Porridge For ADHD Kids: Better Health and Behavior

Peas Porridge Hot. Peas Porridge Cold. Remember that rhyme?

Did your grandma ever make porridge? Did you know that porridge and other presoaked foods improve health and can actually help stop ADHD behavior?

Many families have resorted to a gluten free diet to stop ADHD Behavior. I worked with a family in my preschool who started a gluten free diet. The boy's hyperactive behavior subsided with the new diet. Once, we accidentally gave him a whole wheat bread stick and he shot off like a rocketship for the rest of the day.

The modern American diet consists of many unfermented, high- gluten foods, such as oats, rye, barley and wheat. In our fast paced society, moms and dads are so busy working that if they even take the time to cook, they pick the quickest and easiest concoctions. Almost nobody has time to make their own bread with sprouted grain. They just reach for the Wonder bread, Oscar Mayer b-o-l-o-g-n-a and Velveeta slices to make sandwiches. Most people do not realize the effects on their health by eliminating that preliminary step of soaking or fermenting their grains.

Our ancestors, and almost all preindustrialized people, soaked or fermented their grains (whole grains) before making them into porridge, breads, cakes and casseroles. Even our senior citizens can remember when the directions on the oatmeal box said to soak the oatmeal ovenight. The pioneers were famous for their sourdough breads, pancakes and biscuits. They made their breads from fermented starters, not from quick rise yeast and degerminated, processed flour. Cultures around the world have recipes in which grain is soaked for several days before using it.

In India, idli and dosas are prepared from rice and lentils that have soaked for at least two days. African natives soak coarsely ground corn overnight before using it in stews. Sour porridge, called ogi is made from fermented corn and millet. In Oriental and Latin Ameican countries, they ferment rice for days before preparation. Ethiopians ferment a grain called teff for several days to make injera bread. Mexicans corn cakes, called pozol, are fermented for up to two weeks in banana leaves.

In our fast paced society, moms and dads are so busy working that if they even take the time to cook, they pick the quickest and easiest concoctions. Most people do not realize the effects on their health by eliminating that preliminary step of soaking or fermenting their grains.

SOAKING GRAINS TO NEUTRALIZE PHYTIC ACID

All grains contain phytic acid in the outer layer, or bran. This is an organic acid that contains phosphorous. This phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc in the intestinal tract and prevent their absorption.

A deficiency in zinc and ADHD behavior are often linked.

Soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid.

This allows for better absorption of important minerals.

SOAKING GRAINS TO NEUTRALIZE ENZYME INHIBITORS

Grains, nuts, legumes and seeds are all rich in enzymes. But, they also contain enzyme inhibitors. Food enzymes are complex proteins that act as a catalyst in almost every biochemical process that takes place in the body. Food enzymes help start the digestive process and reduce the body's need to produce digestive enzymes.

There are several processes you can use to nuetralize enzyme inhibitors and make the nutrients in your food more readily available to your body. Traditional societies have all used sprouting, soaking in warm acidic water, sour leavening, culturing, and fermenting.

HIGH GLUTEN DIET

A diet high in unfermented grain, especially high-gluten grains like wheat, put a tremendous strain on the digestive system. When this system breaks down from overuse, the result is allergies, celiac disease, mental illness, chronic indigestion, and candida albicans overgrowth. Many children diagnosed with ADHD have improved their behavior just by removing grains with gluten from their diet.

But, the process of soaking and fermenting partially breaks down the gluten and other difficult to digest proteins into simpler components that the body can absorb.

WHICH GRAINS HAVE THE LEAST GLUTEN?

Oats, barley, and wheat contain the most gluten. They should not be consumed unless they have been soaked or fermented. Buckwheat, rice and millet do not contain gluten and are more easily digested. Whole rice and whole millet contain lower amounts of phytates than other grains, so they do not need to be soaked. But, they should be cooked in a high-mineral broth for at least two hours to neutralize the phytates they do contain and to compensate for the minerals that are still bound. The gelatin in the broth will help the digestive process.

ALTERNATIVES TO WHEAT

There are a variety of other grains available on the market that are gluten free. These include spelt, kamut, teff, quinoi, buckwheat, and amaranth.

Soaking and fermenting grains offers many health benefits. It aids digestion, and absorption of minerals. This makes the essential nutrients in the food available to heal the ADHD child. Take the time to soak your grains overnight. Take a lesson from Mama Bear and serve porridge to your child. It only takes some forethought and the health benefits will be lifelong.

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Contact Penny Arcos

612-259-0068

pennyarcos@healthyhappyADHDhome.com