As background... back in the 70s I had a good friend whose son was diagnosed with hyperactivity (the ADD dx wasn't in existence then) and she refused to put him on speed (ritalin.) So she tried changing his diet as some doctors suggested.

1968 American Psychiatric Association called it "Hyperkinetic Disorder of Childhood" then as cognitive disabilities of memory and attention problems were discovered to be the core problems the dx changed in 1980 to ADDH, Attention Deficit Disorder with and without Hyperactivity" and "Residual Types" for adults.

While I agree that diet plays a role in everything our bodies and minds do and don't do, it is not the be all end all. You wouldn't tell someone who was born blind to try a different diet would you? Well don't tell someone who was born with ADD to get off sugar and food dyes.

Now I know why I loved coffee as a young child, and since caffeine is natural and not "speed" like Ritalin is it OK in your book? My body and mind was craving that speed, I climbed trees in thunder storms to get an adrenaline rush that would make normal people sick, but made me feel good and normal.

Reading is fundamental!

<div class="foot">(Edited by ToddAADD on 08/08/04 00:01 AM.)</div>