[hinkley]

Many of us had grandparents who told our parents not to give us sugar because it would make us rambunctious.

The counterargument was that sugar intake often accompanies life events that are themselves overstimulating to kids, so it's more of a correlation than causal link. I was expecting this study proved the original assumption but your read suggests that it's more of the same.

That said, I have discovered that there's a particular food coloring that does tend to make me irritable, and children's candy is usually loaded with it. Whenever I can find the 'naturally colored M&Ms' in the bulk foods aisle I usually grab a little of it.

[ta988]

Which colouring agent is doing that to you?

[spiffytech]

My parents experimented extensively with my childhood diet's impact on my ADHD, and found that Red 40 made me bounce off the walls. The effect was dramatic, even compared with eating sugary non-Red-40 foods.

[hinkley]

I recall a friend was relieved when Red M&Ms went away, because she had an anaphylactic reaction to them. Though I guess the real reason was the old color turned out to be a carcinogenic. It was years before they added them back, with Red 40 instead.

[hinkley]

Most people, if it's not an outright histamine reaction, seem to have trouble with Yellow #5 if they have trouble with anything.