ADHD and Food

I read this interesting post “FOODS THAT CAUSE ADHD BEHAVIOR” from Dr. Frank Barnhill, a pediatrician in SC.  Many parents often wonder if their child’s behavioral difficulties are due to food allergies.  Dr. Barnhill explains below.

A child’s diet often determines whether or not they show signs and symptoms of ADHD.

Many parents have noticed their child’s behavior to be more impulsive or more hyperactive after eating certain foods. This increase in ADHD behavior is particularly more common during times of the year when children and teens tend to eat or drink more foods that contain sugar, dyes, caffeine, and preservatives… Read more here.

If you are concerned about your child’s behavior it’s important that you log everything he or she eats.  I recommend you keep a log for at least two weeks so you can analyze foods and compare them to your child’s behavior.  In addition to your food log, keep a written record of his or her school performance for the day.  On the day(s) that his or her behavior is poor then really study the foods and food label ingredients to determine if there are any patterns.

Taking this step will help you understand your child even better.