ADD and diet
As more and more adults and children are diagnosed with ADD and ADHD people are beginning to make a connection - your diet may play a role in managing ADD. While every case is different, here are a few ways people are fighting ADD with diet:
Managing ADD with diet
Little or no sugar
Every parent knows that if you feed a child soda and candy they’re going to get a little wild. However, some children have difficulty metabolizing sugar, which results in a significant spike and drop in blood sugar and a strain on their adrenal glands. Studies have shown that children with ADD/ADHD uncontrolled drop in blood sugar significantly decreased brain activity in these
Knowing this, many families have treated ADD by avoiding sugar and high carbohydrate foods.
Mineral deficiency
Several studies show that ADHD children are deficient in many common minerals, most often in magnesium, zinc, and iron. Our food processing systems are largely to blame however, magnesium supplementation significantly decreases hyperactivity symptoms in ADD children. Additionally, adding whole-wheat flour, sea salt, and natural sweeteners like stevia, molasses, and dried fruit in place of sugar will help your body receive and absorb the minerals it needs to function optimally and eliminate many ADD symptoms.
Essential fatty acids
Many ADD children are deficient in what are called essential fatty acids. It is theorized that this is due to an inability to metabolize the fatty acids or because they need more fatty acids than other people.
Fatty acids are required for optimal brain function. Adding flax seed oil, fish oil and fatty acid supplements to your diet has resulted in ADD symptom improvements.
Food allergies
Many times a simple food allergy can be the cause of ADD and ADHD symptoms. While the process to deduce which foods are the allergenic culprits is a bit trying, once you know what foods to eliminate from your diet, the symptoms may essentially disappear. Common allergens include:
- Wheat, or refined flour
- Peanuts
- Dairy, which includes milk and cheese
- Sugar
- Corn syrup
- Barley
- Eggs
- Corn
- Rye
- Chocolate
- Soy
- Oats
- Gluten
To determine which foods you’re allergic to, an elimination diet is required. This is essentially a very limited diet whereby you eliminate all potentially allergenic foods from your diet for a week or two and then gradually re-introduce them into your diet and monitor the results.
Helping ADD with diet is a relatively easy and natural way to treat ADD and the corresponding symptoms. It requires a little bit of planning and lifestyle changes however, living without ADD and the corresponding symptoms is invaluable.
<>Read the answer to the question about food dyes and ADHD for more information on the topic. Other valuable resources to fight ADD are listed there.
Read more: Food dyes & ADHD
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