Raising adhd children on a vegan diet?

[Juniper]

I had a long conversation with our Priest's wife (who is also a RN, certified health specialist, and has her Master's in nutrition) about observing our yearly fasts a bit better. Okay, I am convinced this would be a healthy way to go for us, but one issue we could not get to the bottom of was my twins need for Omega 3's.

 

 

How can I increase the omega 3's without increasing the animal products. Yes, I am even talking about staying away form the fish oil supplements (this is not being asked of me, but for purposes of discussion and finding alternatives I want it to not be the "go to" solution). The kids cannot be traditionally medicated.

 

If you are vegan and are raising your children do you have a some blog and website recommendations?

[Dandelion]

Flax oil is a good non-animal source of Omega-3s. Unlike fish oil, it does contain Omega-6s as well (which most of us have too much of in our diets already). Just something to be aware of.

[ktgrok]

there are omega 3 products made from algae!

[weddell]

Fish get omega 3s by eating algae. You can buy omega 3 made from algae instead of fish.

[HappyLady]

Here's a good link for the different foods that have omega 3s.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/26/omega-3-vegetarian-vegan_n_1299283.html#slide=722309

 

Just remember that with flaxseeds, they need to be ground. If you eat them whole you have to make sure you're breaking them when chewing so it's just easier to consume them ground. I would recommend buying them whole and then grinding them as needed as they'll start to lose their nutritional value, and can go rancid, much quicker. You can add the ground flaxseeds to just about anything, or you can bake with them.

[Oakblossoms]

We use Barlean's Omega Vegan Swirl with DHA and walnuts etc. Because of our choice to eat a plant based diet we get a lot of Omega 3's throughout our day. I actually think a healthy plant based diet would be best for ADHD because it keeps the blood vessels healthy and inflammation low which are both good for our brains.

[Juniper]

We use Barlean's Omega Vegan Swirl with DHA and walnuts etc. Because of our choice to eat a plant based diet we get a lot of Omega 3's throughout our day. I actually think a healthy plant based diet would be best for ADHD because it keeps the blood vessels healthy and inflammation low which are both good for our brains.

 

 

 

I wonder about this a bit myself. I know that ADHD has been linked to inflammation of the brain in some studies. It will be interesting to see as we progress through next year what happens.