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Home » Family Matters » Parenting » More ADHD and Food

More ADHD and Food

Last week, I wrote about the natural treatment of ADHD through diet. Today, I would like to talk (well, actually write) about a research done by Dr Feingold, an allergy specialist who found in the mid 70’s that 30-50% of hyperactive kids improved when they switched to a diet free of artificial colors, artificial flavors and a group of substances called “Salicylates”, which occur naturally in many fruits.

According to Dr Feingold, Salicylates are the material from which Aspirin is made and some derivative of it was found in high dosage in kids with Autism and other communication disorders and to a lesser extent in the urine of kids suffering from ADHD.

CoffeeThese compounds are normally controlled by a certain enzyme in the body, but this enzyme was found to be missing or defective in 50% of the Autistic children who participated in the research.

Dr Feingold claims ADHD is probably an allergic reaction to some food substance. If the source of the allergy is removed from the kids’ diet, there should be an improvement in their behavior.

The main idea is that kids with ADHD do not do things to annoy the adults in their life. They have a certain deficiency or a chemical malfunction that causes them to behave the way they do.

While most of the research done on ADHD points out unhealthy food as a cause (artificial colors, sweeteners, flavors and junk food), Dr Feingold also found that even natural and healthy food items, like fruit, can cause difficulties for kids with unusual enzymes and chemical makeup.

Foods for ADHD kids to avoid

Here is a list of food containing Salicylates that was found to be very helpful to kids with ADHD. Please bear in mind these foods are not considered unhealthy. They only contain a substance that cannot be digested properly by specific kids:

  1. RspberryApples
  2. Apricots
  3. Berries
  4. Cherries
  5. Cherry Bark
  6. Cloves
  7. Coffee
  8. Cucumbers and pickles
  9. Currant
  10. Eggplant
  11. Grapes
  12. Mint and mint flavoring
  13. Nectarines
  14. Oranges
  15. Peaches
  16. Peppers (red and chili)
  17. Plums
  18. Potatoes
  19. Prunes
  20. TomatoRaisins
  21. Tangerines
  22. Tea
  23. Tomatoes
  24. Willow bark
  25. Wintergreen and oil of wintergreen

Eliminate Salicylates from your kids’ diet

The best thing you can do for your own child is test whether or not the theory applies to him or her specifically. Here are some tips:

  1. To make life simpler, start by erasing food items you do not eat at all from this list above. For instance, take off fruit that you cannot get in the current season.
  2. Have a plan for two weeks without these foods. To have a positive focus, make a list of all the foods you can eat and follow it.
  3. Make a record of behaviors and food eaten every day to find out what made the difference. The hardest thing is to be able to make the connection between the sources of a problem to the problem. If your kids have a severe allergy, you will Eggplantssee it immediately – hard to breath, swollen face, etc – but most allergens accumulate and you see their effects only hours or days later. Make a list of all the things your kids eat throughout the experiment.
  4. Visit www.feingold.org to learn more about how allergies affect ADHD (and various other things) and how you can make things better just by changing your diet.
  5. Use the techniques I described last week in ADHD and Food.

Bear in mind that some of the most common allergies which can increase the condition are: wheat, eggs, milk, chocolate, corn and soybeans. Personally, I would find it easier to start with them.

Good luck! Remember that if you find a natural way to help your ADHD kid, it is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Happy parenting,
Ronit

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February 19, 2009 by Ronit Baras In: Health / Wellbeing, Parenting Tags: attention deficit / add / adhd, behavior / discipline, diet, food, health / wellbeing, how to, hyperactive, special education

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Comments

  1. Deeper Voice says

    July 23, 2009 at 2:28 AM

    Thanks very much. Bookmarked!
    Now your blog is rssed by me,,,,

    Reply
  2. Ronit Baras says

    May 1, 2009 at 9:37 PM

    Hi Therissa,

    I hope you are able to use this information.

    Ronit
    Family Matters

    Reply
  3. Therissa says

    May 1, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    thanks for this information, I did not know this

    Reply
  4. Ronit Baras says

    March 16, 2009 at 11:08 AM

    You are welcome!
    Come again!

    Ronit
    Family Matters

    Reply
  5. Pizza Recipes says

    March 7, 2009 at 4:50 PM

    Useful stuff. Thanks very much. Bookmarked!

    Reply
    • Ronit Baras says

      July 28, 2009 at 11:19 AM

      HI Pizza Recipe,

      Thank you.
      I hope you will find more interesting things in this blog.

      Happy day
      Ronit

      The Motivational Speaker

      Reply

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