In September 2018, researchers in Korea published a study in the Korean Journal of Community Nutrition showing a connection between dietary habits and ADHD in children.
The researchers assessed the ADHD and dietary intake results of over 4,500 participants from the Children’s Health and Environmental Research study conducted throughout Korea between 2005 and 2010. During the assessment, researchers grouped dietary habits into the following 5 dietary patterns:
- Plant foods & fish
- Sweets
- Meat & fish
- Fruits & dairy products
- Wheat based
Here are 4 significant things the researchers found:
- Children who ate breakfast and more frequent meals were less likely to have ADHD.
- Children who ate quickly, had an unbalanced diet, overate, or had high rice consumption were more likely to have ADHD.
- The higher the consumption of sweets among the children, the higher the risk of having ADHD.
- The higher the consumption of fruits and dietary products, the lower the risk of having ADHD.
This is one more study in a growing body of research showing a connection between what we eat and our mental health. Here at Truehope, we’ve been promoting nutrition as mental health treatment for over 20 years.