A Diet to Treat ADHD-How to Begin

Many parents of recently diagnosed adhd children are amazed to find out that negative symptoms can be all but eliminated when a diet to treat ADHD is begun. Diet for children is crucial, and by limiting some artificial dyes and flavorings, and replacing them with healthy options, the symptoms of adhd can be drastically reduced.

Some of the simplest changes to make to the adhd diet for children are, frankly, the most difficult. Most convenience foods are loaded with preservatives and sugar, which do not make for an ideal diet for adhd. Though taking away junk food and adding fruits and vegetables may be tough at first, both you and your child will notice a difference right away.

Diet to treat ADHD: Some foods to avoid

The typical breakfast of cereal and milk is actually one of the worst parts of an adhd diet for children. Cereal usually contains lots of sugar and many children are allergic to milk.

Soft drinks: While drinking liquids is important (see ideal foods section below), there is really no substitute for pure water. Soft drinks, fruit juices, and other prepared drinks such as Gatorade all have loads of sugar and preservatives.

Fried foods: The fatty acids in most fried foods, especially at fast food restaurants (in fact, just avoid those altogether!) are very bad for anyone's health. If you do fry food, use a healthy fat such as olive oil or coconut oil.

Sugar: It's just not healthy and as any parent knows, a little sugar can have a kid acting hyper for hours, making his or her adhd symptoms much worse.

Chocolate: In addition to having a lot of sugar, chocolate also has over 200 other chemicals that can aggravate adhd symptoms. Try to limit chocolate to one piece a week.

Fish: While the omega oils in fish have been shown to be beneficial, rising levels of mercury in seafood are definitely not. Limit your child's fish intake, and compensate by taking omega oil supplements.

Food coloring: Studies have shown many children to be allergic or, at the least, affected by various food colorings. With a bit of testing, you can figure out which colors affect your child.

Some ideal foods in an adhd diet for children

Eggs
Breakfast meats
Toast
Protein shakes; mix with protein powder and your child's favorite fruit to make a smoothie.
Meals with beans, such as chili, bean soups etc.
7-10 glasses of water a day (Gatorade, fruit juices, and soda do not count!)
As many fruits and vegetables as you can manage. Kids do like them once they get in the habit, and fiber can help with digestive problems, as well.

Basically, the foods that a child needs to eat to limit symptoms of adhd can be found in old cookbooks such as Betty Crocker, classic Bells Best, and others made-from-scratch types of recipes.

These incorporate foods in their natural state, not prepackaged and loaded with preservatives. Without a doubt, preparing these foods as part of a diet to treat ADHD is not easy or convenient, but in the long run, both you and your child will be happier and healthier.

More than diet to treat adhd on our Help for ADHD Children page.