All those of you who are caretakers of family members with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) must already be consulting with medical doctors and following prescription medication schedules to treat this condition. But did you know that there are quite a few natural remedies and simple lifestyle changes that are being followed for many decades, to help manage this condition? You could adopt a combination of advanced western medical methods and natural remedies to benefit from the advantages of both approaches. Here is a list of natural lifestyle changes to manage ADHD:
- Ensure the person with ADHD eats healthy wholesome foods. Starting with breakfast, the first meal of the day, adequate portions of a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, cereals, pulses, fat, dairy, and water must be consumed until dinner. Naturally occurring nutrition-rich foods, essential vitamins and minerals like vitamin B, C, magnesium, iron, zinc, and omega-3 supplements enhance the strength of the immune system and help in the proper functioning of all the organs in the body. Additionally, vitamin supplements can be taken to augment its positive effects in people with ADHD.
- While it is important to mention what must be eaten, certain trigger foods ought to be avoided to reduce the flare-up of ADHD symptoms. It is best to keep away from carbonated drinks, foods high in sodium and sugar, fatty, deep-fried, and processed foods containing synthetic food coloring, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, and MSG, all the ingredients that make it convenient to stock them on grocery food shelves for a long time, and make it artificially flavorful and addictive. Examples of foods to avoid are potato chips, packaged fruit juices, pickles, candy, chewing gum, soft drinks, and some types of ready-to-cook frozen foods. Similarly, common allergy-causing foods like milk, wheat, eggs, and some nuts and fish varieties must also be removed from the diet of the person having ADHD symptoms. This is a healthy lifestyle change to manage ADHD.
- Structured physical activity is good for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to use their time and energy constructively. Apart from athletic activities and individual and team sports, yoga and Taichi are also beneficial to contain hyperactive and anxious behavior, and in making an effective difference to their behavior and concentration levels.
- Behavioral therapy is extremely useful. It focuses on creating a set of acceptable and impermissible habits and manners expected from the person with ADHD, both at home and outside the home, at school or work. It is necessary that the caretaker patiently understands how to implement these. Consistency is key for behavior management to be effective. Only when both caretaker and patient are on the same page, can one establish the necessary rules, and the patient understands and complies with them.
Learn more about ADHD and how it can be managed. A significant part of the treatment process is to understand the particular individual’s strengths and areas that need regulation, so treatment plans can be tailor-made to suit the respective situations. Building upon the desirable attributes and resorting to them as positive reinforcement, and addressing problem areas with a focus on reprimanding and modifying unacceptable behavior will then become easier. These are the few lifestyle changes to manage ADHD.
