Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) show up in children in the form of inattention, difficulty focusing and impulsiveness and, in the case of ADHD, hyperactivity. In some cases, these conditions may be related to the child's diet. Parents often notice undesirable behavior after a child has consumed candy or sugary soda. If diet can trigger symptoms of ADD and ADHD, then logically, changes in the diet may produce remedies for those symptoms.
A Two-Week Trial
A healthy diet can benefit the whole family, not just the ADD/ADHD child. Start with a two-week trial that eliminates all junk food. Stay away from fast-food places. Eliminate dairy products, especially milk. Try to reduce the amount of sugar your child consumes. Even fruit juices contain too much sugar. Don't use sugar substitutes.
Many children are thought to be sensitive to food coloring, so check labels for blue, red or yellow food dye. These dyes occur in so many products, even toothpaste, that they are difficult to avoid, but if eliminating them helps alleviate your child's symptoms, your diligence is worth it.
Some children are even allergic to naturally colored yellow foods like corn and squash, so eliminate them, too.
Just so your child won't feel totally deprived, allow one small piece of chocolate as a treat once a week. Avoid all processed meats. Check the ingredients on packaged meats and if the product is full of chemicals, leave it alone.
After Two Weeks
Now try adding those foods back into your child's diet, one at a time. If one of the items produces an undesirable physical or behavioral reaction, chances are you have found the culprit. Drop that food and continue adding others, still one at a time.
Don't allow your child to skip breakfast. Be sure he gets up early enough to enjoy a calm and nutritious meal to start the day. Breakfast should not be cereal with sugar and milk but instead should concentrate on high-protein foods like eggs and low-carbohydrate choices.
Concentrate on vegetables and bring back fresh fruit into your child's diet. Eventually, your child's diet can include meat, poultry, fish and eggs; fresh and water-packed fruit; raw and cooked vegetables; whole wheat bread, pasta and rice; and milk substitutes, cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese, and sugar-free ice cream.
The Feingold Diet
The Feingold Program, originally developed for treating allergies, focuses on eliminating food additives such as artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners like Nutrasweet and artificial preservatives. The program encourages parents of children with ADD or ADHD to scrutinize labels in supermarkets before buying and to go to health food stores to look for coloring-free and chemical-free products that might not be available elsewhere.
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