Are Suspect Foods Contributing to your Child’s ADHD?

If you could calm your ADD/ADHD child by eliminating certain foods from his or her diet, would you? A study from a few years ago by a team of Dutch scientists reports that restricting the range of foods you feed your child who suffers from ADD/ADHD can significantly improve their disruptive, restless, impulsive, or inattentive behaviors.

“Dietary intervention should be considered in all children with ADHD,” reports the study from The Lancet medical journal. The study also recommends that parents administer this “restricted elimination diet” for no longer than five weeks, with expert medical supervision.

To read the particulars of the study, click here.

So, what exactly is IN the foods that make ADHD symptoms flare?

According to this research as well as additional studies, artificial food colorings and the preservative sodium benzoate are the main culprits. Food manufacturers in the United Kingdom have voluntarily phased out these additives over the last several years. However, only recently are U.S. companies slowly beginning to follow suit, despite strong evidence of the harmful effects that occur as a result of artificial ingredients.

Some of the foods that researchers restricted from the children in the study included wheat, tomatoes, oranges, eggs, and dairy products. After five weeks on a limited diet in which the children ate rice, turkey, and other fruits and vegetables that are considered to be unlikely causes of allergies, 64 percent of these kids showed significant improvement in ADHD symptoms. Additionally, there was a “sharp decrease” in ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) behavior such as arguing and acting out against authority.

Since this study was published, evidence from similar studies around the world support these original findings. Says lead researcher Professor Jan Buitelaar, “We think dietary intervention should be considered in all children with ADHD.”

You can help your child manage ADHD/ADD without medication!

If you have a child with ADHD or ODD who is being medicated to control his or her symptoms, you need to consider Food Allergy Testing. AC Spine & Wellness Center offers this simple test right here in their clinic. Make an appointment today or call 770-513-8922 to find out more.