“Can a diet help treat my child with ADHD?”
My son has ADHD. Is there a specific diet that helps with ADHD?
9 Answers
YES!!!!! Grain free! Lots of healthy fats (avocado, macadamia nuts, walnuts, seeds, olives, olive oil, coconut oil, egg yoke) lots and lots of vegetables! The greater the variety the greater the health. Fresh whole fruits! No caffeine, No refined sugar, NO fake sugar, No white or wheat flour and NO yeast!
Simple answer, NO...there have been many attempts to treat and/or cure ADD/ADHD with diet but there is no scientific evidence that they are effective...We do have a treatment that works, psychostimulants are effective...yes, they can be problematic in teenagers, yes they can be controversial in some arenas but the proof is clear that judicious use of such medicines is extremely helpful in ADD/ADHD in addition be cautions that many psychiatrists and pediatricians will make a correct diagnosis of ADD/ADHD and begin the right medication but will stop before reaching maximum benefit, or they will decide not to treat the child during weekends or vacations...this is a real disease and the impact of it being not treated or not adequately treated can be severe.
The answer is yes. See Dr. Amen's site as to what he recommends. I have found the Mitochondria diet to be on target for what ADHD requires to help. Basically, all pure-natural foods, multicolored vegetables and fruit, lean meat, poultry, and fish. Stay away from sugars, and minimize salt and processed foods.
Not really! Depending on how bad certain foods can affect her for sure. Those with adhd can have a reverse reaction to foods. So caffeine can make them tired. Just always try to get healthy foods in them.
Artificial colors, additives and MSG can be excitatory for kids with ADHD so start by eliminating, if they are part of the diet currently. In addition, removing processed foods with added sugar can help as blood sugar fluctuations can impact symptoms of ADHD. Move towards real foods and don't be afraid to add healthy fats, which will make vegetables much more tasty for kids. If symptoms still don't improve, I recommend you try eliminating gluten and dairy.
Diet can help, but cannot cure.
Dr. Xu
Dr. Xu
There are some studies which explore limiting/eliminating sugars or implementing omega-3 fattty acids to help with ADHD symptoms, however, they only show minor improvements when compared to medication management of symptoms. There is no specific diet that is evidence based for ADHD.
Some children have seemed to improve with a diet high in omega fats and avoiding high sugar and caffeine products. If he is so hyper that he does not sit down and eat a meal, nutritional shakes and vitamins sometimes help
A low sugar diet can often help, and surprisingly enough coffee helps in some people, but an accurate diagnosis of true ADHD is made, (severe anxiety or agitated depression can mimic the symptoms) judicious use of medication can do wonders for him.
