Can Too Much Sugar Really Make Your Child Hyperactive?

A lot of people have surely heard the term "sugar rush" or "sugar high" for kids who are showing hyperactivity after eating a lot of sweets. What does it really mean?

According to Urban Dictionary, it is "The intense physiological effect of consuming too much sugar or glucose that makes the brain release dopamine and endorphins, often inducing a mild sense of euphoria and happiness. This is often accompanied by a strong surge of energy as the sugar hits the bloodstream."

There have been a lot debate about this ideology or belief that there is no scientific proof that makes the body overflowing with energy after eating high-glucose foods. Some people say that they witnessed their children getting very energetic for few hours after eating cakes, ice cream and etc.

However, there is no definite detail when this notion has originated. According to Yale Scientific, in the 1970s an American Allergist named Benjamin Feingold advocated an additive free diet to treat or prevent hyperactivity in children. However, there was no direct statement from him that sugar is part of the additives that taken off.

As posted by WebMD, a study performed in 1978 published in "Foods and Cosmetics Toxicology" journal has revealed that children who were hyperactive was given a glucose test and the result has shown that those children have low blood sugar.

Further experiment was performed in 1994. A study in the Journal for Abnormal Child Psychology  involving some mothers and children was conducted to check the behavior of mothers and how they would interact with their children who are hyperactive.

A group of mothers were perceived that their child was given a high dose of sugar and another group of parents were told that their kids are in a placebo effect.

Mothers who were told that their children got a high dosage of sugar said that their child became more hyperactive. The result of the experiment showed that these mothers have a behavior of great control over their children and has revealed physical closeness towards them.

For us to know, the very interesting part in this study is that all the children who were part in the experiment were in fact in placebo. None of them has taken a real high dose of sugar.

This notion has been passed down to generations and even now, if you try to ask some people about "sugar rush," they will say it's true. This remains a debatable topic for some, but several studies have shown that there is no scientific proof for high sugar intake causing hyperactivity.