I call these “C” food diet – cereal, chips, crackers, cake, cookies, chocolate candies and candies are food that many children and adult eat everyday.

The choice for these foods are often all driven by food manufacturers and their witty advertising that entice children to choose them over healthy natural choices.

These packaged processed food are loaded with highly processed flours, high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, artificial food colorings, monosodium glutamate, preservatives, other toxic additives, and many more that you don’t want to know.

And how these affect your child’s brain?

Other than a quick burst of energy from the sugar and carb content, then a sugar crash. If your child tends to have hangry issues and emotional meltdowns, take a look at what they’re snacking on.

It is possible that people with ADHD gravitate toward processed carbs to raise certain brain chemical levels. Both serotonin and dopamine levels rise when we eat high-carbohydrate and high-sugar food. And these are both brain chemicals that tend to be low in people with ADHD.

The snack bars and proteins are just another candy bar in disguise.

The pack just as much sugar as a candy bar. They may have sugar from more natural sources, such as brown rice syrup or honey, but ultimately all sugar is processed the same way in the body.

The protein bar may boast a whopping 10g protein per serving. Do you know what’s also a good protein source? 1 ounce of grass-fed beef jerky has 6g of protein.

Granola or granola bar are not as healthy and good as the food manufacturers want you to believe. Granola bars are full of sugar and carbs.

The popular Nature Valley brand granola bar. 1 bar gives you 15g total carbs, which include a tini, tiny 1 gram of fiber, and a whopping 2 grams of protein.

Granola is also made with ingredients that are common hidden food triggers for ADHD, such as oat, nuts, rice, grains, sugar, etc.

Fast food, loaded with artificial additives, preservatives, and unhealthy fats, can have detrimental effects on children with ADHD. The chemicals present in fast food have been linked to disruptions in brain function and hormonal imbalances. High levels of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives have been associated with increased hyperactivity and attention issues in children.

Additionally, excessive amounts of refined sugars and unhealthy fats can lead to spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels, affecting mood and concentration. The impact goes beyond mere nutritional concerns; it extends to the intricate balance of neurotransmitters and hormones crucial for cognitive function.

For children with ADHD, whose neural pathways require careful equilibrium, the additives and unhealthy components in fast food can exacerbate symptoms and hinder their ability to focus and regulate behavior.

Corn (also a grain) is a very difficult crop to grow without jacking it up with chemicals. So when you eat corn, you are eating those chemicals.

Also, corn has been bred so many times over the years to resist pests. This practice, unfortunately, bred into corn a compound called fucosamine, which can cause cancer.

The protein in corn is very similar to that in wheat and wheat-like grains. So corn is as damaging to the intestine as grains and can also induce immune and inflammation responses.

It is almost impossible to find a clean source of corn these days as 80% of corn and soy grown in the United States are GMO.

My advice….just don’t eat corn.

Cow’s milk is for baby cows or calves. Human’s milk is for human babies. Most animals stop drinking milk as they mature, so why are human children  drinking milk from another mammal as they mature?

We are not supposed to drink the milk from other animals. We are the only mammal who does it. This often translates to intolerance or an allergic reaction to one of milk’s proteins, casein.

Cow’s milk are shown to contain many hormones to include estrogen, insulin growth factor, prolactin, glucocorticosteroid.

Up to 60-70% of animal estrogens in the human diet comes from cow’s milk and dairy products. Cow’s milk contains growth hormone for baby cows (calves) to grow. When human takes in these cow’s hormones, bad things can happen because these hormone can disrupts our own hormones.

Lactose in milk is not well tolerated by most people. Even if it’s seemingly unnoticeable, removing lactose from the diet can make a good difference.

In fact, our pancreas produces lactase, the lactose digestive enzyme, up until the age of two to cover the period where we are really supposed to drink the stuff.

If you remove cow’s milk from your child’s diet, and symptoms improved but not completely resolved, remove soy protein too. 60% of kids with milk protein is also allergy to soy protein. We generally eliminate all cow’s milk and soy protein together for all kids with cow’s milk allergy.

Again, undigested milk protein can interfere with the dopamine reward center in the brain, causing addictive behaviors similar to cocaine and heroine addiction.

Dairy and gluten generally can trigger autoimmune response in the body, affecting how to body regulate its function. And dairy products, especially casein, is just too harsh on the intestines.

Processed meats are often cured by adding sodium nitrite, which gives them a pink color and a distinct taste, or by adding sodium nitrite and lactic acid, which provides a tangy taste.

Nitrates/nitrites are used to preserve food and enhance color, especially in cured and processed meats, and stop the growth of dangerous botulism.

But scientists suspect they may be involved in the formation of cancer-causing compounds in the body. These chemicals can interfere with thyroid hormone production and the blood’s ability to deliver oxygen in the body. Nitrates and nitrites also have been linked with gastrointestinal and nervous system cancers.

Even small amounts of processed meat intake is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. In fact, 1 slice of bacon a day is all you take to increase your cancer risk by 18%.

Processed meat not only contributes to increased cancer risk but the artificial additives and pesticides found in these processed meats affect the body’s functions, such as changing hormonal responses, causing inflammation, and unnecessary immune responses, which eventually affects the brain functions and ADHD symptoms.

Fish and seafood are great sources of lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. However, not all fish and seafood are equally safe to eat.

Fish, such as sharks, king mackerel, swordfish, and most tuna are loaded with mercury. Mercury exposure has been linked to neurologic problems in the developing fetus.

Mercury attaches to tissue cells and accumulates over time. Big predator fish tends to have a higher content of mercury because they prey on smaller fish and, as a result, inherit their mercury content as well.

The same process happens when children consume fish contaminated with mercury.

Your child assumes the mercury content from these fish and seafood, and again, the mercury accumulates in your child’s body affecting his or her brain growth, development, and behaviors.

Mercury poisoning affects the brain and nerve tissues, the gut, and kidneys.

Do you know who else is at risk?

Unborn fetuses…

Unborn fetuses…

Pregnant women and young children are advised to avoid eating certain fish and to limit overall fish intake to two servings per week.

But fish that are lower in mercury, such as salmon, herring, and sardines are okay to eat. Besides, they’re super-rich sources of omega-3 fatty acid, which reduces inflammation, aches, and pains.

Bottled juices and flavored drinks are just the same as the last category.

Many soda, flavored drinks and even sports drinks are flavored with artificial flavorings and high fructose corn syrup, and get their pretty color from artificial food coloring.

Diet drinks are no better at all.

In addition to all the above, diet beverages are sweetened with artificial sweeteners.  Diet or sugar-free foods and beverages are not healthier either. They are filled with artificial sweeteners, which is poisonous to the body.

The initial studies that showed artificial sweeteners are safe are sponsored by manufacturers who produce artificial sweeteners. Besides, these studies were done on grown adults, who have different metabolism than children.

Children are still growing, therefore, the effects of artificial sweeteners on growing bone, muscles and brain tissues are unknown.

Newer studies are showing that artificial sweeteners increase risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes just like real sugar does. So don’t be fooled.

What about the 100% juice?

They’re just as bad. These juice are manufactured months before getting to supermarket shelves. They’re pasteurized, meaning all the beneficial enzymes are dead.

I call these “dead juice”. They offer no benefits other than empty calories.

Consuming excessive amount of fructose may influence dopamine regulation, which affects behaviors in children with ADHD, increase risk of fatty liver and insulin resistance.

In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting all sugar to less than 10% of total calories per day (roughly 6 teaspoons per day for children ages 2 to 19 years) to support good mental and physical health. In my opinion that’s still too much.

Diet soda and flavored water are advertised as “healthy” alternatives to sugary soda and pops. But in reality they are poisonous.

Diet soda and artificially flavored water are contaminated with food colorings, artificial flavorings and artificial sweeteners to make it tastes sweet, and look pretty to drink.

But the look is deceiving because these drinks also has no nutritional values at all other than the poisonous burden it adds to your body.

Again, if it comes in a bottle and has a shelf life longer than your pet gold fish, you should not drink it.

Have you ever wonder how canned goods can stay on the shelf for many years, and the metal can never rust?

The magic (or poison) is bisphenol A (BPA). It’s the plastic lining that protects the metal can from exposure to the food item to prevent rusting. Bisphenols are also used to harden plastic containers. 

BPA is also an endocrine or hormone disruptor and can act like estrogen in the body and potentially change the timing of puberty, affects fertility, increase body fat, and affect the nervous and immune systems. It basically interferes with the body’s natural hormones and affects brain growth and development even before the baby is born.

The good news is BPA is now banned in baby bottles and sippy cups.

People often associated a vegetarian or vegan diet as healthy, so they’re remove all animal protein from their diet and follow such diet.

They truth is many people who eat a vegetarian diet or vegan diet is not eating as healthy as they think.

From my experience, many people on a vegetarian diet basically replace their “animal protein” with more carbs. So they end up eating carbs all day long. It’s true they’re vegetarian and vegan because bread, rice, pasta, ice cream, cookies, cakes, brownies are all vegetarian and vegan.

Another issue is they rely heavily on meat substitute, which is another processed meat AND they are not equal replacement of protein. The common ingredients in many vegan meat substitutes are grains and beans, which are carbs AND potential food triggers for ADHD symptoms.

Each year the Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes a fresh list of produce highly contaminated with pesticides.

Pesticides were originally invented as a nerve gas to use as biological weapons during war. Since we didn’t really have a war to use this technology, why waste it. Let’s use it to kill pests.

Who knows these pesticides is leaking into the food system and affecting our children and adults?

Organophosphates create the same action as nerve gases such as sarin, and are one of the most widely used classes of pesticides in the U.S. and around the world.

They inhibit the cholinesterase, an enzyme in the human nervous system that breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which carries signals between nerves and muscles.

When cholinesterase is inactivated, acetylcholine builds up in the nerves. Victims die from suffocation because they’re lungs are paralyzed and they can’t breathe.

A study published in the journal Pediatrics showed that legally permissible amounts of organophospates have extraordinary effects on brain chemistry.

The findings concluded that children with above-average pesticide exposures are two times more likely to have ADHD, indicating the build-up of acetylcholine in the nerves that causes over-activity.

Let’s look at the history of genetically modified food first. Genetically modified food is not completely unknown to humans. Humans have domesticated plants and animals since around 12,000 BCE using selective breeding or artificial selection, which is the opposite to Darwinian’s natural selection.

In selective breeding, the organisms with desired traits or genes are used to breed the next generation, and organisms with the undesired trait or genes are not bred. This is a precursor to modern genetic modification. Real-life example – dog breeding. Therefore, farmers and agricultural scientists have been genetically engineering the foods we eat for centuries through selective breeding programs.

The new generation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), on the other hand, are living organisms whose genetic material or DNA has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

Food is modified to a form that our body cannot recognize, therefore, it stimulates our immune system to overreact. GMOs have also been shown to cause cancer through cellular damages.

Ask yourself, what is the purpose of your meals?

If your purpose is to just put food on the table in as little time as possible, you’ll accomplish that with many convenient package food with no nutritional values.

But if your purpose is to nurture and nourish your child’s well-being and future, would you mind spending some extra time to prepare a nourishing meal for your child who you love dearly?

Ok, there you have it…

I hope you find this information helpful. Let me know what you think and comment below. 

Remember ADHD does not doom your child to a life of under-achievement. You know your child is bright, full of potential, and deserves the best. In fact, many of the world’s greatest discoveries and inventions were made by people with ADHD.

I helped my crazy wild child who couldn’t read or write when she was little overcome her learning difficulties, and become a merit scholarship student majoring in premed at Loyola Chicago University.

So don’t give up, everything is possible. 

If you’re just starting out on this natural ADHD treatment journey and still in the research phase, check out my new book Eat to Focus.

Inside this book, you’ll learn why your ADHD child is always hungry, why he or she seems addicted to milk and bread, the reason why most ADHD treatments do not work, and the exact four strategies I’ve used for my daughter to help her calm down to focus and finally learn normally.