Simply Home Remedies

Natural Remedies for ADD & ADHD Part 1…Diet

by Marye Audet on August 19th, 2008

A lot of people do not believe that I have ADD and several of my kids do too. In fact, I am actually pretty messed up but when I was a kid you didn’t have the luxury of a disease or a syndrome…you just got popped. Marc is still left handed despite years of the nuns in parochial school smacking his knuckles with a ruler.

He is just that rebellious.

Anyway. I have touch sensitivity, some symptoms of high level autism, AND ADD. I should probably add, for Gayla’s sake, that I have also never been escorted off a plane. I once jumped off one, mid-flight, but that was my doing, not the airlines.

As a kid, and a perfectionist and not wanting to be in trouble I learned to compensate for some of my issues and how to handle others in ways that made them not-so-noticeable.

I am saying this so that you, the reader, will understand that I am not just writing this stuff down…I have lived it, worked with it, and overcome it. I do not have one child that will not sit through a church service, no matter how old-school boring they might think the speaker is. I don’t not have one child that can’t be taken to a store, a hospital room, or a restaurant.

So, even with the ADD/ADHD/Touch sensitivity issues we are doing something right.

I am doing this in several parts because there is just too much to write in one post…stick with me guys..I think you will be glad you did..even if you get mad at me once or twice. I have beenknown to have a not-so-politically-correct opinion now and then.

There are herbs that will help with these issues but before we get to that lets look at some simple things in your life that can be changed and ultimately make a huge difference.

Diet: This is probably the biggest and most effective change that you can make. Why? Because kids with ADD/ADHD have a high incidence of food allergy, chemical sensitivity, and vitamin deficiency. And what do I see most kids with really bad, uncontrolled ADHD eating? Fast food, white flour, sugar, chemicals out the wazoo.

Yep, it is a total pain in the butt to make foods from scratch, use whole grains and buy organic. Yep, it costs more, and ritalin is cheaper because your insurance pays for part of it. Unfortunately ritalin is a chemical that does your kid’s body no good at all. Please do the research on the dangers of ritalin.

Here are the things to watch out for:

1. Additives & Preservatives…if you can’t pronounce it don’t eat it….Unless its French.
2. Artificial colors and dyes….The worst is Red#40 but any dye can do it. Kids eat alot of this stuff…Koolaid, cokes, some fruit juices! Commercial cherry pies, food coloring….the list is long.
3. Wheat, Diary, Corn, nut allergies can all play a role. You can try eliminating one of these for a period of time and then adding it back in to see if it makes a difference.
4. Sugar in any form, fruit juice, etc. Most kids can tolerate some fruit as long as they are not eating the “pure white stuff”….
5. Stay away from artificial sweeteners; stevia is a good alternative when you know how to use it…and I will tell you how.
6. Chemicals from pesticide residue, antibiotics in the meat you eat etc.

Those are the basics and then there are ways to fine tune it. Some of the things that ADD/ADHD kids are deficient in are magnesium and fatty acids. How does this play out in a day? Check out this menu as an example, everything is assumed organic/free range AND assumes no food sensitivities:

breakfast

Eggs

whole wheat toast with butter (real please)

1/2 a banana or a whole one if your child can handle the sugar

whole milk not skim

1 magnesium tablet

good quality multivitamin

Snack

Cheese

whole grain crackers

Lunch

Peanut butter with dried fruit spread (no sugar, just heat dried fruit with water to cover and then run through the blender) on whole grain bread.

carrot sticks

popcorn (not the little microwave bags ….they have chemicals)

2 homemade cookies (you can make these with sugar, if they aren’t eating it elsewhere a little at meal time is not a problem, more than likely)

milk or herbal tea, (my kids like tea)

Snack

peanut butter and celery

Dinner

Grilled chicken

Brown rice

Salad

Broccoli

whole grain rolls

Homemade dessert of some sort

2 magnesium tabs

Lots of pure water. LOTS. This should be the main refreshment.

If your child wakes up with nausea, cranky, shakey, or is showing other signs of blood sugar issues add to the above diet:

1 oz of cheese (1 cube) or other protein before bed. AND 1 oz of cheese (or a coupleof whole grain peanut butter crackers) when you wake them up. BEFORE they get out of bed.

This is very basic…there is so much more to it than this..but it is a guide. There is more information at ADHD Diet. Please note that I disagree about milk. We drink raw goat’s milk, and we don’t have trouble with organic cows milk as long as it is whole and not skimmed. If you cannot access healthy milk then I agree it is better to find a substitute…but please…stay away from the SOY milk no matter who you are even if you are perfectly healthy. Soy is bad…bad…bad.

By diet alone many kids ADHD will come in check. If not, there are lifestyle changes you can make…

next time!

Image:Morguefile

enhanced by Marye Audet

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POSTED IN: Diet, Kids