Surrey Homes | SH64 | February 2020 | Interiors supplement inside

Education
A Dietary
Alternative?
Hilary Wilce shares new research into
ADHD from King’s College
Anyone who has to cope with an impulsive and
hyperactive child – and that’s hundreds and thousands
of parents and almost all teachers – will know how
challenging it is to try to deal with this restless energy.
But two new pieces of research offer chinks of hope
that dietary supplements could lessen both the symptoms
and prevalence of so-called ADHD (attention deficit/
hyperactivity disorder). Research carried out at King’s
College London shows that omega-3 fish oil supplements
can improve the attention span of some children and
adolescents with ADHD. In fact, the researchers say
their findings could pave the way for some children to
be given a dietary alternative to the stimulant medicine
now routinely prescribed to hyperactive children.
Meanwhile, another study recently published by the
Barcelona Institute for Global Health, suggests that a
mother’s diet in pregnancy may be able to reduce the
chance of her baby developing ADHD. This, too, centres
on the best balance between two essential fatty acids,
omega-3 and omega-6. It’s already known
that children with ADHD tend to have a
higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. But now
it seems that mothers-to-be with that same
higher ratio may be at greater risk of having an
ADHD child, and the higher the imbalance,
the more a child is likely to show ADHD
symptoms at the age of seven. These researchers
point out that the brain takes a particularly long time
to develop in a foetus, so could be more vulnerable to
an unbalanced nutrient supply than other organs.
Research is constantly adding tiny glimmers to
our understanding of the way that diet affects our
brains, and when you add them all together it seems
increasingly clear that what we eat does (not surprisingly)
have an impact on our mood and behaviour.
It now seems certain, for example, that a good diet,
along with enough sleep and regular exercise, can help
conditions such as anxiety and depression. And common
sense tells us that consuming only fizzy drinks, fried
“The benefits
of a good diet
need to build
up over time”
chicken and chocolate bars is not going to keep anyone
healthy, strong and emotionally well-balanced.
However, the picture for ADHD is very complex and no
one is yet suggesting a diet-based treatment for all hyperactive
children – especially when there are so many different ways
the condition shows itself and so many possible causes.
The King’s College study, for example, shows that giving
children omega-3 supplements seems to benefit those
with very low levels of it in their blood, while children
with balanced blood don’t show the same results, or may
show negative symptoms. And the effect
is only known to work on attention span,
not other ADHD traits like impulsivity.
Even so, paediatric nutritionists suggest that
children with ADHD could benefit from a diet
of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts, wholegrain
bread and pasta, and oily fish like salmon
or mackerel. They point out that ADHD
children are often low in magnesium, iron, zinc and fibre, so
foods that include these could be beneficial. And they also
suggest limiting red meat, any dairy, salty snacks and sugar.
This isn’t easy, especially when so many hyperactive children
are picky eaters who don’t sit quietly for regular meals – and
when the urge to calm a child down with biscuits and sweets
might be especially strong! But it seems important to persist
as the benefits of a good diet need to build up over time.
And while nutritious food might not ‘cure’ a
child’s ADHD there will always be tangible benefits
to health and wellbeing from a good diet – as there
will be for all children, hyperactive or not.
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