ADD diet?

[Mynyel]

OK, I am not one o cry ADD over every fidget and daydream but I truly think my son has it. I have looked online and sort of self diagnosed it. That said it still doesn't me he has it and just has high energy...very high energy.

 

So I know there are foods to avoid in an ADD child, like sugar (duh) and caffeine (again duh...why do we drink coffee in the morning ehhe). I have heard some say wheat products...yea try to cut that out.

 

Any ideas? I have tried to start giving him more protein and less carbs but as he is growing (will be 8 in a week) I don't want to "malnourish" him. If you know what I mean.

 

He gets his daily vits, well OK every other day...gads I have always been terrible at vits for me and the kids. He also gets an extra E, C and B Complex (The B Complex I heard can be a natural bug repellent and he and I desperately need that in the summer with skeets).

 

Anyhow...probably more than you needed hehe but hey everything helps!

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

[Rebecca VA]

Fish oil. My brother-in-law, who has been a child psychiatrist for many years, highly recommends it. He is very much anti-meds (he sees way too many kids who are too highly medicated) and has often said that he wishes all ADD kids could be put on fish oil.

 

We have been using it for several years for my seventh-grader, who has ADD. She also takes a multivitamin. She still has ADD, but I think she'd be worse off if she weren't taking supplements.

 

I have always fed my kids healthy, organic food with lots of fruits and vegetables. My ADD child eats very little (almost no) sugar. Her body craves protein -- she would eat meat at every meal if she could. She also gets plenty of exercise -- several hours of ballet and Pilates six days a week. If she *weren't* doing ballet, I'd have her on a swim team. She just has to get that energy out.

[Chrystal]

The wheat-free diet you have read about is more of a gluten-free diet that includes no barley (including malt and malt flavoring which are derived from barley), rye, oats (which are grown in fields and processed on equipment which also grows or processes wheat), and, of course, wheat.

 

It really isn't hard. It just takes diligence in reading labels. Of course the outside of the market is the safest. All plain meat, fruits, and vegetables are gluten-free.

For ADD, casein (milk) is also left out of the diet. Sometimes that can also be hard in more processed foods. Of course, plain meat (not marinated or seasoned in the store), fruits, and vegetables are natrually casein free.

 

The general rule is: "If it has an ingredients list, you shouldn't eat it".

 

I know it can be hard, but for a lot of people it is a night and day difference.

 

We aren't casein free, but we are gluten-free for health reasons. My daughter also has ADD and since we have had to change our diet I can see a huge difference. Not as many tantrums, a much longer attention span, the ability to sit and learn for more than 2 seconds at a time without standing on her head. :lol: My life has become much easier in general because I am not saying 100 times a day, "sit down and stop that".

[Mynyel]

What exactly is a gluten? How do I know if an item is "gluten free"...besides if the label says so?

 

I haven't ever understood the gluten thing :) Help on that?

[LibraryLover]

I would start by eliminating high fructose corn syrup. It's a chemical and it is in everything. Some research has suggested it changes the brain and screws with metabolism. That's the kind of sugar that really is probably horrible for a child and her growing brain. Not so much the pure maple syrup on the whole grain pancake made with an egg. etc

 

Make sure he has lots of opportunity to move and be outside. Don't give a 7 yr old lots of 'sit still 'work. He really needs to be engaged and moving. Can he do chores outside?

 

Fish oils can help, but make sure they are pure. I might start with feeding more foods like wild salmon, and other foods rich in omega 3's. I wouldn't start with gluten. Some people have leaky guts and allergies...but whole grains have been part of the human diet for centuries and most people are ok with them. Maybe your child isn't, but I would start with eliminating chemical foods before I elminiated whole grain bread or whole wheat pasta etc.

 

Caffeine, in fact, can help with real ADD issues. A lot of ADD meds are stimulants, just as caffeine is.

 

And remember, he's hs'd. You can accomodate him better than a school can. Let him move and stand and run around.

Edited March 3, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Wyndie]

The Feingold Diet is highly recommended for ADD as well. Lots of good suggestions already in this thread, just wanted to add another option.

[Chrystal]

Gluten is a protein found wheat, rye, and barley. It is what makes bread stretchy.

The theory is that our bodies were not designed to handle so much of it (or any of it). When we eat it (those of us who are intolerant) our bodies attack the gluten as a foreign entity and in the process damage our own bodies. The symptoms can manifest themselves as gastric pain, upset, diarrhea, constipation, body pain, mood swings, headaches, irritability, the inability to concentrate, depression, anger, the list goes on and on. It includes over 135 possible symptoms.

The same applies to milk and milk products. Our bodies were not designed to handle milk (other than human milk and even then for only so long). It is a foreign entity as far as our immune systems are concerned.

http://www.lordoftheebook.com/ADHD/GlutenFreeNew.pdf

I found this that explains it a lot better than I can.

This is the site I found it on. It has a lot of the information that I have seen in many journal articles and read in the extensive gluten free books that I have studied.

http://www.adhdawareness.com/control-ADHD-with-diet.html

I hope it helps.

You are welcome to PM me if needed.:001_smile:

[LibraryLover]

The cow, yak, goat etc have been domesticated for thousands of years. Some populations have trouble digesting milk (or wheat for that matter) and some populations do not. You can see that where milk products have been common for a long time, people are very tall and not harmed by milk products. Their bodies have adapted. And thrived.

 

Ancient Mesopotamians, Greeks, Romans, and Norse cultures all had access to grains-- wheat etc and milk products.

 

Other peoples and cultures, not so much.

 

*Some* people have trouble with grains and milks, *many* do not.

[momofjep]

Caffeine, in fact, can help with real ADD issues. A lot of ADD meds are stimulants, just as caffeine is.

 

 

I've read that 100 mg of caffeine is equivalent to 5 mg of Ritalin.

[sheryl]

Actually, many kids with ADHD calm down with a little caffeine.

 

My dad wasn't dx until he was almost 50 yo. He had always self medicated with diet coke. He tried some meds for a while but eventually went back to Coke. :D

 

That's right, Christina. This was mentioned on sn forum and it's been highly thought of if not confirmed that caffeine has an OPPOSITE effect with adhd patients. I give my dd some in the morning so it wears off. ;)

[LibraryLover]

My dh comes from a European family who drinks espresso at night. lol

 

Now I am thinking of that little boy character from Colombia in Modern Family. He's so cool and calm. He drinks coffee in the morning and espresso at night. lol

 

Other thoughts: If one is trying to change behavior with diet, one might start with foods that didn't exist 10 or 30 years ago. Our children and their brains have been guinea pigs for Big Agriculture. Let's change that.

 

Start with the Gatorade and HFCS in Ragu.

Edited March 3, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Chrystal]

The cow, yak, goat etc have been domesticated for thousands of years. Some populations have trouble digesting milk (or wheat for that matter) and some populations do not. You can see that where milk products have been common for a long time, people are very tall and not harmed by milk products. Their bodies have adapted. And thrived.

 

Ancient Mesopotamians, Greeks, Romans, and Norse cultures all had access to grains-- wheat etc and milk products.

 

Other peoples and cultures, not so much.

 

*Some* people have trouble with grains and milks, *many* do not.

 

It is estimated that 1 in 7 people have problems with gluten.

http://www.foodintol.com/celiac.asp

 

Ancient also depends on your opinion of how old the Earth is. In the scheme of things ancient Rome really wasn't that long ago in man's history. Just a blink of an eye, but that is an argument for a different thread.:001_smile:

[LibraryLover]

Ok, I am not touching this New Earth stuff. LOL I trust the dusty grains from 'ancient' Egyptian tombs more than any modern GMO , even if a gluten- free, product. Your 1 in 7 number would include those people from areas of the world that did not domesticate cows for milk, or grow certain types of grains. If your background is Southeast Asian, or Native American etc, then you probably cannot tolerate milk products well. If your background is Scandinavian, then you can probably drink milk without issue. People too, can have issues with products from animals now being fed a grain based diet. Maybe milk from gluten-free, grass fed cows would be ok.

 

There are thousands of types of grains in the world-- or there was. Part of the issue of factory food is that many of these other grains have been lost and/or underutilized. We expect people everywhere to eat the same foods, rather than the huge variety that was once common. Big Agriculture wants monoculture. That is going to be a huge issue for humans who evolved (is that a bad word? lol) to eat food common to their area. Now we have most of the world eating junk from a very limited number of GMO grains. Liberty Corn, for instance, shares little with the corn of the ancients ('ancients' :)) . A person might be able to tolerate a heirloom common to their part of the world, but not the GMO grain invented for productivity and pest control.

 

I don't see a problem with a family feeding a child a healthy gluten- free diet of real food. If it helps, or seems to help, great

 

All I wish is for children to be feed actual food, not food products. If you are giving your child avocado , and kale smoothies, rice & lamb or rice & chicken from grass fed animals, and have ditched things like GMO soy or HFCS, I am doing the happy dance.

 

 

:lurk5: This popcorn is heirloom organic, and is dribbled with a little butter made from milk from grass fed cows.

 

It is estimated that 1 in 7 people have problems with gluten.

http://www.foodintol.com/celiac.asp

 

Ancient also depends on your opinion of how old the Earth is. In the scheme of things ancient Rome really wasn't that long ago in man's history. Just a blink of an eye, but that is an argument for a different thread.:001_smile:

Edited March 3, 2010 by LibraryLover

[paojava]

Hi there!

 

We thought our son had a similar problem--and through a long story involving a broken arm and benedryl--discovered that a lot of our issues centered around ARTIFICIAL COLORS!

 

And let me tell you, they are in a lot of things. Kids medicines, yogurt, bread dough (canned), candies, mac and cheese, etc. Pretty much anything processed.

 

After about a week or two of weening him off the colors (and going through withdrawl), he came out a much happier and healthier, and less "exhuberant" child.

 

It is worth a try, and is easy to implement. Watch out for anything with Red 40, Blue lake 1&2, and Yellow 5&6.

 

GOOD LUCK!

[homeschoolally]

You've had some great replies, much of what I had in mind has already been mentioned so I'll just share one thought.

 

One thing that jumped out at me from your post was the B vitamins. If you're having trouble with hyperactivity you might want to avoid those for a bit and look for any changes.

 

B vitamins are great for energy--I used to get a weekly B12 injection when I was in poor health for an energy boost. For an ADD child, they can be great for focus, but if hyperactivity is what is bothering you they could be a contributor to the problem.

 

Just a thought...may be worth investigating!

[Heather in OK]

Artificial colors do it for a couple of my kids as well.

[tenoraddict]

We have eliminated artificial colors, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, BHT and BHA (preservatives), sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite. I learned about why to eliminate those (besides being bad for all of us!) from Dr. Feingold's books.

 

We have added many vitamins. Besides the multivitamin (hard to find one without any of the above ingredients!), they take extra C, Magnesium, Zinc, fish oil (Omega 3), pycnogenol, and l-tyrosine. Yes, it was a pain to learn the regimen and keep up with it at first, but the supplements have made such a difference.

 

I have read a gazillion books about ADHD. The most helpful were ones I was told about on this forum...they were Dr. Amen's book and this one. BTW, Dr. Amen talks about caffeine and how it SEEMS to help, but in the long-term, these kids suffer more from caffeine in their bodies than the rest of us do.

 

It seems overwhelming, I know, but you're your child's only advocate. Docs are going to want to throw him on a drug. That may end up being the best option, but if you try changing his diet, supplements, and upping his exercise level, you may be able to manage it that way.

 

I don't know where you live, but keep in mind that it's the end of winter and boys all over the Northern Hemisphere are acting like caged animals! :lol: (OK, it's not always funny!)

[skaterbabs]

Actually, sugar is not an issue for 99% of kids (even the ones with AD/HD), and caffeine is a very well-supported treatment. http://www.feingold.org is the website you're looking for. Their info is invaluable. :)