If you struggle with lack of focus, inability to concentrate or comprehend – it doesn’t matter if you are an adult or child, a lot of the problem is found in how well you keep your blood sugar stable.

You need to understand that when your blood sugar drops the brain is not able to function as well as it is supposed to.  The brains primary source of fuel comes from carbohydrates, sugar….glucose, whatever you want to call it. Carbohydrates get broken down into sugars and than into glucose, but when glucose is falling because you either skipped a meal or ate the wrong foods, it causes your blood sugar to drop.  When blood sugar is low your brain is unable to process information as you would like it to…thus lack of focus, inability to concentrate or comprehend, the inability to make sound judgment or rational decisions.

For a child the symptoms are the same, the only difference is that a child doesn’t realize all the social etiquite that comes from being quiet in a classroom and their inability to process information or concentrate is reflected in the fact that they don’t listen to what they are told.

Overcoming this problems begins by controlling your diet and keeping your blood sugar stable.  So the first step is you can’t skip a meal.  Skipping breakfast is the worst thing you can do followed by eating a breakfast made of nothing but refined white flour and sugar…such as a bagel, muffin, pancake, waffle or cereal, along with a cup of coffee.  These types of meals cause your blood sugar to surge and than rapidly fall, and the problems come about when blood sugar is low.  If the meal is made with 100% whole grain…the problem is not as bad, but depending on how good your body is at controlling your blood sugar i.e. good adrenal function.  Or how long ago you started cleaning up your diet.

You have to eat protein with each of your meals.  You don’t have to eat a whole chicken, but you need at least 4-8 oz of protein with each meal.  If you follow those two simple steps, you can make major inroads to your ADD/ADHD problems.  I would also suggest two other important steps that will take you the rest of the way. 

Add a good fish oil to your daily diet.  Eat more almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc… along with cooking with olive oil and adding fish to your diet a couple of times a week.  These good fats, the omega 3’s are critical in production of your chemical brain messengers and hormones, so add them to your daily diet for at least a month to give them a good test.  Also, cut back on all your trans fatty acids, the partially hydrogenated oils that are found in almost every packaged and fast food.

Lastly take all the dairy, wheat, corn, soy, coffee and artificial sweeteners out of your diet for at least 2 weeks. Many times these foods are unbeknownst to us, irritating our digestive system and leaving a byproduct of waste that is irritating our nervous system.

Don’t forget to stay away soft drinks, fruit juices and most energy drinks because they are loaded with refined sugars and also other stimulants that further depletes the adrenal glands.  I mention the adrenal glands because when blood sugar drops the adrenals kick in and have to balance out the blood sugar.  If the adrenals are already exhausted and fatigued, they don’t offer much help.  This is why it is important to keep your blood sugar stable with your diet and not depend on your adrenals to do it for you.

If you are looking for a good substitute you can use or offer to your kids, let me introduce you to a couple of the natural health bars I have used.  They have a great balance of protein to fats and carbs to help keep your blood sugar stable, they are also made with NO dairy, gluten, wheat, corn, soy, trans fats or artificial sweeteners.  Best of all they are Great Tasting.

Don’t forget that good adrenal function is critical in helping controlling blood sugar, if you suspect your adrenals may be overworked, due to stress, add a good adrenal support formula for at least 30 days and see if that doesn’t help turn things around. 

If you want more information about blood sugar and how important it is to staying in your "fat-burning" zone, grab a copy of "To Burn or Not to Burn - Fat is the Question," search the Blog to find other related articles or the archive of articles that have been written.  I hope you learned something from this information.  If you haven't already signed up for the Blog or newsletter, I encourage you to if you are one of the many people who are looking for answers on how to become or stay healthy, Naturally!