The ADHD Diet - the Nutrition Needs for ADHD Children

This topic on the ADHD diet been subjected to many studies carried out by ADHD experts.  Although there is no exact answer as to what exactly should be included in the diet for ADHD children, there are some basic guidelines. Most of the studies have shown some strong connections between nutrition and this disorder. Nutritional deficiencies have definitely some connection particularly certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  Food allergies, pesticide exposure and other forms for toxin exposure have also shown implications in the symptoms of ADHD. 

In many of these studies, researchers were able to show that certain nutrients were able to help in improving some of the symptoms.

As a parent concerned about the ADHD diet, here are some of the ways that nutrition is connected to ADHD and you can probably use them as a guide when planning diets for children with ADHD.

Natural Foods is best in a ADHD Diet

Use of Artificial Colors and Preservatives

So far there is no solid proof that artificial colors and preservatives are necessarily the cause of ADHD symptoms.  However, many ADHD kids have shown that they do have sensitivities to these substances and experiences of parents have been positive when they started to remove them from the diet and have resulted in good results.

Anyway, this is probably not limited to just ADHD children but to all children and older adults too where cutting out artificial colors and preservatives can help in reducing food allergies.  It does not cause harm to eliminate these things from the diet.  Looking out for symptom improvement is a good way to take some action that is not difficult to do.

Gluten Sensitivity & the ADHD Diet

It has been shown in numerous studies that there is a possible link between gluten sensitivity and ADHD. A lot of ADHD children also have celiac disease, or gluten intolerance. Here gluten which is a protein found in wheat causes inflammation in the intestinal lining and eventually permeates the intestinal walls, thereby giving rise to what is called the leaky gut syndrome. In this case, proteins  enter the bloodstream, where they can cause many problems.

Eliminating gluten from the ADHD diet has shown good success in many cases. By allowing the gut to heal, it probably reduces the inflammation and in fact stop the whole cycle of inflammation which is most damaging.

 

Iron Deficiency in Diets of Children with ADHD

Iron deficiency by itself can produce symptoms similar to ADHD like poor attention span and other behavioral problems.  Because of this there are doctors who recommend iron supplement for ADHD children.  Of course, if you can you could actually test for iron deficiency in your child should you see ADHD symptoms.

Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar symptoms can also mimic those of ADHD. The inability to concentrate or focus on a particular subject with shakes and jitters are symptoms of both low blood sugar and ADHD.  Of course, not all children will get such symptoms with low blood sugar and some kids do not suffer visibly from long periods of not eating but there are some who do shown distinct symptoms.

Parents wondering what to do should take note that the best way to alleviate these symptoms and to bring up a healthy child is to is provide a diet with whole foods diet that is low in sugar and sweet snacks.   These should be replaced with more healthy snacks and they should have an adequate breakfast as well.

Reason for Organic Foods in ADHD Diets

Since there are many recent studies linking ADHD and pesticide exposure, parents should consider the option of giving their children organic food rather than food containing large doses of pesticides.  Reducing pesticide exposure by ingestion is certainly one step a parent can take and this is good not just for ADHD children but all children as well.  By taking some simple steps, parents can indeed improve the diets of children with ADHD.

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The ADHD Diet

What is ADHD in Children- Will It Go Away?

Many a parent with a child showing some ADHD symptoms will be eager to understand what is ADHD in children and the immediate question of whether it can ever go away.

Parents will desperately hope that their kid will outgrow this ADHD thing. However, to date, there is not any straight forward answer to whether or not ADHD ever goes away. There are of course ways that you can manage the disorder with medication and other natural methods.

One way to try to get the disorder to "go away" is if researchers can concentrate on identifying the causal factors which can then be eliminated. But for now, there are still many varying opinions regarding the causal factors of ADHD.  Different  experts have come to different conclusions about whether ADHD is permanent or not.   

Does Food Affect ADHD?

Many studies have been done on this topic regarding the role of diet in ADHD. There are a few of these studies which suggest that modifying the diet of children could greatly reduce ADHD symptoms and in some cases even appear to eliminate it totally.   However, many of these studies show that not all cases can benefit from dietary changes alone but they did make a difference in the majority of test cases.  In one case done in 2011, 64% did seem to have their ADHD eliminated.

Thus, to many parents, this is a possibility that they very much hope for.  If you are a parent with a ADHD child, the first thing you should do is to alter their diet as he or she may be one who can benefit from diet changes as their ADHD could be triggered by food related factors. 

In the important landmark study in 2011, the doctors doing the study stressed that their approach was to first look for any causal factor wherever ADHD symptoms are observed.   This then would be key to managing the case.  As each patient is different, causal factors may differ too.  

So if you think that diet route is the culprit, look for a nutritionist or health care provider who is familiar and experienced with this topic and start on dietary changes first before you even think of other medications.

Therapy and Medication

Many medical experts and even families of children with ADHD do believe that this is one disorder that can never really go away. Rather, they are of the opinion that it is better to concentrate on ways to manage the symptoms through various ways like medication or other alternative methods. Instead of always trying to get a permanent cure for ADHD, they believe that instead we should try to improve the parts of the brain that is showing deficiencies.  They think that a better approach is to re-train the brain and lessen or eliminate the symptoms.  In a way the cure is not permanent but the patient is able to go about his life normally as though he does not have ADHD.  In a way, he has learnt to live with it by managing the symptoms.

Research has already shown that the ADHD brain in fact operate differently than normal brains.   Most healthcare professional and parents often focus on how to normalize the ADHD symptoms and they seldom try to approach the problem by identifying the cause of these abnormal brain patterns instead.  That is why most feel that although the brain abnormalities exist, it is not sufficient reason to warrant direct treatment of these abnormalities on their own.

Management of Symptoms

Regardless of what is our opinion as to the best approach for this, the symptoms must be managed. That way, the child with ADHD can live a normal life without always feeling that he or she has a disorder and is not normal.  A diagnosis of ADHD does not necessarily mean that you have to work with the same symptoms throughout your life.  Many symptoms can improve or go away with time as you learn to manage them.  For example, in the case of my kid, the brain exercises were able to improve their working memory and reduce a lot of their problems in school.   

What you need to do as a parent is to work around learning how to manage and improve these symptoms.  You should find health care providers who can work with you and someone you can feel comfortable with so that you are always part of the program or effort to trying an approach to treatment for your child.

 

 What is ADHD in Children?

ADHD Causes - Who's at Risk?

The issue of what causes ADHD has been much debated and research on risk factors for ADHD is still ongoing.  Since we started being aware of this disorder, we have had to rethink many of our ideas regarding ADHD causes.  

In trying to understand and determine who exactly is at risk for developing ADHD, it's important to note that there is no simple and direct answer.  Whatever role played by genetics, environment, injury, and even parenting practices is still not a settled issue.  Different researchers have differing opinions. 

However, there are some known risk factors for ADHD and we will touch on them below.

Demographics Factor

Are there are particular groups of people who have higher risk factors when it comes to developing this disorder?  The most obvious one is that boys are far more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.  In fact, according to statistics, boys have as high as 5 times a greater tendency to get ADHD.  However, with new  diagnostic methods, they are revealing that more girls have this disorder than we had previously discovered.

As for other factors like ethnic group or culture, it does not seem to show any particular risk pattern. However, ADHD will be more often diagnosed in developed societies or at least in societies where children attend a regular school.

Genetics Factor

Although based on diagnosis, it would seem that we are having a serious problem that is approaching epidemic proportions, experts have pointed that there's no genetic epidemic so to say new research may reveal that there are some genetic components in this risk profile, other than that of gender.

You can probably observe yourself that ADHD has been running in some families.  However, experts have not yet proven that an actual gene is being responsible. I would think that it could also be due to parenting practices or other aspects of the environment that may come into play.  In a family, childen are brought up in similar manner, so it is possible that they may suffer similar problems. 

Environment Factor

The role of the environment factor is still undergoing research.  There is no solid explanation or model for explaining this although of late, there are some distinct possibilities of how certain environmental may lead to greater chances of kids developing ADHD.

It is believed that the environmental factors may play a role in increasing the risk of ADHD, even before a baby is born.  Research have so fat indicate a possible connection between factors like smoking, drinking, and drug abuse in the development of the disorder later on.

Things like exposure to pesticides has been implicated strongly.  In 2010, a highly-publicized study showed the possible correlation between pesticide exposure and  ADHD in children.

Exposure to other dangerous substances like lead may also play a role, especially in younger kids.

Experts interested in natural health have also implied that artificial colors, flavors,  and some food additives may also be responsible for triggering ADHD in kids. Nevertheless, all agree that a healthy diet will help to some extend in preventing ADHD. It is thus important for children to practice healthy eating habits so as not to be at a greater risk for ADHD.

Injury Possibilities

So far, researchers have also found that babies who suffer head injuries are much more likely to develop ADHD than other children who are not injured.   More research is needed for a clearer conclusion.

Parenting Methods

Research have shown in many places around the world that certain parental behaviors are often seen in families where there are kids with ADHD. But it's uncertain as to whether the parenting style was a result or was a factor that exacerbate the disorder.    

So the question is, did the ADHD in the children created similar parental reactions and styles? It may be a while before we actually find out for sure what are the actual ADHD causes.

 

ADHD Causes