A study was recently published in the medical journal The Lancet that found that special diet was an effective treatment for ADHD in 64% of cases. To read more about the study, including the methodology and specifics about the results, click here. While the results of the study are interesting and support what many of us already know- that many behavioral or emotional symptoms are the result of underlying physiology- the perspective of the lead author Lidy Pelsser is what really caught my attention:
"ADHD- it's just a couple of symptoms, it's not a disease. We should look for the cause of it. Like in eczema, the skin is affected, but a lot of people get eczema because of a latex allergy or because they are eating pineapple or strawberries. And I think there is a paradigm shift needed, if a child is diagnosed ADHD we should say okay, we have got those symptoms, now let's start looking for the cause."
According to her research, 64% of children improved from the dietary intervention used in the study. She concludes that this means that the reactions to food are the cause of the ADHD, I would argue that the reactions are the result of underlying biochemical issues that lead to the food sensitivities. The reason this matters is that if you conclude that the food is the cause, then the solution is to remove the foods indefinitely. If you view the reactions as a result of another cause, you can try to identify and heal the cause so that the child can then eat the foods again.
The other comment that I have regarding this study is that it is not entirely clear what the effective special diet that they used was based on. There are many different ways that various foods, and categories of foods, can lead to symptoms of ADHD. If one dietary approach doesn't work, or leads to only limited improvement, there are many other possibilities to explore. There is no "one diet" for ADHD, just as there is no "one diet" for autism. The optimal diet for each person is highly individualized and you cannot conclude that "diet doesn't work" for someone- just that "what has been tried so far has not been the right thing".
I am currently in a teaching program here in Texas. In our brand spanking new Special Ed textbook they are still poo-pooing the diet and ADHD link. They cite only one study and say "this study falls short on demonstrating a casual link betwwen diet and formal ADHD diagnosis...there's no support for automatically placing all children with ADHD on such restricted diet". I don't know how many times I come across stuff like this. The tone they write with allows you to see their eyes rolling while they write.
ReplyDeleteA healthy diet can change our way of living. The healthier our intakes the healthier we get also. For a certain type of person there is a recommended diet and of course there are also for those that have disorders and diseases.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the recommendations on that page, such as cutting out sugar and junk food and eating a high protein diet, but others are "conventional wisdom" and not based in actual biology. One of the primary diet changes should be removal of gluten. Secondly, when there is inflammation and chronic biochemical imbalance in the body emphasizing plants in the diet can be problematic.
ReplyDeletePlant foods are high in various natural chemicals (such as salycilates, lectins, phenols, oxalate, amines, etc) that interact with the body's biochemistry. A robustly healthy person can usually handle these but if health has been eroded (as is the case in AD/HD), and the gut becomes injured, then these foods can act as false neurotransmitters and cause more difficulties. There is a saying that "Common sense" (suggested in the article) is nothing more than the prejudice and misconception of the day. That is true in thi8s case, fried foods are an issue only if hydrogenated oils are used, some fish has no detectable mercury levels, and beans and nuts are high in anti-nutrients. Pastured and grass fed meat is a much better source of protein than beans.