Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

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benzoic acid

sodium benzoate

sodium metabisulphite

sulphur dioxide

vanillin

Function

The ADHD diet works by providing the right type

and amount of fats needed for the brain and CNS as

well as providing sufficient amounts of iron and zinc

to avoid nutritional deficiencies that are known to be

associated with worsening ADHD symptoms. Nutri-

tional supplements should be taken upon the advice of

a Doctor or Dietitian and taken in addition to a

healthy, balanced diet. Dietary provision of antioxi-

dants are needed to protect the long-chained fats from

breakdown which would affect brain structure and

compromise signalling within the brain and CNS.

Finally, the ADHD diet excludes those synthetic

food additives that have been identified as having the

potential to adversely affect the behavior of ADHD,

and non-ADHD children alike.

Benefits

The key benefit of the ADHD diet is that it pro-

vides the correct types of foods needed to support the

nutritional requirements of both the brain and body.

It provides the nutrients needed to sustain good

growth and development in children, as well as general

health promotion for all, whilst excluding potential

antagonistic additives. The diet supports other treat-

ment strategies, including stimulant medication, and

so helps to improve the quality of life and educational

possibilities of those individuals affected.

Precautions

Detailed, personalized advice should always be

sought from a suitably qualified dietitian, especially

when dealing with children. Any nutritional supple-

ments should always be taken according to the manu-

facturers instructions and at the prescribed dosage. If

other medication is being taken then advice should be

sought from a doctor.

Risks

It has been reported that fish oil supplements

when taken along side stimulant medication can exac-

erbate hyperactive behavior in some ADHD individ-

uals. In these circumstances, the supplement should

continue to be taken and the dosage of the medication

be altered accordingly, under the supervision of a

Doctor.

Fish oil supplements can also reduce blood clot-

ting times and so should not be used if anti-coagulant

medication is already being taken.

There is no risk attached to the ADHD diet in

terms of foods chosen and the diet can be safely fol-

lowed by ADHD and non-ADHD individuals alike.

Research and general acceptance

Among the specialists working in this particular

field, there is a general consensus that ADHD is a

disorder that involves a functional deficiency of the

long-chained fats, EPA and DHA that frequently co-

exists with zinc and iron deficiencies. Among the wider

community there remains a great deal of scepticism

about ADHD and the role that diet has in its develop-

ment or management.

In terms of supplementation, insufficient data is

available to formulate a standardized treatment strat-

egy and it is unclear whether the micronutrient defi-

ciencies are a cause of, or secondary to, ADHD. Other

intervention studies have looked in to carnitine sup-

plementation andelimination dietsbut their findings

remain inconclusive.

It is certainly well accepted that there is still very

much more to be learned about ADHD and how

nutrients interact to either exacerbate or improve

ADHD-related symptoms. More research is planned

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR

DOCTOR

 Which nutritional supplements are

recommended for ADHD?

 What are the best food choices for ADHD?

 Which food additives should be avoided?

 What are the vegetarian sources of omega 3 fats?

ADHD diet