Foods that affect ADHD Symptoms
The behavior and learning of children who are labeled ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), tend to be influenced more by foods that affect ADHD rather than other children.
A.D.H.D. and FOOD
Clues that a dietary deficiency may be contributing to your child’s behavior or learning problems are: excessive thirst, frequent urination, dry hair and skin, eczema, and allergies. But most important are the observations you record in your food-mood connection diary. The acronym ADHD (Add to your Daily Healthy Diet) can help you remember to include foods that improve behavior and learning, such as fish, flax seeds or flax oil, vegetables, and whole grains, rather than foods that affect ADHD in a negative way.
How to Have Healthier Children
Over my 30 years in pediatric practice, I have noticed a striking connection between how children are fed and how healthy they are. Mothers who consistently don’t allow any unhealthy food to pollute the minds and bodies of their children seem to have healthier children. I have noticed that these children are sick less often, and when they do come for periodic checkups they seem more settled and better behaved. These “pure children” seem to get tagged with fewer labels, such as “ADD” or “learning disabilities.” Even when these children do warrant such tags, they seem to cope better with behavioral and learning differences, and they seem less severe. These moms have made a believer out of me. I truly believe that there is a connection between how kids are fed and how they act and learn.
Dr. Sears, or Dr. Bill as his “little patients” call him, has been advising busy parents on how to raise healthier families for over 40 years. He received his medical training at Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the world’s largest children’s hospital, where he was associate ward chief of the newborn intensive care unit before serving as the chief of pediatrics at Toronto Western Hospital, a teaching hospital of the University of Toronto. He has served as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and University of California: Irvine. As a father of 8 children, he coached Little League sports for 20 years, and together with his wife Martha has written more than 40 best-selling books and countless articles on nutrition, parenting, and healthy aging. He serves as a health consultant for magazines, TV, radio and other media, and his AskDrSears.com website is one of the most popular health and parenting sites. Dr. Sears has appeared on over 100 television programs, including 20/20, Good Morning America, Oprah, Today, The View, and Dr. Phil, and was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in May 2012. He is noted for his science-made-simple-and-fun approach to family health.