More and more Australian children are being medicated with drugs like Ritalin to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Boys are particularly overrepresented in the diagnosis, and the symptoms of the ‘disorder’ include difficulty concentrating, absent-mindedness, and a short attention span. While some parents will choose to find non-invasive ways to cope with the disorder, many have found themselves at the centre of an unholy alliance with prescription-happy doctors. Ignoring the impact of sugary foods and beverages on the mental and physical health of kids has conveniently calcified the sacrosanct status of Ritalin, the drug of choice to treat ADHD. Now we face uncharted territory and the proliferation of a mass-medicated generation of kids while ignoring one simple factor: diet.
Pills will not cure ignorance. According to Australian government data, in 2009, approximately 60,000 Australian kids were on Ritalin. In 2019, over 120,000 Australian kids were taking the drug.
If a parent allows their child to eat and drink highly processed and sugary foods and then their child’s misbehaves, shows poor concentration and impulsivity, who is to blame? Not only that, what if this reaction to consuming such things mirrors the same signs and symptoms of ADHD? And worse, what if you wrongly assume that they have ADHD and then one week later, with the help of a prescription happy doctor, they are on Ritalin?
Is it time to take them to the Psychiatrist or perhaps examine what they are eating and change it? There may of course be cases where a child’s behaviour cannot be remedied by a change in diet, but there is a cultural pattern emerging that we need to address.
It is estimated in Australia that between 6-10% of children/adolescents have ADHD.
As more and more Australian kids are being diagnosed with the disorder, we become more ignorant about nutrition. We’d be lying if we denied that some, if not many, diagnosed with the disorder also eat highly processed and highly sugary foods. Admittedly, this is only anecdotal evidence and I am not a health professional. I once visited a friend whose child was diagnosed with ADHD. When the naked cupboard availed itself, I saw highly sugary cereals, chocolate spread and chocolate powdered drinks. As I was gazing at the litany of devilish options, his mother was preparing a Nutella pancake for him. I wondered to myself, won’t these foods cause impulsivity, hyperactive behaviour and a massive spike in insulin?
I left thinking that perhaps my suspicions about poor nutrition and symptoms of ADHD were right. Then, it happened again. After visiting another friend whose adolescent was being medicated for ADHD. Upon entering the kitchen, I saw the trifecta, three different colours of cordial sitting on the bench top. Now I am no doctor but do I need a medical degree to suspect that perhaps diet plays a role in manifesting some of the symptoms present in ADD/ADHD? The question then is, why don’t some parents see any link between diet and some symptoms of ADHD?
If I allow my child to consume soft drink beverages or highly processed and sugary foods, we both know that within an hour that child will be hyperactive for hours on end.
Freud spoke about the Tyrannical Father and the Devouring Mother but we seem to live in the age of the “omnipotent child”. Children should not get everything they want, when they want it.
Our desire to find quick solutions has meant that we outsource responsibility to pharmacological solutions. These solutions on offer are attractive too. But, we have to be honest, this shows our lack of willpower against the tirade of demands that children naturally have sometimes.
It is not a revolutionary observation to say that the foods we eat can impact our moods and behaviours. Parents may claim ignorance. But doctors have no excuse. They learn about nutrition in medical school Yet, many parents are happy to medicate on the advice of the Doctor, we shouldn’t be.
If your child misbehaves, teachers will advise you take them to the Doctor, the Doctor will advise they go on Ritalin and before you know it, you have a sedated child. But before this happens next; maybe its wiser to undertake a process of elimination first. As parents, we are responsible for what our children eat and we cannot avert that duty to a pharmacological substance. Parents, and parents alone can only break the unholy alliance between parents and doctors. Parents must reclaim their roles as sources of wisdom and not rely on ‘experts’ all the time to do so. Before we are quick to give in to the old saying “the doctor has your best interests at heart” we need to rethink about what are our interests in the first place? And what are the interests of our children? Before we medicate them, shouldn’t we first examine what they are eating?
