ADHD and Nutrition

As the research currently stands, there is no specific ‘ADHD diet’. Which might make you think “thank goodness, no restrictive diets”, or it might make you think “really? I’m sure something doesn’t feel quite right about my nutrition”.

Despite the lack of an official ‘ADHD diet’, nutrition in ADHD has become a huge topic.

What we do know is that ADHD can have some pretty significant impacts on eating behaviours. So the connection between nutrition and ADHD is often less about eating for symptom management, and more about how to manage eating in amongst symptoms.

What can I do right now?

If I could share just one piece of advice, it would be this: the best thing you’ll (probably) ever do for your nutrition is to reduce the demand nutrition puts on your executive functioning.

There are no differences in nutrition requirements for people with ADHD, but there are differences in the way your body interprets its own cues and world around you.

• If you’re not having something to eat every three or so hours, find a reminder system that works for you and use it. Alarms, sticker charts, tick boxes. You might not be able to rely on hunger cues alone.

• Eat a balanced diet by Including all the major food groups (carbohydrates, fats, protein, fruit and vegetables). There is absolutely no strong evidence that tells us people with ADHD need to eliminate sugar, food additives, or processed foods.

• Keep food visible and have low-effort meals and snacks available everywhere (home, car, work). Remember that balanced eating doesn’t need to mean elaborate or complicated.

• Explore nutritional deficiencies with a relevant health professional before supplementing.

If you want to learn more about managing your eating with ADHD, watch this video: https://youtu.be/36KQrfRSLzY?si=wPoN2e6CtKmIeiER

or follow this link: https://www.additudemag.com/healthy-eating-habits-adhd-adults/?srsltid=AfmBOopbTpjST_X2xKjH8g7ZJxj0pFCV-n9kefRy7uqUuihmfzpu2OCF

If you want to read more about balanced eating, follow this link: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/

Why ADHD can make eating harder

Symptoms like difficulty interpreting hunger cues, hyperfocus, time blindness, and executive dysfunction can all mean that eating on a regular basis goes out the window.

You get up at 6am, and now suddenly its 3pm and you haven’t eaten yet. You missed the stomach rumbling, you got busy with work, and now it just feels out of reach to put a meal together.

Instead of eating three regular meals and a few snacks across the day, you might find yourself eating a little and then sporadically eating what feels like a lot. It’s not about self-control but rather your biology catching up on the lack of food it had earlier in the day.

This can contribute to:

• Blood sugar variability which can impact concentration, energy levels, and mood.

• Less of an eating window to get in all your nutrition needs.

• Reliance on certain foods meaning there’s limited variety in your diet.

• Difficulty regulating your appetite when you do start eating.

And all of that can turn into:

• Digestive symptoms.

• Nutrient deficiencies.

• Unintentional changes in weight.

• Fluctuating mood and energy levels.

A quick note on ADHD medication: reduced appetite is a well-established side effect of stimulant medication. This can make food difficult to face when the medication is fresh in your system followed by strong hunger cues when the medication wears off.

Do sugar, additives, or certain foods cause ADHD?

In short, no.

When we’re evaluating research, it’s important to make the distinction between whether something is correlated or causal. This is particularly important in the ADHD space because as time and research has gone on, we’ve realised that while certain dietary patterns are more common in ADHD, those dietary patterns are not the cause of ADHD or it’s symptoms. Let’s take a look at two really good examples of this.

Food colours in ADHD has received a lot of coverage. Early studies reported on behavioural changes in children with ADHD in response to controlled doses of food colour. Later reviews however went on to highlight that the results weren’t as strong as previously believed and were rather inconsistent. And as the body of research grew for food colours in general, behavioural changes were noted in children with or without ADHD.

Similar to food colours, some studies have suggested that high intakes of added sugar can worsen symptoms of ADHD. Large scale reviews however identified that the links weren’t strong, and the results were variable.

Now we know that targeting food colours and added sugar is a population-wide health concern rather than something that is specifically tied to ADHD.

If you’re interested in the current evidence-based guidelines for ADHD, try these links:

https://www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/ng87

https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/new-zealand-clinical-principles-framework-for-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder

Nutrient deficiencies:

We know that certain dietary patterns are more common in ADHD. We also know the reason for this lies in the fact ADHD can make eating hard, rather than the food types causing ADHD itself.

This can look like:

• Larger quantities of food eaten at the end of the day.

• Greater intakes of processed food and added sugar.

• Less fresh food consumption.

Sometimes this can lead to micronutrient deficiencies. There are several nutrients that have been in the spotlight recently which have shown promise. The most important finding shared by many of these studies however is that lower baseline levels of each nutrient were associated with stronger outcomes in terms of ADHD symptom improvement.

• Omega 3.

• Iron.

• Magnesium.

• Vitamin D

• B vitamins.

• Zinc.

Before starting any supplements, my first recommendation would be to seek screening for deficiency. This is usually done through blood tests. Not all of those nutrients will be detected by blood tests however, so it’s important to consult with a specialist about whether there are any gaps in your diet.