What Causes ADD & ADHD?

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is considered to be a neurological disorder that manifests in childhood. Symptoms of ADHD may include inattentiveness and increased distractibility, as well as high energy and hyperactivity. When only distractibility and inattentiveness are manifested, the disorder is referred to as Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. With the rising number of reported cases of ADD, research is consistently being conducted in understanding the disorder, as well as exploring the link between attention deficit disorder and nutrition.

ADD symptoms are classified into two main groups: inattentiveness and hyperactive-impulsive behavior. Inattentiveness is manifested most explicitly in school, where ADD children have a hard time following instructions, concentrating on their work, keeping their work error-free, and even finishing it. They will often avoid difficult schoolwork, and will sometimes lose important school items such as books or pens. ADD children can appear inattentive if they are spoken to. If people with ADD do strike up a conversation, they can speak excessively, only to break off the conversation abruptly as they are distracted by something that catches their fancy.

People with ADD can also be forgetful, and they may find it hard to sleep, due to the many, varied thoughts they have at night. They may also be easily frustrated, and may exhibit emotional outbursts frequently. Although hyperactive-impulsive behavior is more characteristic of those who suffer from ADHD, there are a few habits that ADD persons may have, such as occasional fidgeting or talkativeness.

Thanks to much research, there are now therapies and medications available to treat ADD and ADHD. Research is still being conducted in the field of attention deficit disorder and nutrition links, although changing diets is often recommended as an alternative, if not experimental treatment. In the early years of studies seeking to find the link between attention deficit disorder and nutrition, research proposed diets that excluded stimulants, such as coffee, tea, or sugar. Other studies proposed diets that removed allergenic foods from meals, such as eggs, milk, and wheat. Despite these findings, no study has yet shown a conclusive link between diets and improved ADD symptoms.

Research still does show, however, that ADD and ADHD children have differences in their metabolism compared with non-ADD and non-ADHD children. For instance, Neil Ward, a chemist from the United Kingdom, showed in 1990 that ADHD children lost zinc quickly when they took tartrazine. Other studies suggested that lack of omega-3 fatty acids could trigger ADHD development. Despite these and other findings, a concrete link between attention deficit disorder and nutrition has yet to be established, although the research is often used as the basis for supplementary diets in addition to existing medication and therapy techniques.

A popular supplementary diet is the Feingold diet, where artificial flavors and colors, such as salicylates and preservatives, are removed from an ADD or ADHD person’s diet. Another school of thought on the link between attention deficit disorder and nutrition dictates that a balanced diet is essential for the proper health and nutrition of any person, whether with ADD, ADHD, or any other disorder. Scientists have therefore taken middle ground in the debate: no diet has yet been approved for ADD or ADHD treatment, and any diet proposed to patients must always be used in conjunction with therapy and medication.

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