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After some supplemental reading, the hypothesis of ADD/ADHD symptoms as a reaction to food allergies has been tested before[1], the authors had done a previous experiment published back in 2009, and it appears this experiment was designed to avoid criticisms[2] of past experiments in the field. [1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8257176 [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17048717
Is the full text of [2] available anywhere? I can't seem to find it with web searches.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/magazine/21Epilepsy-t.html
If I understand correctly, nobody completely understands why these dietary changes effect such significant benefits. But the results are interesting, to say the least.
About six years ago, I was forced to change my own diet quite radically. It has been a huge adjustment, but the process has made me acutely aware of just how much certain foods can effect me physically and mentally. And, too, how the physical reaction to certain foods effects me, mentally. So my bias here is obvious -- it's good to see investigation into possible causes. Especially when the medications for ADHD are a bit scary.
As a pretty strongly affected ADHD person and as the parent of an extremely affected seven year old, my experience is that no, diet alone will not help kids more than drugs. I'm a vegetarian, eat right, work out - all the right things - and, although they help, they are no replacement for some type of methylphenidate (i.e. Ritalin or Concerta). I don't need a study to tell me that "One approach does not work for all…
As someone who recently abandoned methylphenidate for my new BFF bupropion, I understand the sensitivity to common claims that ADD/ADHD is primarily a lack of will power or a lack of parental/teacher discipline. But I still believe in science. Part of my early treatment involved vitamin supplements for serum deficiencies in iron, B12, and D. Bringing those levels up did not alleviate the symptoms for me, but I'm open to scientific investigation of reports that such supplements were a crucial difference for other people.
altering your child's diet without a doctor's supervision is inadvisable. WTF? I'm sure this is just a CYA, but the idea that most people need the advice of a medical professional to make dietary decisions is absurd. Sure, be careful about any radical fad diets, but adding or eliminating certain foods is quite safe. People do that all the time due to price fluctuations, availability and changing tastes with no ill ef…
The article title is a bit misleading. It looks like they done a blind search on foods the children ate and by process of elimination found foods whose removal caused the reduction of ADHD like symptoms from 64% of kids in their sample. The Two signal paragraphs are: Pelsser compares ADHD to eczema. "The skin is affected, but a lot of people get eczema because of a latex allergy or because they are eating a pineapple…
Supposedly they could have created a similar study by just testing a single problematic food item (I don't know, wheat or whatever), and they should also have found an effect - only smaller.
It does not seem to outlandish that different things can trigger allergies, yet all allergic reactions are somewhat similar.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thankfully, the original study (linked to below) gives a summary. The diet was composed for each kid individually, but the basic "few-foods" diet was rice, meat, vegetables, pears, and water. Potatoes, fruits and wheat were added for some kids, at prescribed intervals. They were following this protocol: http://www.springerlink.com/content/k7444741381w544k/fulltex...
The researchers did a food allergy panel to determine what foods were individually eliminated according to the subjects' Immunoglobulin G (IgG) response. Interestingly, IgG is the longer-term response compared to the more immediate Immunoglobulin E response which causes the most dramatic allergy reactions such as rapid airway constriction. The implication is that IgG type sensitivities are under-diagnosed because the…
"We recorded no difference in behavioural effects after challenge with high-IgG or low-IgG foods. These results suggest that use of IgG blood tests to identify which foods are triggering ADHD is not advisable. However, IgG blood tests might be useful in other diseases." [1]
To me, this says that any deviation from restricted diet caused a relapse in ADHD symtoms. A less technical explaination about IgG testing here: http://www.tldp.com/issue/174/IgG%20Food%20Allergy.html
[1] http://marrym.web-log.nl/files/adhd-and-elimination-diet-rct...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The researchers did a food allergy panel to determine what foods were individually eliminated according to the subjects' Immunoglobulin G (IgG) response. Interestingly, IgG is the longer-term response compared to the more immediate Immunoglobulin E response which causes the most dramatic allergy reactions such as rapid airway constriction. The implication is that IgG type sensitivities are under-diagnosed because the…
The hypothesis was that IgG tests may pinpoint foods that in some way trigger ADHD symptoms. This was found to be incorrect. "We recorded no difference in behavioural effects after challenge with high-IgG or low-IgG foods. These results suggest that use of IgG blood tests to identify which foods are triggering ADHD is not advisable. However, IgG blood tests might be useful in other diseases." [1] To me, this says tha…
I had somehow read only the part about the sequence of food reintroduction having no association but missed the conclusion from that, which now of course seems obvious.
That really is something different. I'm surprised that this lede was buried in the articles on this result I've read. So the mystery continues. Very curious.
From an anecdotal perspective, I can tell you that diet has the most significant effect (either in aggravating or helping) ADD, this is great advice. With children, it's even worse since any effect that food would have would be multiplied because they're smaller (just like drugs are dosed way less)
altering your child's diet without a doctor's supervision is inadvisable. WTF? I'm sure this is just a CYA, but the idea that most people need the advice of a medical professional to make dietary decisions is absurd. Sure, be careful about any radical fad diets, but adding or eliminating certain foods is quite safe. People do that all the time due to price fluctuations, availability and changing tastes with no ill ef…
I think the concern is that completely eliminating a previously-regularly-consumed food due to potential hypersensitivity may risk a severe reaction when the food is re-introduced.