ADHD Diet

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ADHD Diet and Eating Plan

Our ADHD Diet and Eating Program is now completely revised and expanded, and is available in PDF ebook format at ADHDDiet.INFO for $20. It is 44 pages of detailed information for you to begin implementing the program today. Below you will find the "bare bones" version of the diet that we have used since 1996. It will help. And if you want the newest version, in PDF format, go to ADHDdiet.info and purchase your copy today!

Summary for the ADHD Diet and Eating Program:

  • The ADHD Diet Program is Updated for 2016, and has moved to the ADHD Diet Information site at http://ADHDdiet.info
  • An "ADHD Eating Program", or an "ADHD Diet" is very important if you or your child are struggling with ADHD
  • Eating Junk Foods, or Fast Foods, is bad for an ADHD treatment program. Learn how to eat healthier
  • Eating the Right Foods can improve brain performance, focus concentration
  • Our unique ADHD Diet helps between 20% and 25% of those who try it

"ADHD Diet" Intro Video

Go to the ADHD Diet Information site to get the full ADHD diet in eBook PDF format. We also have the full 21 minute information video on our ADHD eating program.

Step One is a Brief Elimination Diet to find out if there are any food sensitivities to things like Milk, Sodas, Eggs, and so on.

What NOT to eat for TWO WEEKS: the first step in this "ADHD Diet"

First, let's find out if there are food allergies causing the ADHD symptoms or behaviors. Eliminate these foods for two weeks, then get ready to add them back in to the ADHD diet...

  • NO DAIRY PRODUCTS, especially cow's milk.
  • NO YELLOW FOODS. Especially Yellow Corn or Yellow Squash.
  • NO JUNK FOODS. If it comes in a cellophane wrapper, don't eat it. Stop eating junk food and your brain will work better.
  • NO FRUIT JUICES. They have too much sugar. One small glass of apple juice has the sugar content of eight apples.
  • CUT SUGAR INTAKE BY 90%. If you can, cut it down to zero.
  • CUT CHOCOLATE BY 90%. No more than a single piece, once a week.
  • NO NUTRASWEET. None. Period. Never. It's bad for you. It is bad for your brain.
  • NO PROCESSED MEATS and NO MSG. Only get meats with labels that say, “Turkey and Water,” etc. If the meat has chemicals listed that you can't pronounce, don't buy it and don't eat it.
  • CUT FRIED FOODS BY 90%. The Trans-Fats in fried foods and other less than healthy foods compete in the body with good Fatty Acids, and the Essential Fatty Acids. You can either have unhealthy Trans-Fats, or healthy EFA, but not both in the same space in your brain.
  • AVOID FOOD COLORINGS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
  • AVOID FISH. We hate to say this, as there used to be so many benefits to eating fish, especially the Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) or Omega Oils. But the problem these days is that the mercury levels in most fish is simply too high to be either safe or healthy. Mercury is the second most toxic metal on earth, and is a terrible neuro-toxin.

SUMMARY: Just eat foods that God made for a while. Eat like people did in the 1940's, or the 1840's. Go to a used book store and get some good old cook books for recipe ideas. There really are about 10,000 meals that you CAN eat. Just not much in the way of “fast foods” or “convenience” foods.

Go to the ADHD Diet Information site to get the full ADHD diet in eBook PDF format, including our UPDATES for 2016. We also have the full 21 minute information video on our ADHD eating program.

Here's a link to our newest ADHD Diet YouTube Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSF4wEb3WDA&feature=youtu.be

After the First Two Weeks of the ADHD Diet : What to Eat

Our ADHD Diet : What to eat to feed your brain, from the ADHD Information Library and ADHDdiet.info

AFTER TWO WEEKS begin adding some of the restricted foods back into your diet, one food every other day. The foods that are bad for you all of the time, such as trans-fats, nutrasweet, and other chemical food additives should be out of your diet forever. Junk foods and fast foods should be eliminated too. But of the "test" foods such as dairy products, eat A LOT of that food every day for four days. If you have a problem with one of the foods, you will see some kind of a “reaction” within four days.

ADHD Diet: OPTIMIZE THE ADHD BRAIN

Just as some foods make the brain "foggy," other foods can enhance and optimize brain performance. Here are some things to eat to feed the ADHD brain...

  • FOR BREAKFAST SERVE HIGH PROTEIN, LOW CARBOHYDRATE MEALS. Breakfast cereals are mostly carbohydrate and sugar, which is a bad combination for the ADHD brain. Instead, serve 60% to 70% Protein and 30% to 40% Carbohydrates for Breakfast. Eggs, breakfast meats, and some toast would be fine. Other meals of the day could be 50% Protein and 50% Carbohydrate.
  • PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS might be needed to get the added protein for Breakfast. They are often very helpful in the afternoon as well.
  • DRINK LOTS OF WATER. The brain is about 80% water, and increasing your water intake to 7 to 10 glasses per day might be very helpful all by itself. Sodas, Gatorade, teas, icees, etc., do not count as water. Only water counts as water.
  • MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS may be helpful. Colloidal Minerals or fully chelated minerals are the best. There are several good choices. Don't buy minerals in the grocery store. Get good minerals.
  • ATTEND, EXTRESS, or MEMORIN. Attend is an excellent brain food, so we recommend the Attend product for everyone from ADHD kids and teens, to athletes, businessmen and women, students, and more. Extress is recommended for those with problems with hyperactivity and temper, and is also good for improved sleep and anxiety or worry. Memorin is for those with poor concentration or memory. These are highly recommended. They are available at the Nutrition2You.com store.
  • FLAX SEED OIL or PRIMROSE OIL or WALNUT OIL. These are good sources of Omega oils, and many with ADHD are deficient in Omega oils (or essential fatty acids).
  • EAT LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
  • AVOID ALUMINUM EXPOSURE

  • AVOID HEAVY METAL EXPOSURES. These heavy metal exposures come in the form of amalgam dental fillings, which are 50% mercury (extremely toxic), 20% copper (also toxic), and about 15% nickel (also toxic). Nickel is also common with dental braces and with dental crowns. And there are other toxic heavy metals found in pesticides and herbicides. And now there's also too much mercury in fish.
  • Eat in a healthy manner.

Go to the ADHD Diet Information site to get the full ADHD diet in eBook PDF format, including our UPDATES for 2016. We also have the full 21 minute information video on our ADHD eating program.

Try these recommendations out and let us know what you think.

Oh, before you email back and ask, “Well, what can we eat?” please look through your Betty Crocker Cook Book and you'll find hundreds of recipes that will work well. It's the convenience foods that are most of the problem. Re-discover the lost art of cooking with this eating program for ADD : "ADHD Diet".

And to find an experienced therapist who provides counseling in Tehachapi for ADHD please give my office a call at (661) 972-5953.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., M.S. is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Tehachapi, CA who has been a skillful counselor to children, teens, and adults helping them to overcome ADHD, find relief for depression or anxiety, and solve other problems in life since 1989. He served on the medical advisory board to the company that makes Attend and Extress from 1997 through 2011, and he is the Editor of the ADHD Information Library online resource. His weekly ADHD Newsletter goes out to 9,500 families. Visit his website at http://DouglasCowan.me for more information on achieving greater health, personal growth, Christ-centered spirituality, stress management, parenting skills, ADHD, working out the stresses of being a care-giver to elderly parents and also being a parent to teenagers, or finding greater meaning in retirement years, Dr. Cowan can be a valuable resource to you.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., MFT
27400 Oakflat Dr.
Tehachapi, CA 93561
(661) 972-5953

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