in human and economic terms — if that screening took place earlier rather than later, as part of our public education system. 
It any expanded screening and treatment program, it will be critical that ADHD is not oversimplified.  While stimulant medications can be tremendously helpful, patients of mine with ADHD have had complicated life stories, often marked by emotional turmoil early in life.

An essential part of helping my patients feel better includes listening to their stories and convincing them to stop running away from their feelings (by not focusing on them – or anything else).

The best reason for the education system and/or the workplace to undertake new initiatives to diagnose and treat ADHD is that the condition is indeed, treatable. 

Once patients identify ADHD as a major factor in their lives and get help for it, the changes I’ve seen in their lives are astounding and inspiring.