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My kids aren't ADD, but they love dry cereal for snacks. I don't know what kind of diet he needs to be on, but my kids usually eat dry mini wheats, lucky charms, etc. Most little ones like dry cheerios as well.

Have a Great Day!
L. Santiago

Hi,
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I commend you for trying diet first, as often that is all it takes. Good luck to you!

for snacks, he could maybe have some raw vegetables, like carrots or brocolli with ranch, or maybe even celery with peanut butter. for dinner, maybe baked chicken....? i'm not sure, but i hope the snack ideas help.

I have an M.S. in Nutrition along with two ADD boys, especially my older son. One of the best things you can do diet wise is to try to limit sugary snacks (especially on a empty stomach, after meals is better) and to have a little protein at every meal or snack. This keeps blood sugar stable and helps focus. My older son actually likes to have a glass of milk with half a scoop of EAS Vanilla Whey Protein we get in bulk at Sams. Any kind of protein is good though. Like PB with apples or crackers, cheese, turkey slices, nuts (walnuts have omega 3's), yogurt, etc.

Hi, S....

The big clue for your son is to make a note of his diet (and be very specific as to Brand name, variety (flavors, etc.), and amount he is eating, and any changes in his behavior when he is eating certain foods ("acting up", "bouncing off the walls", unable to focus, etc).

The next thing is to find a dietician/nutritionist who can help you modify your son's diet. Start with your pedi's office, and if they can't help, let me know, and I'll help you look (my 2 year old is in ECI, and I can ask them). The dietician will be able to help you pinpoint which foods to avoid, how to "spot" foods that can cause a problem for your son, and still keep his diet varied and nutritionally balanced.

Is your son in Kindergarten or 1st grade this year? Ask them to let you know EXACTLY what he ate at lunch and how it seemed to affect his behavior that day. You might want to make up some forms for his teacher to fill out, and put back in your son's backpack each day, or at the end of the week, so they get home to you, or have her email you the info in the evening, whichever is easier for the 2 of you to communicate effectively about this issue.

I would also suggest having your son tested for allergies, since allergic reactions aren't always seen in the form of itching or "hives" or other physical change. (When I was little, my siblings' and my allergies always seemed to make us "cranky".)

OK...so with the red dye, you can't let your son have any RED jell-o, popsicles that are red, red suckers/lollipops, etc. That's pretty easy to figure out.(Be careful with his juices, too. I'm pretty sure Juicy Juice is still safe for your son, because they are 100% JUICE, with no dyes or added sugars. Just double check the labels.) MSG has pretty much been removed from almost anything that it ever WAS put in, but you still need to read labels, just to be sure, especially if you eat chinese. The full name of MSG is monosodium glutamate, and I'm not sure if there might be another name for it now, or not. The nutritionist will be able to tell you, though.

I hope this helps! Let me know if I can help you with anything else. (I have the diet background because I've been a Type 1 diabetic for the past 28 1/2 years.)

~J.~
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Yeah -- thank goodness you are investigating before medicating! Yes, look for a CNHP (certified Natural Health Professional. or a ND (Naturopathic Doctor). They can guide you and discover which minerals, EFA, enzymes, food supplements that his body is crying out for. Our foods today are so deficient in the optimum nutrition. Praises to you for your hard work to help your little guy. Dr. Sharon Price in Bedford is a PhD nutritionist if you are close. Take a deep breath, find a mommy support and prayer group and relax and let God lead your every step.

I second the recommendation for Feingold. My oldest is on it and while we're not 100% FG, we've seen some changes in him.

The fee is $70 for a year which gives you handbooks on what kinds of foods and household products to buy plus suplements and restaurants and what is acceptable to eat at those restaurants (sadly, a very short list). They do have a scholarship program if $70 is too steep so that you can still look into it.

Also, with FG, during stage one you eliminate all salicylates which is the hard part. That means no tomatoes, aspirin, grapes, oranges and others.

You have to work on getting approved cleaning materials and toiletries as well. No colored tooth brush bristles, no toothpaste with colors or sparkles, no fragrance oils in products. It's surprising how much dye, petroleum-based scents and preservatives there are out there!

Go for the gluten free / casien free diet. You may really be surprised at the results. I know it seems like a lot, however it really makes a difference.

This is going to sound trite, but stick with foods from scratch.
Breakfast could include sugar free corn or bran flakes. Snacks could include hard cheeses like cheddar and fruit.

There are tons of websites available and other resources to help you. (healthykids.com I think; google could help) Most important is to read those labels and ingredients listings. Some foods have red dye and arent even red, but purple or blue.

Relax, so many moms run themselves ragged. It is possible to have a busy life without having to feel like you are in a constant rat race.

My husband and I have four boys, I am currenlty attending graduate school, but there was a time when we were both in college. The kids have lives too, like Scouts, football, basketball, violin, friends, etc. But we kept meal times sacred and let our world stop for that hour to hour and half where it is just us and the kids.

Tricks we learned, turn off the tv. put the phones on silent, if we play music during dinner it is music with no lyrics. This way the only voices heard during our time together is each others. Oh, and we start with a prayer, most important.

Our children follow our lead. How do we want them to feel? How do we feel? If we feel a certain way, likely they are too. Keep life light and focused.
Tell us how it goes,
M. V

Fish oil is an essential for dealing with ADD. I have an ADD teenager, and ADHD teen, and I have ADD. I think the previously given advice about the library is the first place to start. You also might want to check out any recently written articles from medical journals concerning ADD/ADHD. You can find these with Google. We do modify our diets, get plenty of exercise and sleep, but, we also take medication. I had a very hard time with that one but I also recognize that ADD is a medical condition that is physically taking place in your brain and not just a learning disorder. The med we take is Strattera.

I just wanted to respond and wish you luck with changing the diet, I have a 15 yr old who was diagnosed with ADHD at 5. I resisted the diagnosis for nearly 2 years and trying all of the "natural" remidies to no avail. I finally gave in and medicated him (which was a very difficult decision) and we have had wonderful success ever since. He went from failing elementary to an honors student who has been recognized numerous times for his standardized test scores. Through the years we have had to change the medications due to harsh side effects caused by the stimulant medications, but have found that Straterra (the only non-stimulant on the market) works wonders. They say it works for some and not on others. I recommend you do some serious research on the diet, I have found contrasting opinions on removing sugar, red dye, and msg not being effective, and when we tried it was not only uneffective but a HUGE burden on the family and our budget. It is not only very difficult to find foods without these ingredients they tend to be quite pricey. A couple of books I recommend for you are Driven to Distraction and Answers to Distraction. There are a lot of useful tips and facts in these books. My prayers are with you and your son S., I know this is a difficult time for both of you.

I work at the Library. Try there. I know we have tons of books and there are some on ADD children. I applaud you for not putting him on meds. He will be blessed so much more this way. I will look today and see what books we have and sugguestions I can gather for you. God Bless.

Hi. My cousin's family had a similar situation. Their son responded well to fish oil as a therapy for ADHD. It needs to be given regularly, about 5 times per day. His Mom wuold take the capsules and squeeze the liquid out of them onto a spoon and give it to him like that. But you could also put it into his food. Just something you might want to check into. As to snacks and meals, I would think you've got more choices of what he can eat than what he can't. I'd be more focused on not giving him things which would be harmful like msg (ie prepared foods, chinese food) or red dyes (kool-aid, most kid-drinks, and cakes/cupcakes). I think it'll ultimately have your whole family eating healthier- those are things every human should stay away from anyway, no? Best of Luck! J.

Organic food is usually MSG and dye free, so you have a lot of options.

One of my favorites is Annie's Organics Whole Wheat Macoroni Shells and Cheese. It costs just over a buck, is healthy and nutritious, and my kiddos love it.

I think you are making a wonderful choice for your son, and hope that the diet changes help. A schedule helps, too. Even if your little one doesn't normally pay attention to the time, if you can point to a schedule on the wall and say, "Ok, it's _________ time." he'll probably go for it...especially if there is plenty of play time scheduled.

I would check out http://www.foodnetwork.com/ , they have everything. A word of caution when eating out, ask the server if there is any msg or food dye in meals, if they look unsure ask for the manager. I was a restaurant manager for years, my husband is a trained chef, restaurants use odd ingredents that have all sorts of exotic componets. My half brother is ADD, my mom cut out red food dye and sugar, it really seemed to help. Also a cup of milk and coffe in the morning and one in his lunch helped him focus. Caffine has the opposite effect on true ADD ADHD people. If you want him to sleep, on a car trip or plane, make him a strong cup of green tea, he will go right out.
Good Luck

Think REAL food. Not canned,processed junk. In other words cut out soda, spaghetto's, bologna. A lot of what we eat today is so processed and full of things that it is a wonder we get much nutrition from it.

Go the the deli section, get real lunchmeat where you have the ham/turkey sliced. Read the cheese labels and get the ones that list milk as the number 1 ingredient. Give him real fruit juice to drink (1 glass a day is good---more than that and you are really just feeding him sugar). Fresh fruits, vegetables raw with dips that you make from milk/sour cream/whatever. Plain cooked veggies like carrots with a little butter and salt or thyme.

My boys are on the ADD spectrum and I kept their diet very basic when they were young with the exception of the occassional happy meal or hotdog. Also get him into a sport he enjoys. Soccer took care of one's excess energy and karate took care of the others. ;-)

Also get on a pretty strict schedule. ADD kids thrive on it. They need to know what to expect and then their brains can focus on other things. And they are usually very smart, so they tend to be creative and need to be encouraged and guided in that area. One of mine was very artistic and liked to draw/paint/color. The other was very into building with Lego's, Tinkertoys, etc. Those are great 'rainy day' activities. And go for nature walks to tire them out for a nap/bedtime.

I did not avoid totally red dye, etc. but I really tried to keep us on more natural healthy foods as a base. And I really watched the sugar intake!

Good luck,

S.,

I agree with a previous post in regards to the fish oil. My son who is 13 was diagnosed with ADHD at age 4. We tried to keep him off medication as long as possible however there did come a point where we had to decide. All that being said, he has been on several different medicines throughout the years and today is doing great! In addition to his prescribed medications, he takes on a daily basis fish oil capsules and a all natural multi-purpose vitamin. We try to limit "junk" food although I don't know if it really makes a difference in his behavior it is just healthier. Also get your son involved in some sort of sport, etc. My son has done really well with soccer. He started playing at age 3 and for the past year has been on a travel team which is the elite of recreational sports. Soccer is a good one because there is not as much physical contact between players, plus there is a lot of running up and down the field (great for getting rid of excess energy)and it is a true team sport.

Hope some of this helps!

C.

My sister put her son on the Feingold diet. You have to join their organization (not sure of the cost) but she really liked it. You can check out their website at www.feingold.org - they give you lists of foods (with the brands) that you can buy without all of the "forbidden" additives/dyes/etc. All of the info you would need to follow their diet- it is not so much a "diet" like you typically think of a diet, it is just good things for kids/adults with ADD (or Autistic spectrum) to eat and things to avoid.

My only additional word of advice-- it is wonderful to try to change your childs diet to cut out the nasty additives we have in processed foods, it is healthy for them in so many ways! But if your child is truly ADD (and not just "strong-willed" or "high energy" or "all boy") diet change alone may not fully address his needs. This will be something you deal with for a long time and at some point medicine may be necessary. I say this ONLY because my son has ADHD and diet changes did nothing to help him (we ate pretty healthy without too many processed foods anyway.)- but he was truly suffering (not academically luckily, but very much socially) and we decided to go ahead and give him medicine in spite of our reservations. It has been an amazing help to him- he is not in trouble EVERY day at school anymore, he tells me "The kids at school will play with me this year." (they wouldn't last year- except for the other rambunctious/mean/hyperactive/impulsive kids and then there was chaos for all of them!!) There have been studies that show truly ADD kids who are not treated (with behavior therapy and medicine) are prone to "self-medicating" in their teenage years with illegal drugs and alcohol. I would much rather control the medication now and help him learn to self-regulate as he matures- than have to try to prevent him from self-medicating later on. Just a little info. Good luck!

P.

We've been suspicious of red dye for years so I read alot of labels. I have found most chocolate flavored foods have red dye. I buy baking chocolate to make my own chocolate foods. I found one Gatorade that has no red dye but you can't buy the smaller bottles. It's Fierce Strawberry. Only the larger bottles do not contain red dye. Why they use it in the same-named strawberry Fierce in the smaller size, I don't know. You would think by now, manufacturers would realize we KNOW they are coloring our foods and that gatorade isn't really red because of the strawberries.I buy non-dye foods as much as I can. I even buy the N0-Dye Benadryl. Too bad they don't make a similar version in chewables.
Yoplait is real good about not using dyes. I buy the DanActive brand now (drinkables) and their strawberry is VERY lightly colored.I haven't even checked to see if there is dye in there. You just have to check labels. I see more and more organic, no msg, no preservative foods so that is gaining momentum. Watch out for sausage--even it has msg! I found a brand at Kroger, Blueribbon, that does not have it thank goodness, and Natually Preferred and Farmland make bacon that has no additives. As I read labels, I find MSG and glutamate-type additives to still be quite prevalent.
Certain beef jerkies do not have msg, but not many. Many labels say "natural flavors" which is vague. I have gone on manufacturers websites to see if they can tell me more, and I was relieved that some foods, even though they say natural flavors, do not contain msg or additives, you just have to investigate.
Good for you for trying a non-drug route first. I hope it works. If not, I do know some children who do have to take medication and they are doing fine.

Also be careful about soups and lotions. My husband is allergic to yellow 5, red 30 and asprin based items or he will break out in tons of hives and be deathly sick. I had to stop wearing smelly lotion that is colored cause tons are made from artifical colors and so is body soap and shampoo and stuff like that. Best of luck to you and your son-it is hard at times but it gets better after awhile-my husband can not eat mustard or certain cheese-imagine how hard that is sometimes.

Hi S.!! It has also been highly suggested that the toxins and chemicals in our home are contributing to the symptoms of not only ADD, but others as well (Asthma, excema, Autism, Allegies). I have a really good friend whose son was diagnosed with a slight form of Autism and when she switched to all natural products, she could see a difference in her son. If you'd be interested in hearing more about getting these toxins/chemicals out and the all natural products in, please contact me. I'm not just talking about cleaning products either...personal products such as hygiene and vitamins.

Good luck to you all!!!

T.
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