Does sugar intake have a negative effect on a child’s behavior? While some parents say yes, most physicians will agree that there is not enough empirical evidence to suggest that hyperactivity is a result of too much sugar.

Years ago when I first brought to my pediatrician’s attention my son’s unwillingness to eat fruits and vegetables, she suggested I serve him 100% fruit juice. From that moment on, I thought I was off the hook. As my son loved juice already and consumed copious amounts of it, I assumed giving him juice was just as good as handing him a piece of fruit.

But here’s the rub. The USDA recommends that an adult who consumes a healthy two-thousand calorie diet limit his daily intake of sugar to forty grams, the equivalent of ten teaspoons. My son’s 100% juice contains twenty-seven grams of sugar per eight-ounce serving; he’s easily ingesting over sixty grams of sugar per day from juice alone!

My son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in February 2007 at the age of five. The issue of his autistic tendencies is still up for debate, and there have been no conclusive diagnoses for Asperger’s Syndrome or otherwise. I have always maintained, however, that my son’s behavioral issues are, in part, the result of his poor eating habits.

Like many children, my son eats foods rich in simple sugars: white bread, white flour, pasta, and crackers. Despite the fact that he consumes a lot of sugar, however, my son is quite muscular and lean, and he’s never had a cavity. He’s lucky in that respect, since most children with high-sugar diets are overweight, suffer from diabetes, or have rotting teeth.

But what are the effects of too much sugar on his brain and overall development? As a mother, I expect conclusive answers. Unfortunately, all I can find is contradictory information such as this and this, with respect to hyperactivity in children.