The most common side effect of ADHD medications is appetite suppression. 

As a pediatric dietitian, I see children with ADHD mainly for failure to thrive due to lack of appetite from their ADHD medications. 

Failure to thrive in addition to lack of appetite is by far the most common side effects of adhd meds and also the most worrisome among parents. 

Most of these child take the med in morning before breakfast. Therefore, they eat a good hefty breakfast before the meds kick in. 

Then come lunch, it’s another story. By lunch time, that’s when the medication is at its peak, which at the same time is the trough of appetite. 

Almost 99% of children I see who’re on ADHD meds reports eating nothing for lunch despite parents’ effort to pack the best lunch they can full of their children’s favorites. 

Unless parents are able to supervise during lunch, I told parents to give up on lunch. But continue to pack things that they think their child may eat. 

My daughter used to be a picky eater, so I would pack her all kinds of snacks and stuff for lunch. I don’t care that she does not eat any of the food. I told her just share with her friends. By sharing her food with friends, she not only make new friends, but now lunch becomes more fun, and hopefully, she will something. 

When dinner comes, appetite may return for some as med starts to wear off. 

That leave parents with only 2 opportunities to squeeze in all the calories and nutrients for the day, breakfast and dinner. 

I would suggest adding high calorie and nutrient-dense food, such as healthy fats and oils. Some pediatrician may say give them anything even junk food like ice cream, cookies and chips. But I rather use high fat ingredients, especially natural healthy fats, to increase caloric intake for 2 reasons. 

One…fat is a very dense source of calories – 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram in carbohydrate or protein. 

Two…fat feeds the brain and provide important building material for new healthy brain tissues. Because young children’s brains are still growing, therefore, introducing healthy fats along with a whole food plant-based diet will hopefully improved some of the ADHD symptoms as new healthy brain tissues and connection forms. 

Healthy fats I’m talking about is omega-3 fatty acid. it’s a major brain tissue component. That’s why you find omega-3 fatty acids in infant formula and pregnancy multivitamins. Omega-3 is also one of the compounds most studied in ADHD researches, which shows low levels in children with ADHD. 

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Besides, healthy fats are packed with fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K, that are essential for normal body function and growth. 

What about Pediasure?

Many parents give their children Pediasure to supplement their poor diet. Pediasure is okay for convenience. You just pop it open and it’s ready to go. But it’s full of sugar, that’s why kids love it. 

I prefer homemade fruits and vegetables smoothies that are packed with all kinds of nutrients and healthy fats. 

RELATED ARTICLE: The Perfect Multivitamin

What else can you do about the lack of appetite?

Medication vacation

With the support from your psychiatrist, you can stop the ADHD medication on weekends or days when there is no school, so your child have an off day with good appetite to eat up a good reserves. 

Changing or adjusting ADHD medications maybe an option. It all depends on what you and your psychiatrist decide. Or even try caffeine. I’ve never seen a child with failure to thrive or stunt growth from consuming caffeinated products or coffee. 

RELATED ARTICLE: Natural Alternative ADHD Treatment 

Zinc supplement

You can try 1 tablet of zinc lozenges daily for at least 2 weeks to help increase appetite. Picky children who do not eat a normal diet tends to have mild nutrient deficiencies. And one of these nutrients is zinc, which is found mainly in animal meat and seafood. Zinc’s most well-known function is supporting immune system. But its other less known function is boosting appetite. Zinc is a key ingredient in the little finger-like structure on the taste buds on the tongue. I usually recommend zinc lozenges in kids who complains that your food “smell funny” or “taste funny”. Chances are their taste buds is a little off due to zinc deficiency. 

Periactin is the second to the last resort to help increase oral intake as most parents do not want to add on more medication. Periactin is an anti-histamine with “increased appetite” as one of its side effects. It is a fairly safe medication that we’ve used successfully in many young children with minimal side effects. Besides increased appetite, the other common side effects is drowsiness and crankiness. So we just have parents give the medication at night before bed. 

Feeding tube is the absolute last resort when all else fails and your child’s weight and growth continues to vaulter. 

Actually, there’s another last resort…it’s to stop the medication that’s causing the weight loss. 

On the same note, I want to mention the most disturbing side effects of ADHD medication is increased suicide ideation. 

Related article: 7 Steps to Get Your Picky Eater to Eat Healthy