Patrick Fong

Ultra-processed food and ADHD symptoms Ultra-processed food is not just a vague nutritional category. It is a specific class of foods defined by a high degree of industrial processing and a long list of added ingredients that would not typically be used in home cooking. That often includes emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial flavors, and synthetic dyes, many of which are also discussed in other sections. These foods are also heavily marketed toward children and tend to dominate the default...

Vitamin D and the ADHD brain Vitamin D functions more like a hormone than a traditional vitamin. Receptors for it are found throughout the brain, including regions involved in attention, mood regulation, and executive function. A growing body of research has found that children with ADHD are more likely to have lower vitamin D levels compared to neurotypical peers. Some studies also show an association between lower levels and greater symptom severity, although this does not establish vitamin...

Food sensitivity testing and why elimination still matters most Formal lab testing for food sensitivities is expensive, often inconsistent between labs, and frequently produces results that do not hold up well when compared with real-world symptoms. Because of that, we typically view testing as secondary. A properly structured elimination diet remains one of the most reliable tools for understanding whether a food is contributing to a child’s symptoms, and it does not require anything beyond...