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I have a number of
patients who have classic attention deficit disorder, as well as a number
of patients, both adults and children, who have something else. One connection I have seen is that adults with high
performance autism or Asperger's Syndrome were diagnosed with ADHD as children and have never received the proper care and
training.
Within the ADHD field, I have heard experts sincerely claim that diet
has little or no effect on the children. Unfortunately, this generally leads to a diagnosis followed by a prescription
for ritalin. My experience is that diet, supplements, homeopathics and lifestyle can have dramatic results on children
and some benefit for adults. The research on diet is being done in Europe, not in this country.
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Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2002 Dec 28;146(52):2543-7. |
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[Favourable effect of a standard elimination diet on the behavior of
young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a pilot study]
[Article in Dutch]
Pelsser LM, Buitelaar JK.
Onderzoekscentrum voor Hyperactiviteit en ADHD, Vlokhovenseweg
11, 5625 WT Eindhoven. lmjpelsser@worldmail.nl
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a standard elimination diet can decrease
the ADHD-symptoms in a heterogeneous group of young children with ADHD. DESIGN: Open, descriptive. METHOD: 40 children, 36
boys and 4 girls, aged 3-7 (average 4.8 years), who met the DSM-IV-criteria for ADHD, followed their usual diet for two weeks
and thereafter for two weeks an elimination diet, based on the few foods diet (rice, turkey, pear and lettuce). The behaviour
of the child was evaluated at study entry, after the baseline period and at the end of the diet. Parents completed the 10-item
Conners list, the ADHD Rating Scale and a physical complaints list. The teachers completed the 10-item Conners list and the
ADHD Rating Scale twice, at the beginning and at the end of the diet. RESULTS: According to the parent-ratings, 25 children
(62%) showed an improvement in behaviour of at least 50% on both the Conners list and the ADHD Rating Scale at the end of
the elimination diet. Nine children (23%) withdrew from the study because the parents were unable to stick to the diet or
because the child fell ill. Among the 15 children with both parent and teacher ratings, 10 responded both at home and in school.
CONCLUSION: In young children with ADHD an elimination diet
can lead to a statistically significant decrease in symptoms.
PMID: 12532668 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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