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Will limiting my ADHD child’s sugar intake make a difference on my child’s attention span, ability to stay focused, or hyper activity? According to medical science, it does not. However, the articles I found, and quoted from below, go on to say that many parents disagree with the findings of medical science.
I personally have tried long-term, sugar intake, limiting for two of my ADD children thinking it would make a difference. For example, if I made cookies I would only give them each one or two. While I noticed no drastic behavior or attention changes in the girls with small amounts of consumed sugar, I could definitely tell the difference in both of them if they ate a lot of sugar. For example, if one of them ate a large piece of chocolate cake with two scoops of ice cream she might do, or say something strange and be unable to explain why. I’ve even seen my thirteen year old daughter standing in the middle of a room, with a confused look on her face, unable to decide what to do next after consuming large amounts of sugar. I once insisted that the pediatrician evaluate her for diabetes because of this behavior; however her blood sugar was completely normal.
While it may be worth your while to try limiting your child’s sugar intake to see if it will make a difference in behavior, there may be an unforeseen difficulty that you hadn’t considered. Both of my daughters resorted to sneaking and stealing sugar treats whenever possible. Again, if it had been small amounts there wouldn’t have been a problem or probably any effect; however that was never the case. The thirteen year old has been known to sneak and consume whole containers of chocolate frosting in one sitting or whole packages of Oreos. My adult daughter once consumed 80 cans of Mountain Dew that she hid in her bedding.
I tried purchasing sugar free candies, soda and hot chocolate for my thirteen year old daughter every week at the store so she could have her own sweet treats. The store carries sugar free “Turtles,” “peanut butter cups,” and other assorted chocolates and hard candies. While she seemed to appreciate this effort it didn’t seem to decrease her sneaking. It may have even increased her desire for sweets causing her sneaking of sweets to increase.
Another possibility you may want to explore is food allergies. They can be very difficult to pinpoint, but I’ve known children who are adversely affected by things like the red dye used in foods.
official medical establishment that claims numerous scientific studies show that children do not react to sugar and that sugar does not play a role in ADHD.
It’s important to note that “hyperactive” behavior is not the same as ADHD, which is a medical condition that is diagnosed based on certain criteria.
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Boy, you must have been living in my house when you wrote this!!! We did the gluten free and dairy free diet in addition to cutting sugar. It had amazing results. Hoarding and hyperactivity dropped dramatically!!
I limited my son’s sugar for a year because I thought it was the culprit of the hyperactivity. After getting him evaluated, the child psychologist concluded that it was lack of sleep, rather than sugar, that was the problem. If he ate sugar too close to bedtime, then he would not fall asleep as soon, and the reduction in sleep caused an increase in his hyperactivity.
I, too, had to deal w/my son “stealing” sugar. Even now, as I allow him sugar in moderation, he acts like sugar is a MUCH bigger deal than it is. I hope that will ease in time (he is only 6) since I am allowing it in moderation.
- Faith