nutrition

[Newbiedoo]

Hello there, has anyone had any success making dietary changes that help with your ADHD? I've seen websites that suggest reducing sugar, getting Omega 3s- but has anyone here actually found it helps? If so, what foods are helping and/or any recipes you use a lot? Thank you!

[Wasted71years]

pre-medication I found that omega 3 high dose pills seemed to slightly improve my functioning, but barely perceptible improvement.

[Newbiedoo in reply to Wasted71years]

thanks for your response, 71-

[Figitandhum]

Yes is the short answer for me. Not Omega3s, but cutting out sugar and processed food. I was diagnosed 2 years ago and started on Adderal. I ate the standard American diet at that time. 18 months ago I started restricting my eating to 8 hours a day; (called Intermittent Fasting by most people. ) With ADHD it is so simple that I could understand and follow it; just don't eat anything at 6 pm to let my digestive track rest instead of snacking night. It improved my sleep a lot and I lost 30 pounds. Then from watching videos I started cutting out sugar and processed foods to help my microbiome. This has helped my focus and energy level a lot. I don't take any supplements, just try to eat whole food with the stuff in it. One man's journey that may answer your question. For me eating healthy (whole foods, mostly vegies and fruits) has helped me to a wonderful level of functioning I never had before in my life. I'm 82 and have the energy and motivation to exercise every day now, record audiobooks, make videos, and be caretaker for my wife who has Alzheimer's. The medication came first of course, but that helped me to try other things. A healthy diet is one of them. Oh, and I need less medication now both for ADHD and for other stuff. My doctor had to take me completely off all high pressure meds because of the improvement. Quality of life? I got it buddy! 👍👍

[Maghdalena in reply to Figitandhum]

Thanks! This helps a lot. I've heard about Intermittent Fasting, but don't know that much about it.

As for processed foods and refined carbohydrates, I'm cutting out a lot of that because it either hurts my stomach so it's harder to sleep or I wake up choking, so working on eliminating the "trigger foods" Same goes for GERD. Is GERD a common ADHD issue, do you think? Or is it co-morbid?

[ronosof in reply to Maghdalena]

gastrointestinal problems are common for folks w ADHD

[Maghdalena in reply to ronosof]

Thanks. I didn't know that. I know I've had some kind of gastro-intestinal problems for most of my life since childhood. I thought it was just stress. My family tended to have a toxic relationship with me (but not my brother or sister), now that I look on it and discouraged a lot of things I wanted to do or was interested in, so I learned not to communicate. So, a lot of stress. A lot of time I had trouble sleeping because my stomach hurt so much. I think that I was just intolerant or sensitive to gluten, not celiac. At least I know that now.

[Newbiedoo in reply to Figitandhum]

thank you for responding- it's great to hear your experience!

[secretprimadonna in reply to Figitandhum]

This is so helpful to hear. Thank you for sharing your experience!

[STEM_Dad]

I reduced sugar intake, but that did not seem to improve my attention. I did take supplements, including a multivitamin, extra vitamin D, omega-3s, ginseng, and Ginkgo. That total combination did help, but the effect was less than 10% of the benefit that I get from ADHD medication.

I still take all the vitamins and omega-3s, but no longer feel the need to take ginseng and Ginkgo.

Treating my ADHD well has reduced my craving for sugar, so I consume a lot less than I used to.

I still drink coffee and other caffeinated beverages. Caffeine has always helped me, and coffee is my favorite beverage. But thanks to the ADHD meds, I don't rely on caffeine to help me with focus as much. But since I take a non-stimulant ADHD medication, I still drink coffee as a stimulant.

[Newbiedoo in reply to STEM_Dad]

SDad, I appreciate your writing. Struggling to find an ADHD med that works for me- your answer just reaffirms my wanting to try again. And to cut the sugar...

[SilverbackG]

Hi,

I am a Nutrition Scientist and Physiologist. I was diagnosed with ADHD in April 2022 at 56 years old. When I first started looking into information online, I went CHADD (my Psychiatrist recommended it) and was surprised how much inaccurate nutrition recommendations were there. The thing about vitamin and mineral supplements is that they are for people with deficiencies of specific micro nutrients. If you are deficient in Iron (diagnosed by blood test, after symptoms of severe fatigue, due to red blood cells that are not able to carry oxygen well w/o enough iron consumption, very common in women with heavy menstrual cycles, much less common in men).

Now days, 77-80% of American adults take one or more supplements a day. This is not based on a diagnosed deficiency, it is reflective of marketing and the fact that the FDA does not regulate supplements, nor do they test the supplements to see if they actually contain the "active ingredient" they are claiming will have an effect. This means supplement sales are the Wild West and "Snake Oil" is the primary sales pitch.

Supplements are researched by many different types of scientists, however in research they are usually examining the effects on correcting an actual vitamin or mineral deficiency. Because the United States still fortifies ingredients (such as flour used to produce many processed foods) and food items (breakfast cereals, breads, snack or energy bars, dairy products and plant-based milks) it is rare for a person who eats 3 times a day to have a deficiency. Some people will have a diagnosis or condition that effects absorption of micronutrients from food, and will be taught a protocol (by a doctor, usually a specialist) to ensure they are not deficient.

As mentioned above, by "Figitandhum" getting your vitamins and minerals from whole foods is the best plan, the "Gold Standard." Why? Because the bioavailability is highest from foods that contain the vitamins and minerals. Bioavailability is how well the nutrients from the food are absorbed. Some vegetables require steaming or another quick cooking method to improve bioavailability, and others are enhanced by combining them with another micronutrient. This sounds complicated, however this is why the recommendation is to "eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains."

Examples: The iron in plants (like Popeye the sailor and his spinach) is easier to absorb if have those leafy greens with a food that has a lot of natural vitamin C. So if you make a spinach salad, add in brightly colored things like bell peppers or tomatoes, or put some fruit (apples, tangerine or orange slices) in too. Even a little lemon juice drizzle on cooked greens will do the trick!

One last word: these days we are actually seeing people with Vitamin toxicity! Too much of a good thing is...dangerous! Get too much Vitamin B6 and the side effect is: Neuropathy! This is happening when people drink those "energy drinks" that are full of caffeine and often contain 1000times more than the RDA for Vitamin B6! Some have B12 in them, but the human body can store B12 really well so there is no point to keep supplementing huge amounts.

So if you want to make changes to your current "Diet" (defined as the food you eat and the beverages you drink in a 24 hour period, over a a month of days) try these:

Add in more fruits and vegetables: fresh, frozen, canned if they have no added sugar or salt

Get some Whole Grains you haven't tried before: Farro, Pearl Barley, Millet, Polenta, Grits and follow the cooking directions or try it in an Instant Pot/pressure cooker. Adds lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Try different legumes: beans, you can get them dried but you have to soak them before you cook them. Save time with canned, just check that they are not full of sodium. Believe this: Walmart has the best organic, low sodium beans out there! Lentils are another one to try. They cook fast, no soaking needed. Try edamame! It is a complete protein and high fiber.

Reduce your consumption of sugar. It is hidden in the highly processed and ultra processed foods. If the food comes in a box (cookies, crackers, cheeze its and other snacks), a bar (energy bar or diet bar, they are all full of sugar and highly processed fibers) or a bag (chips, veggie crisps, puffs or crunchy items) will have more salt and unhealthy fat (even if the label says "no trans fat" that is only true if you eat a "single serving" which is typically 10 chips. Good luck on that, ugh.)

So you lose the chips, what can you eat instead? Nuts! Walnuts are an excellent source of Omgega-3's! All nuts offer fiber, healthy fats and flavor. Try dry roasted or raw, and consider unsalted. Costco and Trader Joe's are affordable places to buy nuts.

If you are drinking sugar, you might as well have a glucose drip/IV in your arm. Find something to drink without sugar or alcohol.

Whew! I love Nutrition and want desperately for people to embrace feeding their body the best stuff they can . You will be amazed how good you feel eating whole, real foods.

[Newbiedoo in reply to SilverbackG]

SilverbG, thank you SO much for this. One of my favorite salads is baby spinach w walnut and clementine- maybe my body knows more than I think it does. Lots to 'chew on' here-

[SilverbackG in reply to Newbiedoo]

Your salad sounds YUMMY! 😊

[secretprimadonna in reply to SilverbackG]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I find that I'm always either pressed for time (which makes me eat fast/unhealthy food) or battling low energy (which also makes me eat fast/unhealthy food). It seems like such a complete lifestyle change would have to happen to improve either circumstance that it starts to feel overwhelming. Baby steps are encouraging - I just hope I have enough time to accumulate enough of them.