Do alternative ADHD treatments really work? Parents are finding that while they may not be a cure-all, non-medical treatments like diet changes are making a big difference in the behavior of their children with attention deficit disorder.
Lisa Vohra knows one thing for sure: If her eight-year-old daughter with ADHD, eats sweets — or, for that matter, any carbohydrates — protein has to be part of her attention-deficit diet.
"I've explained to Priya that she needs protein with carbs, so her blood sugar won't spike," says Vohra, a stay-at-home mom from Alexandria, Virginia. With the inevitable drop in blood sugar following a spike, "she becomes unfocused."
So instead of a breakfast bar (with 20-plus grams of sugar), Priya often starts the day with an egg. And lunch is frequently protein-rich leftovers from the previous evening's supper, with nuts or soy chips for an afternoon snack.
Vohra says that using protein to "buffer" Priya's carbohydrate intake has helped her daughter do better at school. In fact, Priya's classroom behavior improved so dramatically that her teacher asked if she had started taking medication. (She hasn't, because her neurologist worries that drug therapy will blunt her already-iffy appetite.)
Alternative ADHD treatments are gaining popularity, and protein buffering is one of several nutritional strategies employed by parents of children with ADD. Ask five parents of kids with ADD about dietary interventions that help their children, and you'll hear five different theories. Check with health experts about what sort of diet helps kids or adults with ADD, and you'll hear even more.
Poor eating habits do not cause ADD. And when it comes to controlling impulsivity, inattention, and other symptoms, there is no substitute for medication and behavioral therapy, which are clearly the most effective approaches. But recent research suggests a possible relationship between ADD and the foods one consumes. Read on to find out how to make your diet — or your family's — ADD-friendly.
Protein power
The brain makes a variety of chemical messengers, or neurotransmitters, to regulate wakefulness and sleep. Certain neurotransmitters, including dopamine and norepinephrine, boost alertness. Others, including serotonin, cause drowsiness. Studies by Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Richard Wurtman, Ph.D., and others have shown that dietary protein triggers the synthesis of alertness-inducing neurotransmitters, while dietary carbohydrates trigger the synthesis of neurotransmitters that cause drowsiness.
These findings lend credence to the popular belief that people with ADD fare better on a protein-rich breakfast and lunch. Yet many children, including some with ADD, aren't getting enough protein, says Faye Berger Mitchell, a registered dietitian in Bethesda, Maryland, whose own daughter has ADD. Child psychologist Vincent J. Monastra, Ph.D., head of an ADD clinic in Endicott, New York, agrees. He estimates that, of the 500 children a year he evaluates for ADD, less than 5 percent are ingesting the government-recommended amounts of protein at breakfast and lunch. In addition to boosting alertness, says Monastra, a protein-rich breakfast seems to reduce the likelihood that ADD medication will cause irritability or restlessness.
If your family's idea of breakfast is toast, sugary cereals, or doughnuts, don't panic. You don't have to gobble a plate of huevos rancheros or eggs and bacon to get enough protein. "We're not talking about a ton of food," says Monastra, author of Parenting Children with ADHD: 10 Lessons That Medicine Cannot Teach. Depending on their age, children need between 24 to 30 grams of protein a day. Adults need 45 to 70 grams. You can get seven grams in a cup of milk or soy milk, one egg, or an ounce of cheese or meat.
"I used to serve any cereal they wanted for breakfast," says Alice, a mother of four — three of whom have ADD — from Churchville, New York. "Now I keep buy them cereals that are lower in sugar, or Hot Pockets with scrambled eggs in them. And I have the kids drink milk."
The Feingold diet
In the 1970s, Benjamin Feingold, M.D., a pediatrician and allergist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco, began championing a specialized eating plan that he said could help alleviate symptoms of ADD. The Feingold diet forbids artificial food colors, flavorings, sweeteners, and preservatives, as well as salicylates, naturally occurring compounds found in some fruits and vegetables.
Studies failed to uphold Feingold's claims when he first made them, and most ADD experts still dismiss the Feingold diet as ineffective. Yet some recent research suggests that the Feingold diet may be beneficial to the 5 percent or so of children with ADD who seem to be sensitive to chemicals in food.
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This article comes from the August/September 2005 issue of ADDitude.
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