Olika bokstavskombinationer blir mer och mer vanliga på våra barn. Det kan bero på attityder i samhället, men det är också många undersökningar som visar att ett annat kosthåll kan påverka barnen i positiv riktning! Nätet är numera fullt av entusiastiska berättelser om barn som blivit fria från sin oro, hyperaktivitet och sina inlärningssvårigheter med hjälp av diet. Längst ner på sidan ligger några länkar till några historier. Det har också på senare tid gjorts några större vetenskapliga studier på temaet DAMP/ADD/ADHD och diet. En stor studie har behandlat barnen med eliminationsdiet (diet med få matvaror) och hittat att detta i stor grad gör att barnen blir lugnare och lättare lära sig nya saker. Eliminationsdieten är utan kasein och gluten, men även utan några andra matvaror som ofta associeras till matallergier. Forskarna menar också att extra omega-3 fettsyror är nyttigt, och att man bör undvika konserveringsmedel och tillsatser. Många tillsatser hämmar enzymaktivitet och dessa barn behöver all hjälp de kan få. Färgämnen associeras med hyperaktivitet, observera att mycket godis av gele/vingummi ofta innehåller färgämnen. Dieten fungerar så bra att många barn kan sluta med mediciner när de har börjat på diet. Många vill dock även ta bort färgämnen och tillsatser för att reducera hyperaktivitet. Om dieten inte når hela vägen, kan enzymer vara till hjälp.

Børn med ADHD bør have testdiæt

»Vi observerede en dramatisk effekt hos to tredjedele af børnene. Hos disse børn forsvandt symptomerne fuldstændig,« siger professor og læge Jan K. Buitelaar fra Radboud Universitetet i Nijmegen

Anbefaler test-diett for ADHD-barn

Et utvalg på 40 barn med ADHD, de fleste gutter mellom fire og åtte år, gikk gjennom en spesialdiett i fem uker. Effekten var slående, rapporterer forskerne.

- Vi observerte en dramatisk effekt hos to tredjedeler av barna. Hos disse ble symptomene helt borte,

Diett mot ADHD og autisme

Spiste seg friske

Leo (4) og Ask (3) fikk nye liv da de la om kostholdet.

Varför ingen diet vid ADHD?, H Santelmann

Läkare med lång erfarenhet av kostomläggning hos barn berätter att gluten, mjölk, socker och tillsatsämnen ofta är boven vid ADHD och hyperaktivitet.

Vetenskapliga artiklar

"A randomised controlled trial into the effects of food on ADHD",

Lidy M. J. Pelsser MSc, Klaas Frankena MSc, PhD, Jan Toorman MD, Huub F. J. Savelkoul PhD, Rob Rodrigues Pereira MD, Jan K. Buitelaar MD, PhD, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, January 2009, Volume 18, Issue 1, pp 12-19

The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of a restricted elimination diet in reducing symptoms in an unselected group of children with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dietary studies have already shown evidence of efficacy in selected subgroups. Twenty-seven children (mean age 6.2) who all met the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD, were assigned randomly to either an intervention group (15/27) or a waiting-list control group (12/27). Primary endpoint was the clinical response, i.e. a decrease in the symptom scores by 50% or more, at week 9 based on parent and teacher ratings on the abbreviated ten-item Conners Scale and the ADHD-DSM-IV Rating Scale. The intention-to-treat analysis showed that the number of clinical responders in the intervention group was significantly larger than that in the control group [parent ratings 11/15 (73%) versus 0/12 (0%); teacher ratings, 7/10 (70%) versus 0/7 (0%)]. The Number of ADHD criteria on the ADHD Rating Scale showed an effect size of 2.1 (cohen’s d) and a scale reduction of 69.4%. Comorbid symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder also showed a significantly greater decrease in the intervention group than it did in the control group (cohens’s d 1.1, scale reduction 45.3%). A strictly supervised elimination diet may be a valuable instrument in testing young children with ADHD on whether dietary factors may contribute to the manifestation of the disorder and may have a beneficial effect on the children’s behaviour.

Title:The effect of diet supplementation on children with ADHD. (c2012)

Author:Saab, Linda, Master thesis

Nutritional management as related to ADHD is one aspect that has been neglected in Lebanon. This project investigates the influence of diet, without medication or behavior alteration, on children with ADHD. A case study was conducted on a 9 year old boy attending in a private school in Beirut who was diagnosed with ADHD. The participant had food additives, refined sugars, casein, gluten, and foods with salicylates removed from his diet and an increased intake of essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6). The study that lasted 5 weeks aimed to observe the effects of this special diet on the boy’s hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention. The diet proved effective in that diet modification played an effective role in the management of ADHD and hence should be recommended to students with similar conditions.

Jaswinder Kaur Ghuman: “Restricted elimination diet for ADHD: the INCA study,” The Lancet 5. februar 2011.

Psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatments are evidence-based treatments for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, concerns about side-effects of psychoactive drugs, and barriers to access to and commitment needed for psychosocial treatments, often lead to consideration of other interventions. 1 One such intervention relates to the tenet that hypersensitivity or intolerance to foods or additives is a risk factor for ADHD.

"Effects of a restricted elimination diet on the behaviour of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (INCA study): a randomised controlled trial",Lidy M. Pelsser, Klaas Frankena, Jan Toorman, Huub F. Savelkoul, Anthony E. Dubois, Rob Rodrigues Pereira, Ton A. Haagen, Nanda N. Rommelse, Jan K. Buitelaars, Lancet. 2011;377(9764):494-503.

A restrictive diet for children suffering from ADHD can be so beneficial that many of them can stop taking medicine altogether, according to a Dutch study published in The Lancet this year. The research involved 100 children aged four to eight. Fifty of them followed an elimination diet – removing all known problem foods until some of them consumed only rice, turkey, pear, vegetables and water. After five weeks, two-thirds of the children on the special diet no longer had any behavioural problems. There was no difference in the behaviour of the control group on a 'healthy' diet. The children were followed for a year, with foodstuffs being added back into their diet to determine what caused the hyperactive reaction. (IgG tests were found not to be helpful compared to food challenges, which is what we have been saying for years.)

The researchers found 'considerable effects of a restricted elimination diet ... with equal effects on ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder'. They concluded that 'dietary intervention should be considered in all children with ADHD, provided parents are willing to follow a diagnostic restricted elimination diet for a five-week period, and provided expert supervision is available.‘ The Few Foods Diet used by the Dutch study is not new but it is the first time it has been trialled on so many children for such a long time. This is the tenth study to show that between 60% and 100% of ADHD children can improve on diet if you get the diet right.

"The Role of Gluten in the Etiology of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Opioid and Immunological Mechanisms.", Nutritional Perspectives: Journal of the Council on Nutrition . Apr2007, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p16-25. 7p., Loscalzo, Ritamarie

GLUTEN, A PROTEIN FOUND IN MOST CEREAL GRAINS, is perhaps the protein consumed in greater quantities than any other protein. It has long been known that a small percentage of the population is intolerant to gluten, and gastrointestinal upset, including diarrhea, bloating and flatulence result from its consumption. Less widely known is that gluten intolerance actually affects a larger population than originally thought and the gastrointestinal effects may not be present until further along in the course of the disease. Initial presenting signs may be far removed from the small intestine, and may affect any other body system. Most common systems to be effected are the central and peripheral nervous systems, the dermatological system and the endocrine system. Neurodevelopmental disorders in children have reached almost epidemic proportion, and have been linked to gluten intolerance. This paper explores the mechanism by which gluten effects the clinical presentation in neurodevelopmental disorders, ranging from ADHD to autism.