If you start yourself or your child on a gluten-free diet and notice a dramatic improvement in your ADHD symptoms, you're faced with both good news and bad news. The good news is, you may not have ADHD. The bad news is you may have a rare but treatable medical condition known as celiac disease.
If You Have Celiac
People with celiac disease can't properly process gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. Eating gluten causes intestinal damage, which, over time, decreases your body's ability to absorb nutrients. The nutritional gaps cause symptoms very similar to ADHD. A 2006 study published in the "Journal of Attention Disorders" found the mental side effects of gluten intolerance so similar to those of ADHD that celiac disease should be ruled out before making an ADHD diagnosis. Gluten-free diets resolve ADHD-like symptoms rather quickly, sometimes in just days or weeks.
If You Have ADHD
If you have ADHD and not undiagnosed celiac disease, you might experience a slight improvement of your symptoms, but your symptoms are not likely to go away. Many natural health practitioners advise trying gluten-free and another diets to help manage ADHD symptoms, but there's no clear scientific evidence that indicates diets alleviate or improve symptoms, according to Harvard Medical School. Positive benefits attributed to eliminating gluten may actually be the result of overall improved nutrition that eliminates an unknown vitamin or mineral deficiency. You may also have inadvertently resolved a minor gluten sensitivity or a sensitivity to something other than gluten. You'll still need to continue ADHD treatment, which usually includes medication, behavioral therapy and life coaching.
The Gluten Spectrum
Just because you don't have full-blown celiac disease doesn't mean gluten doesn't play a role in your ADHD symptoms. Gluten problems range from barely detectable to life-threatening. "Imagine gluten ingestion on a spectrum," says Dr. Allessio Fasano of the University of Maryland Medical Center. Some people eat gluten and show few to no symptoms. Some eat gluten and experience ADHD-like symptoms and co-conditions such as lack of focus, depression, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. If you already have these symptoms due to ADHD, you must find the right strategy to manage gluten intake to avoid worsening your ADHD symptoms. For this reason, exploring gluten intolerance is important for people with ADHD.
Gluten-Free Diet Overview
A gluten-free diet isn't impossible to follow, but it involves a great deal of detective work. Ingredients that contain gluten, especially those derived from wheat, go into nearly everything, from gravy to toothpaste. As a general rule, avoid anything that has barley, wheat, rye, semolina or durham in the ingredients list, which includes most commercial breads, cakes, pastas and processed food items. You can eat corn, rice, quinoa and buckwheat, as well as all fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats and many dairy products. If you're missing a particular food, such as pasta or bread, many grocery stores have begun carrying gluten-free versions.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Study from... for Celiac Research...
- Harvard Medical School: Diet and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse: Celiac Disease
- "Pediatrics"; Range of Neurologic Disorders...; N. Zelnik, et al; June 2004
- Attention Deficit Disorder Association: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Fact Sheet
- MayoClinic.com; Gluten-Free Diet; January 2010
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