ADD and ADHD are two commonly diagnosed conditions affecting many of our youth. Many parents are faced with the dilemma of having to medicate their children. There are said to be ways to control the affects of ADD and ADHD by making dietary changes. Removing artificial coloring and preservatives from the ADD/HD child has been proven to greatly reduce hyperactivity in children.
Start by removing artificial colors from your child’s diet. Red #40 and yellows are said to have the greatest affect on people. If this is part of the problem you will notice a difference in about 3 days after it is all out of their system. According to child allergy specialists there has been scientific evidence that preservatives and colorings increased hyperactive behavior. However, parents of children with ADD/HD are rarely encouraged to make dietary changes by the medical professionals.
Eliminating food dyes and preservatives is thought by some to be some type of “alternative medicine treatment” rather than the standard prescription treatment, like drugs, for ADHD. It is thought that half of ADD/HD families use dietary modification as a form of treatment with positive results, and non-medicated zombie like children.
Recent trials have shown that reducing preservatives and food dyes is shown to reduce hyperactivity in ALL children. Some of the “sugar highs” are not actually the product of sugar consumption, but a product of the reaction to the dyes in most candy. If your child has a sweet tooth, chocolate is a better choice. It is not as bad for them as some of the fat free, fruity treats parents usually prefer.
Removiing these ingredients from your child’s diet is certainly harmless. It will not hurt them to go without these things and in many parent’s eyes, it is a better alternative to prescription drugs.
Other studies of dietary modification include removing Wheat, wheat gluten and casiens from children’s diets as a form of treatment. Many children have allergies and intolerance to these ingredients, which present themselves as hyperactivity. Removing these ingredients is much harder than the food dye removal. Everything they eat seems to have wheat etc. But in many parent’s eyes it’s worth the struggle to help the child naturally.
The course of treatment is a very personal decision for most parents, but these changes certainly will not hurt in any child in any program.
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