Comment by ObnoxiousProxy | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ObnoxiousProxy | Hacker News Reader

While the findings are quite believable and corroborates some other similar studies where increased sugar intake for kids may lower executive function/cognition, this study relies on executive function assessments reported by the parents which doesn't feel like it would be very reliable to me.

Furthermore, while they account for diet in their covariate analysis, it's not very detailed or granuar so it doesn't account for other sources of sugar that these kids might be having (the authors acknowledge this). Based on this study it's hard to conclusively say whether it's the sugar that negatively impacts cognition or other ingredients, or vice versa whether kids with poor executive function prefer sweet drinks. Probably still a good idea to limit refined sugar intake for your own kids though.

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.

Which colouring agent is doing that to you?

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

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.

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.

"this study relies on executive function assessments reported by the parents which doesn't feel like it would be very reliable to me."

Yep. I stopped reading as soon as it was clear the data would be biased.

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