Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Article showing food link for 60% of ADHD kids

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2962227-1/fulltext#

This is just the summary, but I wondered if anyone has any thoughts or experiences to share here.

Grinity

Just this:

G.I.G.O.*

It's a technical thing. Learned that back in the dark ages w.r.t. compiling code.



* Garbage in, garbage out.

I think that we all too often eat "food" that isn't really, well... food. Anyone that can't do that for other reasons (diabetes, food allergy) soon learns just how horrifyingly "fake" most food in cans, bags, and boxes actually is.

Maybe a lot of kids with AD diagnoses are simply 'sensitive' to dietary interventions because they are actually canaries in this coal mine.

MAYBE we should all pay more attention to what they are telling us.

You are what you eat. Drink more water. Modern medicine is nothing short of amazing.

Is this the article piece : Helicobacter pylori? I didn't see "ADHD" from following the link.

Yeah I like natural health and nutrition and marvel at modern medicine. I think a lot of nutrition advice tells us to cut out this or cut out that from our diet. I agree better with the advice I read during pregnancy, "try to eat everything you're supposed to eat daily, and you won't have room left to eat much of what you shouldn't eat". Eat more fruits and vegetables, fresher is better. I avoid pastas and use wheat bread. I still save room for too much ice-cream. I'm confused if gluten is bad for everybody or if it's just an allergen. I plan to take one of those online nutrition classes next. I just wonder if they'll tell me anything I haven't already read.

We eat fairly healthy in my family. We're vegetarians, though we probably get a little too much cheese. We have non-American food several times a week, and I've noticed a significant improvement in our overall health since we started this. My mom was in town visiting this week and we had a lot of "American" food and am already feeling rundown. Given, she doesn't pick the healthiest places to eat at, but I'm surprised at how quickly I felt it.

My daughter, when she was younger, would react horribly to having candy that wasn't a simple piece of chocolate (even just 1 small piece of candy). Anything that had food coloring or a lot of processing would cause her to get extremely hyper. We also noticed the same when people gave her overly-processed foods that wasn't candy.

I don't get the sense that on our family's "healthy" diet she can pay attention much more easily, but at least she isn't driving us nuts as often as she would with all the crap in her system. But we never ate all that bad to begin with - even when we did eat meat. I would imagine that just a general feeling of rundown would keep someone from being at the top of their game. But she's 12, so it's kind of impossible to tell at the moment what would be causing her attention problems. I'm getting the sense that System of a Down is more of a distraction than a queasy stomach.

We haven't tried any of the bad processed foods with my son except for the occasional cookie. He's only 16 months old, so still mostly organic fruits and veggies and plenty of breastmilk for his protein. He likes cheese too though, so he gets that also.

Srry La Tex - try searching for:

Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): a randomised controlled trial

My concern about these kinds of studies is that they can be used as a weapon against parents. I can hear it now," Johnny can't pay attention because his mom packs chips, if he had a better mom he would be able to stay seated......"

Just as a healthy diet can help control diabetes, heart disease and other health issues, I believe that the same will hold true for ADHD. In fact, diet alone may help many people. I just hope it doesn't take our eye away from the fact that ADHD is a real medical condition that is related to the chemistry in the brain, and it is not a result of bad parenting.

And, many researchers have found that exercise is an important intervention for those with ADHD. Wish more of our schools would work in more of these throughout the day......

The studies are promising, I just worry about how the general public and some school administrators will "spin" the information. ADHD is such a highly charged and loaded diagnosis. I find that certain people look for scapegoats.

I put this in the category of "it's worth a try but don't expect miracles."

I am concerned about demonizing the parents. I have a kid with multiple severe food allergies. He eats a very healthy diet (meat, grains and fruits/veggies) because almost every processed food has something that he can't have. Normally, we bring all of our own food everywhere. When we go to restaurants, he is allowed to order soda (something that we don't have at home) because he usually can't have anything from the menu. I can't tell you how many dirty looks that I have gotten because my kid is "just having a soda for dinner" when he actually ate before we left the house. Believe me, it gets very tiresome to have well-intentioned people lecture you about what your child should be eating when they don't know the whole story.

YES. I agree with Mich 100%.

DeeDee

knute974
I really feel for you on the food allergy situation. I have food allergies, although fortunately to odd ones that are easily avoided - but it makes me extremely sensitive to kids and their parents with more serious ones. In our pre-k, it was amazing to me how obnoxious parents were inadvertently and on purpose to kids with allergies - two camps - either they thought it wasn't really "serious" just a food crazy mom, or just thoughtlessness/forgetfulness. Not that I think you have to remember everything about the 20th kid in class, but how hard is it to email when its a birthday when there is a kid who can't eat the cupcakes!!!

I do wonder about people who feel compelled to say things (or even give dirty looks) to perfect strangers or even people you kind of know. And yet, ABC keeps airing those hidden camera shows, where people are verbally assaulted, robbed or whatever in plain view and no one does a darn thing! So basically judgmental but yet not getting involved!

DeHe

"Why on earth do they not just put that brat on meds?" can just as well be used as a weapon. The fact that intolerant and judgmental people exist is not a reason to bury our heads in the sand and ignore new information that has the potential to help a lot of kids. A majority of kids with ADHD possibly being helped by dietary changes is FANTASTIC news that deserves to be considered.