Nutrient Intake and ADHD

Last summer, the Journal of Attention Disorders published a study examining the relationship between dietary patterns and ADHD.

After examining 1172 adolescents with an ADHD diagnosis, researchers identified two major dietary patterns in the sample: western and healthy. The western dietary pattern included higher intakes of total fat, saturated fat, refined sugars, and sodium, and lower intakes of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, and folate. The healthy dietary pattern had higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, and folate, with lower levels of total fat, saturated fat, and refined sugars.

Adolescents with higher scores for a western dietary pattern had a greater likelihood of having an ADHD diagnosis.

In support of the findings from their study, the authors cited several studies that had tested the effect of EMPowerplus on ADHD:

“Two exploratory intervention studies have found that micronutrient supplementation can result in improvements in mood lability and anxiety symptoms in children (Kaplan, Crawford, Gardner, & Farrelly, 2002; Kaplan, Fisher, Crawford, Field, & Kolb, 2004), and another recent study found that micronutrient supplementation resulted in a reduction in the severity of ADHD symptoms in an adult cohort (Rucklidge, Taylor, & Whitehead, 2010). These studies support the hypothesis that an inadequate micronutrient intake, which may result from a Western dietary pattern, could result in suboptimal brain function in adolescents.”

Many EMPowerplus users, as well as their loved ones and doctors, attest that adequate nutrient intake can significantly decrease ADHD symptoms.

The graphs below show the effects of EMPowerplus on children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD, as reported in four separate studies (for more detailed information on each study, click on the graphs or the hyperlinked citation above each set of graphs):

Treatment of mood lability and explosive rage with minerals and vitamins: two case studies in children. Kaplan BJ, Crawford SG, Gardner B, Farrelly G. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2002 Fall;12(3):205-19.

Dramatic On-Off Response