ADHD is an acronym for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As preventive medicine and new health alternatives to taking pills arise, nutrition solutions to medical conditions such as ADHD become more meaningful if Doctors use diagnostic tools to work with the patient or an entire family that develops ADHD. There is a Web URL page that lists the diagnostic tests your child or your entire family can take to find out if you have ADHD. Inside the parenthesis I have indicated what these tests might be exploring based on personal knowledge. The reason I do this is to alert the parent of an ADHD child that before a diagnosis of ADHD can be made there are an number of other medical conditions that could indicate ADHD but really they are other medical problems. The lists includes 1) an allergy skin count for histamine (plant such as grass, ragweed, etc and environmental allergens); 2) Stool samples (intestinal worms this could come from eating dirt accidentally in children); complete blood count (anemia etc); thyroid function test, liver, kidney, glucose, (diabetes low blood sugar) and lipid profile (high cholesterol or diabetes if the triglyceride test is high); 3) food and inhalant allergy testing (is your child sniffing glue and other chemicals); 4) test for neuron transmitters also called serotonin uptake); 5) Heavy metal challenge test (this test I believe has to do with mercury poisoning from fish or environmental toxicity) 6) White cell nutritional function test...See http://www.blockcenter.com/ADD _ADHD/2-Day_Program.htmlee,

Be careful not to exacerbate the ADHD condition of your child with advice that does not include the importance of serotonin found most abundantly in some foods commonly associated with child food allergies. There is a possibility that serotonin deficiency can mask ADHD and ADD. Studies in Australia and the U.S. have shown that almost three-quarters of ADHD-diagnosed children show remarkable improvement when placed on diets which eliminate dyes, preservatives and foods commonly associated with allergic reactions (cow's milk, wheat, soy, eggs, corn, chocolate, yeast, orange and apple juice) and additive allergies, heavy metal toxicity and other environmental toxins, low-protein/high-carbohydrate diets, mineral imbalances, essential fatty acid and phospholipid deficiencies, amino acid deficiencies, thyroid disorders, and B-vitamin deficiencies. http://www.homeschoolmath.net/ teaching/add-adhd-diet.php

There is a general rule of thumb to calculate the amount of protein your body needs for people who are vegetarians or others trying to reduce the consumption of meat that will enable any diet, meat or vegetarian. An active body needs 50% of its body weight in grams for protein. If your child weighs 100 pounds and is very active he or she needs 50 grams of protein per day. An adult may need less or just a little bit more. Most adults are more sedentary or have slower metabolisms and therefore they only need 40% body weight in grams for protein or if you are 100 pounds you need only 40 grams of protein a day, 10 grams less than your child.

True ADD and ADHD requires serotonin uptake. From tryptophan foods the body makes serotonin. The right amount of serotonin enables synapses of the brain to work better reducing hyperactive behavior, depression, mood swings, and general malaise. The body cannot make serotonin from tryptophan unless there is enough carbohydrate to allow the brain to utilize the tryptophan, even though protein contains more tryptophan. Therefore, carbohydrate combined with protein or foods like beans and nut butters already have the required combination of protein and carbohydrate for optimum serotonin uptake.

ADD and ADHD children seem to like white rice a great deal where I live sprinkled with sesame and seaweed condiments. There is a reason for this related to the need for carbohydrate for serotonin uptake. Even though the outer layers of brown rice containing fatty acids and other vitamins are removed, to make the most out of tryptophan, the brain needs tryptophan in a most carbohydrate version-white rice. For an excellent discussion about rice See http://www.myfit.ca/foods_high _tryptophan.asp

Serotonin deficiency can mask ADD and ADHD, meaning if your child's body does not make enough serotonin, your child may exhibit ADD and ADHD characteristics that will end with proper amounts of serotonin. The body can utilize tryptophan most from foods such as chocolate, peanut butter bananas and dairy foods that parents may have omitted because of the list of suspected allergies possibly contributing to ADHD. Chocolate has antibiotic properties as well. A bar of unsweetened baking chocolate is 100% cacao and can be melted with raisin and fruits instead of sugar or combined with stevia. My favorite form of stevia is the mossy green color sold at health food stores that has a more plant taste than the processes stevia sold at Vitamin World though I use both. Stevia is a natural plant sweetener from Paraguay, South America that does not raise out bodies glycemic index and helps strengthen the liver. You can also use cocoa especially organic as organic cocoa has more food value with stevia and milk or a soy or almond milk alternative. Cocoa also has a natural high amount of fiber. Here is a resource of foods that have higher amounts of tryptophan. "Tryptophan is a routine constituent of most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. It is particularly plentiful in chocolate, oats (learn how to prepare steel cut oats), bananas, durians, mangoes, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spirulina, and peanuts." http://www.myfit.ca/foods_high _tryptophan.asp If your child also has mental retardation you will want to avoid foods high in phenylalanine such as cottage cheese, garbanzo beans or chickpeas and fish. Spirulina is an awesome green super food that can be found in vitamins if your child vomits with even a teaspoon. Spirulina is a super dense food. I can take vitamins myself with spirulina but I cannot consume it even by the teaspoon full.

There are some great breads available in health foods stores for diabetics that utilize dates as a sweetener. Although I do not have ADD and ADHD my brother was diagnosed at age eight but my parents did not approve medicine. I like to understand the ADHD diet for best health to cook for others and as prevention. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches with diabetic date bread are a source of pleasure even for adults with ADHD who take medications. Another non-meat winner is the chickpea also known as garbanzo beans. It is important to try and prepare garbanzo beans from dry organic beans you can purchase at health food stores. All beans are called a bulk food sold by the pound. Cooked properly they have a nutty flavor and can extend the tryptophan in beef and chicken especially in tomato sauce dishes. Garbanzo beans are also flavorful with cumin and garlic and taste great warm or cold in salads. People also mash garbanzo beans to make humus, a Middle Eastern spread for crackers and bread.

Dr. Sandra Cabot known as the liver doctor recommends an LSA mixture powder one stores in the freezer and sprinkles on cottage cheese or places into a shake. Flax-seeds called linseed in Australia, sunflower seeds a high tryptophan food and almonds high in tyrptophan according to web post http://www.whfoods.com/genpage .php?tname=foodspice&dbid= 20 , in a proportion of 3-2-1 by cupful will increase your tyrptophan intake. My household enjoys the dairy alternative almond milk that comes in a low fat and chocolate variety through Blue Diamond. There are non-chocolate versions that are organic sometimes found at large bulk stores such as Cost U Less in Hawaii

Introducing serotonin foods every two and one half to three hours helps keep the synapses functioning better for people with ADHD especially from both carbohydrate and proteins sources combined. Keeping a family food journal to keep track of your new nutrition including how one feels within an hour after eating a new food or food combination will help you develop menus and eating to heal your children. Eating the same foods your children as you make special changes I feel as a parent is better than resenting one child with his or her special food.

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