Supplements for Autism and ADHD
When following any specialized diet for healing, you’ve got to know about supplements.
After speaking with thousands of parents at conferences, webinars, and client appointments over the past ten years, I’ve realized that this is a topic of great confusion for parents.
Awareness of the importance of supplementation typically begins with the issue of calcium. If you’re following a GFCF diet, you’ve likely learned about the need to supplement calcium intake because of the omission of dairy (key calcium source) from your child’s diet. How much to give, and what type of calcium to use are common questions.
These are smart queries because there are very important things to consider with supplementation; such as the current quality of one’s diet, specific nutrient deficiencies, plus the health condition and biochemistry of the individual. And while parents may have heard about calcium, once they start diving into the overall information about supplements, it can become complicated quickly. Calcium is a first step–other important considerations are: magnesium, zinc, vitamins A and D, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, digestive enzymes, probiotics, fatty acids, amino acids, and more.
Julie Matthews is a Certified Nutrition Consultant who received her master’s degree in medical nutrition with distinction from Arizona State University. She is also a published nutrition researcher and has specialized in complex neurological conditions, particularly autism spectrum disorders and ADHD for over 20 years. Julie is the award winning author of Nourishing Hope for Autism, co-author of a study proving the efficacy of nutrition and dietary intervention for autism published in the peer-reviewed journal, Nutrients, and also the founder of BioIndividualNutrition.com. Download her free guide, 12 Nutrition Steps to Better Health, Learning, and Behavior.
I’m curious if you have research to back up the claim that these supplements specifically affect outcomes for autism and ADHD patients. If not, I don’t think it’s appropriate to make it sound like they do.
Yes there are studies both for autism and ADHD. I’ll be presenting much of the research on our Support Club call tomorrow. If you can join us, I’ll be interested in your thoughts. Thanks!
It is sooooo important for people not to shoot from the hip and guess about supplements. We took a slightly different route with my son. We used a naturopath to supervise his supplementation program. She has always used applied kinesiology or muscle testing to determine his supplement needs, and we adjust it on either a 6 week to quarterly basis. We’ve been doing that for almost a decade, and my son has NEVER experienced any of the reactions to supplements that many moms report. He’s also gone from a non-verbal out of control 3 year old to being completely mainstreamed in junior high (with an aide) taking AP classes. I strongly urge parents to find more out about muscle testing, as it is cheap (free), fast and accurate! Although, those who need numbers can always pay for lab tests. . . .