"Western" diet linked to ADHD

Clodfobble • Jul 30, 2010 10:27 am
Leader of Nutrition studies at the Institute, Associate Professor Wendy Oddy, said the study examined the dietary patterns of 1800 adolescents from the long-term Raine Study and classified diets into 'Healthy' or 'Western' patterns.

"We found a diet high in the Western pattern of foods was associated with more than double the risk of having an ADHD diagnosis compared with a diet low in the Western pattern, after adjusting for numerous other social and family influences," Dr Oddy said


They weren't comparing different nationalities/ethnicities, by the way, all of these kids were Australian. Eating crap makes your body and your brain sick, people, it's just a fact.

link
Flint • Jul 30, 2010 12:15 pm
Clodfobble;673550 wrote:
Eating crap makes your body and your brain sick, people, it's just a fact.

This is such a patently obvious fact that I go so far as to say that anyone who disagrees with this is an idiot.
Pico and ME • Jul 30, 2010 12:30 pm
And yet I'd go as far to say that at least 60% of us eat crap on a regular basis.
classicman • Jul 30, 2010 1:48 pm
Pico and ME;673569 wrote:
And yet I'd go as far to say that at least 60% of us eat crap on a regular basis.


85% of all medical issues are caused by . . . :right:
HungLikeJesus • Jul 30, 2010 2:30 pm
That's why, when I get a Wendy's double Baconator large combo, I have them leave off the mayonnaise.
Undertoad • Jul 30, 2010 2:32 pm
The mayo is fine, for a "non-western diet" you need them to leave off the buns.
HungLikeJesus • Jul 30, 2010 2:43 pm
I'm thinking next time I might get it without the bacon.
lumberjim • Jul 30, 2010 2:59 pm
Clodfobble;673550 wrote:
Eating crap makes your body and your brain sick, people, it's just a fact.



[livingproof] that's true [/livingproof]
Sundae • Jul 30, 2010 3:28 pm
I'm sure it raises any health risk.
But my (maternal) Uncle and my brother were very picky eaters.
And by picky I mean would barely eat anything, especially not fruit or vegetables.

They improved slightly after meeting their respective wives, but spent their childhood eating sweets and biscuits.

I know this is like giving the example of the old person in the family who lived to 102 smoking and drinking every day (definitely NOT a case in my family - the heavy smokers went first, those who drank with it shortly after). And I'm not suggesting the plural of individual experience is data. I just know that not every child with an eating issue ends up with ADHD.

On the flip side, I do believe the same psychological issue plagued both my Uncle and my brother. So the cause and effect of developing ADHD would not have been relevant in their case anyway.
Clodfobble • Jul 30, 2010 4:04 pm
Sundae Girl wrote:
I just know that not every child with an eating issue ends up with ADHD.


The other issue at play here is that the science of epigenetics is showing more and more clearly that certain types of damage builds up over generations. I know you've mentioned that your brother has no children; how about your maternal Uncle?
Aliantha • Jul 30, 2010 7:39 pm
Flint;673563 wrote:
This is such a patently obvious fact that I go so far as to say that anyone who disagrees with this is an idiot.


Yeah, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know this. It's frightening how much damage you can do with crap food. Along with obvious behavioural issues, a junk food diet gives you a huge risk of bowel cancer due to the lack of fibre and other essential nutrients.

The shame of it is for us over here is that it's cheaper to eat junk food than it is to eat fresh whole foods, which is why we have such a problem.
Clodfobble • Jul 30, 2010 7:47 pm
Undertoad wrote:
The mayo is fine, for a "non-western diet" you need them to leave off the buns.


Well, that, plus un-process the meat, cut it by 2/3rds or make it white meat, and quadruple the amount of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. ;)
HungLikeJesus • Jul 31, 2010 10:33 am
Now I know you're all crazy, especially Clodfobble.
Rhianne • Jul 31, 2010 11:27 am
The thing is, eating junk food isn't cheaper than eating fresher, tastier stuff. Go into any large store and see what size bag of apples/bananas/whatever-common-fruit-or-veg-you-like you can buy for the price of a couple of burgers.
Clodfobble • Jul 31, 2010 1:37 pm
The problem is, people try to compare one-to-one on that sort of thing. Like in Food, Inc., they followed the family into the grocery store where they lamented that this one head of lettuce was a buck fifty, and that was "way too expensive"--because their plan was to also buy meat, and buns, and cheese, and ketchup, and only eat one leaf of lettuce each on their "homemade, healthy" burgers. But that one head of lettuce would have fed all of them practically by itself, if their plan had been to make giant salads instead.
xoxoxoBruce • Jul 31, 2010 1:41 pm
And the lettuce doesn't keep, so you have to eat it quickly, then go back for more. Fresh food has to be handled carefully, it takes time and money to stay on top of a healthy diet.
Pico and ME • Jul 31, 2010 1:58 pm
I managed fine when I was on the zone diet, but it does take organization and planning. When you are used to convenience foods, however, it would seem like an insurmountably hurdle.
Rhianne • Jul 31, 2010 2:51 pm
Planning is the key. If you're only ever going to eat 'when I'm hungry' then you will never eat healthily. Plan all of your meals at least a day ahead - what you are going to eat and approximately when.

Also, every meal you eat shouldn't necessarily be tastier and more wonderful than the last. It is essentially just fuel remember and consider this when you plan your meals but if all the lovely flavours are important to you then make something more special once each day - if you have a family they can join you and remember that since you're planning your meals now they'll all know when to be at the table.

God, I hope I don't sound like your Mum!
Aliantha • Jul 31, 2010 6:50 pm
We don't eat junk food at all hardly. Most of our meals are home cooked using whole foods. We don't use sauces out of jars aside from BBQ or Tomato. We have a good herb rack and make even our own curry from scratch.

The problem is, the cost of whole foods in Australia is very high, especially if you want to eat Australian grown products (which is stupid I know, but a huge amount of our fresh produce is imported from Asia). Anyway, it's expensive to eat healthily over here.

It's time I got organized now though. I've got a load of dirt coming to build up my vege garden for spring planting.
xoxoxoBruce • Jul 31, 2010 7:34 pm
Aliantha;673781 wrote:

The problem is, the cost of whole foods in Australia is very high, especially if you want to eat Australian grown products (which is stupid I know, but a huge amount of our fresh produce is imported from Asia).
No, it's not stupid, not at all. :headshake:
jinx • Aug 1, 2010 12:07 am
xoxoxoBruce;673733 wrote:
And the lettuce doesn't keep, so you have to eat it quickly, then go back for more. Fresh food has to be handled carefully, it takes time and money to stay on top of a healthy diet.


I buy several bags of baby spinach each week, and it usually last that long. It's a good deal...
Aliantha • Aug 1, 2010 1:57 am
I don't know if it's the climate here or what, but baby spinach grows like weeds here. If I have four plants in, that's more than we can handle in this place, and the best thing about it is you just snip off what you want, and new leaves are grown in their place within a week.