The ADD/ADHD Diet

The ADD/ADHD Diet

One of the most common problems that people face in changing the way they eat and live is that it may require a great deal of effort. It is especially difficult within a family structure where all members of the family may not feel excited about participating.

We get used to living a certain way and it is hard to change. Even so, it is important for family members to support one another. Research shows that attempts to modify the diet and lifestyle of children with ADD or ADHD are rarely successful unless the parents are willing to change, also.

Change is sometimes difficult, but in these serious circumstances the results will be well worth the effort. The future course of a life—and the lives of many others—is at stake.

Often times the frustration becomes unbearable for parents and others who want to help. People often make the mistake of thinking that good advice and loving kindness, praise, encouragement, soothing words, or pointing in a certain direction, are all that are needed to get someone to change or to behave. Although this definitely helps, sometimes it just isn’t enough. When a child or adult becomes “difficult to reach”, or seems “tuned out”, the problem may be a biochemical one. Dr. Marshall Mandell, founder of the New England Center for Allergic & Environmental Diseases, points out that although tips given to teachers, parents, and even bosses “appear reasonable” they are really “Of little importance when an ADD/ADHD brain has become an allergic battlefield and it cannot function in a manner that permits the child or adult to understand and absorb what’s going on. Threats of restrictions or punishment are also useless, because a malfunctioning brain can’t remember the consequences of prohibited behavior.”

Therefore, the conditions of nutrition, diet, and environment have to change, and the learned behavior may also have to change. Sometimes avoidance or removal of triggering factors automatically precipitates a change of behavior. Children or adults may at first be violently opposed to making changes in their diet. The objective is to relieve the symptoms by removing the cause.

To a great degree, the contributing and/or causative factors lie in our lifestyle—our dietary and environmental exposures. The follow factors present a number of possible causes of ADD/ADHD and begin to point us toward a positive nutrition therapy plan:

Poor Nutrition

·        Intake of fresh foods is down

·        Soil is depleted of essential nutrients, therefore, fresh foods that we do eat, may have less nutritional value than we may think

·        Intake of highly processed foods containing additives, preservatives, and artificial chemical colorings and flavorings is up – way up

·        Vitamin, mineral, enzyme, amino acid, neurotransmitter, and essential fatty acid deficiencies growing worse with each generation

Environmental Contaminants

·        Insecticide and pesticide residues in our food and water

·        Heavy metal contamination

·        Chemical cleaners

·        Poor quality drinking water

·        Indoor air pollution at home, at school, and at the office

Increased and Repeated Use of Antibiotics in Babies and Young Children

·        Kills beneficial intestinal bacteria

·        Promotes overgrowth of harmful yeast organisms (candida) causing many physical and mental symptoms, some of which, are ADD/ADHD

Unfortunately, it is difficult to say, “This is the right diet for an individual, and that is the wrong one. “ This is why nutrition therapy is based on an individualized diet for a child’s or adult’s specific sensitivities. It is a journey, and I will work with you to help find the answers. Below I have listed a general rule of thumb diet.

·        Supplement the diet with digestive enzymes, electrolyte trace minerals, and essential fatty acids.

·        Plus any nutrients, herbs, homeopathic remedies specific to individual condition

·        Limit fruit intake due to problems at cellular level with low blood sugar

·        High protein in eating plan

·        Avoid white flour, refined sugar, starchy foods

·        Avoid all foods with artificial additives, chemical dyes, and preservatives

·        Use raw honey or stevia for a sweetener

·        Eat as many raw foods as possible

·        Drink pure water

·        Breathe clean air

Diet Therapy

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