1. Eat more protein. Aim for 20 grams per meal. High protein breakfasts help your child’s blood sugar stay level and avoid any ups and downs in the day.
2. Avoid food coloring, preservatives, and artificial flavoring. Studies have shown these additives may aggravate ADHD symptoms. Besides, doesn’t blue Gatorade scare you a little?
Drs. Oz and Roizen recently shared this information about labels on produce and packaged food. Smart reading will tell you where it’s from, if it’s genetically modified and what food colorings, fats, sugars and preservatives are in it.
Did you know that the little tag on fruits and vegetables holds a world of info?
• A four-digit code starting with the number 4 equals conventionally grown and may have been sprayed with synthetic pesticides; not genetically modified.
• A five-digit code beginning with 9 equals organic; not genetically modified.
• A five-digit code starting with an 8? Genetically modified produce.
To know what’s in your other food purchases, and get kids involved in making healthy food choices, go for a smart app. Like a cool video game, Fooducate (for Androids) and Good Guide (from iTunes) are free mobile apps that scan bar codes and tell you what’s in that sports drink, canned soup, cupcake or frozen meal. And they offer you healthy alternatives. Kids love the game of it, and they can discover first-hand why you say, “No, we’re not buying that.” Better yet, soon they’ll be saying it too.
3. Reduce your sugar intake. Too much sugar aggravates ADHD symptoms. Once you do this for a while it gets easier. Your child stops begging you because you are consistently enforcing your rule. Obviously this is not a hard limit. At soccer games and birthday parties, your child will have more and that’s okay. It’s the routine you are trying to set. Try to sneak in protein with it like offering chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels or nutella.
Katherine Price coaches parents on everything from behavior modification plans to IEP goals. She helps DC area parents get the ADHD help and resources they need by guiding them through the options available to them, connecting with the right people, and making a workable, affordable plan for the whole family. For more information about ADHDC, go to www.ADHDC.com.