Mothers say this 'miracle' diet cured their child's ADHD without Vyvanse or Ritalin. Doctors say it CAN help - but there's a catch...

'If you're feeding these to your kids, you tin astir warrant they'll person ADHD.'

I'm watching a video by a TikTok creator named Organic Tarzan that has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. The nutrient successful question? Two boxes of fashionable children's snack foods from Costco.

Are the snacks particularly steadfast oregon nutritious? No. But are they causing ADHD? Organic Tarzan, who describes himself arsenic a 'Marine Corps seasoned with a inheritance successful kinesiology', is convinced they bash play a role. But the technological information is lacking.

The comments sections of her videos are afloat of mothers sharing stories of how  doctors tried to 'push' medicine connected their children with ADHD, lone for their array of symptoms to vanish acknowledgment to dietary changes.

'They wanted maine to medicate my 8 twelvemonth aged for his ADHD,' says one. 'Instead I changed his fare to gluten-free and his behaviour changed successful 3 days.'

'Big Pharma won't get its hands connected my kids erstwhile I tin cure their behaviour with fare alone,' agreed different mother.

It's understandable that parents would privation to effort each imaginable avenue earlier giving their children stimulant medicine similar Ritalin and Vyvanse. Seeing anecdotal accounts of miraculous three-day turnarounds nary uncertainty offers hope.

But determination is scant technological backing of these claims, and adjacent the astir morganatic of the 'ADHD diets' comes with a large caveat.

In classrooms, astatine java catch-ups betwixt parents, successful doctor's offices and, notably, each implicit societal media, 1 information has had an detonation successful consciousness successful caller years: attraction shortage hyperactivity disorder, oregon ADHD.

'ADHD is simply a ceremonial neuro-developmental upset wherever determination are excessive and pervasive impacts connected inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and affectional regulation,' explains Dr Tim Jones, the Chair of Child and Young Person's Health astatine the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). 

'It manifests successful galore antithetic ways crossed kids and adults.'

In 2018, astir 186,000 Australians received ADHD medicine (1.4 cardinal prescriptions dispensed). By 2022, this much than doubled to 414,000 radical (3.2 cardinal prescriptions).

According to Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme records, the fig of Australians connected ADHD medicine grew by astir 300 per cent implicit the past decade, reaching astir 470,000 radical successful 2022–23.

With an summation successful some consciousness and diagnosis, the speech astir alternatives to medication, peculiarly successful children, has been reignited.

For galore 'ADHD mums', dietary changes are the astir communal pathway.

An alarming fig of the four-million-plus posts associated with the tag #ADHD connected TikTok centre connected diets that users assertion can 'cure' the neurodevelopmental disorder, arsenic good arsenic the 'wrong' foods that supposedly origin it successful the archetypal place.

The Feingold diet, archetypal introduced much than fractional a period ago, has made a comeback precocious acknowledgment to TikTok and Instagram. It is an elimination fare thought to reverse immoderate of the symptoms of ADHD successful children specifically.

Developed successful the 1970s by Dr Benjamin Feingold, who hypothesised that artificial colours, flavours and definite preservatives could lend to hyperactivity successful children, the Feingold fare involves eliminating these additives, on with salicylates (naturally occurring compounds recovered successful immoderate fruits and vegetables), from a child's fare to spot if symptoms improve. 

The fare soon gained popularity among parents of children with ADHD, immoderate of whom reported improvements successful behaviour. However, studies person recovered constricted and inconsistent grounds to enactment its effectiveness, with lone a tiny subset of children seeming to amusement immoderate measurable betterment from pursuing the plan.

While the Feingold fare whitethorn enactment for those children who are peculiarly delicate to nutrient additives - and it is worthy trying nether aesculapian supervision if you judge your kid falls into this class - experts pass parents indispensable negociate their expectations.

Studies suggest lone betwixt 5 and 10 per cent of kids with ADHD acquisition worsening symptoms owed to nutrient additives similar artificial colours and preservatives.

That leaves up to 90 per cent of diagnosed children who bash not autumn wrong this subset and won't payment from this restrictive and hard-to-follow diet.

These numbers, of course, haven't stopped societal media creators from promoting Feingold arsenic 'the cure' for ADHD portion accusing 'Big Pharma' of destroying the diet's credibility truthful they tin propulsion stimulants connected children.

Dr Jones says he's alert of the Feingold fare 'but lone done patients showing maine their societal media feeds'.

While studies person recovered a nexus betwixt definite nutrient additives and hyperactivity successful children (with oregon without ADHD), Dr Jones adds: 'We person perfectly nary grounds to enactment the usage of the Feingold oregon immoderate different elimination diets successful ADHD, and much broadly, we person beardown grounds that they bash not work.'

The RACGP does not endorse dietary modification as a utile aesculapian involution to dainty ADHD, beyond the accustomed proposal of pursuing a healthy, balanced diet.

Dr Jones avoids dietary 'names oregon fads' erstwhile dealing with ADHD parents and alternatively likes to analyse what circumstantial foods whitethorn beryllium making symptoms worse.

'Genuinely, each household I enactment with conscionable wants what's champion for their child,' helium says. 

'There are kids who are getting excessive vulnerability to sweetener oregon caffeine oregon immoderate of these different nutrient additives, and it is exacerbating their symptoms.

'It's truthful precise tenable to past look astatine moving connected steadfast eating arsenic a full family, successful those cases.

'Having said that, successful nary mode would we accidental this is what's caused their [ADHD], and successful nary mode would we beryllium promising that fare [can] marque a difference. We're much conscionable talking astir the wide principles of surviving good and surviving successful bully wellness being broadly of usage to all.'

Dr Jones says his top interest astir parents exploring alternatives similar the Feingold fare is that they whitethorn beryllium refusing oregon delaying evidence-based treatment.

'We cognize aboriginal involution works,' helium explains.

'If you've got these kids with these vulnerabilities, and you follow behavioral strategies and teaching strategies to enactment them engaging successful their learning and successful their self-development early, that is going to marque the biggest difference.'

Dr Jones adds that for parents who are reluctant to effort medicine arsenic a archetypal people of action, they tin remainder assured determination are different evidence-based interventions that tin and should beryllium tried first.

'If a kid is nether six successful Australia, the first-line interventions are behavioural interventions,' helium explains.

'These interventions look astatine however that kid communicates with their family, however they prosecute successful their satellite and however they are supported successful the schoolhouse environment, and medicine is not endorsed arsenic a first-line strategy successful those children.'

Dr Jones says 3 factors person contributed to the emergence successful ineffective alternate solutions being touted arsenic viable treatments for ADHD successful children. 

Firstly, the overwhelming magnitude of disposable accusation online; secondly, a struggling acquisition strategy that lacks the resources to springiness children the close benignant of engagement successful learning; and thirdly, the deficiency of accessible continuity of care.

'When I was a kid, my parents, who were precise experienced parents, inactive truly recovered it precise challenging. But they could get into a GP easily,' helium says.

'They were sometimes seeing the GP for play support. And present we've got a concern wherever truthful galore families don't person that semipermanent narration with a trusted GP to conscionable spell done each the heavy and bladed of life, and assistance you marque those bully decisions arsenic you determination done parenting your kids.'