Calm The Farm with Food For Autism and ADHD
July 31, 2025 By Carin Clegg, APD
Autism, ADHD and Anxiety can often go hand in hand and food plays a huge role in how one takes in information about the world, processes that information, feels and therefore functions day to day.
Appetite and Good Nutrition
Often when we are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, it can impact our eating in either 2 ways: Some people eat for comfort, or some people do not eat.
When the appetite is good, good nutrition will assist the body and mind to function optimally. Eating regular meals and snacks helps to train a good appetite. Meaning kids can learn to eat a good amount of food at meal times. Natural hunger and satiety regulation can be disturbed by many things:
-Over eating: which includes eating discretionary foods and drinks. Unfortunately, there is very little room in kid’s appetites to cater for ‘sometimes’ foods. Eating these foods replaces appetite for nutritious foods their growing body needs.
- Undereating or a poor appetite caused by skipping meals, medication, stress and anxiety, food intolerance, gut issues like tummy pain, bloating diarrhoea, constipation. All which needs to be addressed, in order to obtain a sense of bodily calmness.
-Grazing: occurs when we eat less than 2-3 hourly. It can stop someone feeling hungry for a proper meal and could be unknowingly done to reduce an upset tummy which may be mistaken for hunger. Kids can either under-eat or over-eat when grazing. Grazing can often be seen by children described as the fruit bat or the kid that likes crunchy foods, releasing the anxiety with the crunch of the jaw stimulation.
- Nutrition deficiencies such as iron, zinc, magnesium, and vitamin D can contribute to poor appetite, anxiety, depression, poor concentration, irritability, emotional dysregulation, sensory processing issues and more. Treating these can optimise mood, appetite as well as physical and cognitive function.
Routine
Routine is so important to help us all feel calm and in control. When we expect something to happen at the same time each day, we do not need to think. The activity is a habit and it just happens. We do not become overwhelmed from decision making and this helps us feel settled and calm.
Eating regularly i.e. every 3-4 hours, helps to fuel or give energy to our body and brain to function optimally. Eating regular meals and snacks helps us to manage our emotions by not being hungry over the day and by fuelling our brain. Our brain consumes only carbohydrates and uses 25% of our total carbohydrate intake.
Skipping meals and snacks, can cause tiredness and fatigue and further impact our ability to eat all the nutrients our body needs. Eating regularly over the day gives kids many opportunities to eat the range of different foods their bodies need to grow and thrive. Even if they only like and handful of different fruits and vegetables, that is OK. They likely love the routine and familiarity of it.
Having a routine around what foods kids are offered each meal or snack time can also be a welcome comfort. Such as having only 2 choices of breakfast for the week days: Weet-bix or porridge, with an option for a different fruit if available.
The foods kids choose can change depending on their level of calmness. You may have noticed at the beginning of the school term, kids just want the same foods in their lunch box or at the end of a hard day they want their comfort easy to eat foods. Whereas, when they are settled into the school routine and are having an easy week, they become more adventurous with their food choices.
Fussy eating
A common problem with many kids is fussy eating and often this is something that can cause a lot of stress at mealtimes for families. There are many causes of fussy eating including: gut issues, nutrition deficiencies, poor appetite, sensory processing, poor concentration, lack of routine, lack of role modelling, stress, food intolerance or simply wanting independence, choice and control over their meals.
Eating together and always providing foods everyone likes to make mealtimes enjoyable can assist kids to feel more at ease at meal times.
There are many strategies and tools Dietitians can use to assist also. In extreme cases, fussy eating can turn into a condition called ARFID: Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and a multidisciplinary health care team approach is often required to assist with management.
The Role of Food Intolerance
Food components and flavours from the breastfeeding mother’s diet comes through the breastmilk to bub and can often cause issues. In my experience, when the diet is right from the get go, including when the breastfeeding mother’s diet is right, there will be minimal issues around sleep, breastfeeding, colic and unsettled behaviour. When these things happen, often the whole family is stressed.
When I see clients, a good nutrition assessment includes asking questions about what things were like when one was a baby such as, were there difficulties breastfeeding, any reflux or vomiting, bowel motions, sleep issues, screaming or unsettled behaviour. This gives clues as to what might be contributing to various symptoms which can impact the nervous system, gut issues, poor appetite, seemingly insatiable appetite (hungry baby), sleep problems, emotional dysregulation, behaviour issues, as well as food dislikes and likes, including fussy eating behaviour.
When toddlers begin eating, are sick and take coloured/flavoured medications, are cared for by others, including attending childcare/kindergarten, and there are more ‘sometimes’ foods and even eating out and take-away foods, their diet changes slowly and gradually over time and symptoms can also develop slowly and gradually over time: This can include tummy pains, constipation or diarrhoea, poor appetite, fussy eating, sleep disturbance, bed wetting, poor concentration, being fidgety or hyperactive, headaches, emotional dysregulation or frequent tantrums, aggressive behaviour, rashes and blocked noses.
Studies suggest the majority of young children react with behaviour and mood changes from certain additives. Some children also react to strong flavours like acidic foods, concentrated fruit flavours, spices, and chocolate to name a few. We also know that if people are sensitive to dairy, soy, or wheat, they are also highly likely sensitive to some of the other previously mentioned food components.
The evidence says that about 25% of children who follow an elimination diet under the guidance of a dietitian to lower the chemical load of their diet have at least some symptomatic improvement, and about 10% experience complete remission of ADHD- type symptoms.
Food is so complex and making changes on your own, without an experienced expert is not advised due to the risk of nutrition deficiencies and requiring nutrition assessments, guidance, and support to ensure you achieve the desired outcome. It also helps people not get confused and waste a lot of time and energy without seeing results or managing symptoms well, which I have seen too many times to count.
If your child has any nutrition related concerns, seeing a Paediatric Dietitian with experience in neurodiversity is a must, to help support optimal growth as well as health and well-being at the time when family food choices and habits are being formed early on in life. The best foods can be introduced to minimise health concerns developing later on in order to optimise their ability to participate in all aspects of life as they grow up.
Reach out for a nutrition consult today. I would be happy to help.