Does real freedom from challenging ADHD behaviors feel unattainable?
Like it’s completely out of reach?
I remember feeling exactly like this years ago with my son with ADHD.
The norm for our family was…
✔️ walking on eggshells
✔️ waiting for the next meltdown to occur
✔️ worrying what other parents think about me or my family
✔️ fearing what the future holds
It honestly felt like ADHD dictated everything in our life…where we went, what we did, how we felt. Everything.
Since the 4th of July is this week, and for those of you reading this in the United States, that means Independence Day is coming up, it felt appropriate to write about freedom.
But in our case, freedom from the challenges that ADHD can present.
When we are able to support a child naturally through food and other strategies, that child can finally become their best selves.
We can finally find real freedom to do what we want to do and go where we want to go. We can finally break free from the chains of ADHD.
For my family, when we were able to reduce the inflammation in my son’s body through food and other natural strategies, it was like he was a completely different person.
He was happy again.
In turn, we were happy again.
I want that for everyone reading this post today.
It is possible to find freedom from ADHD.
I’ve seen it in my own son and in nearly 1000 other families I have worked with.
How do you get there?
What are the first steps?
One thing I teach every family I work with is that diet is the foundation of everything we do. If our diet isn’t good, we can never function at our best.
A lot of people don’t realize there is a huge connection between our gut health and our brain health.
95 percent of our serotonin, and 50 percent of our dopamine is made in our guts.
These neurotransmitters are our feel-good hormones that help us both manage emotions and maintain mood balance.
That means, if we are not feeding and looking after our guts, then our bodies won’t be able to make enough of these vital neurotransmitters.
I often think of it like this: when you are building a house, a solid foundation isn’t optional. It’s a necessity.
If you don’t have a solid foundation, that house isn’t going to be very strong. It’s the same way with us.
Diet is our foundation. If our diet is poor, we can never function at our best.
That’s true for us adults, but it’s also true for our children.
Because of this, when I work with families, the first issue I address is diet.
I encourage families to remove some of the most common inflammatory foods from their diets and replace these foods with healthier alternatives and more whole foods.
That is where to start in the process.
Begin by cutting out the 3 most inflammatory foods, which are:
✔️ Gluten
✔️ Dairy
✔️ Soy
Gluten is the first food I recommend ALL children with ADHD cut out of their diets.
In fact, gluten is so inflammatory that I suggest everyone (even those without ADHD or a known gluten intolerance) stop eating it.
Plain and simple, gluten is harmful for everyone.
That’s because gluten triggers increased intestinal permeability in EVERYONE, even those who don’t show an allergic response to it.
Intestinal permeability refers to the breakdown of the intestinal walls. When functioning properly, the walls of the intestines form a barrier, allowing water and nutrients to pass through but blocking other things from entering the bloodstream.
When a person has increased intestinal permeability, that can lead to something called leaky gut. Leaky gut allows toxins and other harmful substances to enter the bloodstream that aren’t supposed to be there, leading to an inflammatory response in the body.
This inflammation can make ADHD symptoms significantly worse.
Inflammation isn’t the only issue with gluten, though. Gluten also has the potential to create opiate-like effects in some individuals.
Crazy, right?
In individuals who have gut inflammation, which is very common in kids with ADHD, the enzymes in their guts are not fully breaking down gluten. What happens as a result are compounds called gluteomorphins.
The protein structure of gluteomorphins is similar to that of morphine. Gluteomorphins are absorbed into the bloodstream, cross the blood brain barrier, and then bind to opiate receptors in the brain and gastrointestinal tract.
Think about people who are addicted to morphine. They might be unable to sit still. They could have huge meltdowns over small things. They might be unable to handle transitions. In many ways, they have ADHD-like symptoms.
When caregivers of children with ADHD remove gluten – and thus remove the opiate gluteomorphin – these opiate-like instances begin to be fewer and further in between.
One thing to keep in mind when removing gluten is that some people go through a Glutamorphin withdrawal response. Think of this like a detox period.
During this period, their ADHD symptoms might actually get worse for a time before they get better. That’s because their bodies are flushing out the gluten.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it can take three to even six months for gluten to stop reacting in the body.
Don’t give up if you don’t see results immediately! Sometimes, it can take a few months before the body fully reduces the inflammation caused by gluten.
The second food I recommend families remove is dairy.
I suggest families cut out dairy for the same reasons as they cut out gluten.
Dairy products, like gluten, are inflammatory and create opioid-like responses in the brain. The opioid-like protein in dairy is called casomorphin.
Soy is the third food children with ADHD should cut from their diets.
There are two primary reasons for this.
First of all, approximately 95% of soy products come from genetically modified crops (GMOs). GMOs are linked to many health problems. They damage the digestive system and kill off the good bacteria in your gut.
Because most of the soy in foods today comes from GMO plants, it’s best to cut soy out of the diet altogether.
The over-production of soy is also a problem.
Soy is among the largest United States farm commodities. It’s heavily processed, has a high yield, and often contains glyphosate (pesticide) residue. Because of its mass production, it is also snuck into a variety of foods at an alarming rate.
The second reason I suggest families of children with ADHD remove soy is because soy is an endocrine disruptor.
When eaten in excess, it can have adverse effects on the balance of hormones in your body. It also contains isoflavones, which act like estrogen in the body. Since many breast cancers need estrogen to grow, eating an excess of soy could increase the risk of breast cancer.
I know removing these foods can seem really overwhelming but remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
You don’t have to cut everything all at once.
Begin by changing breakfast. Then snacks. Then lunch. Then dinner. Or whatever order works best for you.
Or, you could begin by changing one meal a week and then slowly adjust them all until they are all changed.
The important thing is to go slow so it’s not too overwhelming.
Now, meet Rebecca.
A loving mom on a mission to help her child with ADHD.
When Rebecca first started working with us, she knew she wanted to find REAL freedom from her son’s challenging ADHD symptoms…
But she was unsure what would really help her reach this goal.
As a mom who deeply loved her child, she had THE DETERMINATION necessary to make that change happen.
With the help of our PROVEN system, Rebecca learned:
? What foods to eat (and why)
? What foods to avoid (and why)
? Which supplements are best for kids with ADHD
? How to change some of the parenting habits that weren’t really working for her family
? How to GET HER SWEET CHILD BACK
Rebecca navigated the hurdles that many parents face when trying to help their children with ADHD.
BUT, instead of facing them alone, she asked us for help.
The results speak for themselves…
She needed a system that WORKED…not one that promised results but didn’t come through.
We helped make that happen.
And we can do the same for you too.
Helping parents support their ADHD children naturally is our superpower.
We know we’re successful when parents come back to us and tell us things like this.
So whether you want…
✔️ A calm and happy home….
✔️ Children who get along….
✔️ A child who goes to bed at night (and stays asleep)….
✔️ The ability to actually ENJOY your child (instead of dreading what mood he might be in)….
✔️ A child who eats nutritious foods (even asking for vegetables)….
✔️ Or just to feel happy again…
Whatever your WHY, we can help you reach it. Reach out to learn more!
Want to know more about how we can help YOU get to a place of peace and calm with your child using natural strategies?
Let’s talk!
with one of my expert team members to help you take your next step toward a healthier, happier home. There is absolutely NO RISK. It’s free, and there are no obligations. All we will do is chat about how we can help you get to where you want to go!
Alternatively, for more details about how you can help reduce your child’s ADHD symptoms, sign up for my today
And as always, I am not a medical doctor and the above post is based on my experience. No information on this site should be relied upon to make a medical diagnosis, treat, prevent or cure any disease or medical condition.
