Diets That Help Kids With ADD

ADD, or attention deficit disorder, is a neurological disorder that has symptoms of inattention. However, while many parents choose to give their children medication, like Ritalin, to treat their children's ADD symptoms, a diet change can alleviate symptoms. Many times, ADD symptoms are indeed food allergies, and disappear after the allergy has been treated. Before starting psychiatric medications, an ADD diet can improve the child's overall health.

Determining Allergies

• Many children who exhibit ADD symptoms may have food allergies that have gone unnoticed. Some of these food allergies are common, while others are more rare. To begin the ADD diet, parents should remove the following foods from their children's diets for two weeks: dairy products, junk food, fruit juices, sugar and chocolate products by 90 percent, NutraSweet, processed meats and MSG, fried foods by 90 percent and food coloring. While controversial, fish should be avoided for that two week period as well. While the Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are essential for brain development, the mercury content present in some fish may be the cause for some symptoms in children.

Reintroducing Foods

• After that two-week period has passed, one food at a time should be reintroduced into the child's diet. The food being reintroduced should be given in large quantities for four days to see if there is any reaction. However, because these children have already had these foods in the past, there should not a severe enough reaction to endanger the child's life. If an allergy is noticed, remove the food from the child's diet and see if this elevates the ADD symptoms.

Optimizing Brain Health

• Once the food allergy has been noted, parents can introduce brain healthy food to stimulate brain development in their children. For breakfast, instead of cereal and other bread products, the meal should consist of high-protein food with a low-carbohydrate count. Throughout the day, children should be given protein rich food, or if necessary, protein supplements. In addition, mineral supplements or vitamins should be given to ensure the child has all the essential minerals daily.

  Water is essential, and children should be consuming at least eight glasses of water a day. Lots of fruits and vegetables should be in their diets. Omega oils, such as the omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, is necessary for brain development. However, other alternatives to obtaining omega oils is through flax seed and primrose oil. In addition to avoiding the foods that the child is allergic to, aluminum and heavy metal exposure should also be avoided.