Medication and behavioural therapy are the only proven treatments for ADD and ADHD, but children with ADD or ADHD – like all children – can benefit from having a healthy diet. 

This article discusses how choosing healthy foods and sticking to a regular pattern of eating can help to ensure that children with ADD or ADHD are well nourished each day, to help them cope with all of the challenges each day brings!

What are ADD and ADHD?
ADD and ADHD are relatively common behavioural problems. Some of the traits shown by children with ADD or ADHD may include:

• being impulsive and acting without thinking
• being hyperactive
• having trouble focusing

Children with ADD or ADHD may find it difficult to perform at their best because they struggle to sit still and pay attention. 

The good news is that with proper treatment ADD and ADHD can be successfully managed. It is important to realize that medications and behavioural therapies are the only proven treatments for ADD/ADHD. 

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How Does Healthy Eating Help?
Healthy eating is important for all children.

For kids who experience ADD and/or ADHD, nutritious foods and regular meals and snacks help to promote health in ways that support the proven approaches to managing ADD and ADHD.

It’s important to know that healthy eating is not a replacement for medication or behaviour therapy, nor are there any special diets or foods that have been shown to improve attention levels. 

However, parents can play a vital role by making sure their kids get the nutritious foods they need.

What Should Parents do to Promote Healthy Eating?

Here are some important roles for parents

Stick to a Schedule
Regular meals and snacks supply children with the nutrients they need to perform at their best.  Hunger can cause attention and behaviour to shift, which can, in turn, make tasks like learning very difficult. 

Here’s what parents need to do:

• Stick to a schedule that offers three meals and three snacks per day. This will help to ensure that your child does not become hungry. 
• Aim to schedule your meals and snacks in a way that provides your child with something to eat about every two to three hours during the day.  For example, if you enjoy breakfast at 7:00 a.m., you should next offer a snack at approximately 10:00 a.m., followed by lunch at noon, an afternoon snack at 3:00 p.m., dinner at 5:30 p.m. and a bedtime snack near 7:30 p.m. 

Count on a Good Breakfast
A good breakfast is a particularly important meal for children.  Many children will go 10-12 hours overnight without eating and genuinely need the nutritious foods offered at breakfast to fuel their growing bodies. 

Children who skip breakfast often struggle to pay attention in school due, in part, to low blood sugar levels.

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Give your child a head-start on the day by offering a variety of nutritious foods at breakfast.  For example, you could offer:

• whole grain cereal + milk + fruit, or
• eggs + whole grain toast + juice or yogurt
• fruit + bagel

It never hurts to lead by example. Enjoy a similar healthy breakfast with your child.

Mix it Up
Choose a wide variety of nutritious foods to help ensure that your child takes in key nutrients like iron, magnesium, zinc and omega three fatty acids that help to promote brain development in children. 

• Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide is a simple tool that you and your family can use to plan meals and snacks that contain a variety of different foods.  Aim to choose from at least three of the four foods groups at every meal.
• Vary the kinds of foods you offer.  For example, if you serve bananas at breakfast, offer grapes, berries or oranges at lunch and raw vegetables at dinner.  
• Serve fish at least two times each week. Try whole grain pitas filled with tuna at lunch or barbequed salmon for dinner.
• Offer small servings of unfamiliar foods and applaud your child for tasting new foods. 

Your Healthy Child
Choosing a variety of nutritious foods and scheduling meals and snacks will give your child the nutrients that help to promote brain development and good health.

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Learn More
About Attention Deficit Disorders 
Information from the Canadian Mental Health Association about attention deficit disorders, their diagnosis and their treatment.

Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide
Provides practical, reliable information on healthy eating for people of all ages.

Healthy Start for Life Meal Planner
A helpful resource from the Dietitians of Canada. Use the planner to provide your children with balanced, nutritious meals and snacks.