40: Food to support ADHD

With the increase in ADHD diagnoses, especially in adulthood, it is time for me to have a chat about what foods are helpful for ADHD. Many of us know about foods to avoid, but there are foods that are beneficial too.

In this podcast, I discuss what it is like to find out you have ADHD as an adult, and also what foods assist in having a more balanced life when you are living with ADHD. 

In this show I talk about 

my journey with possibly having ADHD 

systems that help me

food to avoid when you have ADHD

food to include when you have ADHD

food that you can eat that have the same nutrients that supplements for ADHD have.

Relevant links mentioned in the show 

Vegan foundation cooking course  

https://www.veets.com.au/vegan-foundation-cooking-course

www.veets.com.au/37 for information on soy

https://www.veets.com.au/25  for information on the sauerkraut club

www.veets.com.au/36   for information on curcumin

www.veets.com.au/signup to sign up for my free ebook ‘A Healthy You on a Plant Based Diet’

For full show notes go to www.veets.com.au/40

Hope you enjoy this podcast 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Follow Veet on https://www.facebook.com/VeetKarenVegancookingandnutrition/

Hope you have a delicious week

With gratitude Veet 

Sign up for the free creamy scrambled tofu class

https://mailchi.mp/veets.com.au/creamy-scrambled-tofu

Transcript

Three years ago, two of my clients who were doing the vegan foundation cooking course suggested I had ADHD. I was completely baffled, as I have taught hundreds of children who have ADHD, but never ever thought that I might also have it. 

I am also a part of a business community where it would be safe to say 80% of the participants in the community have ADHD, and it all got me thinking – do I have ADHD? 

When I heard and read that girls often internalise ADHD, I could then see that there could be a good possibility that I would be diagnosed with ADHD if I was to be tested.  For a variety of reasons that I won't go into now, I will not get a diagnosis for ADHD.

But so many of the indications of ADHD I realise I do have, and also realise that as a child I internalised, and as an adult I have used the abundance of energy as a way to work intensely, long and hard hours. Whether this has been a good thing or not is up for discussion. 

However, what I do know is that I have developed and continue to develop systems to help me navigate a very busy and chaotic mind. 

For example, quite recently, a client of mine who also has ADHD and told me as soon as she started to work with me that she thought I also might have ADHD, has introduced me to the world of notes on my phone. 

I know, I know, I am slow to the uptake.

For shopping lists, this has been invaluable.

For years, as a caterer, I had three or four page long shopping lists for each retreat which drove me crazy. Despite them being super organised it was a nightmare every time I went shopping and I hated shopping. 

I had to outsource shopping to my colleagues as I just struggled so much. Thinking about it now makes my body go all prickly.

Still today, I go shopping at least 3 times a week for various classes and up until last year, I still detested shopping, but once I was introduced to notes on my phone and the check circle at the front of the item listed, my whole shopping world has changed - it is so much easier for me to navigate.

Having a regular routine since giving up catering has also been a life saver.

As has my healthy diet.

Life before giving up coffee was frantic – I had more energy than I needed, and after my daily coffee I felt very alive but I couldn’t focus very well. I had to have checklists everywhere at work to keep it together.  This went unnoticed, on the outside I looked like a person who had my shit together. I was always on time with catering, kept a tight kitchen, ran from one job to the next, took on 3 catering jobs at a time. I was running, but always looked like I was walking.

Once I gave up coffee, I wasn’t waking up in the night crying anymore, nor was I anxious. Coffee serves many with ADHD well as it helps stimulate their brain, but it overstimulated mine and ended up causing anxiety. 

However even with coffee, the rest of my diet was incredibly clean, and I attribute this to having a much easier time with ADHD.

Many people I know choose to go on medication, and this has assisted them greatly. There are varying levels of ADHD, and everyone has a different path. Taking medication has never been my path.

 I don’t do it, so it’s a non negotiable that I have had to have a very clean diet. 

Which is what I will get to super soon.

And many people I know are now going off medication and turning to supplements, which I will also discuss later in the show.

So let's look at the foods we need to avoid or replace with other yummy foods if you have ADHD. And if you don’t.

Sugary foods,  (you could have complex carb fruits instead – high fibre fruits– list to follow).

Processed foods, (this is hard to replace as so many of these foods, like lollies, chocolate, etc. are so addictive – but dark chocolate is great, and you can make some fabulous biscuits cakes, crackers etc. without preservatives).

Anything with food colouring and additives, (use natural colours like beetroot powder or turmeric instead). 

Caffeine for some people, (replace with dandelion and mushroom brews and bancha tea).

 Alcohol for most people, (I replace this with fresh lime soda).

Now, let's get to the foods we can add into our diet to support ADHD. 

There are so many foods that can support you when you have ADHD.

It is important to have protein and I say every single meal.

In the form of; 

tofu,

beans and legumes,

grains,

nuts and seeds, 

Listen to podcast 2,3 and 4 for more info on this.

Vitamin B12 is essential and has often been found to be low in people diagnosed with ADHD. 

Nutritional yeast. 

B 12 spray.

Omega 3 rich foods for brain health. 

Flax, hemp chia, walnuts and seaweed. 

Foods high in iron, (sign up for “A Healthy You on a plant based diet”.

Zinc – link to the list of foods in the show notes – basically lentils, beans, pumpkin seeds, potatoes.

Magnesium

Dark chocolate 

Avocadoes 

Nuts legumes

Tofu

Seeds

Whole grains 

Bananas

Leafy greens 

Carbohydrates are important too, but they need to be complex carbohydrates. 

So that means; 

wholegrains, 

brown rice, 

buckwheat, 

millet, 

oats,

quinoa, 

popcorn, 

whole grain wheat  - like farro and freekeh and burgar,

pulses – all legumes and beans, 

starchy veg, 

potatoes,

sweet potatoes, 

pumpkins,

beetroots,

parsnips, 

turnips.

Fruits high in fibre; 

apples,

bananas,

blueberries ,

peaches, 

mangoes, 

oranges, 

strawberries. 

Fermented foods, daily for the gut 

Sauerkraut, (do you know about my sauerkraut club, 

healthy fats, 

avocados,

nuts,

seeds, 

olives.

There are so many delicious foods that you can be adding.

Rather than a recipe this week I will give you an idea on what daily meals could look like with these lists - keeping snacking to a minimum. 

 Breakfast 

Toast with tahini or hummus with tomato and sprouts, 

or 

peanut butter on toast with banana and sprouts if you dare. 

Lunch 

Salad with roast veg and seaweed, avocado and seeds and crumbled nori sheet and quinoa,

or

brown rice sushi with avocado and veg. 

Dinner 

Tofu veg stir fry and brown rice with broccoli

or

Vegetable Dhal with lentils and brown rice  with broccoli.

Now going back to the people I know who are going off medication and onto supplements. This can be a fabulous step for many, but not all people. 

But at the same time, I would be adding the things into the diet that those supplements give, so that you can eventually stop supplementing.

For example, if we look at DOPA supplements, which people take for ADHD.

They contain 

L- tyrosine- the foods that contains tyrosine are sesame seeds, nuts and soy beans (podcast #37 has a whole load of info on soy).

DOPA supplements contain a herb called Rhodiola Rosea, which is grown in Europe and Asia – so it is not always easily accessible. However, what has similar properties is ashwagandha and holy basil – I have holy basil growing all throughout my garden. When I brush past these incredible plants I feel a sense of calm just from the smell – it really calms me down and has me stopping for a few minutes to take it all in.

It contains mucuia pruriens, which is good for memory – mucuia pruriens is commonly known as velvet bean – it is a tropical legume and is super good for memory.  I am going to locate myself some velvet bean.

These foods are also good for memory;

broccoli ,

nuts,

oranges,

bancha tea,

turmeric, 

pumpkin seeds,

dark chocolate, 

blueberries. 

DOPA supplements also contain; 

curcumin – check out podcast 36 

Also is included is; 

magnesium, 

omega 3, 

B complex,

iron.

You can find the lists for these foods in the ‘A Healthy You on a plant based diet’ free ebook. Sign up for it here www.veets.com.au/sign up

And just a few extra things. 

Getting out in the sunshine for vitamin D – which is also important, and connecting with nature – going outside before bed – smelling the flowers, following the bees around the garden, staring at the fruit on the trees.

No recipe this week but a FCT 

When you have some spare time, 

toast up a whole lot of seeds, sunflower, sesame and pepitas, as these are great for snacks, sprinkling on toast and salads and everything, and are so good for ADHD.

Please share this podcast with all your friends and to your networks, it takes me 5 hours to produce one episode so I would love more listeners.

Have a fabulous week.