I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in college (for the first time). I remember going to Barnes and Nobel and running into a book that was called the ADHD diet that claimed that eliminating gluten and casein would help with ADHD symptoms. I didn't think much of it at the time. Years later, I realized I had an issue with gluten and went gluten free - and my concentration improved SO MUCH! I have no idea if it was just because I wasn't constantly tired or if the gluten affected my concentration and I haven't been able to find research that shows going gluten free legitimately helps with ADHD.
To make really long story a little shorter... I've been reading about 'ADHD diets' along with 'Autism diets' for years. This is the first time I have ever seen research that backs up the 'Autism diet' claim. Maybe a study on the effect of gluten (and casein) on ADHD will be next???
http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/03/03/gluten-free-casein-free-diet-shows-promise-for-autism-symptoms/35555.html
My mother has been teaching elementary children for over 35 years and just yesterday when we were talking she said she was starting to question if children's diets today are affecting their progress in school. She has been noticing that in the past few years there has been an increasing number of children with attention or comprehension issues. It will be interesting to see what we learn down the road with more research being done on trying to connect foods or additives with ADHD or Autism. Very interesting topic!
ReplyDelete