Getting your child to give up favorite foods for an ADHD diet is tricky, and the holiday season might make it more difficult.  The last few weeks of the year will be filled with dinner parties, family reunions, and other types of gatherings centered on food.  Your child might feel left out when cousins enjoy forbidden holiday treats, and relatives won’t understand why he or she can’t have just one tiny cookie.  It may not be a good idea to take a break from your child’s diet and start from scratch after a few weeks, but here are some tips that will make eating a fun occasion for your child during the holidays.

Host the party

Offer to host this year’s holiday dinner party or family gathering.  This way, you can make sure that all dishes being served is allowed by your child’s diet, be it the Feingold diet or the gluten-free casein-free diet. If your house cannot accommodate all your guests, offer to prepare the food for the party instead.

Look for alternatives to forbidden ingredients

The holidays won’t be as magical for a child without a steaming mug of hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, or candy cane.  The problem is that these foods are normally eliminated in most ADHD diets.  However, you can easily give your child some holiday treats if you can find additive-free, gluten-free, or casein-free alternatives to these unwanted ingredients.  Gluten-free casein-free cookbooks are easily available in all bookstores, but you can also find useful recipes when you search online.

Consider a desensitization treatment

If you do not have time to host parties or prepare holiday feasts, consider a desensitization treatment to make your child less sensitive to food allergens. Look for chiropractors or doctors who specialize in enzyme therapy, food allergy elimination, or organ-specific detoxification. A caveat: these techniques won’t work overnight; it may take several months before you see any noticeable results.

Ask for support

Support from family and friends can make it easier for your child to stick to a diet but it’s likely that your relatives don’t understand why your child can’t just take a pill. When planning the holiday festivities, take time to educate them on the logic behind your child’s diet – certain food substances or ingredients influence brain activity and trigger hyperactive behavior, aggression, or inattention.

Last week, I talked about how the number of children diagnosed with ADHD has skyrocketed over the last few years, and posited some possible explanations for this phenomenon.  While some might argue that ADHD awareness and overeager doctors contributed to this increase, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds that diet and lifestyle parallels the high rate of childhood ADHD cases today.

This study, which was done by researchers from University of Rochester Medical Center, looked at 201 children and adolescents between the ages 10 and 18.  All children were referred the URMC’s Children’s Hospital hypertension clinic, and it was found that 101 had sustained high blood pressure or hypertension.  We’re all familiar with how hypertension increases the risk of heart disease among adults but in young children, high blood pressure has a stronger impact on their mental development and functioning.  Not surprisingly, 28% of the 101 children were found to have ADHD and learning disabilities.

Children with ADHD used to be excluded from studies like this because the medications they take may increase blood pressure. However, the researchers included ADHD children this time because they wanted to see if high blood pressure impaired their mental functioning. What’s interesting is that when ADHD was removed from the picture, hypertension was still related to a higher rate of learning disabilities in children.  This suggests that high blood pressure may contribute to mental development problems among children.

Hypertension in infants is usually caused by problems with the kidneys or heart, or premature birth. With proper management, blood pressure normalizes during early childhood. However, at least 3% of children today have high blood pressure, and many of these cases are not due to birth complications.  Many adolescents and teens with hypertension do not have other health problems, but they do have a family history of hypertension and live an unhealthy lifestyle characterized by excess weight, bad diet, lack of physical activity, and stress.

Fortunately, it’s not difficult to prevent hypertension in children, even if the child has a family history of the condition. These preventative measures are also often used as natural ADHD treatments:

• Regular exercise not only keeps ADHD symptoms at bay; it strengthens the blood vessels and helps control weight.  Though organized sports is the most common way to get regular exercise, unstructured activity like running, biking, or skating also works for kids with ADHD.
• Avoid high-fat and high-sodium foods – the two culprits behind high blood pressure. Give your child healthy meals with low-fat products, fruits, vegetables, and fish.
• Supplement meals with omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish oil. For ADHD kids with hypertension, omega-3 fats serve a double purpose – it reduces ADHD symptoms by forming the structure of the neuron membranes and facilitating neurotransmitter communication, and it prevents hypertension by keeping blood vessels supple.
• Get a regular check-up. A child’s blood pressure naturally increases with age, and a doctor can tell if your child’s blood pressure is normal for his or her age, height, and weight.

It’s quite shocking to see how eating the wrong food has such a profound effect on a child’s personality, outlook, and behavior. It’s just as amazing to know that getting rid of the allergenic substance was enough to turn a screaming, flailing child into a calm, peaceful one.

There are two ways to find out if your child’s ADHD symptoms are caused by allergies. The first is through a specialized allergy testing, which is only available among alternative medical practitioners. However, these tests have a serious limitation – although they can confirm any brain-based allergic reactions, they cannot identify exactly what food or substance your child is allergic to. The best way to go about doing this is to go on the allergy diet proposed by Dr. Rapp, also known as the rotation diet. It might be difficult to get used to the rhythm of a rotation diet at first, but you can stop it as soon as you have identified the food your child is allergic to. Start by rotating wheat products and dairy products as these contain gluten and casein, two proteins that are notorious for their impact on behavior and brain activity.

If your child is anything like the children you’ve seen in the video, and if nothing you have done made a difference in your child’s behavior, try to pick up a copy of Dr. Rapp’s book “Is This Your Child?”. This 600-page book is one of the comprehensive resources on allergies, ADHD, and other realistic solutions that will get rid of your child’s problematic behavior.

In our Article Library, you’ll find several discussions on various nutritional interventions for ADHD. Although vitamin C is known more for its immune-boosting and antioxidant properties, some studies suggest that it may play an important role in managing hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Before you get excited and start buying vitamin C supplements, take note that vitamin C works more as a secondary treatment that boosts the efficacy of supplements and dietary methods; in other words, it should not be used as a single, stand-alone treatment. Although some of its speculative benefits still need to be confirmed by further studies, it seems like maintaining or increasing vitamin C levels can reduce ADHD symptoms in five ways:

Protects omega-3 fatty acids from oxidation

Omega-3 fatty acid supplements containing DHA and EPA are known to improve brain function among individuals with ADHD. However, one of the main problems of supplementing with fatty acids is that they are prone to oxidation after the slightest exposure to sun, air, or light. Oxidation basically means that the fatty acids break down, go rancid, and no longer contain their nutritional benefits. A natural antioxidant can prevent this problem, but vitamin C is actually not the best choice where fatty acids are concerned. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, which means it has limited effects on a less water soluble substance like omega-3 fats. However, it does boost the levels of other important antioxidants like glutathione and vitamin E, which are better equipped to protect omega-3 fats from oxidation. It’s also important to note that vitamins C and E work very well as an anti-oxidant team.

Neuroprotective properties

Did you know that the brain’s nerve endings have the second highest concentration of vitamin C in the body? (The first is the adrenal glands.) New research shows that vitamin C performs a strong protective role in the brain, especially when used with vitamin D. It protects against a specific type of oxidative damage called ischemia, which causes reduced blood supply to the brain. This is important to children with ADHD because ischemia is actually one of the lesser known causes of ADHD, especially during a child’s early years. Ischemia can interfere with the dopamine receptors in the brain, causing symptoms like poor attention span and slow reaction time.

Neutralizes the effects of lead

Current research shows that ADHD-like behaviors and symptoms may be connected to increased lead levels. Vitamin C can reduce lead’s negative effects on memory and learning, especially when used together with zinc, methionine, taurine, and glycene.

Improves absorption of minerals

Deficiencies in zinc, iron, and magnesium are just some of the nutrition-related triggers of ADHD. Researchers hypothesize that vitamin C’s ability to fight off the effects of lead has to do with the way it increases iron absorption, especially if iron is deficient. Take note that vitamin C can possibly work as a pro-oxidant if found at low levels in the body; in higher levels, it has an anti-oxidant effect.

Regulate blood sugar levels

Some research suggests that children with ADHD have low glucose metabolism in certain regions, especially those that control attention and movement. This effect seems to be more pronounced among girls and women. Although vitamin C’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels is more theoretical at this point, some diabetics already use vitamin C to help treat their condition.

Getting your kids started on a gluten-free casein-free diet (GFCF) or the Feingold Diet can be difficult. After all, these diets forbid children from eating candy, cookies, pizza, and other foods they love. ADHD diets make cooking and doing the groceries difficult for parents too; gone are the days when you can just buy bags of potato chips or whip up a plate of pasta to ease your children’s hunger pangs. But you don’t have to come up with gourmet dishes to cook for ADHD kids, and implementing an ADHD diet does not mean restricting your children to bland, uninteresting food while their friends feast on tasty morsels. With the help of these ADHD cookbooks, your kids can eat delicious, nutritious meals without becoming uncontrollably hyperactive and inattentive after.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet

This book is an excellent primer for parents who are new to the gluten-free casein-free diet. Not only do the pages contain kid-friendly recipes without milk or wheat, but the authors also explain how and why the diet works. The ingredients used in the recipes are also explained, along with tips on how to find them.

The Autism & ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and Other Interventions

Yet another useful guide for parents who are unfamiliar with the GFCF diet. This book also contains advice on where to buy GFCF foods, tips on avoiding cross-contamination, understanding ingredients labels, and how to make the GFCF diet work for your child and your family.

The Low-Carb Cookbook: The Complete Guide to the Healthy Low Carbohydrate Lifestyle

If your child is on the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, then this book is for you. The Low-Carb Cookbook contains 250 delicious recipes your child will love, including appetizers, side dishes, sauces, and desserts. Although it wasn’t designed for ADHD kids per se, this book also contains advice on how to make healthy food preparations (e.g. the importance of buying organic meats when possible) so your child will stay well-nourished while enjoying these tasty dishes.

The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children

The Feingold Diet is one of the first ADHD diets ever created, and The Feingold Cookbook will give you a broader understanding on how artificial additives cause behavioral problems in childhood. Although it seems fairly easy to avoid foods with artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives, this book contains up-to-date information on forbidden foods, as well as recipes for meals free from additives and salicylates.

Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

The specific carbohydrate diet is one of the trickiest and most restrictive ADHD diets. However, avoiding grains, lactose, and sucrose is critical to kids whose digestive problems aggravate their symptoms. This cookbook provides a delicious and diverse collection of SCD-friendly recipes, 80 of which are dairy-free. All the recipes are easy to make and include many culturally-diverse foods like hazelnut vanilla pancakes, gingerbread cookies, and chicken satay.

Special Diet Solutions: Healthy Cooking Without Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Yeast, or Refined Sugar

This cookbook will allow your kids to enjoy the foods they can’t eat, minus the harmful allergens that aggravate their symptoms. Special Diet Solutions contains a critically acclaimed gluten-free pizza recipe, as well as recipes for condiments, salad dressings, and desserts. Ideal for kids who have many food intolerances or who are on the GFCF diet.

Bake Deliciously! Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook

Your kids probably feel frustrated about being denied cookies, cakes, and sweets because of their ADHD diet. Why not surprise them with a recipe from Bake Deliciously? From apple pie to cheese crackers, this useful cookbook allows you to transcend dietary limits and give your kids infinite food choices that they will love. Includes beautiful photographs, step-by-step instructions, and a list of alternative ingredient comparisons.

Mother Necessity Gluten Free/Casein Free Recipes

All the Mother Necessity recipes recreate childhood favorites without soy, gluten, casein, eggs, refined flour, or refined sugar. The ingredients used are also very basic, eliminating the need to buy hard-to-find specialty items.

Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat

Did you know that you can make bread, cookies, cakes, and pies using gluten-free coconut flour? Coconut flour has low carbohydrates, high fiber, and rich in protein. Learn how to use this important ingredient in Cooking with Coconut Flour, which contains a number of recipes for baked goods, desserts, even main dishes. The recipes in this book are also free of trans-fats, artificial sweeteners, and soy.

Gluten-Free Italian

What kid doesn’t love a plate of pasta or a slice of pizza? Unfortunately, most of Italy’s most popular dishes contain wheat flour, making them off-limits to anyone on a GFCF diet. Gluten-Free Italian allows kids to enjoy gluten-free Italian dishes that taste just like the ones made with wheat flour! Includes cooking tips, a shopping guide, and a list of grain and flour alternatives.

In the UnRitalin Solution, we place a lot of importance on diet and proper nutrition as a key to overcoming ADHD. Research shows that artificial additives and certain other food substances can aggravate the trademark symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and hyperactive behavior. These foods cause adverse reactions that impact the brain wave patterns in specific areas of the brain, which in turn triggers the ADHD-like symptoms.

Although very few researchers have looked into the actual mechanisms by which food allergies affect ADHD symptoms, a small study done in 1997 was able to document the phenomenon well. Researchers from Australia’s Institute for Child Health Research investigated the changes in brainwave patterns when participants with ADHD ate foods they were allergic too. The results are very telling and support the theory that an intolerance to certain foods are responsible for ADHD-like behaviors.

Before moving on to the study’s main points, it might help to have a brief discussion on how ADHD is traditionally diagnosed. Since the three hallmark symptoms of ADHD are also symptoms of other disorders, simply checking them off a list is not enough. One other widely-used diagnostic tool is called the Conner’s Rating Scale. This numerical scale is usually filled up by parents or teachers to provide an objective measure of the ADHD symptoms. The higher the numerical score, the more intense the ADHD symptom is. Using a certain cut-off point, the clinician can determine if a child qualifies for ADHD. Aside from that, the symptoms should have been present for over six months in at least two different environments. Although other professionals use different tests to make the diagnosis, the Conner’s Rating Scale plays an important role in screening ADHD from other behavioral disorders.

In the Australian study, twelve children with known mild to moderate food allergies had their brain wave activation patterns mapped by a Quantitative Electroencephalography (QEEG). You might want to read our article on the QEEG test to understand the differences in the ADHD mind’s brain wave patterns. The QEEG scan was done twice – once after five days of consuming the allergenic food, and once after two weeks of avoiding these foods. In addition, the children were made to take the Conner’s Rating Scale twice – once after eating the allergenic foods, another after the two week period of avoiding the allergenic foods.

Below is a table of the children’s Conner scores. In the version of the scale used by the study, the cut-off score for ADHD is 15.

As you can see, ten of the participants had scores above the threshold for ADHD once allergenic foods were introduced to their diets. It seems that consuming foods that provoke allergies is enough to cause ADHD-like symptoms when they weren’t there before. The researchers also noted that the most common allergenic foods among the children were wheat, milk, food colorings, and beet sugar.

Aside from that, the QEEG scans showed the changes in sixteen different brain regions after eating the allergenic foods and after avoiding the allergenic foods. To help you understand the results, below is a table of the brain wave types and activity levels.

Of all the brain waves, the researchers noted that the beta-1brainwave was most affected by the food allergies. The frequency changes were highly concentrated in the temporal and right frontal regions of the brain – the brain regions most associated with ADHD.

Although the population of the study is very small, the findings pose interesting questions as to how many cases of ADHD are actually caused by food intolerances and can be treated with the right ADHD diet. Of course, food allergies are just one potential cause of ADHD, but studies like this one lend credibility to the effectiveness of eliminating gluten, casein, and food additives from a diet.

Source

The study was carried out by British and Australian researchers at Northumbria University in Newcastle. The researchers recruited 81 children with an average age of 11 to participate in the randomised, double-blind placebo controlled study. The children were randomly assigned to daily multivitamin and mineral supplements or placebo for 12 weeks.

Laboratory assessments were used to measure the children’s cognitive performance; before the study, one and three hours after the first dose, and after 12 weeks.

On two tests of attention, results showed that the children in the vitamin/mineral group performed more accurately.

Lead researcher, David Kennedy wrote; “the most surprising facet of the improvement in attention task performance seen here is that it became evident by three hours post-dose on the first day”.

“To the best of our knowledge, the possibility that vitamins or minerals could exert behavioural effects after a single dose has not been explored.”

The researchers concluded, “the combination of vitamins, minerals and amino acids present … in the present study does not allow the results presented to be attributed to any one component. Further work in this area could examine the constituent parts of this treatment in more detail, perhaps focusing on attentional measures and including acute, as well as chronic, assessment”.