Your choice: Ritalin or Banana?

We all know that the number of kids being prescribed Ritalin has sky-rocketed. I'll not bore you with the details of all the to and fro among experts about the reasons for ADHD and the benefits of this and that.

There are three simple simple ways to control hyperactivity and ADHD-like symptoms in children. These are either completely free or really cheap.

1. Reducing food additives: Artificial food colors increase hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children. In fact, since 2010, the European Union has required foods with artificial coloring to have the warning notice about hyperactivity. Furthermore, red 40 food coloring is completely banned in Denmark, Belgium, France and Switzerland (source).

2. Reducing sugar: Like most parents, I have seen TLM turn into an uncontrolled monster when he has sugar. While there is no link between sugar and hyperactivity or ADHD symptoms, sugar does lead to a spike in adrenaline levels - the fight or flight drug. This makes children irritable and anxious, neither of which help with self-control.

3. Increase unsupervised free time: The term "unsupervised free time" is bandied about all the time, but no one gives an example of what unsupervised time means. Here is an example of unsupervised play: leave the room. Tell your child you are going to be in the other room and they are on their own for 15, 20, 30 minutes. If you have a backyard, sit somewhere in the house so that you can see them (but they can't see you) and let them play by themselves in the backyard for 20 minutes. Obviously, you have to start out slowly and it will be stressful, but it is good for everyone.

Here are some of the worst food offenders, especially because they are marketed as "healthy snacks," when they are actually junk food:

• Go-gurt: Blech Rating: I would give this to a starving monkey, if I had nothing else to give it. This stuff has food additives (and sugar) up the wazoo. Every time I see a kid squeeze this processed *stuff* into their mouth, I want to scream. Yes, I am being judgmental. People take more care of their gardens and cars than their kids' diets. If you want to know all the gory details, this is what Fooducate.com has to say about Go-Gurt. Read it and then give your kid a banana.

• Fruit Snacks: Blech Rating: If I gave this to a starving monkey, it might kill me. This leather has no resemblance to fruit or any food, for that matter. It has all the things you *don't* want in your kid: artificial food colorings, sugar, preservatives and the same wax we use to shine our cars. Yes, we put in our kids what we put *on* our cars. Yummmmy. Dump the fruit snacks and give your kid a banana.

• Juice: Belch Rating: I'd give this to a monkey as long as it is playing outside and the monkey knows that juice is a treat, not a snack. Since TLM knows this is a treat, we don't even pretend to worry about the nutrition. It is like eating at Ben's - tons of fun once in a while, but not good for us.

• Granola Bars: Blech Rating: I'd give this to a starving monkey, as long as it is playing outside  and the monkey knows that the granola bar is a treat, not a snack. Yes, it is good to have treats every so often, as long as kids know they are getting a treat, not a snack.

Here is the rule of thumb I have told TLM about choosing snacks: If it looks like it did in nature, it is a healthy snack. So, fruits and roasted nuts (NOT trail mix) are healthy snacks. The rest is just junk food masquerading as snacks.

You might be asking yourself, where is the proof that diet and exercise will reduce ADHD symptoms? Well, I ask you, what is the downside of eating more bananas and running around outside? And, where is the proof that psychostimulants are not harming our young children?

Here is one downside of eating more fruit: they could have pesticides in them and they may not be grown in an environmentally-friendly way. Yes, true. However, fruits with thick peels are fine, since the pesticide is in the peel, which one doe snot eat. As for the second, few things are worse for the environment than anything processed. So, fruit wins over a package all day, every day.

Now, it will be tough for your kids to switch from the bright, sugary treats to bananas. There will be tons of whining. My advice? Make yourself a Negroni and ride it out.

Negroni

1 part gin
1 part sweet vermouth
1 part Campari

Pour over ice, add a wedge of orange. Have at it.