Do you know that the regular, calorie rich diet your kid gets at home and outside could be the cause behind his ADHD? For most people, it is no secret that excessive junk food consumption cause weight gain, but few are aware of the fact that these foods could negatively affect the behavioural patterns of kids as well.
If your kid is not following a healthy diet, then he is likely to suffer from several behavioural disorders, including ADHD.
I don’t want to try and really give you medical advise as I am not a doctor but I think that before medicating it is a really good idea to think about your childs diet and if you can change it to alter symptoms.
Diet Changes to Reduce ADHD Symptoms?
A recent study on a group of school children further confirmed this concept. All those children were made to eat only healthy foods for a given period of time; during this time they couldn’t have any junk foods.
Before the study began, some of these kids were overweight while others were suffering from ADHD are other related diseases.
Once the period of study was over, it was found out that very few kids were overweight, not to mention that most of them started exhibiting normal (not ADHD) behavior. As you can see, the type of food your kid eats affects more than just his body weight.
The Advantages of Eating Better for Kids
I am not saying that once your kid starts eating healthy and natural foods, he would be completely cured of ADHD or obesity, but it is surely a good first step in that direction. With that said here are some food tips which should be followed by your kids.
1. Don’t give them milk or cereals to eat at breakfast: Apart from the fact that most kids are lactose-intolerant and consequently unable to digest milk or foods prepared from milk, milk is also the cause of obesity. So far as cereals are concerned, they are rich in carbs and any expert would tell you how bad carbs are for someone who is looking forward to losing and staying slim.
A better option is to offer scrambled or boiled eggs to your kids for breakfast, as they are high on protein. Protein helps one burn fat as well as build muscles. You may also want to add salad to the mix, as salad is rich in fiber and would help keep your kids full for a long time. One big advantage of this is that your kids would be less inclined to gorge on the junk foods they notice outside.
2. Restrict the intake of candies and fizzy drinks of your kids: Both candies are fizzy drinks are high on sugar and consequently make one fat.
The school kids I told you about were able to stay away from junk drinks only because they always carried a bottle filled with plain water with them. You could adopt the same strategy for your kids as well.
3. Increase their intake of “good fats“: There are basically two types of the fats; the ‘bad fat’ which makes one over, and the ‘good fat’ which helps combat obesity.
Omega 3 fatty acid is a good example of “good fats” and it is available in plenty in fishes such as salmon, tuna, etc.
So although these tips may help your kids overall it is important to note really that the diet can not only affect a kids weight but also his or her behavior.