Diet therapy for ADHD in children

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children is mainly caused by deficiency of the heart, spleen and kidney. Mothers should pay attention to their baby's diet. Children with ADHD should eat more longan and yam porridge, longan and wolfberry porridge, etc. The problem also needs to be solved by correcting the baby's psychological problems. Let us now learn about the dietary therapy for childhood ADHD, hoping it will be helpful for mothers to take care of their children.

According to the classification of traditional Chinese medicine, the causes of baby ADHD can be divided into three types: deficiency of both heart and spleen, phlegm and fire disturbing the heart, and deficiency of kidney and hyperactivity of liver.

Deficiency of heart and spleen

Baby symptoms

Distracted thinking, lack of concentration, excessive activity, chaotic and purposeless movements, shortness of breath, fatigue, frequent spontaneous sweating, poor memory, poor appetite, and pale complexion. The tongue is pale red with a thin white coating.

The symptoms are caused by the heart governing the mind and the spleen governing thinking. Children's heart and spleen are both deficient, with insufficient qi and blood, and the heart and brain are malnourished, so they become distracted, restless, clumsy, emotionally unstable, dizzy, forgetful, and slow thinking. Qi and blood are both deficient, and the skin is malnourished, causing fatigue, weakness, and sallow complexion. If the spleen fails to function properly, appetite will be poor and stools will be loose. A pale tongue with white coating and a weak pulse are signs of insufficient qi and blood.

Diet therapy principle: nourishing the heart and spleen

Longan and Yam Porridge

Ingredients: 15 grams of longan meat, 30 grams of yam, and 100 grams of rice.

Preparation: Wash the rice. Put it into the pot together with yam and longan meat, add water and stew it into porridge.

Things to know about yam storage: Fresh yam will easily turn brown when in contact with oxygen in the air or metal. Although this does not affect the nutritional value, for the sake of aesthetics, it is best to use a bamboo knife or a plastic knife when cutting the yam. The cut surface of unused raw yam is prone to oxidation. You can soak it in wine first, then blow it dry with a hair dryer to heal the cut surface. Then wrap it with a napkin, wrap it with several layers of newspaper, and store it in a cool corner.

Phlegm-fire disturbs the heart

Baby symptoms

Hyperactivity and restlessness, impulsiveness, willfulness, difficulty in control, distracted mind, chest heat, disturbed sleep, poor appetite, dark urine, thirst, dry and hard stools or watery and uncomfortable stools. The tongue is red with thick and greasy yellow coating. Resolve phlegm and clear away heat.

The symptoms are caused by internal accumulation of damp-heat in children, internal disturbance of phlegm and fire, which causes the heart to lose control, so the child is distracted, talks a lot, cries, is willful and hyperactive, and is easily excited; the liver fire is excessive, so the child cannot sleep well at night, has red eyes and a bitter taste in the mouth; the internal accumulation of phlegm and heat causes chest tightness and abdominal distension, excessive phlegm in the throat, yellow and red urine, and constipation. A red tongue, yellow and greasy coating, and a slippery and rapid pulse are signs of phlegm heat.

Principle of Diet Therapy: Nourishing the Heart

Longan and Lotus Seed Porridge

Ingredients: 30 grams of longan meat, 30 grams of lotus seeds, 30-60 grams of glutinous rice, 10 dates, and appropriate amount of white sugar.

Preparation: First wash the lotus seeds, remove the core of the red dates, wash the round glutinous rice and soak them in water. Add 600 ml of water to lotus seeds and round glutinous rice, simmer for 40 minutes on low heat, add longan meat and red dates and simmer for another 15 minutes, add appropriate amount of rock sugar and it is ready to eat.

Lotus Seed and Pork Heart Porridge

Ingredients: 100 grams of ordinary rice, 1 pig heart, 60 grams of lotus seeds, 10 grams of longan, 1 small piece of ginger, and a small amount of golden mushroom.

Preparation: First cut the pig heart into thin slices and soak it in clean water to remove blood stains; put rice, lotus seeds and longan into a pot of boiling water and cook until it becomes porridge, then add enoki mushrooms and ginger slices and cook for 5 minutes, then add the pig heart and cook for about 2 minutes, season and serve.

Warm reminder: 1. You can use japonica rice instead of ordinary rice.

2. Add 30g of Pseudostellaria heterophylla and cook together (do not add Flammulina velutipes at this time)

Kidney deficiency and liver hyperactivity

Baby symptoms

Hyperactivity of hands and feet, bad temper, easy to get excited, impulsive and willful, restlessness, flushed cheeks, dry mouth and throat, sweating at night, and constipation. The tongue is red with little or no coating.

The symptoms are caused by kidney yin deficiency in children, water cannot contain wood, and liver yang is hyperactive, which leads to distracted mind, irritability, impulsiveness, restlessness, sleep disturbance, and forgetfulness. Yin essence is insufficient and the body is not nourished, resulting in weight loss. Deficiency of heat inside the body consumes body fluids, resulting in fever in the five hearts, dry mouth and red lips, red cheeks, night sweats, and dry and hard stools. A red tongue with little fluid, little coating, and a stringy, fine and rapid pulse are signs of yin deficiency.

Principle of Diet Therapy: Nourishing the Kidney and Calming the Liver

Celery Lily

Ingredients: 250g celery, 1 fresh lily

Preparation: Remove the leaves from the celery, blanch it in water, shred it, and cut it into sections. Peel off the lily petals one by one and remove the old lily skin. Heat olive oil in a frying pan until 70% hot, add the blanched celery, stir briefly, and add the lily. When the edges of the lily become transparent, add salt and chicken essence, stir-fry quickly until evenly mixed, drizzle with a little sesame oil, and it is ready to serve.