Diet

I get lots of questions in my office about diet and nutrition for behavioral disorders. I try to keep my answer as simple as possible: DON'T GIVE YOUR KIDS JUNK. I also typically recommend more protein (especially fish), more fruit, more vegetables, less bread. Processed foods containing preservatives, artificial flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial colors are probably the worst things to feed children. Whole foods such as fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, lean meats, nuts, fish are the kinds of foods nature intended us to eat. If I ever plug any supplement, it is Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.

If you want a longer explanation of my thoughts on diet, I suggest reading the book "The Paleo Diet" by Dr. Loren Cordain. The theory behind the paleolithic diet is that many of our modern ailments are attributable to our physical inactivity and modern diet. By modern, I mean the typical grain-based diet that began around 10 thousand years ago. Prior to the discovery of modern agriculture, humans ate what we could hunt and gather, and what we could prepare without much cooking. There was no bread, no chips, no potatoes, no pasta, no cookies, etc. The only sugar we ate came in the fruit and vegetables. Insulin levels remained very low eliminating the possibility of type II diabetes. Calories were low, exercise was plentiful, so obesity was virtually impossible. Artificial colors, flavors, and evil high fructose corn syrup weren't invented until the mid-20th century. All the vitamins and trace minerals we ever needed are contained within the basic foods of the paleolithic diet.