Key Nutrients Significantly Reduce ADHD Symptoms

WICHITA, Kan.Consumption of a combination of fatty acids, as well as magnesium and zinc, amino acids, vitamins and probiotics, can significantly reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study published in the Journal of Functional Foods in Health and Disease.

Researchers at the Riordan Clinic, in collaboration with scientists from the School of Public Health, Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico, conducted a study to determine reference values of specific biomarkers associated with behavior typical of ADHD in a group of patients before and after metabolic correction based on data from Riordan Clinic's patient history database that covered a 10-year period.

Researchers preformed laboratory tests in 116 patients diagnosed with ADHD, ages 2.7 to 25 years. They compared the distributions of fatty acids, essential metals and levels of metabolic stress factors with reference ranges before and after intervention. The association between toxic metal concentrations and level of essential metals in patients also were analyzed. Patients were treated by supplementation of essential fatty acids, amino acids, magnesium, zinc, probiotics and vitamins.

Results demonstrated that after consumption of the combination of nutrients, most patients had significant reduction in markers of metabolic stress and reported less emotional problems.

"According to our data, the metabolic correction of ADHD by supplementation can ameliorate ADHD symptoms. Eighty percent of children who were treated from several weeks to one to two years, demonstrated improvement of metabolic stress level, measured by pyrrole test," said Nina Mikirova, Ph.D., director of research at the Riordan Clinic.

ADHD, the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder, affects 2 million American children. Nutritional deficiencies, like zinc, have been shown to influence neural function, causing defects in neuronal plasticity and impacting behavior of children with ADHD.