My older sister (the one whose family just absorbed me into their ranks; we're not biologically related) is doing her Nutrition class final project on "Nutrition for People with AD/HD and Autism." I was just wondering if anyone here has some information that could help?

We're looking for information on general nutrition as well as supplemental nutrition. Anecdotal information would be helpful too, as long as we have your permission to quote you if need be! I know at least one of the areas we wanted to look at more in depth is animal protein versus vegetable protein, especially in light of Thom Hartmann's "Hunter versus Farmer" theory.

I know I have personally noticed that vegetable protein alone (including beans, tofu, etc.) never seems to fill me up, leaving me feeling irritable and "shaky" all day. Recently, I also read a book by an autistic author (Temple Grandin) who mentioned that not only does she experience similar issues, in addition to indigestion and headaches, when she doesn't eat enough animal protein, but as a scientist studying autism she has also heard a large amount of anecdotal evidence saying that a lot of other ASD people have similar dietary issues.

So one of the things my sister and I are wondering is whether or not people with AD/HD and/or Autism possibly have a higher need of animal protein (not just meat, but dairy and eggs as well) than normal people; I'd love to hear from anyone with AD/HD who has tried a completely vegan diet for any considerable length of time. How did that go? Was there any changes in your symptoms, etc.?

Any information would be most helpful!

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