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ADHD is an increasingly common diagnosis in children and adults. Polyphenols have been found to improve many health conditions. Polyphenols use multiple methods to improve ADHD symptoms and severity.Can Polyphenols Improve ADHD

Polyphenols may be the best natural treatment option for ADHD. 

What is ADHD?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder — usually called ADHD — is a developmental disorder in which people have an inability to stay focused, which is often paired with hyperactivity and/or impulsivity.  

ADHD is often diagnosed in childhood; however, some people go undiagnosed into adulthood. 

ADHD can present differently between genders and age groups, making diagnosis a little bit more difficult for certain populations, specifically girls. Typically, if a child isn’t disruptive in class or obviously unfocused, it will go undiagnosed. 

ADHD symptoms can severely impact quality of life. The inability to focus can lead to poor grades or work performance. This can lead to decreased self-confidence and potentially poor decision-making. 

Comorbidities of ADHD include:

Typically, ADHD is treated with medications like Ritalin or Adderall. However, recent studies have shown that medications for ADHD negatively affect the gut microbiome. 

Children who were on ADHD medications had lower microdiversity, unique taxa, and short-chain fatty acid production. These are all indicators that the gut microbiome is negatively affected, which in the long run leads to other problems, especially with the gut-brain connection. So, even though gut problems are associated with worsened ADHD symptoms, medication use negatively impacts the gut microbiome in a more detrimental way.

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are micronutrients found in plant products that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Polyphenols are being studied for their benefits in numerous health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and ADHD.

Polyphenols are typically broken into 4fourmain groups, but there are many different kinds of polyphenols. 

One of the main benefits we see with polyphenols is their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) which helps to combat oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a common issue in disorders of the gut-brain axis, like ADHD. 

Inflammation is a common issue when there are gastrointestinal disturbances like those seen in ADHD patients. Polyphenols have the ability to calm down inflammatory pathways and clear out any damaged tissues from excessive inflammatory responses. 

Can polyphenols improve ADHD symptoms?

Since polyphenols have been proven to improve the gut microbiome, oxidative stress, and inflammation, they were a no-brainer to study for ADHD treatment. 

One study showed that when using a blueberry concentrate, people had increased brain activity compared to people taking a placebo. The subjects who used the blueberry concentrate had improved memory, cognitive function, and had more areas of their brain activated than those on the placebo. 

Another study acknowledged that polyphenols could be a great option for ADHD patients due to their different helpful qualities, like:

  • Neuroprotection 
  • Enhanced neuronal survival
  • Neuronal regeneration
  • Positive effects on gut microbiome modulation

Researchers wanted to test if polyphenol intake had any effect on ADHD risk. They studied 400 children aged 4-12 (200 with an ADHD diagnosis and 200 without). They provided a questionnaire with 168 different food items listed. They also took down other information about the children participating, like socioeconomic status, gender, age, BMI, and energy intake. They found that regardless of other differences and similarities, children who ate more polyphenol-rich foods had a lower incidence of ADHD than those who did not eat many polyphenolic food items. 

A meta-analysis looked at 10 different studies that included 556 participants. They found that:

  • Polyphenols were able to rebalance oxidative stress pathways through multiple different mechanisms.
  • Polyphenols were effective treatments for ADHD alone or when paired with medications.
  • When polyphenols were used with other treatments, they helped reduce side effects and typical damage seen with those medications.
  • Polyphenols could help with DNA damage that was present. 
  • Polyphenols helped to reduce hyperactivity symptoms of ADHD.
  • Polyphenols were helpful in both childhood and adult ADHD. 

With all of this great information about polyphenols, you’re probably rushing to your fridge to grab an apple. Before you go rushing off, read the next section to learn about all the different ways you can add polyphenols to your daily routines to make sure you’re getting enough. There are a few tips on how to sneak them into your kids, too. Yes, even the picky ones!

How to Get More Polyphenols Daily

A good way to get your daily polyphenols is through your diet. If you struggle with adding fruits and vegetables to your normal diet, try modeling a diet that naturally contains polyphenols. The Mediterranean diet is the best example of including polyphenols.

Fruits and vegetables aren’t the only way to get polyphenols. So if you’re not into salads, here are a few other great sources of polyphenols that you can look to. 

  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • Flowers
  • Roots
  • Herbs
  • Spices
  • Tea
  • Coffee
  • Wine
  • Other plant-based beverages

Remember, a large diversity of plant-based foods is the best way to access all the different types of polyphenols. Wine and grapes are great for resveratrol. Tea is great for EGCG. Berries are fantastic for anthocyanins.

Eating a colorful diet will help you get all the nutrients and polyphenols that you need without overcomplicating things. Skittles are not good for you, but their slogan is top tier — taste the rainbow is the best advice when it comes to getting polyphenols!

Some fun ways to add polyphenols if you aren’t really into eating them (or your child isn’t into eating them) try drinking your polyphenols. Add some fruit to your water for a little flavor boost and some added polyphenol content. Or whip up a new smoothie each day to sneak in some of the fruits and veggies you just can’t seem to stomach!

Another way to add in more polyphenols, in a concentrated dose, is through Atrantil.  If you are looking to avoid the sugars or calories that come with consuming many polyphenols, you may want to try Atrantil. It is made of large, easily usable polyphenols that are very beneficial for the whole body.

Now, if you’re struggling with digestive issues and these foods make your symptoms flare-up, Atrantil is going to be a great starting place for you. Atrantil was created to help people with irritable bowel syndrome. It was made to get to the source of bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping. 

So if you’re worried about your symptoms, or are on a diet that is currently excluding these food items, you can still get your polyphenols and benefit the gut, brain, and the axis between the two to help improve digestive and ADHD issues.

Grab your Atrantil here.

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