Kids on the ADHD Diet? I Need Specific Ideas!

My son has Aspergers and we have been advised to start GF/CF. There is an autism site that has a ton of info on GF/CF. I have been pointed here by several people. Maybe the diet info could help you. www.tacanow.org. I have also heard that their are yahoo groups for celiac disease that help w/recipes/meals. Do you have a Trader Joe's? They have "jello" without dyes or weird ingredients. It's really good, and pre-packaged perfect for lunch. They also have a list of Gluten Free products. Whole Foods may have similiar things.

I do have some advice. I do believe you are on the right track. Nutrition is great, but also exposure to certain "toxins" are something to consider. I can give you some ideas there. Even recommend a book. There are specific supplements that may help in addition to what you are doing.....which are great! Brands do matter however.

I drink some great protein shakes that are lactose free. It says nothing about casein on the label. They are excellent. Soy protein.

Shoot me a message if these were the types of things you were interested in.

Black bean spaghetti is high in protein. We used to get it at Whole Foods, but haven't seen it recently. My mom said it would be great for her diabetes diet too.
We don't have my son on a strict diet right now, but I try to have him taste a lot of the gluten-free products just in case. For breakfast, he likes quinoa, microwaved apples with cinnamon, banana slices with agave nectar, and Jones brand sausage.
I pack him lunches like a salad bar- chick peas, black olives, spinach leaves, and raw veggies like carrots, celery, broccoli, or bell peppers. Cold noodles, and edamame, shrimp, tuna, or natural lunch meat. And a separate container of soy sauce or salad dressing so it doesn't "contaminate" the rest of his lunch.

NO MSG!!!
My granddaughter is Autistic and Austistics also have a range of ADD-ADHD and ODD. There is a diet for Autistics that is casin and gluten free. Rice and potato flour are gluten free. I am not sure but I think cereals like rice crispies should be gluten free. I would contact the companies who make rice cereals to see if theirs is gluten free. Rice crispies, rice checks ect will hopefully give him a bit more variety. You may also be able to use cream of rice, hot cereal. Soy milk and yorgurt is okay for him.
I agree with you about diet soda have you thought about making sun tea?
As far as soups and stews are concerned he will eat them if you make him. I am the world's meanest Mom but I made my kids eat what was put in front of them. It was perfectly okay for them to not like something, but they had to eat at least 2-3 bites. And they learned to eat everything, there are only 3-5 veggies they won't eat. They love tuna noodle casserole, pasta dishes and well everything. It was not easy I had a few evenings where they sat at the table, falling asleep, until they ate but when they learned I was holding firm, they ate. You can offer a piece of fruit or desert after they do eat to help fill their tummy but they have to learn to eat healthy food. Mine have all thanked me for making them eat healthy food and all have raised their kids the same way.

There's a book called The Autism/ADHD Diet by Barrie Silberberg. It's easy to read and has all of the information you need to figure out how to implement the diet, whether it's gfcf or feingold, how it works and why it works. Very easy to read and has kid-friendly recipes too. I highly suggest getting a hold of it and reading it, if at all possible.

Try this website http://www.wholelifenutrition.net/. They have a recipe blog and most of their recipes are gluten-free. I did buy their cookbook and have tried several of the recipes.

Some breakfast ideas besides the eggs:
-rice cereal (I just grind up brown rice in my coffee grinder, add to water, simmer about 30 min till the water is absorbed, and serve with cinnamon and a bit of agave nectar
-fruit smoothies (you could add tofu and he probably wouldn't even know it)
-Gluten-free oatmeal, so many ways to jazz up oatmeal, like adding fruit, raisins, peanut butter etc
-Granola (use gluten-free oats, honey for sweetness) on top of yogurt

There is an interesting recipe on that site for cinnamon-sunflower truffles that my kids actually really like. They ground up sunflower seeds, dates and cinnamon, rolled up in little balls. They are quite sweet and not too bad for ya! They might be a good treat for him. Good luck! I have been trying to go gluten-free, too, and it takes some creativity!

I won't be much help with the general diet advice. I had tried it with our son, and we discovered that his ADHD is not affected by diet.
If your son doesn't like drinking tea, there is another alternative. Take a look at the 5hr energy drinks. My neurologist says they are the only "energy" drink he will recommend. All they are is caffeine & B vitamins. 1 little bottle is about as much as a cup of coffee, so about half is a good start. Also, look for the pomegranate flavor. It doesn't have any bitterness to it. They are expensive, but we get them for much less at Costco.
Good luck with the diet! Be sure to keep maticulous notes, and give his teachers a notebook to write in daily. THAT was what made the difference with our son. We were able to truly track what was going on. (And discovered he HAD to have medications.)

I agree with the PP - I would try Feingold before you eliminate casein. If you eliminate casein, you also need to take out soy, which is extremely hard to do. I have not heard the GFCFSF diet helping out ADHD as much - I've heard positive results with ASD only. My DS is on both diets for Aspergers, and Feingold completely eliminated his tantrums and hyperactivity. I would give that a try for 6 weeks, THEN try the CFSF route. His yogurt and cheese may contain a lot of artificials and preservatives that are causing him to act out - it may not be the casein.

My sister had severe ADHD growing up. My mom is an RN and she found a diet which eliminated all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. This worked really well. We did not eliminate sugar, as that is natural. There are some fruits that have natural sugars called salicilates that seem to affect ADHD. Apples and grapes seem to be the worst. Other than that fruits and veggies were OK. Any artificial sweeteners are an absolute no no. Studies have shown that sugar really does not have an affect on ADHD. So you may want to tweek the diet a little and see if this will help. A little half coffee half milk in the morning may help with the caffeine trick. This does seem to help focus. Ice tea may be another good idea.

Oh and dairy didn't seem to be a problem, so you may not need to eliminate dairy completely.

This diet really worked for my sister, you could see a huge difference when she had something artificial verse not.

Good luck!

I think you are taking a good step in worrying about diet, but what you really need to stay clear from is the process food, additives, food coloring, artificial junk that is in the food. It sounds like you are giving him alot of processed food which is not going to help get rid of "toxins". I think what you are aiming for is a whole food approach. Look at websites about whole food cooking or even vegan sites for examples of recipes. Kids actually get a ton of protein from different sources, so I wouldn't be concerned about trying to cram it in every meal. Beans, veggies, tofu, even grains--quinoa is especially good for protein and is considered a super grain! You may need to hide some of these healthy things within other stuff too. Don't know why you are using protein powder in addition to all the other things he is eating during the day--too much protein can cause problems too. Best thing is to read up on a whole food diet for ADD or speak to a nutritionist. Whole foods cooking takes time, but the products are cheaper because it is REAL food not processed! Good luck---I think you will all feel healthier going this route!!!

My son doesn't have ADHD but he is allerigc to wheat and other things. I understand about expense.
I buy his gluten free snacks from amazon.com. It is cheaper to buy in bulk and Whole Foods is so expensive.
I know that some children are on Feingolds Diet for ADD/ADHD. You can look up FD online for info.
I read nutritional labels when I buy food for my child. I don't buy products with high sugar level.