Benjamin Feingold

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Ben F. Feingold, MD

Benjamin Feingold (June 15, 1899 – March 23, 1982) was an American pediatrician and allergist best known for his pioneering work in the field of diet and its relationship to behavioral disorders and learning disabilities in children. He proposed that artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives in certain processed foods and synthetic additives could lead to hyperactivity in children, a hypothesis that led to the development of the Feingold diet.

Early Life and Education

Benjamin Feingold was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He pursued his medical education at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received his MD degree. After completing his medical degree, Feingold further specialized in pediatrics and allergology.

Career

Throughout his career, Feingold held several prestigious positions, including Chief of Allergy at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco. It was during his tenure at Kaiser Permanente that he began to notice a pattern in the behavioral changes in children following the consumption of certain foods. This observation led him to conduct extensive research on the effects of food additives on children's behavior.

Feingold Diet

In the 1970s, Feingold developed the Feingold diet, a food elimination program designed to identify and remove foods containing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, which he believed were linked to hyperactivity and other behavioral issues in children. The diet also recommends avoiding foods containing salicylates, which are naturally occurring chemicals found in many fruits and vegetables.

Feingold's work was initially met with skepticism by the medical community, but it also gained a significant following among parents and educators who reported improvements in behavior and learning abilities in children who followed the diet. Despite the controversy, the Feingold diet has remained a popular alternative approach for managing behavioral and learning disorders.

Legacy

Benjamin Feingold's contributions to the field of pediatric allergy and his innovative approach to treating behavioral disorders through dietary changes have left a lasting impact. His work has paved the way for further research into the relationship between diet and behavior, and the Feingold diet continues to be a topic of study and discussion among healthcare professionals and parents alike.

Feingold's hypothesis regarding the link between food additives and hyperactivity has also contributed to a greater awareness of the potential health impacts of artificial additives in foods, leading to increased demand for natural and organic food products.

Death

Benjamin Feingold passed away on March 23, 1982, but his legacy lives on through the continued interest and application of his dietary recommendations for managing behavioral and learning disorders in children.

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