ADHD Diet Change Helped My 10 year old son

by Erica
(La Mirada, California)

My son has ADHD and I thought medecine was the only hope, after many years of fighting it...I put him on Straterra and it did help alot. I did not want to put him on a narcotic based medecine such as ritalin..As he is getting older, I noticed the defiance and anger increasing, so one day after being bombarded with phone calls from his teacher, who was the teacher from hell...

I searched every web site possible for help. After months of life changes this is what I have come up with Wheat (gluetin) is horrible for kids with ADHD, wheat naturally causes the brain to swell and with ADHD kids this is horrible. I switched him to ALL organic foods,(it"s challenging but not as hard as it seems). I eliminated dyes from his foods, particularly red dye which also affects autistic children.

I by foods with no preservatives and note that not all foods that say 100% organic really are. They must have the organic seal, there is only one, so once you become familiar with it shopping gets easier. Oh and NO fried foods! So french fries are out! Milk and meat has to be RTSB and immunization free as well as his eggs, most say free range eating birds.

Ummm what else, well he goes to a neuro-medical Dr. which is a long story in itself but he will complete a total of 30, 30 minute sessions which is based on rewarding the brain and rerouting signaling areas of the brain which might over or under act. Then we just started beavioral counceling. I love it.

We started with 2 minute time outs. If he does not do what I ask the first time, or is rude or whatever I feel is inappropriate, he gets a 2 minute time out. That virtually eliminates the meltdowns I used to experience when having to give him a time out which let to yelling matches and it was horrible. In 2 minutes he is expected to sit whereever I have him to sit, rememebering that I control it, not him.

At the end of 2 minutes he is asked 2 questions, 1) Why were you on a 2 minute time out and 2) are you going to do it again? Realistically we know they will do it again, but the trick is to have them verbalize what thy did wrong and make a comittment to not do it again. If he throws a fit on the onset of a time out I say you now have 4 minutes would you like to have 6, and so on, until he is quiet.

We have gotten to 12 minutes only 2 times in 3 weeks, that is HUGE for us! Oh and practice time outs. You have to call him anytime throughout the day and give him practice timeouts. This lets the child know that whatever he is doing is subject to being interupted by you and he cannot have a meltdown when it happens. he does a practice time out, then I say Good job buddy. He smiles and runs back to whatever he was doing.

Also I have him on Omega 3 and Omega 6 fish oil. Be careful when choosing a brand. Fish oil is very fragile, many companies heat the oil to refine it, and this kills the good components. I also have him on a multivitamin, fish oil, and DHA which supports brane health and function.

There is so much that I have learned with in the past month, but I feel like I have an entirely diffrent child. I taught him how to read labels, and I explained how important it is for him to follow these eating habits when I'm not with him. Oh, and I eliminated school, cafeteria lunches! I know, it's harder to pack a lunch, but it is SO worth it. That food is loaded with RTSB, preservatives, pestacides, food coloring, fried stuff, saturated fats and EVERYTHING I am working so hard to keep him from.

I hope this has all helped someone out there. This is a great web site, I just fell upon it tonight.

These changes have also made my teenage son's acne disappear (he does not have ADHD) and everyone's mood be so much brighter. Our food's literally are poisioning us these days!

Best of luck!
And remember, these are our children, the changes are hard at first and confusing, and pricey, but the reward is SO worth it. Your child will be happier, you family and home will be more peaceful, schools won't be calling anymore, you won't have to leave work anymore to sit in on school, and the list could go on and on. But the most important thing is that your child will finally be happy in their own body and he or she will be peaceful! There is no greater reward for me :)

If you have a question, post a comment and I can respond to it.

Erica

Comments for ADHD Diet Change Helped My 10 year old son

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Oct 31, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		3 year old with adhd
by: Kim

This past Tuesday I went with my daughter to a child psycolgist we are having a lot of problems out of my 3 year old grandson he fights and hits at daycare wont listen to his mom he has thrown toys at her and run off in the stores so his psycologist felt he might do well with 2mg of adderol omg he went crazy on it 20 times worse so i said to take him off of it immediatly he can be a great kid but he does have his days and there is alot of them but im anti medicating him the dr did say no red blue or green dyes i was so desperate for help i went on the internet and found your article
Dec 04, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		10 year old son as well
by: Anonymous

I NEEDED TO READ THIS!! I'm at my whits end with my son and his teacher. I need a solution NOW. I don't want to diagnose him. I want to help him. Thank you for posting!
Apr 28, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		terrible three n half year old
by: Anonymous

This has been the best information I have found since my three year old has started having his meltdown! I will try this for my entire family! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Apr 23, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Well needed info Thanks
by: Anonymous

Yes Erica, that post was well needed. My son haven't been
Diagnose but his behavior is silly only at school
And they seemed to b the only thts wanted him
Onn meds (wonder why) im gonna go back to packing
His lunch and other tips uve listed. Thanks again
Aug 17, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Aluminum Wrapping
by: Tj Chambers

Capri Sun is one example of a drink that is wrapped in aluminum.

If you open the juice box, you will be able to see if it has aluminum foil in it. The only way to tell if the aluminum is leaching into the juice is to get it tested at some place that can test liquids for metals.

We use to get juice boxes but I don't know if it has aluminum, so I just don't buy them.
Aug 16, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		ADHD foods
by: Erica

How can you tell if the juice boxes are lined with aluminum?
Aug 15, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Additional Notes
by: TJ Chambers

Hi Erica,

Thank you so much for sharing all that. That was a lot of helpful information. I just wanted to add a couple notes to what you said.

Be careful with juice boxes. They may be lined with aluminum foil and add aluminum to the juice. Heavy metals are a problem with ADHD.

Cheese and Milk. Dairy is not good for people with ADHD, and for people in general. All dairy in the store is pastuerized which is extremely bad. It eliminates the enzymes the body needs to break it down. Cow dairy is also acidic which causes other problems. People with ADHD don't do well on ADHD because of how their body processes casein, dairy protein.

Eggs is not good for all. I eat eggs once in a while but when I ate eggs everyday, I had really bad ADHD symptoms. So pay attention to your child and how they act after eating.

Dyes in food are bad but there is plenty of other things in food. Artificial ingredients, fake vitamins, minerals, and metals are very bad. Like enriched flour with bad metals (iron shavings listed as iron) and vitamins that the body can't use.

If you want to see the liquid supplement that I reccomend that I have received great results and other people I reccomend it to, go here Liquid Vitamin and Mineral Supplement
Aug 15, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		Food tips for kids with ADHD
by: Erica

I lost focus of what you asked for help for, sorry.
So for breakfast I make him eggs (free range eggs) this means they can roam around the barn and are not plumped and caged and seed fed. Eggs have alot of protien too. The I will give him bacon or sausage and a piece of organic cheese. The good thing with this is you can do it like this one day, make an omlet the next and the following make a Mc Muffin by putting 1 egg with sausage, ham or bacon, and a slick of cheese inside a muffin. or agg mild salse for flavor and make scrambled eggs. Top it off with orgaic milk or some orange juice.

LUNCH: He goes to school so I send him with an organic apple sauce cup or fresh fruit (organic) or he loves carrots, so I will cut some up for him. an Organic juice box that says %100/fruit, this means less added sugar, remember even natural fruits have alot of sugar, especially grapes and watermelon. I try to use blueberries, oranges, strawberries, mango, but he does eat grapes, watermelon, just in lower doses. I will make him a sandwich with the Ezekiel bread and ham or turkey (not organic because I have yet to find any) and some "all natural" cheetoe puffs, or he likes freetos. I stay away from Doritos, even though he loves them because they have alot of dyes, red and blue and you really want to stay away from Red. They also have organic applesauce cups. You can make him a mac and cheese if your at home,again I get a brand called "Organic" they sell it at vons and all of their products have the organic seal. Even Kraft, which I love, has added colors, The orgainc brand tastes just the same without the additives.

DINNER: Organic ground beef, alot of stores carry this. Organic spagetti sauce and regular pasta. get some garlic spread and spread it on a piece of ezekiel bread for garlic bread, then also milk.

or- maked chicken (NEVER FRIED) with whatever vegies, and I use rice-a-ronie alot, or if I'm really trying hard they have organic white rice, which I like alot!

I only use foster farms chicken, they do not plump their chickens or ass additives. So I might make chicken enchildas, or chichen with pasta.

I think snacks and when your not home are the biggest challenges.

You just have to play around with recipies and you can make most of the same things just substitute organic stuff. You can also give him cereal for breakfast, I love good old honey nut cheerios. Just use organic milk. But the more protien the better.
Aug 15, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		ADHD continued...again
by: Erica

I hope some of this helped, because I felt like I was in a vally all by myself when I found out. Dr's want to push medication, and for some this may be the best option, I am not discounting that at all, but I fear long term dependency and I wanted to make sure I tried EVERYTHING before I resorted to medecine. Is it perfect, no. But is sure does help (if your consistent). Last night we had family visit from back east and they had to go to "the candy shop" suffice it to say I let him have a jawbreaker because his brother and his friend got one and he had a root beer for lunch and an ice cream (what was I thinking) suffice it to say, he could not sto moving all night, he ever tlked in his sleep on the way home in the car. So no-one can tell me that what our kids eat, ESPECIALLY sugar, that it does not affect our kids more that others, because it does. I didn't want him to feel diffrent from the other kids as he so often does, so I decided to give in...Bad choice.

Aug 15, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		ADHD comment continued
by: Erica

Just remember that ADHD is a neurological problem, chemicals, stimulants ect cause the brain to short circuit or have a meltdown, as we call it. They cannot help this at all. So by controlling thier diet will help keep the brain in balance. I also use vitamin supliments, Omega 3,6,&9 are huge for them DHA and fish oils as well, but like everything you have to understand how it is chemically processsed to get the best quality. Pretty much as the old saying goes "You get what you pay for" So they are usually a little more expensive as is the organic food. It is sad that we have to pay more not to have the nutrition zapped out of our food and to be able to eat healthier, but it is true.

So feel free to e-mail me as I can ramble on and on. I just hope something that I have learned can help someone else. Try to remember that there is no magic "fix all" you have to learn about the brain (not by going to medical school), just the basics on what effects the nervous system and that it is a balance of vitamins, healthy food, and excercise. These kids have to have an outlet our they will feel like they are going crazy. As my son has become older he can now verbalize how he feels. He says that he feels that he can never shut his thinking off. If I can keep him from eating something that "to his brain and nervous system"is toxic, than I am helping my son, and that is what being a mom is.

You are very fortunate that you are making these changes while your son is young, because you can teach him what to look for and what to stay away from. With my son, I don't want to make him feel as if there is something wrong with him, so I say that peoples bodies and brains like certain things, so his body and brain can't process sugar and it makes him feel bad by having meltdowns so this is what we need to stay away from, just like mom has hayfever so I have to stay away from diffrent trees. If I don't I will sneeze, my nose will run ect. I tell him "You don't have the same problem with trees, so you can enjoy them and play on them, but for mom, it makes me feel bad, then I try and connect it to something that he cannot eat and make the annology. It helps him to not feel like there is something "wrong" with him, but that we are all diffrent and our bodies respond in diffrent ways. He takes to it very well. Kids with ADHD tend to be very pesimistic, so with them wanting to grasp on to something or not, delivery is key. He now goes shopping with me and reads the nutritional lables and says, "Oh I cant have this it has red dye!" I thought it would be hard, but it hasn't been. You just have to sell them on it.

Aug 15, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		ADHD help
by: Erica

Well moving on to snack foods, this can be difficult but not impossible. You really have to stick with fresh products, if you are looking for a quick snack in a bag, you usually won't find it. Just remember, your son can only have access to what you put in the house. For example I have organic apple sauce cups, cheetos makes a "no die" cheetoe, so it looks like white chedder but tastes a little better, I think. All of his juice boxes I get are organic, all of the fruit as well. Cheese is hard to find but you can, so I will cut him a slice. All his juices are organic. He loves beef jerkey also, this is hard to find organic so I usually get it regular. (Protien is huge for the ADHD brain, if they are irritable for what appears to be no reason at all, their protien is usually low, cut a slice of cheese or beef jerkey and watch the diffrence it makes).
The important thing is to change the way you shop and probaly change where you shop. I am not sure where you live, but on the west coast we have fresh-n-easy, and trader Joe's. The people there are very inforned if you tell them what you are looking for or tell them that your son has Adhd, you would be amazed at the information they have as far as what to stay away from. Now bread can be challenging, because you do want to stay away from wheat as much as possible, remember you will never have a perfect diet, but all you can do is try your best. I use this bread called Ezekiel bread "100% sprouted grains" What this is is a grain that is sprouted and before the wheat hits what we consider the "toxic stage" the sprouts are cut while their alive, not left to grow/die then be harvested. I have so much more I can tell you from what I have learned from trial and error, so if you like you can e-mail me, fair warning though, I only check it once or twice a week, thus the delay in responding, so I appologize. my e-mail is yccerod@aim.com. I am by NOOOOO means a nutrition guru and this can be challengins, but I can share what I have learned.

Holy cow, I hit 3000 again...stand by.
Aug 15, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		help for ADHD
by: Erica

Most of what I learned was from doing my own research. I try to buy all organic now if possible, that is the easiest way to guarantee that no preservatives, pesticides, RTSB, hormones ect are put into the food. We think fruit is healthy right? Well if you learn about the preservation process you will be greatly disappointed. I don't want to discourage you, just inform you... So, fruits go bad rather quickly, they are sprayed with pesticides to keep the bugs from eating them and fruit such as apples are covered with wax to make them look shiney and appealing to us. Now fruits with peels such as oranges are pumped with gases to literally halt the decaying process, they sit these oranges in warehouses for up to a year before you or I can buy them! I learned this from my cheif at my work who had to learn about this and visit the warehouses when he studies to be a chief. So while you think you are feeding your child something helathy you are feeding them a gas filled or a wax covered product that is full of pesticides and not to mentioned the reclaimed water that was used to make them grow. When you buy organic they cannot do any of this. There are very strict regulations. This is why I switched to organic, because I don't have to worry about them lying to me to sell a product, the government regulates them.... Here is a great web site for you to read about organic products and regulations.


Welcome to the National Organic Program

What is organic?
Organic production is a system that is managed in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 (PDF) and regulations in Title 7, Part 205 of the Code of Federal Regulations to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. The National Organic Program (NOP) develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards.

Their site is: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop

They have a seal/stamp on all organic products, I tried to copy it on here but it didn't work, but it is a circle with USDA on the inner top half of the circle and Organic under it. It is either green/white or black/white. These are the only 100% certified organic products, all others are fake and miss the regulations even if they say "organic".
I will post another response as I can only use 3000 words...lol

Aug 05, 2010
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by: Trish

I am just doing the research to start my 2 year old on a diet. I have never been on a diet and I have no clue what anything means, or what's good and bad! I am seriously clueless. I really like your post..very goos information. I have always just let my son pick out what he wants and let him eat all the junk he desired.. If you could help me figure out what I could feed him for beeakfast lunch and dinner..that is kid approved for the most part.. And any other info you think I would need would be great too! Thanks

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