If you want to try to help your child manage ADHD symptoms through diet, it basically comes down to 2 things: trigger foods (those that make ADHD symptoms worse) and helping foods (those that can relieve/reduce symptoms). I am going to share with you the exact principles I use for managing my eight year old son’s ADHD drug free.
Our diet that we share here is not a “one size fits all” type of diet nor is it the Feingold diet or other popular diet programs. It’s not a list of foods to avoid. It’s the exact principes for the diet I created and formulated for my son. I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritional expert. After failing to get any type of help from the 6 doctors I spoke to about my son’s ADHD, I was a desperate mom searching for solutions.
Why Does This Diet Work for My Son?
After years of researching, reading, trial and error, multiple doctor visits, and frustration – I finally discovered that many of my son’s symptoms were due to allergies and digestive problems. I still do not have all of the answers, because I cannot get my son the proper medical care he deserves – every doctor we speak with is just too eager to write out prescriptions and not even discuss diet.
Because a lot of my son’s ADHD symptoms are due to digestive issues, diet works very well for us.
If you are not sure whether or not diet might be able to help you, you may want to read our article on Signs Your Child Could Benefit From an ADHD Diet. If your child’s ADHD symptoms are combined with digestive problems, malabsorption problems, or immune system problems, it is very likely that by treating these through diet can often drastically reduce the symptoms of ADHD.
This diet helps address the digestive problems based on some of the work I’ve researched on food allergies and irritable bowel syndrome.
Before You Start This ADHD Diet, make sure to check with a child’s doctor and pharmacist before stopping any medications! It can be very dangerous to just stop taking them. It takes a LOT of patience to wait for results and it is VERY difficult to get other people to comply with the diet rules.
Step 1: Identify Food Allergies
Gluten (found in wheat) and dairy (all milk based products) are found in most foods and are a very common food intolerance/allergy issue for many children. Many parents of children with autism find that a gluten and dairy free diet can help immensely. I did a 60 day elimination diet of milk and wheat for my son – I found that there was some difference with milk and how much he coughed at night, but none whatsoever with or without the gluten. He can eat all gluten and doesn’t get any stomach problems typically. There are many other foods to consider as potential allergens also: eggs, soy, legumes, and more. You can have your child tested for food allergies, but the tests are not always accurate.
Step 2: Take Probiotics
While my son was on the dairy and gluten free diet, I gave him dairy and gluten free probiotics. They were cheap at my local grocery store – I think I spent about $6 for a bottle of them. See this list of probiotic supplements for more details. Probiotics are good for helping getting your digestive system balanced back out.
Step 3: Go Organic and eliminate all pesticides and processed Foods
This has been the single most effective method for keeping my son’s symptoms manageable. Turns out that red food dye and apple juice cause the kid to go entirely haywire. See our article on ADHD and Pesticides for more information. It is not always easy to follow a completely organic and unprocessed diet (I have the cooking skills of a caveman, and so me making things from scratch is usually a recipe for disaster!). But it is well worth it in my opinion.
Feed Your Kid Foods That Promote Better Brain Function and Health:
Some of the foods I strongly recommend for kids: blueberries (good source of fiber and antioxidants), Pasture/Grass Fed Beef, Chicken and Egg products (higher ratio of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Ground Flax Seed in moderation (Omega 3 Fatty Acids), and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables (lots of vitamins and minerals). I do not recommend supplements for kids with ADHD unless you have your child tested for nutritional deficiencies and through the supervision of a doctor – need to be very careful of synthetic vitamins so it is best to just eat foods that contain the natural forms.
Getting your kids to eat healthy is a heck of a challenge, so you have to be inventive. For example, I made brownies and mixed in organic blueberries and spinach puree in it. I made smoothies out of coconut milk, strawberries, blueberries and spinach. My son never knew it was “healthy”. (Spinach by the way, has more calcium than milk and coconut milk contains easy to digest medium chain fatty acids.)
Step 5: Identify Other Problems
Does your child have trouble writing or opening packages? Have problems with eyesight or hearing or speech? While not related to diet usually, having your child screened for and treated for these issues can often help make ADHD symptoms less. For example, my son really struggled with writing, so his attention span was ZERO for language arts. We’ve been working with a physical therapist for this and finding it much easier to get work finished now. If a child has hearing problems, it might be harder for you to get him to communicate or listen to directions.
An Example of Foods To Eat
This is just a sample list of foods you can eat on this diet. There are many more, it really just depends on your child’s tastes and preferences.
Breakfast: Eggs (omit if allergic or doing elimination diet) or Oatmeal flavored with REAL maple syrup or organic applesauce and cinnamon or my smoothie recipes.
Lunch: Chicken Nuggets (these can be found organic and/or gluten free), Rice Cake Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Carrots, Strawberries, Oranges, My Healthy Brownies
Dinner: Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Meatloaf (usually mixed in pureed vegetables with this), Peas and Corn – Chili is also a good food.
Snacks: Popcorn, cookies made with veggies, Pretzels, Fruit, Homemade Granola Bars & Trail Mix
Yes, you will have to do some sneaky cooking for awhile until your child is willing to start trying new foods. Yes, it is really hard to convince people such as grandparents or schools that they need to not give your child garbage to eat. Yes, other people will think you are insane when you flip out on them for giving your child foods that are considered “normal” (ie: apple juice or candy). Yes, you will have a few fights with your kids about what they are allowed to eat and what they are not allowed to eat. Yes, you will likely stray off this diet more than once or twice.
Even if following these diet guidelines, it may take 30-60 days for noticeable improvement. Your child’s body needs to detoxify and start getting the nutrients it needs, and sometimes it takes awhile depending on the age of your child. Some children may not see any improvement from this diet – it really depends on whether or not their ADHD symptoms are due to nutrition/digestive issues. After doing an elimination diet, if you see no difference whether your child eats a certain food or not, then you can allow it back into their diet. Most foods during an elimination diet should be avoided at least 7 days.
This diet does not substitute medical or professional advice. It is not created by anyone with any type of formal medical training, I am not even sure I passed biology in high school. All I know, is that after years of everything, this is what finally worked for us. I hope it will help someone else perhaps maybe be able to have a happy healthy kid.
Resources:
Dr. Dahlman’s Diet: This ebook is free, and geared mostly towards treating IBS. But because I personally think that ADHD may be related to digestive disorders, there are some interesting things to read in here. It’s not going to treat your child directly for ADHD, but it will help you understand the role of probiotics and good digestive health.
Gluten Free Dairy Free Diet: This site has plenty of free information about doing a gluten and dairy free diet for children.
Free Info For Leaky Gut Syndrome: Goes into some of the science behind leaky gut syndrome.
I will add more resources for this diet as I have time – if you have any questions feel free to ask them or share your experiences with diet in the comments below.
