ADD ADHD Diet
The ADD ADHD Diet
For Attention Deficit Disorder
Below is a copy of our ADHD diet eating program for ADD ADHD kids. It is not a very strict program, like the Feingold diet, unless you are used to having most meals at your local fast food restaurant.
This program is recommended for every member of the family. It's not just an "ADD diet". It's the same program that we put professional athletes and business executives on for optimized performance, with only minor changes.
We have found that it really helps about 20% to 25% of the ADHD kids that try it without using any other intervention. We strongly believe that whether one is using a medication such as Ritalin, or using a natural alternative such as Attend, that this type of eating program plays a big role in achieving success when used as a part of a treatment program.
The most common feedback that we get from parents is, "Well, it helped my kid somewhat, but I really feel great!"
Results fall into a "Bell Curve." A few do great, a few are completely unaffected, and most do somewhat better but it is not enough as a stand-alone intervention.
Please have realistic expectations. But please try it. It just may be a big help to your family.
Finding Out if it is ADD ADHD or Food Allergies
What NOT to eat for TWO WEEKS
First, let's find out if there are food allergies causing ADHD - like behaviors. Eliminate these foods for two weeks, then get ready to add them back in to the diet...
- NO DAIRY PRODUCTS, especially cow's milk.
This is the single most important restriction. The American Pediatric Association estimates that 30% of all children are allergic to milk. Instead try Almond milk, Rice milk, or Better Than Milk. Drink water instead of milk.
- NO YELLOW FOODS. Especially Corn or Squash. Bananas are white. Don't eat the peel.
- NO JUNK FOODS. If it comes in a cellophane wrapper, don't eat it.
- NO FRUIT JUICES. Too much sugar content. One small glass of apple juice has the sugar content of eight apples. Later on you can have juice, but dilute it with water 50/50.
- CUT SUGAR INTAKE BY 90%. If you can, cut it down to zero. Sugar is in just about everything, but give it a try. Do your best without going crazy.
- CUT CHOCOLATE BY 90%. No more than a single piece, once a week.
- NO NUTRASWEET. None. Period. Never. It's bad for you.
- NO PROCESSED MEATS and NO MSG. Only get meats with labels that say, “Turkey and Water,” etc. If the meat has chemicals listed that you can't pronounce, don't buy it.
- CUT FRIED FOODS BY 90%.
- AVOID FOOD COLORINGS WHENEVER POSSIBLE. See if your child is sensitive to any particular colors, such as Reds, Yellows, etc. For now, though, avoid all if possible.
- AVOID FISH. We hate to say this, as there used to be so many benefits to eating fish, especially the Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) or Omega Oils.
But the problem these days is that the mercury levels in most fish is simply too high to be either safe or healthy. Mercury is the second most toxic metal on earth, and is a terrible neuro-toxin. Until we clean up the oceans and the rivers of mercury, just don't eat it. Sorry.
SUMMARY: Just eat foods that God made for a while. Eat like people did in the 1940's. Go to a used book store and get a Betty Crocker's Cook Book for recipe ideas. There really are about 10,000 meals that you CAN eat. Just not much in the way of “fast foods” or “convenience” foods.
After the First Two Weeks
AFTER TWO WEEKS begin adding these foods back into your diet, one food every other day. Eat A LOT of that food every day for four days.
If you have a problem with one of the foods, you will see some kind of a “reaction” within four days. The reaction can vary from big red splotches on the body to ears turning bright red to explosive temper outbursts. If there's a problem, you'll know. If there's no problem, enjoy the food.
WHAT TO EAT TO FEED THE ADHD BRAIN
Just as some foods make the brain "foggy", other foods can enhance brain performance. Here are some things to eat to feed the ADHD brain...
- FOR BREAKFAST SERVE HIGH PROTEIN, LOW CARBOHYDRATE MEALS.
Say, “Good-bye,” to Breakfast cereals and milk. Breakfast cereals are all carbohydrate and sugar, which is the worst combination for the ADHD brain. And 30% of children are allergic to milk. So the classic American breakfast of cereal and milk is a really bad idea.
Instead, serve 60% to 70% Protein and 30% to 40% Carbohydrates for Breakfast. Eggs, breakfast meats, and some toast would be fine. Other meals of the day could be 50% Protein and 50% Carbohydrate.
- PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS might be needed to get the added protein for Breakfast. They are often very helpful in the afternoon as well. Here is our favorite recipe for a Protein Shake:
a) Make a cup of coffee, using one of General Mills' International Coffees, or something like that, with a flavor that you or your child will like (yes, I know I'm breaking my own rules here, as these coffees have dried milk and some sugar, but I'm trying to get your kid to actually drink the thing, and also get some caffeine mixed with the protein.). Pour the hot coffee into a blender with about 6 oz of ice. Turn on the blender for a bit.
b) Add a good quality protein powder. There are many good ones available. If you can't find one that you like, ask at your local health food store. Get protein powders that are mostly protein and very little carbohydrate. Add between 15 and 20 grams of protein to the cold coffee in the blender.
c) Turn on the blender again.
d) Drink it up.
This protein shake is helpful for a lot of people. For many small kids, and many adults, this recipe works about as well as a small dose of Ritalin (100 mg of caffeine is roughly the same as 5 mg of Ritalin). So many who might just take a small dose of Ritalin might get away with just doing this.
Don't forget, though, that even caffeine can have some side effects. Every once in a while we find someone that has problems with the caffeine in the coffee. Usually, though, the caffeine in the coffee helps the person to focus better. The protein helps to feed the brain. If you find this helpful, have one with Breakfast, and one around 3 pm. If it is not helpful, then don't bother with it.
- DRINK LOTS OF WATER. The brain is about 80% water, and increasing your water intake to 7 to 10 glasses per day might be very helpful all by itself. Sodas, Gatorade, teas, icees, etc., do not count as water. Only water counts as water.
- MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS may be helpful. Colloidal Minerals or fully chelated minerals are the best. We like the MinPac from VAXA, but there are several good choices. Don't buy minerals in the grocery store. Get good minerals.
- ATTEND, EXTRESS, or MEMORIN from VAXA. We recommend the "Attend" product for everyone. "Extress" is recommended in addition for those with problems with hyperactivity and temper, and "Memorin," in addition to the "Attend," for those with poor concentration or memory. These are strongly recommended. Here is more information on ATTEND, the amino acid based, homeopathic medicine that is a great alternative to ritalin.
- FLAX SEED or PRIMROSE OIL. These are good sources of Omega oils, and many with ADHD are deficient in Omega oils (or essential fatty acids). Borage oils, flax seed oils, and some fish oils are good as well. These Omega oils are very important. Mix about a spoonful a day into foods as you prepare them, or add to salad dressings, etc.
- EAT LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
- AVOID ALUMINUM EXPOSURE
- AVOID HEAVY METAL EXPOSURES
These heavy metal exposures come in the form of amalgam dental fillings, which are 50% mercury (extremely toxic), 20% copper (also toxic), and about 15% nickel (also toxic). Nickel is also common with dental braces and with dental crowns.
Cadmium is toxic, and is found in dental fillings, and also in cigarette smoke. And there are other toxic heavy metals found in pesticides and herbicides. And now there's also too much mercury in fish.
- Eat in a healthy manner.
Try these recommendations out and let us know what you think.
Oh, before you email back and ask, “Well, what can we eat?” please look through your Betty Crocker Cook Book and you'll find hundreds of recipes that will work well. It's the convenience foods that are most of the problem. Re-discover the lost art of cooking!
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ADHD Treatment with Amino Acids and Diet: Two Recent Studies
Amino Acids and Diet: Two Recent ADHD Studies
We have long held the opinion that the symptoms of ADHD could be lessened, and perhaps fully treated, by the use of amino acids and the help of specific ADD diets. Now two studies, one from Italy and the other from Norway, give more support for our position that prescription medications, particularly stimulants, are not the only effective ADHD treatments available.
The study from Italy looked at the effectiveness of just one amino acid in a population of ADHD children are well known as poor responders to stimulant treatment – children with Fragile X syndrome and ADHD.
Fragile X syndrome is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation, and many children with the condition also have ADHD, or at least the symptom inventory of ADHD. Over the years stimulants such as Ritalin have been used to treat these ADHD symptoms with these children, but with mixed or poor response. Stimulants often caused the children to be more irritable, to be less verbal, and often more withdrawn, so the researchers explored the possibility that the amino acid L-Acetyle Carnitine (LAC) might be helpful in reducing the ADHD symptoms, but without the side-effects.
The research team from the Università Cattolica in Rome studied 51 boys, ages 6 to 12, diagnosed with both Fragile X syndrome and ADHD. It was a double-blind study, so the boys were divided into two groups, one to get the amino acid treatment and the other a placebo. They study lasted for one year, with the boys evaluated at the beginning (baseline), at six months, and after a year.
The boys treated with the L-Acetyle Carnitine showed significant improvements. They were less hyperactive and had improved attention and focus, and without any of the side-effects that would be expected in this population from treatment with stimulants. In fact, there were no adverse side-effects reported by the amino acid group at all. The boys were also given intelligence tests, but there were no significant gains made on the IQ testing.
"We propose that LAC be recommended as a treatment of ADHD in FXS children," the authors state, "since it effectively reduces hyperactive behavior and improves social abilities without adverse side effects." They also suggest that these results may be applicable to children with autism, who also do not easily tolerate stimulants.
We have personally studies and observed the positive results from treatment with a combination of amino acids, lipid complexes, and homeopathic medicines in Attend with ADHD children. And we recommend that parents and physicians take a closer look at this alternative treatment.
SOURCE: American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A published online Feb. 19, 2008. Part B will be published in April, 2008.
ADHD and Diet: Restrict Milk
The second study had to do with diet as a treatment intervention for ADHD. It seems that at least a small group of children with ADHD, perhaps ten percent or so, have a particular type of protein imbalance that may be contributing to a child’s ADHD symptoms, or may be causing that child’s ADHD problem entirely.
Back in 1996 a group of researchers in Norway began to study 23 children with ADHD. They placed the children on a milk free diet and have followed the children since. The researchers wanted to see if the ADHD symptoms in the children, particularly hyperactivity and impulsivity, would improve by avoiding milk, or more specifically the casein in the milk.
Since a one of our ADHD diet recommendations has been to stop drinking cow’s milk for two weeks, then add it back in to the diet and see if there is any adverse reaction to it, we were very interested in the observations from this study.
Milk is one of the most common food allergens in children. Studies in several countries around the world show a prevalence of milk allergy in children around 2% to 5%. Some estimates are much higher, as the researchers in this study propose. Cow's milk contains at least 20 protein components that may cause allergic responses. The milk proteins, casein and whey are the main problems. Caseins give milk its "milky" appearance and is the protein in milk that makes it possible to make cheese. Whey makes up the remainder of the milk substance.
The group was working under the theory that a metabolic disorder making it difficult to break down certain proteins, including could cause mental problems ranging from Autism to Schizophrenia to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
All twenty-three children in the long-term study, who were between four and 11 years old when the project started, had symptoms of ADHD and had been shown to have abnormal levels of peptides in their urine. All of the children followed a strict casein-free diet the first year, and the results were overwhelmingly positive. Twenty-two of the twenty-three children had “clear improvements” in their behavior and attention span.
One of the researchers noted, "One of the kids I worked with started on the diet on Wednesday and by the weekend his parents said they saw a huge positive change in his behavior.
A number of the children have since stopped following the diet for different reasons and some were put on medication, but after eight years six were still strictly avoiding all milk products and several had also cut out gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley and to some extent oats.
"We see a clear difference between those who stopped and those who stayed on the diet," said another researcher.
"It's incredible. We've seen intelligence tests that had gone steadily down suddenly turn around and go back up" after a change of diet, reported a third member of the team.
One subject in the study, who is now seventeen years old, reported that if he cheats on the diet he knows it will hurt his school performance right away. "I can tell right away when I've eaten something I shouldn't. It's really hard to concentrate. I'm always careful before tests," he says, taking a big bite of gluten and milk-free carrot cake.
Hundreds of other Norwegian children with ADHD have in recent years been put on milk-free diets to help deal with their condition, but Fosse complains many doctors don't inform parents of the option. "We want to get the word out that this can be an alternative. Parents have to do a lot of searching before they get this information," said one mother whose child has improved.
Not drinking cow’s milk is certainly a simple and safe intervention to try. And, as we like to say, if what you are doing works, don’t mess with it. But if it doesn’t work, try something else.
ADHD and Caffeine?
ADHD and Caffeine: a Treatment Option?
For many years our ADHD diet has promoted the use of moderate amounts of caffeine in the morning, along with a protein drink supplement and the nutraceutical medicine Attend, as a part of the program. Parents have reported success using the program, both with their ADHD children as well as in their own lives.
Caffeine is a mild CNS stimulant that can be used with ADHD children, teens, and adults, if used purposefully and in moderation. All stimulants are vaso-dilators, meaning that they allow the blood vessels to increase in size and increase the blood flow in the brain. One of the primary physiological problems causing ADHD seems to be a lack of blood flow to certain regions of the brain, and stimulants help to improve blood flow and reduce symptoms caused by this problem, at least temporarily.
It is estimated that 100 mg of caffeine is equivalent to 5 mg of Ritalin, which is the lowest therapeutic dose, and the usual starting dose for children. It is similar to Ritalin in that caffeine is absorbed and begins working in about 45 minutes, and the benefits wear off after about three to four hours. And, of course, caffeine can have the same kinds of side effects as other stimulants.
There may be times when it would be advantageous to have caffeine available for someone with ADHD who is successfully using stimulant medication, such as to avoid the “rebound” or “trough” effects of the stimulants, or on weekend outings, etc.
Also, if 5 mg of Ritalin is a successful therapeutic dose, parents and physicians should at least talk about using caffeine instead.
Caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive drug in the world, with about 80% of the world’s population drinking down caffeine every day. The average daily consumption of caffeine among American adults and teens is about 260 to 300 mg per day, but about one person in four consumes more than 600 mg each day. And yes, caffeine in large amounts, over a long period of time, is addictive.
How does America get its caffeine? Here’s a pretty good list:
- Coffee, 8 oz cup has 135 mg
- Instant coffee, 8 oz cup has 95 mg
- Expresso, 1 oz shot has 50 mg
- Tea, 8 oz cup has 60 mg
- Green Tea, 8 oz cup has 30-40 mg
- Coca-cola, 12 oz has 35 mg
- Diet Coke, 12 oz has 45 mg
- Dr Pepper, 12 oz has 40 mg
- Mountain Dew, 12 oz has 55 mg
- Pepsi cola, 12 oz has 37 mg
- Sunkist Orange, 12 oz has 40 mg
- Red Bull, 8.5 oz has 80 mg
- Full Throttle, 8.0 oz has 70 mg
- SoBe No Fear, bottle has 160 mg
- Pain Relievers such as Excedrin, Bayer max strength, Midol have 60-65 mg
Drinking sodas, coffee, “energy drinks,” and other beverages with caffeine, should never replace drinking water. The human body, and specifically the brain, needs an adequate supply of water ever day in order to function optimally. Drinking a diet Pepsi is not a substitute for water. So make sure that your ADHD child or ADHD teenager is still drinking 4 to 8 glasses of water per day, depending on their body size, how hot it is outside, how active they are during the day, and so on.
Of course, whenever possible we would recommend using our ADHD diet recommendations, our specific treatment strategies for ADHD, including Attend, and other alternative treatments for ADHD, in lieu of Ritalin or stimulant medications.
Milk, ADHD, and Dr. Reichelt's Theories
Recent Study on Milk and ADHD
Changes in our diets can be used as a treatment intervention for ADHD. And according to a recent study from Norway, it seems that at least a sub-group of children with ADHD have a particular type of protein imbalance that may be contributing to a child’s ADHD symptoms, or may be causing that child’s ADHD problem entirely.
The study began back in 1996 as a group of researchers and educators in Norway began a study of 23 children with ADHD. They placed the children on a milk free diet and have followed the performance of the children since. The researchers wanted to see if the ADHD symptoms in the children, particularly hyperactivity and impulsivity, would improve by avoiding milk, or more specifically the casein in the milk.
Since a one of our long-held ADHD diet recommendations has been to stop drinking cow’s milk for two weeks, then add it back in to the diet and see if there is any adverse reaction to it, we were very interested in the observations from this study.
Milk is one of the most common food allergens in children. Studies in several countries around the world show a prevalence of milk allergy in children around 2% to 5%. Some estimates are much higher, as the researchers in this study propose. Cow’s milk contains at least 20 protein components that may cause allergic responses. The milk proteins casein and whey are the main problems. Caseins give milk its “milky” appearance and is the protein in milk that makes it possible to make cheese. Whey makes up the remainder of the milk substance.
We have been familiar with the theories of Dr. Kalle Reichelt and have offered Dr. Reichelt's thoughts on diet, particularly milk and gluten, and mental illness to our readers for several years on our websites. So I have always been interested in studies that have investigated these positions. This study caught my eye.
The group was working under Reichelt’s theory that a metabolic disorder making it difficult to break down certain proteins might cause mental problems including ADHD.
All twenty-three children in the long-term study had symptoms of ADHD and had been shown to have abnormal levels of peptides in their urine. The children followed a strict casein-free diet a year, and 22 of the 23 children showed “clear improvements” in their behavior and attention span.
Not drinking cow’s milk is certainly a simple and safe intervention to try. And, as we like to say, if what you are doing works, don’t mess with it. But if it doesn’t work, try something else.
Learn more about our recommended Eating Program or ADHD Diet at http://newideas.net/adhd/adhd-diet or to read more about ATTEND with amino acids for a natural but effective treatment for ADHD at http://newideas.net/attend.