Some kids have chemical imbalances that diet will not cure. To say all kids with ADD can control it via diet is hogwash. It just may be those kids who benefit from the diet change had allergies to those foods (sugars, food dyes, etc. that represented the symptoms as hyperactivity or decreased attention span.
My point is that some kids need the medicine. to deprive them of the meds they need is akin to depriving an asthma suffer of an inhaler.
Hold on a minute, there. I've heard many, many parents say that an elimination diet didn't work for their little Johnny because they tried it and there was no real improvement. When I ask how long they tried it, the longest I've ever heard was one month and that was with only eliminating one item. My son's pediatric GI said that it normally takes six long months before the kid's body and brain can begin to recover from "food poisoning". What parent tries a complete elimination diet for six months? How can you say that diet alone can't help some children when it is NEVER tried in the most effective manner?
Can you imagine how much work it is to go for six months feeding your kid only meat, potatoes, rice and veggies without knowing that what you're doing is working? Who would go through that? But my kid's GI said that over the last 30 years of his medical practice, he's "cured" EVERY SINGLE BEHAVIOR ISSUE FACED BY HIS PATIENTS WITH DIET ALONE. Without exception.
I did not say that. I said ADD can be controlled with diet. Perhaps not always, but changing the diet should certainly be the first thing to do.
I am not against medications. They improve and save lives. But I have also seen bad effects when children on Ritalin grow up.