Brain Tip: Vitamins and ADD/ADHD Brain Power

Studies indicate that children in grade school whose diets are supplemented with vitamins and minerals, to insure the standard recommended dietary allowances, scored higher on intelligence tests than those who took no supplements. Here are some specific vitamins and minerals that affect behavior and learning in children and adults:

Vitamin C is required by the brain to make neurotransmitters. In fact, the brain has a special vitamin c “pump,” which draws extra vitamin c out of the blood into the brain.

Vitamin B6 deficiency causes irritability and fatigue. Adequate levels of the vitamin increase the brain’s levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, increasing alertness.

Iron is also necessary for making dopamine. One small study showed ferritin levels (a measure of iron stores) to be low in 84 percent of ADD/ADHD children, compared to 18 percent of a control group. Low iron levels correlate with severe ADD/ADHD.

Zinc regulates the neurotransmitter dopamine, and may make methylphenidate more effective by improving the brain’s response to dopamine. Low levels of this mineral correlate with inattention.

More of these nutrients is not necessarily better. Studies using megavitamin therapy in children with ADD/ADHD showed no effect.

The next blog post will be about breakfast ideas for ADD/ADHD

Excerpt from the Editors of ADDitude Magazine

Brain Tip: Eat the Right Foods For ADHD

Scientists finally agree with parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) who have suspected a connection between the kinds of foods their children eat and their behavior and symptoms.

Two recent studies show a relationship between diet and ADD/ADHD symptoms. One, published in Pediatrics, concluded that pesticides, specifically organophosphates, found on fruits and vegetables may be linked to ADD/ADHD. The higher the levels of the compounds detected in a child’s urine, the more likely the chance of having ADD/ADHD. (Solution? Eat organic, suggest the study’s authors.) Another study, published in Journal of Attention Disorders, showed that a Western diet — processed meats, fast foods, high-fat dairy products, and sugary foods — doubled the risk of having an ADD/ADHD diagnosis, compared with eating a healthier diet.

Nutrition affects the ADD brain in three ways. Brain cells, like other cells in the body, need proper nutrition to carry out their functions; the myelin sheath, which covers the axons of brain cells, as insulation covers electrical wires, needs the right levels of nutrients to speed transmission of the electrical signals between brain cells; neurotransmitters — dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine — are dependent on diet for their production.

If the right nutrients aren’t accessible to the brain, its circuits misfire. The next blog post will be about Carbs and ADD/ADHD Brain Power

Excerpt from the Editors of ADDitude Magazine

This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only.