Going {Gluten Free Refined Sugar Free} for ADHD

 

So we have this kid. He's pretty great. Your typical 6 year old boy. Loves legos, dinosaurs, dirt and riding his bike. He loves school. He's bright and full of energy. Boy, is he full of energy. You now when your kids are babies and you can see their little personalities emerging? This boy has been sensitive, stubborn, sweet, smart from a baby. And we couldn't love him more.

 

 

Before I go any further, I'd like to say that I am not a medical professional. I'm a mom who knows her son inside and out. The things that have worked for him may not work for someone elses child. I'm just putting this out there for anyone searching for a bit of comfort.

 

Jonah started kindergarten this past year. He hopped on that bus without an ounce of reluctance. We thought for sure that with two years of preschool in him that he would be fully prepared for "big kid school". When his teacher called the first time about his behavior at school, we were a bit shocked. We dealt with it and thought that it was just new school jitters. His behavior progressively got worse until finally he was sent to the principals office. To say that I was disappointed and ashamed is an understatement. I kept thinking, "this is not my kid....where did we go wrong in our parenting?". After many phone calls and conferences with his teacher, principal, school counselor and even his preschool teacher, we knew we had to deal with this immediately.

 

I stayed up many late nights researching defiant children, ADHD, spectrum disorders. He showed many signs of having ADHD. Which should come to no surprise to the ones who know Jonah well. So with my "mommy diagnosis", I began to research natural methods. We knew if we took him to the doctor we would just be sent home with prescription drugs. Not something I want to put in my child.

 

What I noticed in my research was a large majority of these disorders (or however you want to define them), were being treated with a gluten free refined sugar free diet. I'm a big believer in whatever you put in your body is how your body is going to feel.

 

We started him immediately on the new diet. I can't say that it was easy. But I can say that it was eye opening actually thinking about how much gluten/sugar he was consuming in one day. He loved having a pb & j sandwich for lunch everyday at school...um hello gluten and sugar!

 

His teacher was shocked when his behavior started to improve. Slowly at first. Then finally some steady good behavior. Hooray! We've gotten off track a few times especially over the holidays where it seemed like every store we went into was giving out candy canes and cookies. He still has good and bad days just like everyone else. Lately there have been a lot more good days than bad which is so positively exciting and reassuring!




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Now for more diet specifics. Jonah seems to really thrive on protein. Turkey, eggs, almonds are a few of his favorites. He is also a big fan of fruit! Veggies are tougher for him, as he does not like them cooked. He eats a lot of raw carrots, spinach and broccoli.

 

Generally in the morning he eats one or two scrambled eggs with some kind of fresh fruit on the side. I have bought him some gluten free waffles that he loves but they are kind of expensive so it's more of an occasional treat. I just put butter and mash up some blueberries or strawberries on them.

 

He eats lunch at school with his classmates so I don't want him to feel awkward about taking a "weird" lunch. I usually pack a sandwich on gluten free bread with almond butter or nitrate/preservative free lunch meat. For sides I try to vary it....raw almonds, fresh spinach, grapes, apple slices, cheese, hard boiled egg.

 

Dinner is the toughest. He has never liked dinner foods. You won't get him to eat a casserole even if his life depended on it! I usually give him some kind of protein and a veggie. Ground turkey patty, turkey meatloaf muffins, chicken breast sauteed in Braggs liquid aminos, oven baked fish. He isn't a fan of potatoes or rice so sometimes I'll buy him gluten free pasta.

There are a ton of gluten free products out there which is amazing. However many of them still contain refined sugars, dyes, etc. that are just as bad as the regular version. So I try to steer clear of those things if possible and make my own versions at home instead. Just something about knowing what's going into our food, ya know?

I'm still knee deep in research on vitamins for him. We tried a chewable vitamin that's specifically for ADHD but Jonah had a horrible time getting them down. For now I've been giving him a fish oil DHA, according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman's research.

Please please please don't think that he eats perfectly everyday and that he doesn't put up a fight. It is a constant battle. He lost a tooth a few days ago and of course we had to celebrate with chocolate ice cream because, well, he's a kid!

I've started a board on Pinterest with recipes and websites that I've found helpful. I'd love to hear from other parents in the same boat! Feel free to send me an email or comment below and I will get back to you.

Whew, if you stuck with me through all that you are officially amazing! Thanks for listening to our story and I hope it helps guide your way through this journey.