Sugar and ADHD: Can It Have an Impact on Symptoms?

Your child went to a birthday party, and had a cupcake too many. Or it’s Halloween, and your child went through their whole candy stash in one night.

You already have a bad feeling, because you know what’s about to happen. You’ve heard about how sugar can affect kids. That night, your child has no interest in going to bed. They seem to have never-ending energy, and they’re jumping off the walls. They’re driving everyone crazy!

If you’re a parent, then you may have had this experience, whether your child has ADHD or not. The claim that sugar contributes to hyperactivity and other ADHD symptoms has been around for decades. Some people even say that sugar causes ADHD.

But is there any truth to this claim? Or are parents simply seeing what they expect to see when their child consumes sugar? Should sugar be included in an ADHD child's diet?

In this article, I’ll explain what the scientific research says about whether or not sugar has an impact on ADHD symptoms.

Research on Sugar and ADHD

To put first things first, it’s important to make clear that sugar does not cause ADHD. ADHD is a childhood neurodevelopmental condition that has no single known cause. Your child does not have ADHD because they eat too much sugar. Factors that may increase a child’s risk for developing ADHD include genetics and exposure to environmental stressors in-utero or at a young age.

The research on whether or not sugar has any impact on ADHD at all has had mixed results. 

Some (outdated) studies have found that consuming sugar can increase ADHD symptoms.

Another, even older study from 1980 found that the amount of sugar consumed was positively linked with more aggressive and restless behaviors. Again, the sample size was small: 28 children participated.

One recent meta-analysis, which reviewed the results of 14 studies, found that diets high in refined sugars may increase the risk for ADHD. However, the authors of this analysis conceded that the evidence was flawed due to a lack of randomized controlled trials analyzing this topic. An older meta-analysis from 1995 determined that sugar does not affect behavior or cognitive ability in children.

Other newer studies have also determined that sugar has no effect on ADHD or its common symptoms like hyperactivity.

So should kids with ADHD avoid sugar or not? The truth is, we need more quality studies to be able to say for sure whether or not sugar affects ADHD symptoms in youngsters. 

But for now, many ADHD and child development experts say that the claim that sugar causes hyperactivity is a myth. The harmful effect of sugar on ADHD hyperactivity certainly doesn’t seem as great as society tends to assume. Eliminating sugar from your child’s diet altogether probably isn’t a necessary, or realistic, move.

You may be asking, what about the seemingly universal parent experience of having a hyperactive kid after they’ve eaten too many sweets? Experts say that parents may just be seeing what they expect to see. They believe that sugar causes hyperactivity, so they think they’re observing changes in their child’s behavior (increased hyperactivity) when there really is no such change.

Sugar and Children

The idea that sugar causes ADHD or hyperactivity may well be a myth. But just because sugar isn’t likely to cause hyperactivity doesn’t mean that you should feed your child all the sugar they want.

A diet high in sugar, especially refined sugars, has many other proven negative health effects for children, including:

• Tooth decay
• A lack of important vitamins and minerals
• Extra calories, which may lead to childhood obesity
• High blood pressure (due to obesity)
• Can cause increased insulin levels which could put kids at risk for diabetes when they’re older
• Sleep problems
• Risk of cancer as they get older

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that kids between the ages of 2 and 18 consume no more than 6 tablespoons (25 grams) of added sugars every day. Kids under the age of 2 should stay away from added sugars completely.

Different Types of Sugar

According to the AHA, there are two main categories of sugars: natural sugars and added sugars.

Natural sugars are found naturally in food — they are not added artificially. For example, fruits are sweet because they contain naturally-occurring fructose. Milk contains lactose, another type of natural sugar.

Added sugars are any type of sugar that’s added to food. This includes natural sugars that come from the sugar cane plant as well as chemically created artificial sweeteners. 

For example, many soft drinks and juices contain high fructose corn syrup, which is chemically manufactured. You may also add some brown sugar to your cookie recipe. These are both examples of added sugars.

Sugar, especially natural sugar, isn’t unhealthy in small quantities. The problem is that in the United States and many other countries, store-bought foods are filled with added sugars. Some added sugars are okay, but when we get too much, we can start to face health consequences.

On food labels, try to watch out for (and limit) added sugars. Some of the names that added sugars can be listed on these labels include:

• Sugar
• Raw sugar
• Brown sugar
• Sugars ending in “-ose,” like dextrose, glucose, sucrose, and maltose
• Molasses
• Syrup
• High fructose corn syrup
• Corn sweetener
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Honey

How to Reduce Sugar Intake

If you feel like your child with ADHD is sensitive to sugar, or you’d like to cut down their sugar intake for other health reasons, then here are some tips to reduce overall sugar intake in your home.

1. Focus on natural sugars instead of added sugars. If your child is craving something sweet, teach them to reach for sweet fruit, like a banana, instead of store-bought foods with added sugars.
2. Do away with sugary drinks. So much of our kids’ overall added sugar intake comes not from food, but from beverages. Soft drinks and juices (even those that claim to be “natural”) tend to contain a lot of added sugars. Check the nutritional label for the above ingredients if you’re not sure.
3. Read nutrition labels. So many more products contain added sugars than we realize. Check for the above terms on any product you buy to limit added sugars.
4. Eat more whole foods than packaged items. When you eat whole foods like fruit or vegetables instead of packaged store-bought foods, you know exactly what’s going into your child’s body.
5. A diet that’s high in fiber may keep your child’s blood sugar levels even. High-fiber foods include oatmeal, berries, whole-grain bread, and certain cereals like shredded wheat.

In addition, if you repeatedly observe your child being more hyperactive when they consume sugar (or any other food, like artificial food dyes), you may be right. Some children could be particularly sensitive to these substances. If you have any concerns, take your child to see a healthcare provider. They may have an allergy or sensitivity that’s causing these symptoms.

Takeaway

It’s a common belief that eating too much sugar can cause kids to become more hyperactive, and some people have even claimed that sugar can cause ADHD. Although a limited number of studies have found a correlation between hyperactivity, many others have found no link — causing experts to state that no such relationship exists.

Still, a diet that’s high in added refined sugars can have other health consequences for your child, so limiting these sugars may be a good idea for any family.

If you’re concerned about how sugar affects your child’s behavior and ADHD symptoms, talk to your healthcare provider for more answers.