Advice for food to avoid

[turbomeister]

my boy is 12 years old and we're currently going through the usual channels when finding out that someone might be ADHD.

I have spent days looking for advice and sites seem to contradict other sites

so i thought i would ask the people that will know for sure.

Can anyone give me advice of food to definately avoid and foods that are helpful to the cause.

Thank you in advance of anyones assistance and apologies if i've posted this in the wrong area

All the best
Pete

[cameron]

avioid sugary foods(epspcially cereal). Try to eat fruit and vegtables as much as possible, along with calcium(of course for protein, teeth, etc).

[turbomeister]

as it stands i've totally banned sugar and sweeteners

i let him have a drink of coffee with semi-skimmed milk and nothing to sweeten it. this due to reading that caffeine can have a similar effect to Ritalin

oh yeah and i make him drink water rather than juice, is there something that he can drink other than water?

[turbomeister]

i also read that he shouldn't eat fish due to the high levels of mercury in our oceans and rivers, is this true?

it's a bloody minefield really

[livinginchaos]

IMO (and research), avoiding certain foods isn't needed unless there is an allergy. Otherwise, just have common sense about nutrition.

[driftwood]

Originally Posted by turbomeister

my boy is 12 years old and we're currently going through the usual channels when finding out that someone might be ADHD.

I have spent days looking for advice and sites seem to contradict other sites

so i thought i would ask the people that will know for sure.

Can anyone give me advice of food to definately avoid and foods that are helpful to the cause.

Thank you in advance of anyones assistance and apologies if i've posted this in the wrong area

All the best
Pete

Ihave a son 8.Same problems. Red food coloring definitely especially liquids(gaterade,koolaid). I have found chocolate hypers him up.
Also try all natural gummie vitamins. We have been through prescr. drugs and only bad side effects.

[Imnapl]

Contact a nutritionist. Eat healthy. Make your calories count. Exercise and sleep well. Drink enough fluid during the day.

[Zach326]

Every individual is unique and thus will have unique nutritional needs,

This will have to do with your genetics as well as your environmental history, what you have been eating to much of or to little of in your past can have an effect on the best options for your future.

Is diabetes a concern here?

Are there any other medical issues, such as allergies which was already mentioned by a very wise member in this thread.

Knowing the medical history of your family is important to coming up with a nutritional plan, and thus i can tell you what diet is best 'for me', but this will not really help you out very much.

I have a personal disliking of High Fructose Corn syrup.

It seems to be in everything and it gives me all kinds of bad vibes.

I can also recommend learning to read labels, if you don't know exactly what the ingredients are, take the time to look them up on the internet, research, research, research( sounds like, practice, practice, practice doesn't it?(the quickest way to symphony hall).

Of course information will do you know good unless you 'embody your knowledge'. I can know what is bad for me, but if i don't read the labels and understand that something that claims to have 700 mg of salt, might also contain two servings in its entirety, thus putting the salt level at a rather high 1400 mg! YIKES. (canned anything my friends)

So here I am, handing my knowledge over to you, for free(ya right!): truth be told i love to articulate, and I think i am getting better at it! Plus I really enjoy seeing people take an interest in there health, but this is for selfish reasons! If everyone takes an interest and stops buying unhealthy foods, this will drive the market in a direction that is desirable to me(makes it easier for me to shop).

Ok so, I'm done having fun, help me out by helping your self, and we can claim to be some of societies mutualists.

Stay wise (as I am known to say)

- Zach (PS, I am not a nutritionist, but I am a fanatic... does that count?)

[Mary]

check packages for MSG contents.... if they're high...try and avoid them. It always made my daughter worse when she ate those. We stopped Mt Dew as well... but she did drink coffee and tea....which seemed to soothe rather than overstimulate like pop did. Sometimes it's a good idea to have or be checked by an allergist...because sometimes a food allergy will aggrevate the ADD symptoms or mirror... depending.

[Leofwynn]

If you want to avoid certain additives, the Feingold Association might be able to help. I know, the Feingold Diet is "controversial" BUT we've had good success with it. (Todd is still on Adderall XR, but the diet HAS made a noticable difference in the severity of his symptoms.)

www.feingold.org is the Association's website.

That said, in addition to helping us avoid artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, BHT, BHA, and TBHQ (which are all eliminated on the Feingold), the Association's foodlist (which you are sent upon becoming a member) also says when an "okay" (no artificial additives etc.) food also contains corn or corn syrup, msg, or certain natural salycilates. This is very useful if you want to avoid certain ingredients beyond the basic "Feingold".

Bekka

[lukep]

WE too started the Feingold Diet (2 mnths ago), and are having good success. My brothers has a 12 yr old son with Aspergers and he has been on it since very young and they too have had great results.

The diet will tell you what brand of everything to used based on it's ingredients being more healthy.

Interesting concept that will be gd for all of us to follow.

-Luke

[EvilSockMonkey]

Mary,

MSG even a tiny amount will often tip my ADHD over the edge...I literally start to "fall to pieces"...everything feels like I just "jumped" into hyperspace and when I get a serious dose I just start shutting down...
Therefore, I have been very diligent about avoiding it like "Plague" all of my life. The ironic thing is that I have only recently been diagnosed with ADHD, so all this time I could recognize MSGs effect on me, but I just didn't understand why...

I have always taken issue with the "experts" that say MSG is fine and good; safe for everyone; not to worry. But, I have yet to have anyone explain why it has such a profound effect on me or why Glutamate in MSG is technically classified as an "excitotoxin" and still be considered safe...

"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid_%28flavor%29#Health_concerns"

ESM

[FrazzleDazzle]

I like to cook and eat as pure as possible, though my son makes that difficult at times! I know that a lot of highly processed foods, stripped grains, and high fat foods are just not good for overall health. (little nutrition in pure absorbable form and no fiber content). Gluten and casien (as well as other allergens such as corn and others) are probably the two most common triggers for gut problems which can trickle down to not feeling and being your best, gut diseases, chron's IBS, celiac's, etc., and overall health decline. Lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, and protien in different forms. Lots of water, chuck the soda. That's what we do.

[Mary]

I typed in excitotoxin ....and wikipedia gave me this explanation>

Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed by glutamate and similar substances. This occurs when receptors for the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate such as the NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor are overactivated. Excitotoxins like NMDA and kainic acid which bind to these receptors, as well as pathologically high levels of glutamate, can cause excitotoxicity by allowing high levels of calcium ions[1] (Ca2+) to enter the cell. Ca2+ influx into cells activates a number of enzymes, including phospholipases, endonucleases, and proteases such as calpain. These enzymes go on to damage cell structures such as components of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and DNA.

Excitotoxicity may be involved in stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease.[2] Other common conditions that cause excessive glutamate concentrations around neurons are hypoglycemia[3] and status epilepticus.[4]

No wonder our bodies overload<

[Zach326]

A lot of good information here, i wonder how many similar threads like this are on the forum??

It would be nice to see them all put together and made as a sticky for people with Health concerns...