Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional ADHD, diet, and neurofeedback

Here's a neat idea about heaty and cooling foods.  I keep it in mind if I feel short tempered and choose a cooling food when making a choice, it's probably hokum but maybe the mindfulness helps.
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/heaty.html

Also the converting thing, could it be about diabetes?  I have a family member who has diabetes and he says learning about a diabetic diet is strange.  Almost all foods count as proteins or sugars.  It's not just that diabetics should avoid sugar because you have to sugars to live, that's what your body makes energy out of (and protein I guess you make parts out of, or something).  But with diabetics if you get too much sugar- coma, if you get too little sugar-coma.  

I have read that gifteds might be similar to diabetics in food consumption because excess of thinking takes calories to operate, but it's not an active calorie usage,  it's kind of tricky.

Very interesting responses. Thanks. I do appreciate it. I take it no one has read, Healing Young Brains, because it has a similar list to what the NFT recommends and is back by science.

I'm not a scientist, though some males in my family are/were. I'm a historian/librarian. From a historical background, what the NFT said made some sense to me - we've been eating grains for sustenance, portability, availability, convenience (faster to cook pasta than to boil a chicken), and avoid contamination issues with food/drink. We don't live in an agrarian society anymore with the need for so many calories; we live in a digital age that is primarily sedentary or less active for most of us.

Thom Hartmann says the ADHD gene/Edison gene (which I think my son has - he has ADHD and my mother's side had a bunch of Edisons) is a highly adaptive gene, DRD4. The argument is that it's been around for 40,000 yrs and that it's been critical to humanity's development. The ADHD gene is tied to many artists, inventors, and innovators who carry the gene and is necessary for the future survival of humans.

I know it's not scientific, but I think my family carries the ADHD gene and that we're more susceptible to addictions than perhaps others. I've read that ADHD people have a much greater chance for substance abuse and other risky/negative behavior if the energy isn't channeled or something goes awry. As a parent, I'd do anything to avoid another member of my family being killed by drugs, drink, or smoking.

Is it possible that some of us are genetically wired to withstand only a certain amount of stuff (chemicals - acid/sugars/proteins, whatever) to our bodies and minds? Perhaps some of us are more sensitive to the environment and what we eat and drink than others - from a genetic perspective? I'm not a scientist, but I can tell you that this is true with me - and been the case for years.

Personally, I don't think our bodies have the immune/sensory systems to deal with the onslaught of chemicals in our food/environment and our bodies maybe cannot adapt to it, but I'm not a scientist. Yet I can say that since I grew up in the 70s/early 80s, the amount of additives, preservatives, sugars, and salt has exploded in our food/drink. It's only been within the last 20-30 yrs that we've gotten so much into our food/drink supply; and I only drink water and two cups of tea a day.

I flipped through that book using Amazon's Look Inside. "One of the most common medical conditions we see in children and adults does not exist, according to conventional medicine" is not the kind of statement one normally sees in a book grounded in scientific research. Nor "patients are usually helped by [...] homeopathy." (If you flip through the bibliography, it's short on research published in reputable journals.)

People have historically eaten grains because you can support a higher population density on grain than on non-grain food sources. (Grain gives you more calories per acre of land.)

I personally feel better on a lower-grain, lower-carb diet, so I'm not knocking the desirability of figuring out a diet that works for you (or for your kid). But in my experience, diet is a very personal thing, and I would hesitate to recommend any particular diet as ideal for all people in any given group. A base for trial and error, sure. But not something to be accepted as gospel.

I read something in a library book years ago about eating what your racial ancestors ate.  Not broadly as in the caveman diet I read about online these days, but more specific to the continent and region your ancestors lived, be it goats or seafood or rice or corn.   The useful ADHD gene you mention reminds me of a Facebook quote attributed to Temple Gradine, "where would we be without the autism gene?  We'd still be sitting around in caves, socializing, getting nothing done".  

AlexsMom - I agree that food is a personal thing. I'm not here to preach. Everyone has to make their own choices/decisions; think for themselves; and do their own research and/or truth seeking. I didn't mean to offend anyone here.

I just read Healing Young Brains chapters on nutrition and toxicity and was shocked as well as what the NFT said. I had never thought about diet so extensively before. I don't think most people due today since our lives are usually busy.

I honestly didn't have an idea how diet was maybe a factor in my son's situation - which is most likely due to his genetic makeup/neurological wiring. There may be other parents on this site who don't know or would not have considered how someone's genetic makeup/neurological wiring may play affect a child and what cellular level or neurotransmitter level it may reach.

Like I said I'm a historian/librarian - my reasoning/thinking/perspective is quite different to scientists and let's leave it at that.

La Texican - exactly! I love Temple Grandin. Love the quote .

I also think that, in addition to food, making sure the child gets enough sleep is vital. And also gets enough daily exercise. Too much sitting around, I think, can contribute to ADHD. My kids don't have ADD/ADHD but I think sleep and exercise are important too.

I wasn't offended - on the contrary, I was attempting to avoid giving offense.

Oh good. Nobody trying to be mean, just differing wildly. My kind of town. CD, let us know how your child does over time, K?

DeeDee

This is interesting, my NFT basically said no other simultaneous treatment, medication or therapy is necessary for the NFT to work, in fact he advised not changing anything until we completed the NFT, so I am curious about your therapist saying the diet change is an essential part.

HOWEVER, my NFT also mentioned something about the “racing thoughts” (which cause or exacerbate anxiety)that he observed in my DD’s brain mapping were consistent with what he sees in the recovering addicts/alcoholics that he treats. He said that he often sees these signs in children of alcoholics. Alcoholism does run in her dad’s family so I thought it was plausible and yet I wonder if there is something to the connection between her brain wiring showing alcohol traits and her diet (she has been a sugar and grain fiend all her life). Or maybe people with that type of brain wiring are just more prone to addictions…We don’t know cause and effect but it is an interesting observation. Also, I have been wondering about candida overgrowth, it makes sense (in my non-scientific brain) because we give our kids antibiotics when they are sick but we don't give them pro biotics to replace the balance. It would seem then, that they could easily be dealing with a candida overgrowth that could expedite fermentation in the gut - no?

I know none of this is scientifically proven to the satisfaction of the masses (yet) but for some people the scientifically proven answer just isn’t an option (in our case the meds just didn’t work).


I did this after reading “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”, then I spent a few hours reading labels at the grocery store and came home with water and salad. My family was not pleased, lol.

I tend to naturally choose more of the foods on the yes list so yay for me I guess. My DD would probably be fine on that diet, she might just eat nothing but chocolate until she had a sugar coma 


So I guess its Irish whiskey, potatoes and Polish sausage for me then…:-D
I love the Temple Grandin Quote too…although way too many of the spectrum kids I know aren’t really getting much done other than mastering videogames 

ROFL!! ah, that would be me too. The kids like it better when their dad shops