WHAT WE DO KNOW ABOUT DIET AND ADHD
Current research from the USA and Europe indicates that children with ADHD may be low in specific nutrients, including iron and zinc. Unfortunately, most of these studies do not assess the dietary intake of these children, so while we know that children with ADHD may have blood work that indicates that they are low, we don’t know whether the children in these studies ate less of the foods that contain these nutrients.
BetterByDesign Nutrition's Registered Dietitian recently completed a research study at Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, that assessed the Dietary Intake and Nutrient Status of Children with ADHD. This study, conducted in conjunction with Dr. Margaret Weiss of the ADHD Clinic, assessed the dietary intake and corresponding blood work of three groups of children; those that never took medication for ADHD, those that took stimulant medication only and those that only took non-stimulant medication. The study looked at the corresponding blood work in these children with regard to iron, zinc and copper. These nutrients were of interest, because they are the building-blocks of the neuro-transmitters involved in ADHD (dopamine and norepinephrine). The results of this research shed a great deal of light on the relationship between the blood work that has been observed in previous studies, and what children with ADHD eat (and don’t eat). This study determined the percentage of “junk food” in the diet of ADHD children as compared with non-ADHD children of the same age and whether junk food in the diet had an effect on trace mineral status. We also determined whether children with ADHD really do eat (as is commonoly thought) a diet higher in carbohydrates and simple sugars than their non-ADHD counterparts.