Parents ask me all the time, “Why does my child crave sugar all the time?”

While it may not seem obvious that problems with attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity could be related to food cravings, but there is a connection between the ADHD brain and sugar cravings.

Glucose powers all cells in the body. Glucose increases cortical activation in reward-control areas. However, the ADHD brain cannot process glucose very efficiently compared to non-ADHD brains.

That means less energy is available for the attention center in the prefrontal cortex, which we already know is smaller and behind in kids with ADHD. The ADHD brain uses 8% less glucose than the non-ADHD brain. When the brain does not get enough glucose, it sends out distress signals to the body to demand more glucose, and that’s how cravings for carbohydrates start.

Many adults and kids with ADHD indulge in carbohydrate-rich food, such as crackers, pretzels, pasta, bread, cookies, soda, fruit juices, and other highly processed “junk foods” because these foods can be quickly converted to glucose for the brain to use.

The ADHD brain also has a lower level of dopamine, a neurotransmitter (or brain chemical) associated with reward, desire, and motivation. Research shows that low levels of dopamine in ADHD are related to cravings for sugar and other highly processed carbohydrates.

Sugar and other high-carb foods boost dopamine levels in the brain, leading kids and adults with ADHD to crave them more often when dopamine levels are low. Since kids with ADHD have chronically low levels of dopamine, they are more likely than other kids to crave and eat sugary or carbohydrate-heavy foods.

The dopamine response from regular sugar consumption is entirely different than the dopamine response when we eat yummy foods. While yummy foods also release dopamine, but it’s more due to the novelty of the food, and the release of dopamine decreases with subsequent exposure to the food. You know how you eat the same food three days in a row?

However, when kids with ADHD eat sugar daily, the dopamine response to sugar slowly decreases, and you need more and more sugar to get the same “sugar high.”

In response, sugar cravings continue to increase due to their addictive effects. However, over time, the frontal lobe becomes less sensitive to natural rewards, resulting in the development of behaviors such as overeating and ADHD.

It is no wonder that those with ADHD struggle with eating disorders. Each time they self-medicate with sugary food, their brain enjoys a surge of dopamine and energy burst that improves attention and short-lived calmness. As a result, most kids with ADHD gravitate toward a diet consisting of mainly highly processed food, which also causes unstable blood sugar fluctuations that produce some of the crazy behaviors seen in kids with ADHD, such as anger outbursts, aggression, emotional mood swings or meltdowns.

You know, “Hangry”?

The feeling you have when you are HUNGRY and ANGRY at the same time?

Yes…your child is HANGRY!

Knowing that the ADHD brain is behind and does not play well with sugar, the best ADHD diet should focus on brain-building nutrients and avoiding sugar, especially fructose.

To reverse all those, we need alternative ways to boost dopamine naturally and sustainably.