Children who eat fruits and vegetables faceless inattention, according to a recent study. The findings of the study were published in the journal, ‘Nutritional Neuroscience’. As part of a larger study, researchers asked parents of 134 kids with ADHD symptoms to complete a detailed questionnaire about the typical foods the children ate, including portion sizes, over a 90-day period.
There also was another questionnaire asking parents to rate symptoms of inattention, a hallmark of ADHD, in their kids, such as having trouble staying focused, not following instructions, difficulty remembering things, and difficulty regulating emotions.
Co-author of the study and associate professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University, Irene Hatsu said results showed that kids who consumed more fruits and vegetables showed less severe symptoms of inattention. Hatsu said, “Eating a healthy diet, including fruits and vegetables, maybe one way to reduce some of the symptoms of ADHD.”
Another study, that evaluated the effectiveness of the supplement showed that children who took the micronutrients were three times as likely to show significant improvement in their ADHD and emotional dysregulation symptoms than those who took a placebo. That study was published last year in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Yet another study involving the same children, published earlier this year in the journal Nutrients, showed that kids whose families had higher levels of food insecurity were more likely than others to show more severe symptoms of emotional dysregulation, such as chronic irritability, angry moods and outbursts of anger.
Hatsu said the three studies all paint a similar picture. “A healthy diet that provides all the nutrients that children require can help reduce the symptoms of ADHD in children.” They added, “Our studies suggest that it is worthwhile to check the children’s access to food as well as the quality of their diet to see if it may be contributing to their symptom severity.”
