Dread holiday parties because the goodies served set your child off like a rocket? Are you sure sugar is to blame for those meltdowns?

Many parents believe sugary foods make children overactive or "hyper." But is there really such a condition as a sugar high?

The answer is no: Despite the fact that many parents swear sugar turns their kids into whirling dervishes, more than 20 studies show that it no effect on behavior. Sugar does not produce hyperactivity, even when researchers have specifically focused on children with a presumed "sugar sensitivity.''

In 1995, the Journal of the American Medical Association ran a survey of 23 comparatively rigorous studies conducted between 1982 and 1994. No discernible relationships were found between sugar ingested and how kids acted.

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