How Does Diet Affect Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Research Paper Example

?How does diet affect ADHD How does diet affect ADHD In APA Style How does diet affect ADHD 2 Introduction This paper discusses how diet affects ADHD and its effects on the patients. It also talks about what the disorder is to give a good background about it and how it is acquired. As you go along the paper, you will learn different types of medications and how to prevent attacks of the disorders. You will also understand how an ADHD patient should be treated in order for the patient to be able to cope with life. What is ADHD? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that becomes noticeable in some children in their early years. It is difficult for these children to control their behaviour. According to surveys, approximately 5 percent or more or less 2 million children in the US have this disorder. It is likely to have 1, in a classroom of 30 children, who has this disorder. (Feingold, 1975, p 8) Dr. Heinrich Hoffman, a physician who wrote a number of books about medicine and psychiatry, first described ADHD in 1845. Due to the scarcity of reading materials that suit his son, he became a poet and wrote a number of poems that describe the characteristics of different children. The story of Fidgety Philip was an exact description of a young boy who had ADHD. Children who face ADHD should be surrounded by people who can give guidance and understanding in order for the patients to cope with the daily endeavours of life. It is a difficult but not insurmountable task to deal with ADHD. Proper knowledge about the disorder should be acquired to be able to fully understand the behaviour of the children. (Barkley, 2010, p 27) How does diet affect ADHD 3 Feingold Diet In the 1970s, the chief emeritus of the Department of Allergy at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Dr. Benjamin Feingold, suggested a link between diet and a number of allergic conditions. Approximately 50 percent of Feingold’s hyperactive patients testified that they benefited from the food that do not contain artificial flavourings and colourings and some natural chemicals like salicylates that are found in apricots, tomatoes, berries and other food. (Feingold, 1979, p 72) But there are some experts in child behaviour and some pediatricians who were sceptical about this diet, many parents follow this. In some cases, many children were put on a diet that did not contain any food additives, artificial flavourings and colourings and afterwards challenged with dyes. In other cases, there were children who were monitored after switching to this kind of diet (dyes, egg, wheat, and some others) and then challenged with those foods. The result was not too consistent since there were others who were not seen with drastic effects, though there were some who experienced significant difference. (Silberberg, 2009, p 29) Sometime in 1982, the National Institute of Health (NIH) organized a compromise conference on different types of diets on hyperactivity disorder to review early research and inform the health professionals and the public. This is the reason behind there is no concrete diet that can be recommended to children who have ADHD today and instead, only avoidance of a few foods with contents that that found some effects on ADHD patients. How does diet affect ADHD 4 In addition, further studies should be done to find out if stimulant drugs have an effect on the nervous system and other part in the body in the future. Drugs like Ritalin and its sort were not recommended by the (Food and Drug Association (FDA) and medical professionals. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has discovered that doses of Ritalin that exceeded, even just a small insignificant dose, can cause liver tumors in mice. This only means that those children who have taken this drug could be susceptible to its carcinogenic effects that could be noticed later in life. Although the NTP has considered the drug to have a weak carcinogenic potential, this remains a troubling issue to everyone. (Yan, 2007) Elimination Diet The food elimination diet makes the parents put this children an a few-food diet in order to know if there are some improvements in the behaviour of their kids. Normally, this is done in a two-week monitoring and noting if there are at least 2 consecutives days of improvement in the child’s behaviour. If not, ending the experiment is suggested. (Silberberg, 2009, 46) If there are improvements on the behaviour of the child, reintroducing one of the eliminated foods or additives at a time is recommended. Noting the effects, if any, in the diary is advised to monitor the types of foods of which the child has adverse reactions. If the particular food has not affected the behaviour of the child, the food is considered safe. This process should be done until such time that parents already know the foods that are safe to eat by their kids. This trial and error process will gradually end when a set of “safe foods” have How does diet affect ADHD 5 been noted .This may seem a little taxing to the parents and especially the children but can be very beneficial if executed properly. Here is a list of foods that can be included in this diet: Fresh meat and poultry Vegetables excluding corn and soybeans Fruits except for citrus ones Rice and oats Note: If the child has eczema or other allergies, adverse reactions may occur when reintroducing foods. A dietician should be consulted if the child has been o a restricted diet for more than a week to provide the child with all the nutrients his/her body needs. In addition, the child should also take a daily vitamin and mineral supplement. On the other hand, just like with Feingold diet, nutritionists and other medical professionals do not agree with this diet plan. They find both diets a too restrictive to the extent that some fruits and vegetables are avoided. Forgetting the Feingold and other food elimination diets and just eating all the fruits and vegetables the kids love most and avoiding all additives, flavourings and other sorts of toxins are what they recommend. (Wender, 2000, p 34) Expecting drastic improvement in behaviour of the child should not be expected. Eliminating the culprits may give just partial improvement. If the child still does not react well on current diet he/she is in, after a number of attempts, consulting a pediatrician for other treatment options like medication and behavioural counselling How does diet affect ADHD 6 can be done. Trying other ways may be beneficial for the child instead of doing repetitive attempts on the restrictive dieting. Choosing a Medication It is very important to match your individual needs with what a medication will probably do or not do for your symptoms. For a long time, stimulants have been the best medications to try first. You and your health professional must think about both the benefits and the possible side effects of any medication you try for ADHD. Strattera is a new, nonstimulant drug for people with AD/HD. Its side effects which are often mild and may go away during treatment include dry mouth, not being able to sleep, nausea, constipation, loss of appetite, dizziness, decreased sexual interest and performance and problems with urination. It also may have heart and blood pressure side effects. It appears to work as well as stimulants. (Yan, J. 2007) Antidepressants are medications that help treat depression, but some of them seem to also help with the symptoms of ADHD. The reverse is also true, some antidepressants may actually make ADHD symptoms worse. There are different types of antidepressants, and each works somewhat differently. Conclusion Although treating ADHD is a tough task, it is not an impossible thing to do. Patients can still cope with life and different ways like medical treatment, proper diet and some others are made available for them. Any of the diets or medications stated has their good effects. It’s just up to us which one to try or which one would work best for the patient. Barkley, R. A. (2010). Taking charge of adult ADHD. New York: Guilford Press. Feingold, B. F., & Feingold, H. S. (1979). The Feingold cookbook for hyperactive children, and others with problems associated with food additives and salicylates. New York: Random House Feingold, B. F. (1975). Why your child is hyperactive. New York: Random House Wender, P. H. (2000). ADHD: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adults. Oxford: Oxford University Press Yan, J. (January 01, 2007). Nonstimulant ADHD Medication Moves Closer to FDA Approval. Psychiatric News, 42, 15, 18. Silberberg, B. (2009). The autism & ADHD diet. Naperville, Ill: Sourcebooks Read More