Winning the ADHD Food Fight

The human body needs nourishment to survive.

It’s a scientific fact—without a daily intake of food, our bodies stop working.

Wouldn’t it be nice if our relationship with food and eating were that simple? A + B = C. 1 + 1 = 2.

In reality, there are a lot more variables to this equation.

Food is used for a million things that don’t have to do with keeping someone alive. From emotional responses, punishment, or comfort to something more ADHD-related like alleviating boredom or creating much-needed brain stimulation, food has become something much more to all of us.

Many of us are searching or struggling to find a healthier relationship with food and nutrition. I’m here to tell you: It’s not easy. But I’m also here to to tell you: It’s not impossible.

Currently, there is no clinical evidence that certain foods affect the symptoms of ADHD positively or negatively. However, there are plenty of studies that explain the benefits of consistently eating a nutritious, well-balanced diet. On the outside, this may not sound like a way to help manage your ADHD symptoms, but there are benefits that may inadvertently improve brain function.

For example, having low levels of certain vitamins and minerals in your body could result in constantly feeling tired or fatigued. A brain that is slow to stimulate with ADHD is not going to work any better if you’re always exhausted. Most of the time, this can be easily avoided by making sure you are adding foods rich in nutrients to your daily diet.

Easier said than done

“But Nikki,” you say, “All of this sounds great, but my ADHD sometimes gets in the way of me having a consistent, nutritious diet.”

This is true. ADHD can make it more difficult to maintain a regular, healthy diet. But, in response, I’d like to say, “you can do hard things!” and here are a few tips to help get you started!

• Use reminders

  A big issue with a lot of ADHDers is just forgetting to eat regularly every day. Hyperfocus and distractions can steal away your meal time. Once you finally get a trigger from the rumbling in your stomach, you feel like you’re starving and may end up bingeing to satisfy the hunger. Instead, set daily reminders for yourself to stop and eat something throughout the day.

• Quiz yourself

  Overeating can be caused by a lot of different factors when you have ADHD. Food can relieve boredom, provided much-needed stimulation, or soothe emotional stress. To help create a better relationship with food and change how you use it, before you reach for the snacks or hit the drive-thru, ask yourself “why?”. Why do I want to eat right now? Am I actually hungry or is there another reason? Beginning to recognize the triggers that have you opening the refrigerator may have you thinking twice before you indulge.

• Get curious

  We all tend to be creatures of habit. We know what we like and tend to stick to what’s comfortable without deviating too much from “normal”. But what if you got curious and stepped out of your food comfort zone? Maybe instead of grabbing a pack of cookies for a snack, you try out that TikTok hack you’ve heard about and eat some frozen grapes instead? (I didn’t just make that up. I haven’t tried it myself, but it’s a pretty popular craze for satisfying a sweet tooth).

• Re-fuel your fidget

  Do you find that you do more eating while bingeing the newest season on your favorite streaming service? Often this is because a lot of ADHDers need to be doing something with their hands or body even when they’re engaged in another activity like watching TV. Instead of plunging your hand into another bowl of popcorn, opt for a fidget toy instead. You can buy fidgets most anywhere, or you can pick up anything around the house to keep yourself occupied. You might also consider a sensory chew toy. These items are usually made of a safe, non-porous silicone and hung on a necklace. They’ve become quite popular in the neurodiverse community.

If you want to learn even more about nutrition and ADHD, then I highly recommend you check out a recent episode of The ADHD Podcast. We sat down with Registered Dietician and Nutritionist, Nicole DeMasi Malcher, to pick her brain on the relationship between ADHD and eating habits. She blew us away with so many fascinating stats and tips; we can’t wait to have her back again to ask her more of our food-related questions!

I know it can be frustrating to think about your complicated relationship with food and nutrition, but I hope you feel inspired by some of today’s tips and suggestions.

Thank you for your time and attention,

-Nikki