I was wondering if anyone has found that Low Carb eating helps with thier ADD symptoms?
I have been on and off a low carb diet in the past year. I noticed when I am on it a couple of key things happen.
1. I sleep better, and stop snoring for some reason? (I always snore, but something about LC makes me stop, LOL don't ask me, it usually stops within two weeks, so it isn't the loss of weight or something) I wake up totally rested, and I shut my alarm off before It goes off, which I never do. On my usual diet of bread and rice and pizza, I can't seem to wake up, and hit snooze several times.
2. I seem to think cleaner and clearing with less energy. Oh I still have all the problems, but they are much less and easier controlled. I don't get as tierd.
3. If I cheat and have like and icecream, and I am not used to sugar because I have been doing it for a while, I get a serious brainfog. it takes about 20 minutes, but its like thinking through pea soup.
It might not have anything to do with Low carbs, it might be an additive I am avoiding by not eating white bread or pasta. not sure.
I know when your LCing, your brain is running on Keytones instead of sugar, Maybe that helps, maybe keytones is ADD friendly.
Dave, It sounds like you have an allergy to gluten which is found in many carbs. That would explain the snoring, the feeling sluggish, etc. You can ask your dr for a referral to be tested for that. My SIL has it and is much healthier avoiding gluten.
I have gotten much more into fresh foods lately and it does make a difference to my whole family. We eat much less bread and pasta. I don't avoid it when I cook but instead of a macaroni salad a lot, it is now usually a vegetable dish with some pasta, etc. We eat almost no processed meats.
We all feel better and I know I think better when we eat this way. I believe there is a correlation between what we eat and how severe our symptoms are. I don't buy into the idea that every case of ADHD can be controlled by diet (although some can) but I do believe it can make a difference for all of us to eat right. Many of the foods which are high carb also cause problems with the digestive tract, while fruits and veggies are very good for it.
Our bodies were created to eat natural foods. There were no chemicals or processed foods until the last century or so. It stands to reason that we won't benefit from the junk we all know and love (sausage croissants, high caffeine soda, hoagies, etc) when we aren't programmed to eat that way. I just wish they didn't taste so darn good!