Allergenic foods favor ADHD

Allergic foods promote ADHD. A special diet can help alleviate typical symptoms.

05/02/2011

A special light diet can alleviate the symptoms of ADHD syndrome if children forego allergy-promoting substances in food. Dutch researchers were able to prove by means of a study that a special diet without allergy substances can relieve symptoms.

Industrially produced foods have been suspected for some time to at least favor the attention deficit syndrome - short ADHD. A research team from the Netherlands has now investigated the question of whether a special diet with only very few allergenic substances is suitable for alleviating typical symptoms of ADHD syndrome.

A total of 100 children between the ages of four and eight years were available for the study. At the beginning of the study, the children were divided into two equal groups of 50 participants each. The one group got a so-called „Eliminatory diet“ which is based on vegetables, rice, water and meat. Individually, the children could supplement other foods such as potatoes, fruits and wheat products with the nutritional plan. The other group got one „normal“ The diet was supplemented with a supplementary guide containing general tips for a healthy diet. The latter group served as a control group.

After completing the study, the researchers found that the low-allergen diet had a positive effect on the concentration level of the children. A total of 32 children achieved significant improvements. In order to prove this result, the researchers undertook individual concentration exercises before, during and after the study.

After the first experimental set-up, the researchers undertook a second study to compare the results with the first one. The focus was on the question of whether certain foods reinforce ADHD symptoms again. In addition, those on whom there was a positive change were given other foods that cause a measurable increase in the IgG level in the blood. The result: In 63 percent of the participants, the previous symptoms increased again. In food allergies u.a. The antibody IgGs increasingly produced.

The research team led by Jan Buitelaar of the Dutch Radboud University stated, with the findings of the study, there are indications that allergenic substances in foods at least enhance ADHD syndromes. The diets therefore play a greater role during therapies. The researcher is sure: „The participants of our study are representative of all children with ADHD“. A converted diet should be included in the treatment plan in the future. However, the diet of the children should be monitored by the therapists and parents so as not to provoke deficiency symptoms. The study results were in the science magazine „The Lancet“ released. (Sb)

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Image: Dieter Schütz