1. Be aware: It is very important that we continually remind ourselves of the fact that the brain is a major consumer of energy and that it is therefore also very sensitive to changes in the availability (or not) of glucose in the blood. Oversupply will lead to the brain enacting ‘emergency measures’ to bring the levels back into line, while low blood sugar will almost inevitably lead to a reduction in brain function. The role of impaired brain function in triggering the effects of ADD/ADHD has been established by many different studies. Those dealing with these effects should therefore be very aware of anything that could lead to the brain struggling to function at optimum levels. Blood sugar spikes and troughs obviously create ‘brain conditions’ that are far from ideal and should therefore be avoided as far as possible.

Some of the best ways to deal with sugar cravings are the following:

Make sure that you are ‘powered up’ throughout the day: It is vitally important that you do not get to the stage where you are so famished that you will eat whatever crosses your path! The golden rule that you should always remember in this regard is: Less food, more often! Make sure that you eat three meals and supplement it with small nutritious and non-sugary snacks. Doing will help maintain a steady flow of energy and prevent your body from going to ‘panic stations’ in order to get more glucose into the bloodstream.

(Disclaimer: The steps outlined below do not represent a strategy for dealing with diabetes! If you suspect that you may have diabetes you should seek professional medical advice before following any diet or eating tips.)

Avoid Unnecessary Hunger Pangs: Hunger is one of the methods that the body uses to tell us that the level of glucose in our bloodstreams is going down. It is, in many cases, a signal that a drop in the blood sugar level has already occurred. This means that it is best to avoid prolonged and excessive hunger pangs all together. One of the best ways to achieve this is to eat more, not in terms of the amount of food that you consume, but rather in terms of how often you eat. Making a conscious decision to spread ‘eating times’ throughout the day can do wonders for your blood sugar levels. I need to emphasize again that this is not a license to ‘binge eat’! You should still take care to control your overall calorie intake and develop a diet focused on Low-GI foods. The only difference is that you are spreading this intake over a longer period. Remember the formula: Less food, more often! An example of how this can be achieved is to make sure that you eat three meals per day and that you also have a snack one to two hours before the afternoon and evening meals. This should keep your blood sugar levels constant and will also prevent you from overeating during meals.

It is important to note, before we continue, that there are some people for whom ‘natural’ blood sugar control is very difficult, if not impossible. They are the almost 5% of the population that can be classed as diabetic. Diabetics suffer from, either a lack of insulin, or insensitivity to the insulin that is present in their bodies. This means that their blood sugar ranges outside normal limits and that medical intervention (often in the form of insulin injections) is often necessary for them to function normally. If you suspect that you may suffer from diabetes (not all forms of diabetes are present from childhood. ‘Type 2’ diabetes typically develops later in life), you should seek immediate medical attention and not attempt any of the techniques that will be discussed in this and subsequent articles. It may very well be that the treatment you will be prescribed will broadly correspond with some of the advice given here but it is very important that you are assessed by a qualified medical professional first.

Many people think of blood sugar as an issue that diabetics should be concerned about but that the rest of us can safely ignore. This perception is very wide of the mark, especially if we are talking about the management of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. The fact is that blood sugar levels can have a profound effect on our general wellbeing and also on our functioning as productive and healthy members of society. It is therefore quite appropriate that we spend some time in discussing ways in which optimum blood sugar levels can be maintained. Before we do that, however, it would be good to first get a general overview of the whole concept of blood sugar levels.

At its most basic level the concept of blood sugar levels centers around the amount of the body’s primary energy source, glucose, found in the blood stream at any given time. Normally this level is within a remarkably narrow range (about 90 milligrams per 100 milliliters) but significant rises can occur during the period following a meal. It is this rises, their implications for the treatment of ADD/ADHD, and the way in which they can be best managed that will be our focus for the next few weeks.

Blood sugar levels that are significantly above or below normal levels can lead to all kinds of serious medical problems. Symptoms related to both extremes include the following:

Over the past two weeks we looked at the Glycemic Index (GI) and its importance in regulating our ‘fuel supply’. Understanding its role in doing this is especially important for people who are faced with the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. This is because the maintenance of stable blood sugar levels is one of the key factors in controlling the inattention, impulsiveness and mood swings that so often go hand in glove with ADD/ADHD.

This week we will go one step further by taking some of the theory and putting it into practice. We will specifically look into the GI content of different foods. This should help you a great deal in terms of designing your diet to be as ADD/ADHD unfriendly as possible.

Just a short word of warning before we look at individual food types: It should be clear from last week’s article that the whole GI concept is based on solid scientific fact and that it is possible to determine the GI values of food with remarkable accuracy. However, the scientific nature of the Low GI approach was tarnished in the eyes of many by the fact that some unscrupulous people decided to market the concept as part of the latest ‘miracle diet’. Please be aware that what we are describing here does not fit into this category at all. Fad diets come and go and they usually involve going overboard with some important principle (like GI). We are recommending the exact opposite, namely learning about GI and its benefits for tackling ADD/ADHD and then applying what you have learned in a balanced and responsible way.

Having some general information about the Glycemic Index can be quite beneficial, this would however be close to worthless if you do not allow that knowledge to influence your food buying decisions. To recap, we saw last week that the Glycemic Index can be divided into three categories:

1 – 55: Low Glycemic Index

55 – 70: Medium/Intermediate Glycemic Index

70 – 99: High Glycemic Index

Putting the principles behind the GI concept into practice will obviously means that you need to orient your food choices very much towards the first two categories (i.e. Low GI and Medium GI). Some of the foods in the different categories will be listed below. It is obviously not an exhaustive list but it should give you a very good idea of the GI values of different kinds of foods.

Low GI Foods

Bran based cereals, porridge, natural muesli, wheat pasta shapes, new potatoes, brown rice, buckwheat, white long grain rice, wheat tortillas, soya bread, linseed bread, whole wheat bread, sourdough rye bread, muesli bars, milk chocolate (high fat), hummus, peanuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, raisins, oatmeal crackers, kidney beans, butter beans, chick peas, green and red lentils, black eyed beans, green peas, sweet corn, carrots, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes, chillies, lettuce, green beans, red peppers, onions, cherries, plums, grapefruit, peaches, apples, pears, apricots, grapes, coconut, kiwi fruit, oranges, strawberries, prunes, whole milk, skimmed milk, yoghurt, custard, soy milk

Medium GI Foods

Nutrigrain, porridge oats, shredded wheat, basmati rice, couscous, cornmeal, gnocchi, baked potatoes, wild rice, croissants, hamburgers buns, white pita, wholemeal rye bread, Ryvita, digestive biscuits, blueberry muffins, honey, beans in tomato sauce, beetroot, sultanas, bananas, raisins, papaya, figs, pineapple, ice cream

High GI Foods

Cornflakes, Coco Pops, Rice Crispies, instant white rice, short grain white rice, fresh mashed potatoes, French fries, white bread, bagels, baguettes, pretzels, water biscuits, rice cakes, crispbread, donuts, scones, pumpkin, parsnips, watermelon, dates

Two things should be immediately apparent from the foods listed above:

1) Low GI values can be found across a wide spectrum of foods. It is therefore very wrong to immediately assume that you will have to eat like a medieval monk in order to follow a Low GI diet! In fact, with a bit of careful planning and some creativity you should be able to create an eating plan that is not too far removed from what you are already eating. The only difference being that you will now be eating in a way that will keep your blood sugar levels much more stable.

2) GI values can sometimes seem slightly counterintuitive. The Glycemic Index can be very good at throwing up surprises. For example: Who would have thought that very ‘wholesome’ vegetables like pumpkin and parsnips would achieve such high scores? At the other end of the spectrum we also see ice cream and chocolate at places where we would not expect them (Medium GI and Low GI respectively). This clearly shows that you will have to follow the best possible professional advice when trying to follow a Low GI diet. Get yourself a book with detailed listings of the GI values of different foods and/or check back regularly to 3StepsADD for the latest news on GI related research.

Trying to follow a Low GI diet may seem like a bit of unnecessary hassle that you can easily do without. However research has shown time and again that it can be one of the most effective tools in combating the effects of ADD/ADHD. When you realise this, the effort and expense starts to pale into insignificance when compared to what the pharmaceutical companies would like you to do in response to ADD/ADHD!

Last week we had an introductory look at how knowing the GI values of different foods can help us to lose weight, and can also improve our general and emotional health. This week we will focus on how GI values are determined and measured. This information will clearly show that a) The Glycemic Index is not just some kind of faddish concept like so many ‘miracle diets’ out there but that it is built on solid scientific facts and testing, and b) That it is possible to control, to a great degree, the release of sugars into the blood stream by paying careful attention to what you eat.

Interestingly enough GI values cannot be determined by simply looking at the composition of certain foodstuffs. The main reason for this that the human digestive system is very complex and often respond in different ways to seemingly similar foods. This means that GI values can only be accurately determined in trials using live human guinea pigs! The most common way in which this is done is the following:

• 10 Volunteers are asked to eat a portion of food containing 50 grams of carbohydrates that are readily digestible (also known as ‘available carbohydrates’). This means that the portions that they will be asked to eat can vary from relatively small for food with lots of carbohydrates (like pasta), to very large for foods with low amounts of carbohydrates (like carrots).
• The participants in the study will then be asked to submit to a finger-prick every 15 minutes over a two hour period (Don’t feel too sorry for them, they are normally very well compensated for their troubles!) and the sugar content in the blood that is drawn will then be analyzed.
• The data gained from the blood analysis will then be used to construct a ‘glucose response curve’ for every person over the two hour period. This curve will reflect the level of glucose in that person’s blood over that time.
• The same ten people will be asked to come back on another occasion where they will take part in the ‘control leg’ of the test by consuming a portion of pure glucose sugar (the ‘control food’ used as a reference point for determining GI values) with the same amount of carbohydrates as the food that is being evaluated. Blood sugar samples will again be taken and a glucose response curve drawn up for each person.
• As a last step the scientists will then average out the sugar response curves for all ten people in both tests. The GI value for the test food will then be determined by contrasting the average blood sugar response to the test food to the average response to pure glucose. The value is normally plotted on a sliding scale from 1 – 100.

Based on the results of the test a particular food will then receive one of the following classifications:
1 – 55: Low Glycemic Index
55 – 70: Medium/Intermediate Glycemic Index
70 – 99: High Glycemix Index
100: Pure Glucose (Control Food)

So why is all of this important? Simply because the Glycemic Index values of the food that we eat directly determines how much ‘fuel there is in the tank’, and for how long. High GI Foods are the equivalent of ‘jet fuel’ that will burn strong and bright for a very short time. Low GI Foods on the other hand will supply us with a steady supply of energy over a longer period. The way in which the Glycemic Index values of individual foodstuffs are measured means that the effects of different kinds of ‘fuel’ on the body can now be determined with pinpoint accuracy.

The implications of all of this for the management of ADD/ADHD are obvious. The mood swings, inability to concentrate and the impulsive behavior that are often associated with ADD/ADHD can in many cases be traced back directly to what it going on in the ‘fuel tank’! Scientist have struggled for a long time to prove and describe this link but the development of the Glycemic Index as a scientific way to measure the body’s response to carbohydrates means that it has now been proven that such a link undoubtedly exists. This means that paying very close attention to what you eat should be at the core of any ADD/ADHD management strategy.

It is all well and good to know something of the general theory behind the Glycemic Index. To make it practical however, you will need to have a solid grasp of how different foodstuffs score on this index. Please drop by again next week when we will discuss this question as well as some of the implications of what we have learned thus far for an ‘Anti ADD/ADHD’ diet!

I am particularly convinced of the fact that a Low-GI diet can be a force for good in terms of building higher levels concentration and better emotional health. It is also becoming clear that it can act as a very effective tool in the struggle against the conditions that lead to the irrational impulsiveness and mood swings that are, sadly, often associated with ADD/ADHD.

Over the next few weeks we will ‘unpack’ some of the research that have been done to explore the links between the Glycemic Index (GI) and behavior, concentration and hyperactivity. The things that we will discover will shock, amaze and anger you! This is because drug companies, as well as ‘Big Food’, are trying their best to keep this link secret and to convince us that it should just be ‘business as usual’ in terms of what we put on our plates.

To this attitude we have to say: Enough is enough! Enough of diets devoid of the things that we need the most. Enough of drugging our kids into submission when they respond negatively to the ‘Frankenfoods’ that are such a seemingly normal part of everyday life.

Be prepared to discover some amazing truths about ADD/ADHD over the next few weeks. Before we delve a little deeper however, it would perhaps be good to just briefly discuss some of the theory behind the Clycemic Index (GI). This will make it very clear why it is so important if to come to grips with ‘GI issues’ if we really want to understand optimum human nutrition.

What is the Glycemic Index?

The simplest definition of the Glycemic Index is that it is a ranking system (scaled from 1 -100) that measures the extent to which specific carbohydrates raise the blood sugar level after it is eaten. If a specific food scores high on the GI Index it means that it is normally digested very quickly, leading to strong fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low GI foods are, by contrast, digested slowly. This leads to gradual absorption of nutrients and gradual rises in insulin and blood sugar levels.

Making Low GI foods a cornerstone of your diet can make a marked difference to your life. Some of the main benefits of a Low GI diet include the following:

• Improved Weight Management: Low GI foods can help you to avoid the ‘feast – famine’ cycle that is often associated with weight gain. Since Low GI nutrients are released slowly it provides constant energy, thus delaying the onset of the hunger reflex.

• Improved General Health: Study after study have confirmed the linkage between High GI diets and serious health problems like heart disease, ‘Type 2’ Diabetes and obesity. This has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recommending a Low GI diet as one of the best ways to prevent the abovementioned ‘diseases of affluence’.

• Improved Emotional Health: Most parents are probably all too familiar with the effects of ‘sugar spikes’ where kids seem to bouncing of the walls after eating too much sugar…only to become grumpy and lethargic the next moment! This effect is not only linked to ingesting ‘pure sugar’ but also to easily-digested High GI foods. A Low GI diet, with its more measured release of nutrients, can therefore be one of the best ways to manage food-induced mood swings.

• Improved Management of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD: It is becoming clearer that good nutrition is one of the secrets of the proper management of ADD/ADHD. It is therefore exciting to realize that one of the lesser known advantages of a Low-GI diet is the effect that it can have on people who are presenting some of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. The reasons why this is the case, and how you can use this fact to your advantage, will be the subject of the articles the will follow over the next few weeks. Be sure to check back regularly. What you will find will astound you. It also has the potential to radically change your life for the better.

‘You are what you eat!’ or so the old saying goes. People all over the world are increasingly finding that ancient wisdom was spot-on in this instance. Effectively addressing some of the most common modern health epidemics can, in many cases, simply be a matter of paying close attention to what you put into your body. This is especially true in the case of ADD/ADHD. I therefore encourage you to come back next week as we continue to explore the links between a Low GI diet and good emotional and psychological health.

In order to eliminate your ADD-ADHD symptoms you MUST give your body the building blocks it needs.

It has been proven that ADD people lack certain vitamins and nutrients.

ADD people also use certain vitamins and nutrients at a must faster rate.

Explore the following areas to learn how to “Fuel Up”

Not long ago, World News Tonight on ABC featured a segment about food dyes and the possible connection to ADD. The Center for Science in the Public Interest asked the FDS to ban artificial coloring in all U.S. foods. According to them, they claimed that artificial coloring was contributing to the rise of ADD in kids. This is a controversial claim and one that probably needs further research.

But what if it’s true? There have been cases of parents who have tried everything to curb their children’s ADD symptoms to no avail. Yet when they changed the diet and restricted the foods that contain artificial coloring and other non-natural chemicals, symptoms began to subside. Magic or pure coincidence?

And what about other toxins that are affecting your kids? High levels of certain neurotoxins have a negative impact on the brain and are thought to cause violent or aggressive behavior. These chemicals are everywhere nowadays. Then there are the pesticides in the foods we eat. For more information on the most contaminated foods around, check out www.foodnews.org.

While the FDA maintains there is no link, if your child has ADD, you are certainly not going to cause harm by limiting foods with artificial coloring. What’s the easiest way to do this? The first step toward treatment is to avoid those things that cause ADD or make it worse. Then, learn to “feed” your brain the stuff that makes it healthy, strong, and fueled!

You could start with keeping a log of what you and your family is eating. Once you have some sort of baseline, you could keep track of the symptoms that appear soon after eating. For example, if your daughter has a habit of eating Fruit Loops every morning, and soon after becomes explosive, try taking the food away, but its replacement may be just as bad as the cereal. What you will find is that an ADD diet is nearly impossible – you’d have to get rid of just about any food around!

Medication artificially manipulates the brain while changing the diet “cures” the brain. There is much overwhelming evidence that what we eat along with natural supplements and/or herbal remedies can greatly reduce the symptoms of ADD.

People with ADD usually have a lack of the following nutrients in their diets:
 “B” vitamins
 Tyrosine
 Zinc
 Iron
 5-HTP
 Calcium
 Magnesium
 DHA

While no one vitamin is going to satisfy all of your child’s symptoms, there are
certain products that do a better job of feeding the brain’s neurotransmitters. Along with a good multi-vitamin (preferably a liquid form that absorbs more efficiently), you might consider Neu-be-Calm – this has quite a positive effect on taming ADD symptoms. (www.Neu-be-calm.com)

The other dietary change you might want to consider is feed your child foods with a low glycemic index. The glycemic index basically refers to how quickly your body processes the sugar from the foods you eat. Your body cannot tell whether the food it is processing is high in sugar or low. What you want to do is to eat those foods low in the glycemic index so that your body will process the sugar very slowly. So what you are essentially doing is eliminating the junk food from your diet and replacing it with whole grains, low amounts of sugars, and using natural sweeteners.

 Whole grains, fruits and veggies
 Cultured dairy foods or non-dairy sources of calcium
 Wholesome protein sources such as free range meats, poultry, and legumes
 No hydrogenated oil or deep fired oils – instead use fish oil supplements, flax oil, etc.
 Water, water, water – believe it or not, most of our kids are dehydrated!

Discovering what foods might be causing your child’s ADD symptoms to exacerbate will take some time and careful observation. If you do discover a link, making the changes difficult and tricky, but it can be done with great results! You won’t believe what a difference a well-fueled diet can make in your child and your fa

There are over 50 conditions that mimic ADD-ADHD, but non-stable blood sugar levels is one of the most notorious culprits.

Most kids experiencing ADD symptoms like fidgeting, anxiousness, and irritability can be linked to a “bad” glycemic diet.

This article will introduce you to the “GI” and how you can do simple things to eliminate your ADD-ADHD symptoms.

note: No drug should be taken for ADD-ADHD until this approach has been tested.

What is a ‘Low Glycemic’ diet? (for ADD ADHD)

The low glycemic diet was created on the basis of the glycemic index, which is a method of ranking carbohydrates. The glycemic index was first introduced by Dr. David J. Jenkins in 1981. It was primarily formed to assist diabetics control their blood sugar. Glycemic index essentially explains how certain foods, specifically carbohydrates, generate a rise in blood sugar in the body.

The foods that are given a low GI or Glycemic Index rank increase blood sugar gradually, unlike high GI foods that lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar. A sudden increase in blood sugar leads to an increase in the insulin flow in the body.

A low glycemic diet is usually prescribed for diabetics, people with weight issues and high cholesterol. The low glycemic diet is the basis for several popular diet plans such as The Zone, Sugar Busters, Glucose Revolution and SouthBeach. The GI value of a food is measured by calculating the increase in blood sugar after eating a 50 gram portion of carbohydrate.

Most carbohydrates are digested and converted into glucose in the human body. This production of glucose increases the blood sugar in the body. There are several factors that lead to the different levels of blood sugar stimulated in the body after eating carbohydrates and this includes the method of cooking and the amount the carbohydrate is already processed before it is consumed. Therefore white bread would lead to a sudden increase in blood sugar, whilst consuming brown bread would cause a more gradual increase.

Why is the Low Glycemic Diet Effective?

The low glycemic diet is found to be effective for people who want to control their blood sugar because the carbohydrates take longer to be digested and produce blood sugar. And for people, who wish to lose weight, low GI foods make you feel full for a longer period of time and hence you don’t have the urge to snack or overeat. On the other hand, high GI foods lead to a rapid rise in blood sugar, causing sudden hormonal changes. This also means that these foods are quickly digested, making you feel hungry soon.

A low glycemic diet doesn’t advocate consumption of only GI foods but in fact recommends that you mix high and low glycemic foods in your diet to create a balance. This also ensures that you receive balanced nutrition.

A low glycemic diet does not restrict you from eating more than a certain portion, but in fact you can eat as much as you wish to, as these foods are healthy and nutritious. Low glycemic foods that you can splurge on include whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes and lean protein. It is recommended that highly processed foods and white flour be avoided on a low glycemic diet.

A low glycemic diet focuses more on nutrition and balanced diet than on hard and fast rules regarding what you can eat on the diet. For instance while corn and fruit juices have a high GI value they are nutritious and can be made part of the low glycemic diet too.

Is a Low Glycemic Diet Useful for ADD-ADHD People?
Research indicates that diet treatment for ADD-ADHD has the same affect as drug treatment. In fact it is has been seen that increasing the nutritional intake of children leads to increase in self-control and attention, as much as that improved by Ritalin treatment.

It is found that most people with ADD-ADHD have glucose metabolism problems. Research suggests that in people with ADD-ADHD the regulatory hormones, that keep glucose level in check, are found to be inadequate. And hence a surge in blood sugar is not controlled effectively. This in turn leads to sudden fall in blood sugar, which is associated with decreased brain activity and inability to focus. In such instances children with ADD-ADHD were found to benefit from diets that were low in refined carbohydrates.

A low glycemic diet can help ADD-ADHD people because:

•    It helps control blood sugar levels.
•    Reduces sudden increase and decrease in blood sugar.
•    Lowers HbA1c.
Thus the low glycemic diet would help regulate the flow of blood sugar in the body of a person and this is an effective way of controlling the symptoms of ADD, instead of resorting to drug intervention.

It is recommended that ADD-ADHD people and children incorporate the low glycemic diet to their diet and include foods like oatmeal, puffed wheat, cream of wheat, bran flakes and corn flakes in their breakfast. Meals that should be a part of one’s daily diet should include vegetables with low GI include broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, beets, carrots and peas. Whole grain breads are also recommended on a low glycemic diet. A low glycemic diet can empower people with ADD-ADD to overcome its symptoms.