Foods/Supplements that held ADHD symptoms

[carelli]

Been reading a lot about foods that irritate ADHD and help with the symptoms.  Also have been seeing a lot of postings about supplements/vitamins to use to help control ADHD symptoms.  My son is 6 and has ADHD.  

Anyone out there with successful foods/supplements/vitamins that help?  Thoughts?

[margypops]

All children especially those with a learning difficulty have been shown to benefit from a Multiple vitamin-mineral supplement with  B Complex and Vit C it has also been shown to have the same efficacy as Ritalin , fish oil has been shown to be helpful,this is not a generalisation . you can find much information about the misuse of drugs for children for ADD and ADHD if you google .Correcting their diet will help a lot as centwiz has posted above ..Good Luck  

[allmymarbles]

I notice that children who are on a heavy sugar diet - soft drinks, candy, desserts, starchy snacks, fruit drinks instead of fruit, etc. -  are hyperactive and irritable. If your son is taking in too much sugar, I would gradually wean him off the stuff. I doubt very much that child psychologists ever investigate a child's diet. They only evaluate what they see.

My children only had sweets on the weekend. "Saturday Treat" was a small amount of candy. "Sunday Junk" was one glass of soda and a piece of gum. If there were any desserts during the week, it would be something like custard or rice pudding. But usually dessert was fruit. Occasionally I would make a pie or a cake (without yucky icing). And occasionally father might bring home a box of chocolates. None of them developed a craving for sweets.

[April2]

You mentioned some foods that have good fats that we all need, like avocados. I've heard that fish oil and flax seed oil help a lot with ADHD and ADD symptoms. They think it might be because these good fats nourish our brains. Our brains needs fat. It's certainly something to think about! I do believe food plays a huge role in a lot of our ailments and sicknesses. I think more study should be put in this area.

[1centwiz]

Just saw your post and I agree with the avocado's. Been eating at least one every day and I'm much more focused. It's the omega 3 oils in them I think... Also, for the last two months I've been as gluten free as possible. I thought at first I was allergic as my stomach was having issues with everything. But the allergy tests showed up negative for gluten/wheat and milk. However, I don't do well on milk either. I've found Lactaid milk that I can handle though and I use that for cereal and cooking. I've never been much of a milk person, including Ice cream because my stomach always got upset. But now that I know I'm not allergic to it, why does it still give me cramps and stuff when I eat Ice Cream? I don't know... it's pretty frustrating.
But I agree that Iron plays a big thing as well with my ADHD... Aunt Flo just came for her visit and with eating the avocado's I didn't have as much PMS, but I'm really fatigued and low energy. So I've got beets in the fridge to have with dinner tonight. I've also added spinach to my eggs in the morning. Funny thing is, with eggs, cheese, avocado's in the morning, I'm good as gold. The last few days because of the fatigue I haven't been eating properly and not much in the mornings either...
I also found a liquid vitamin that I take in the mornings with lime juice that I got from Costco. I think it's called LIquid Max Vitamins.... I did this sort of thing with liquid vitamins in my 30's and after I was well again I stopped. It's taken me now 10 years to figure out that I probably never should have stopped... ha ha...
Anyway, I'd work on certain foods... Spinach and Popeye the Sailor man, Mighty Mouse and cheese, etc. I did this with a little boy I was a nanny to, his parents didn't believe he was ADHD, but when you are one you recognize the others of the same club... Funny thing was, I could read his mind or so he thought... hee hee... I was just as devious when I was his age was all... plus I could guess pretty good what he was going to do by watching his body language... it sorta freaked him out, but it also kept him in line... we really like boundaries for some reason and when we don't have any, then we tend to get a bit wild...
The color red always got me running up the walls... although it was probably the sugar too because I'd crash within an hour or so...
Best of luck and let me know how it all turns out for you.
Cheers, Tamra

[allmymarbles]

You comment and discussion of diet makes me wonder if ADD isn't often a misdiagnosis. Allergies can certainly put you out of sorts. And the condition is not always visible. I had an allergy to citrus, The only symptoms were a feeling of internal swelling (they suggested I see a shrink, which I didn't, fortunately) and a general malaise. It was years before I accidentally discovered the allergy.

[tschock]

This is going to sound a little funny perhaps but...
I have ADD and during my last pregnancy my husband said that for some reason I seemed "different" in a good way. I had actually started to organize things!
This may sound funny to some,but for all of us it was a really big deal. I put things such as tape,scissors,pens,etc into their own little drawers in the desk...instead of piling them up on counters or where-ever it is that I "normally" put things.lol
My whole family was in awe. They asked me several times if I was alright,or if I had started taking pills for it.lol
The ONLY things that I did differently were:
I had started craving avacado on 'everything' bagels.
I continued to eat them throughout the entire pregnancy. 1 avacado on an everything bagel every morning.
About a month after the baby was born I lost my urge to eat them...since then things have gone back to "normal" clutter mode...
I'm not sure if it was the food I was eating but...I had read somewhere later that avacado,poppy seeds,onions,etc were some of the good foods for ADD/ADHD...who knows?
I have realized though which foods make me have worse days.
For me it's anything with gluten,dairy (except cheese and yoghurt) coffee,sugars of any kind,and not eating at all.
Perhaps the vitamins I took during pregnancy had a role in all of this. I had added more iron and folic acid into my diet. Maybe something in those Pregvit vitamins? They contain none of the fillers that other vitamins have...such as the gluten. They were also the only vitamins I've ever been able to take during pregnancy that didn't make me vomit. No smell to them at all.
I wonder if the pharmacist could find something like them for your son. These prenatal vitamins are Kosher and Halal...might have something to do with it?

If you are able,I would try adding and eliminating things to your son's diet.
Start as you would with a baby,except take things out of his diet. If he eats alot of flour laden products such as bread,crackers,kraft dinner,etc. try eliminating those for a few days to a week. Make notes to see if you notice any changes. Then the following week give him lots of those products that you did away with. Again take notes.
After awhile you should be able to notice differences...hopefully.
This seems to help catch any allergies anyway...that's how they determined that my son didn't have ADHD but rather he was having allergic reactions.
My 3rd oldest son can't have blue food coloring...climbs the walls. This includes purple colors as well...things such as popsicles,and even chewable vitamins etc.
My oldest son is allergic to milk...no,he isn't lactose intolerant...he's allergic. He gets very nasty when he has milk products and his under eye area turns purple.
He's 21 now and he knows better than to come around me when he's on the milk.lol
Hope this helps.