We all have good reason to include at least the five servings of fruits and vegetables recommended by experts in our daily diet, as studies have found that doubling this amount provides additional benefits for our health and longevity. Now, in addition, a new study reveals that these foods are especially advisable in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) because they help them reduce the problems of inattention they suffer.
The authors of the new work, which was part of a larger study, asked the parents of 134 children aged six to 12 years with symptoms of ADHD to complete a questionnaire detailing the typical foods their children ate, including the size of the portions, for a period of 90 days. In another questionnaire, they had to rate symptoms of inattention, for example, trouble concentrating, trouble remembering things or regulating their emotions, or not following directions.
The results, published in Nutritional Neuroscience, showed that children who ate more fruits and vegetables had less severe symptoms of inattention, said Irene Hatsu, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of human nutrition at California State University. Ohio. “Eating a healthy diet, including fruits and vegetables, may be one way to reduce some of the symptoms of ADHD,” she notes.
The data for this research is part of the Micronutrients for ADHD in Youth (MADDY) study, which ran from 2018 to 2020, and looked at whether a 36-ingredient vitamin and mineral supplement was effective in treating ADHD symptoms. of ADHD and difficulties in emotional control in 134 children from six to 12 years old.
“Some symptoms of ADHD could be made more manageable by helping families become more food secure and able to provide a healthier diet”
It was found that children who ingested the micronutrients were three times more likely to experience a significant improvement in their symptoms of ADHD and lack of emotional regulation than those who received a placebo, according to results published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. While another study involving the same children, published in the journal Nutrients, found that children from families with higher levels of food insecurity were more likely than others to have more severe symptoms of emotional control loss, such as permanent irritability, anger and outbursts of anger.
The type of diet, key to improving ADHD symptoms
Hatsu has pointed out that the picture offered by the three studies is similar and supports the fact that a healthy diet that provides children with all the nutrients they need can help reduce ADHD symptoms. “What doctors usually do when children with ADHD start to have more severe symptoms is to increase the dose of their treatment medication, if they are taking it, or to prescribe them,” says the researcher, adding: “Our studies suggest that it is worth It is worth checking children’s access to food as well as the quality of their diet to see if it may be contributing to the severity of their symptoms.”
Scientists think that ADHD is linked to low levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, and vitamins and minerals play an important role in helping the body produce these key neurochemicals, and in overall brain function, he says. Hatsu.
Food insecurity also plays a big role because, as the expert points out: “Everyone tends to get irritable when they are hungry and children with ADHD are no exception. If they don’t get enough food, their symptoms could get worse.” To which is added the stress that parents may feel if they cannot offer their children the food they need, a family tension that would increase the symptoms of these children.
For all these reasons, Hatsu concludes: “We believe that clinicians should assess the food security status of children with ADHD before creating or changing a treatment program.” “Some symptoms may be more manageable by helping families become more food secure and able to provide a healthier diet.”
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