Restricted Elimination Diet Helps Determine Food Sensitivities, Reduces ADHD Symptoms

A special diet in which processed foods are selectively eliminated and added back to determine sensitivity (restricted elimination diet) should be standard care for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to Dutch research. Researchers believed that ADHD might be a hypersensitivity disorder, perhaps allergic, that is set off by foods that can trigger allergic reactions. Two groups of fifty ADHD-diagnosed children aged 4 to 8 years participated in the randomized controlled trial. Half were fed the elimination diet and half ate a generally healthy diet for five weeks. A second phase then tested whether immunoglobulin G (IgG) blood tests could identify foods that trigger ADHD. In the first phase, children who ate the restricted elimination diet showed significant improvements in their ADHD symptoms.