Food and Behavior
Food and Behavior
People who think food has little effect on behavior only need to observe the difference in children who begin to eat a balanced whole-food diet. The effect on adults is similar but usually takes longer because of a life full of toxins that first must be released.
About a year ago a frantic mother brought in her twin 3rd grade boys to see me. The day before she brought her in, she was at a parent/teacher conference and was told her children needed to see their doctor and be placed on an ADHD medication for them to be able to return to school. They had been seriously disrupting the class and they were even fighting other students on the playground.
The first thing we did was evaluate their diet. Like any other typical American parent, she had been buying convenience foods, pre-packaged stuff, cereals, candies and sodas. Their diet was filled with preservatives, chemical ingredients, refined sugars and flours as well as food colorings.
Within a few short months of the entire family eating a whole-food based diet, the behavior of the two boys had completely changed. They started sleeping and waking up so much better, they sat in class and paid attention, their grades were greatly improving.
The boys’ mother again came to see me after her second parent/teacher conference to let me know their teachers and principal were delighted to see a brand new side of the boys. You could see on their faces that they were happier kids.
Certainly not all childhood behavior problems can be solved by dietary changes alone but a whole-food diet can greatly improve all situations. Children, like adults, sometimes refuse to eat wholesome food or make drastic dietary changes. If this is similar to the way you and your family eat, start to make the change to a whole-food diet slowly but be consistent with eliminating “fake” processed foods.
Remember, if it didn’t have a mother or grow in the ground… It’s not food!
#ADHD #wholefooddiet #cleaneating #ditchthejunkfood #healthy #diet #nutrition #naturopathy