Diet Therapy for ADHD Children

Many parents have found that an ADHD diet has been the best place to begin treating behavior and concentration problems in their children. Because the proper diet can actually make a child feel better and be more alert, more and more families are turning to this type of treatment before considering medication.

Do you pay attention to what your child likes to eat? To drink? An ADHD child is frequently very sensitive to what goes into his body. Parents around the world can attest to the fact that hyperactivity in children is related to their diet.

The connection between ADHD and diet is huge. Does your child become more active after having carbonated drinks or chocolate or sugary desserts? If yes, then you have come to the right place!

Certain foods will make your child more hyperactive, making the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder more difficult to deal with. However, many parents are not aware that a diet for ADHD children needs to have more thought put into it than is necessary for most children. Dealing with a child's diet is one of the most important aspects of managing this disorder.

Planning a menu for ADHD children takes extra effort. Unfortunately, it is often the case that parents of a child with this disorder are overwhelmed by their situation and may not have the resources and skills to help. This combination of lack of parenting skills and poor diet can lead to major problems.

Many parents ask me, is there a recommended diet for hyperactive children? Is there a list of foods for the ADHD child? Yes there is a special diet for ADHD children and making use of it can often eliminate the need for medication.

It is essential to think in terms of ADHD recipes when preparing meals for your children. Even children who are not experiencing ADHD symptoms will benefit. In this article, I will tell you a few key points to consider while preparing food for the ADHD child.

Here's a list of foods to help you get started.

Foods to Avoid for ADHD

Diet therapy for ADHD children must include avoiding certain foods as well as eating more of a wide range of healthy foods. Because of the connection between diet and ADHD, there are many types of foods that should be avoided. Here are the basics:

1. Don't give your child processed food. Avoid additives, preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavors. Many ADHD children are hypersensitive and react to one or all of these.

One family's first experience with this was when they gave their son a prescription antibiotic that contained red dye #40. Within a few minutes his behavior became bazaar and uncontrollable. He was out of control for the next 2 hours. After this same scenario happened with the second dose, they had to obtain a prescription for a different antibiotic.

2. Avoid dairy products. Stop giving him milk for at least 2 weeks. Stop cheese, cream and yogurt.

3. Stop his soft drink intake. Avoiding colas, ice teas, and carbonated drink in any form helps a very high percentage of children with hyperactivity and concentration problems.

4. No fruit juices. Surprising as it is, this is an important food to avoid for ADHD children. Due to the amount of natural sugar in fruit juice, they can created problems for many children, especially children dealing with ADHD.

5. Eliminate junk food from your child's diet. These types of processed foods have the ability to raise blood glucose levels making the situation worse.

6. Cut their sugar intake as much as possible. No candies, no chocolates, no desserts, no ice creams. Ice cream is especially problematic due to the combination of dairy and sugar. Many children have sleeping difficulties after eating ice cream before bed, which often intensifies ADHD symptoms.

7. Avoid processed meats. Fresh, natural meats are best. Stay with organic whenever possible.

8. Deep fried foods can also cause problems. Avoid foods like fried chicken.

9. Between meal snacks should be only healthy foods and kept to a minimum. Most ADHD children don't have much of an appetite to begin with, and snacking will reduce the likelihood that they will eat the healthy meals for ADHD that you have planned.

Diet Guidelines for ADHD

1. ADHD diet therapy should include an organic diet. Certified organic products are foods which are grown without the use of potentially harmful long-lasting pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Since organic foods are also grown without genetically processed seeds, sewage sludge or irradiation, some people feel that this is a more wholesome choice. This avoids many of the unknown substances that your child's overly sensitive body may have problems with.

2. Every child needs plenty of water. The brain is made up of 85-90% water. It will help him a lot!! Don't overlook this. It really is critical.

3. Provide raw fruits and vegetables. A lot of them.

4. Provide a good choice of homemade food. Use a variety of recipes that he won’t get bored with.

5. Give your child multivitamins and protein supplements.

6. An ADHD child diet should provide rich sources of Omega-3 fatty acids. These are found in flax seed and fish. Fish oil supplements are also recommended as an easy way to keep these essential fatty acids in your child's system.

7. Consider some of the natural herbal and homeopathic supplements that have been proven to help with ADD and ADHD. I encourage you to visit the Native Remedies website to learn about these safe and natural products.

Many children have had their behavior and performance in school quickly turn around by using these formulas.

The connection between ADHD and diet is critical. Always remember to praise your child for being willing to eat healthy foods. Being aware of the foods to avoid for ADHD is not easy for a child. It is difficult for him to let go of many of the foods that cause ADHD behavior. Remember to reward him whenever possible.

Keep in mind that a diet for ADHD kids is a powerful tool to use for reducing hyperactive behavior. Many disorders that accompany ADHD can be totally eliminated with the proper ADHD diet therapy. More

More than ADHD child diet therapy on the Natural Treatment for ADHD page

You may also be interested in:
Parenting an ADHD child.
Food allergies and ADHD behavior.
Nutrition for ADHD Children.

Try some of these websites for ADHD recipes and food tips.
• www.add-adhd-help-center.com/adhd_diet.htm
• www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=112
• www.phosadd.com/recipes/recipes.htm