ADHD and diet | ADHD Information

One simple change I made that helps with my ADD is drinking water. I used to drink a lot of sodas, sport drinks, and occasional juices, but seldom any water. I haven't been able to quit sodas altogether, but I have changed to suger free versions. I can literally feel a difference compared to when I drank hardly any water at all.

As for diets, I don't really have anything to add to what's already been said. After too many years of beings too thin, I'm currently enjoying the 200lbs I'm at (and have been at for some time).

Actually a low-carb or high protein diet can alter the environment of your body, making it much easier for certain bacteria to grow. That's how women get yeast infections as just one example. I don't know a lot about Atkins, but altered Ph can lead to bacterial or viral infections, that much I do know.

Maybe this has been covered before and I am making a classic newbie mistake but does anyone have any information or success with diet changes? I am trying cutting down on processed foods and am taking ground flax seed with my soy milk (kinda tastes like a chocolate malt). Too early to tell if it helps yet but I hope I am on the right track.

Oh, and congratulations for chasing off that snake oil salesperson!

JerBer38448.5403240741 Boggled is right - extra Omega 3's (which you are getting in the Flax, and salmon is also a fantastic source), and less preservatives and sugar.

Note that "sugar" includes all simple, refined carbohydrates like pasta and white bread. Your saliva actually turns this to glucose while the stuff is still in your mouth. To your body, you may as well be eating spoonfulls of granulated sugar. "Natural" sugars like those found in honey, non-berry fruit, and milk are just as bad.

I followed a diet such as this for about a year, but at the time I didn't know about the ADD, so obviously I wasn't looking for symptom changes. I did, however, notice that my hair and skin looked better, I lost weight, and I found it a tad easier to get up in the morning. I was also almost NEVER hungry, and didn't feel deprived. I fell off the wagon only because I missed my pasta. Shame on me.
bcgirl197838448.5758333333You will find alot of discussion on diet on the "Parents of Children with ADHD" site. Most of it revolves around adding vitamins, Omega-3, and calcium, magnesium and zinc, and removing preservatives, food dyes, and sugar.

Actually I was about to post something like this myself. But with a little twist, I am looking for a diet that works with ADHD and helps to loose weight.

Has anyone tried....

South Beach

Weight watchers

Jenny Craig

Besides the standard advice of getting more exercise and eating less calories..ya da ya da ya. (advice like this is like telling someone that tennis is just hitting the ball with the racket, ummm true, but there a ton more rules you need to know about) what Diets seem to work that us ADD people seem to be able to stick too and feel better on?

I used to do Atkins, I did very well on it, but I ended up with a protein kidney stone and losing my gallbladder, Yikes...

Not looking for a fad diet or pill, but something with a strong nutritional reasoning based on tried and true science nutrition than some old food pryamid they created in the 70's, or some rip raw gym regiment, where there is no pain, there is no gain.

The truth is out there.... (or it should be)

[QUOTE=Dave2u4now]

I used to do Atkins, I did very well on it, but I ended up with a protein kidney stone and losing my gallbladder, Yikes...

[/QUOTE]

Uuuuh............... I did Atkins for a year (it as the low-carb diet I was talking about in my post).

The protein/kidney problem thing is one of the ULTIMATE Atkins myths. When done properly, Atkins does NOT damage healthy kidneys.

Can you please tell me more? Did you read the Atkins book? Or just do the diet based on what you've heard?

I LOVED the Atkins diet and defended it everywhere I went. I'm not trying to be confrontational, but the old defences have sprung to life here and I feel I have to do something about it.
bcgirl197838448.6339699074[QUOTE=Dave2u4now]

Actually I was about to post something like this myself. But with a little twist, I am looking for a diet that works with ADHD and helps to loose weight.

[/QUOTE]

Well... yeah, actually. The reason we ADDers are so poor at dieting is that we forget we're on a diet and just eat. So when I last needed to lose a few pounds I printed off little notices and stuck them inside the fridge, and wherever food was kept. Notices that read: You're too fat!! It worked too.

Mark -

ugh I am guilty of just eating for the sake of eating. It's my boredom activity.I've heard tell that the Mediterranian Diet Pyramid is pretty good. I haven't tried it yet, but a cook book I've seen for it ....well, the meals look yummy. This is a quote from a page I Googled. It refers to the Island of Crete:

Recognition that the rates of chronic diseases were among the lowest in the world and adult life expectancy was among the highest for these populations at that time, even though medical services were limited.

Bcgirl....I wondered, if while on Atkins, you cheated maybe once or twice a month....and had pasta, would it kill ya? Or really screw up the diet? I've cut back on my pasta, and do feel better for it.

[QUOTE=Dave2u4now]

Has anyone tried....

South Beach

Weight watchers

Jenny Craig

[/QUOTE]

To address the rest of your post, I'm not sure about whether these diets would work well for an ADDer or not. To be fair, I haven't tried Jenny Craig, and don't really know much about it, so I'll let someone else field that question. Weight Watchers, I feel, has way too many strict rules and regulations. Their "points" system would be a NIGHTMARE for me... you have to log, track, measure, and calculate points on each and every thing you put in your mouth. I could see that lasting for about.... 1.5 days. A week if I was REALLY lucky. Supposedly they have a new "no points" system that I honestly don't know much about. South Beach, on the other hand, is TOO relaxed. ADDers usually need some structure (but without too many restrictions) in order to be successful at something. With SB, you have a list of good foods, list of "okay" foods, and a list of limited foods. The idea, obviously, is to eat mostly from the good foods, moderately from the okay foods, and very little from the bad foods. BUT, you are allowed the occasional bad food. I can see how many people would be successful on this, but for someone who needs structure, this could involve just a little too much free will that would ultimately lead to disaster. It sounds too much like what I already know - but nothing stops me from having a donut when it is right in front of my face. Usually, with that much freedom, an ADDer would forget that they already had a cookie or two the day before... or cheesecake on the weekend... or a frap at the mall that morning. With Atkins, the idea is similar to SB (SB was actually tweaked from Atkins) - free foods, and slightly limited foods, but with one important distinction - FORBIDDEN FOODS. Sugar is NOT allowed. A cheat here and there is NOT okay. It will cause a spike in your blood sugar and undo everything you have worked for all week. Scientifically, and logically, Atkins makes the most sense to me, because you HAVE to say NO whenever a cheat is waved in your face. But if anyone is actually interested in Atkins, please please PLEASE read the book, or visit the website (Atkins.com) and learn how to do it properly. It is not all steak and butter, as the media likes to portray it.

I actually was a very big fan of Atkins, read all the books, believed in his ideas and admired him for standing up in something he believed. I did well on the diet at first and felt great.

Then my body went south, and I got the kidney stone that proved to be all protein based, and then lost my Gall Bladder two months latter in Feb 05. So I stopped.

Do I believe that my Kidney stone and Gall Bladder was the direct effect of my choice to do atkins, because the diet is unsound. Actually no, I still believe much of the science he stated. I think I just got a picky kidney and my Gall bladder might have been goofed up for a long time, and I just didn't notice.

But...I also believe that my body no longer support that diet. Without a Gall Bladder I find heavy Fats and proteins make me sick to my stomach, and I think my kidney is prone to stones and sensitive to a high protein diet.

I have picked up a new book, "THe low GI Diet revolution" which has some of the same principals and logic, but it includes much more fruits and veggies, along with select pasta, breads and rice. It still has a no no, to raw sugars and talks about glucose, but its friendlier to us unfortunets with Picky kidneys

I don't want someone to get the wrong idea, I am not bashing Atkins, but was hoping for finding a sub diet now that I can't LC anymore safely, or at least comfortably.

I think the low GI thing might work though....IT has a very this is what you eat, and this is what you avoid mentality. Which is easier on my with my ADD, than trying to remember how many grams or calories in this or that, then keeping track.

Dave2u4now38449.5629861111 Okay.. I wasn't looking at it from the point of view of a pre-existing problem.

It IS a fact that too much protein can harm kidneys which are already damaged, which is where the myth that too much protein causes damage came from in the first place. I guess, of course, there is always the possibility that you have a pre-existing susceptibility to stones or another condition and not know it. Most kidney stones are not protein based though - I think that is the rarest type. I believe they are usually calcium based, but I could be wrong.

I read an article once about an Atkins-basher claiming to have gotten a kidney infection from doing Atkins. Gimme a break! Infections are caused by bacteria, not diet!

bcgirl197838449.5759722222I wore a pedometer for a while. I found that as long as I walked a fair bit like about 10,000 steps, I could eat anything I liked and not gain weight, even over Christmas! [QUOTE=Mark Goode][QUOTE=Dave2u4now]

Actually I was about to post something like this myself. But with a little twist, I am looking for a diet that works with ADHD and helps to loose weight.

[/QUOTE]

I printed off little notices and stuck them inside the fridge, and wherever food was kept. Notices that read: You're too fat!! It worked too.

Mark -

[/QUOTE]

You crack me up.

[QUOTE=DesertHanyou] Actually a low-carb or high protein diet can alter the environment of your body, making it much easier for certain bacteria to grow. That's how women get yeast infections as just one example. I don't know a lot about Atkins, but altered Ph can lead to bacterial or viral infections, that much I do know. [/QUOTE]

Actually... the complete opposite is true. Yeast thrives on sugar. Women who eat a high sugar/simple carb diet are far more susceptible to yeast infections.

I really don't mean to sound like a know-it-all, because I most certainly DON'T know it all. But I have done a LOT of research into the science and benefits of a low-carb lifestyle.

[QUOTE=BOBEL]High protein, low SIMPLE carbs, lots of complex carbs.... goodbye flour, preservatives, artifical flavors and sweeteners, sugar, potatoes.... that's what I changed at my DR's reccomendation. It did seem to really help but eliminated damn near all food except, dairy, fresh fish and meat, veggoes, fruit. THe ingredients in the rest of the store read like a chem lab. I generally cheat once or twice a week but lost 30 lbs through eatting changes and exersise since DEc. My previous diet ahd been CRAP. I am not "on a diet" I eat healthier is all. I will have FF or pizza or potatoe chips, a choclate milk a couple meals a week that's it. I exercise 6-8 hrs a week too it helps me with mood, anxiety and sleep[/QUOTE]

I agree with you 100%! I also lost 30 pounds after having my 2 year old eating that way. Now, I lost even more weight due to taking ritalin first, now adderall xr. I'm actually below my "desired" weight which is 128 lbs at 5 ft 6 and a half. I now weigh about 124 but I'm not underweight cause the lowest you can go is 118 for my height. I haven't had an appetite, and I used to eat VERY healthily before taking meds. Like 3 ser of veggies and fruits, fish oil(still take) moderate whole grain intake, organic yogurt and cottage cheese, soy milk, and some meat like tuna and chicken higher intensity aerobics, weight training and yoga and STILL had major memory and add problems. However, I do beleive that a healthy diet and exercise could help many people with memory problems but some add cases are worse than others, like in my case. Now, I can't TAKE the taste of vegetables, the only way I can get them down is by guzzling a large glass of very veggie juice. My point is I guess is that some people benefit from a higher protein diet versus a moderate carb/protein, or high carb diet since we all have different metabolic types. However, eliminating as much carbs as one does on the Atkins plan is not a good idea no matter what metabolic type you are. But I guess it's okay for a short term plan. But gout and kidney stones are something you need to watch, both uric acid and calcium oxalate stones are more likely to form on a high protein ketogenic diet. Also, excess protein increases loss of calcium in the diet which contributes to osteoperosis. About gout, an excess of uric acid in the body is caued by foods high in protein that are broken down into uric acid. I just learned this since i'm a nursing student and was quite suprised about how much damage long term atkins dieting can cause. There is more dangers but i don't feeling typing all that much. Like I said, I don't think atkins short term would cause THAT much damage but I still wouldn't even think about going on it, plus, I love my cereal too much! Dr. Mercola's website has a great questionaire to help determine what your metabolic type. Most people are the mixed type, which is 50% protein, 50% carbs, and that's me.

ditzychick38450.4722916667High protein, low SIMPLE carbs, lots of complex carbs.... goodbye flour, preservatives, artifical flavors and sweeteners, sugar, potatoes.... that's what I changed at my DR's reccomendation. It did seem to really help but eliminated damn near all food except, dairy, fresh fish and meat, veggoes, fruit. THe ingredients in the rest of the store read like a chem lab. I generally cheat once or twice a week but lost 30 lbs through eatting changes and exersise since DEc. My previous diet ahd been CRAP. I am not "on a diet" I eat healthier is all. I will have FF or pizza or potatoe chips, a choclate milk a couple meals a week that's it. I exercise 6-8 hrs a week too it helps me with mood, anxiety and sleep

I have lost and gained it back several times now. Exercise always makes a huge difference for me it seems. But two diets have worked. One was the WW points plan. It gave me a structure and with my wife on the diet as well (and enforcing me) it worked pretty well. The other was just a moderation of all things and watching fat intake.

Now, after months of letting ourselves go, we're back on the wagon. I am keeping track of WW points again but also trying to include/exclude ADHD related things. So the flax seed in soy milk in the morning to give me Omega 3s and protein. Less processed sugar, white flour, more high fiber-whole wheat products. We'll see now if this makes a difference in my space-case brain.