Food/Mental Health

So far, this is just a small sampling of what the medical literature has to say about the role of nutrition and food additives and mental health. This list currently focuses on children's mental health but will include more as time permits. The first part is a list of websites you can go to for more info. The list of research is divided into categories:

Food Additives/Junk Food/Proper Nutrition (updated 7/10/2012)
Omega-3 Deficiencies (updated 12/20/2011)
Food Allergies/Sensitivities/Celiac's Disease (updated 5/12/2012)

I will put date of last revision of section to the side of it. All three of these have been shown to significantly contribute to and/or cause mental health problems.

Great websites and blogs for more information:
Feingold Association www.feingold.org

Food and Behavior Research www.fabresearch.org

Developmental Delay Resources www.devdelay.org

Behavioral Neurotherapy Clinic www.adhd.com.au

Gut and Psychology Syndrome www.gaps.me

Here is just a small sample of scientific research:

Food Additives/Junk Food/Proper Nutrition

A Prospective Study of Diet Quality and Mental Health in Adolescents www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024805

Outcome-Based Comparison of Ritalin Versus Food-Supplement Treated Children with AD-HD (PDF) Alternative Medicine Review 2003

Article: Hyper Kids? Check Their Diet www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1661703,00.html

Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825405">www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825405

Foods and additives are common causes of the attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8179235

Meta-analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disordert symptoms, restriction diet, and synthetic food coloradditives. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22176942

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: is it time to reappraise the role of sugar consumption? www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21904085

Mercury exposure, nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disruptions may affect learning in children. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19860886

Synergistic Interactions between Commonly Used Food Additives in a Developmental Neurotoxicity Test http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/90/1/178.full?view=long&pmid=16352620

Food additives and behavior: first genetic insights. http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/167/9/1023

Consumption of soft drinks and hyperactivity, mental distress, and conduct problems among adolescents in Oslo, Norway. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/96/10/1815

The association between dietary patterns and mental health in early adolescence. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19467256

A good-quality breakfast is associated with better mental health in adolescence. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19026092

“Junk food” diet and childhood behavioural problems: Results from the ALSPAC cohort www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664919

Nutritional and dietary influences on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18826452

Nutrition in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a neglected but important aspect. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12737097

Malnutrition at age 3 years and externalizing behavior problems at ages 8, 11, and 17 years. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15514400

Brain Foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706

Database analysis of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder consuming a micronutrient formula www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20875144

Trends of dietary habits in adolescents. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20112152

Fast food consumption and breakfast skipping: predictors of weight gain from adolescence to adulthood in a nationally representative sample www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17116514

Omega-3 Deficiencies
Article: Diet Can Ease Problem Behaviours http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1816938.stm

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation for the treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptomatology: systematic review and meta-analysis. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21961774

Fatty acid deficiency signs predict the severity of reading and related difficulties in dyslexic children. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10970716

A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of supplementation with highly unsaturated fatty acids on ADHD-related symptoms in children with specific learning difficulties. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11817499

Fatty acid metabolism in neurodevelopmental disorder: a new perspective on associations between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and the autistic spectrum www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10970706

Omega-3/omega-6 fatty acids for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in children and adolescents. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18448859

Omega-3 fatty acids in boys with behavior, learning, and health problems. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8778886

Food Allergies/Sensitivities/Celiac's Disease

Maternal Gluten Sensitivity Linked to Schizophrenia Risk in Children  Science Daily www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120511101242.htm

Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): a randomised controlled trial.www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21296237


Effects of food on physical and sleep complaints in children with ADHD: a randomised controlled pilot study.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20401617

Range of Neurologic Disorders in Patients With Celiac Disease (American Academy of Pediatrics June 6, 2004) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/113/6/1672

Article: Wheat-free diet gives food for thought http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article444290.ece

[Favourable effect of a standard elimination diet on the behavior of young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a pilot study] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12532668

A randomised controlled trial into the effects of food on ADHD. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18431534

The Effects of a Few Food Diet in Attention Decifcit Disorder  www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1029619/

Effects of food on physical and sleep complaints in children with ADHD: a randomised controlled pilot study. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20401617

A preliminary investigation of ADHD symptoms in persons with celiac disease. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17085630

Common comorbidities seen in adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18822828

Markers of Gluten Sensitivity and Celiacs Disease in Bi-Polar Disorder http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1399-5618.2011.00894.x/full#t1

Article: Mayo Clinic Discovers Potential Link Between Celiac's Disease and Cognitive Decline Science Daily, October 12, 2006 www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061010022602.htm

Autoantibody targeting of brain and intestinal transglutaminase in gluten ataxia.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16476935

Immunologically Mediated Dementias Look for the section on Gluten-sensitivity dementia, which it interestingly says that only 30 percent of neurologic gluten-sensitivity will have Celiac's disease. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2832614/?tool=pubmed

Gluten ataxia: passive transfer in a mouse model. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17804560