A quick note on terminology first: “ADD” is an older term that’s no longer used diagnostically. Today, this condition — whether it shows up as inattentiveness, hyperactivity, or a combination of both — falls under the single diagnosis of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), with three recognized presentations: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined.
ADHD is an increasingly common diagnosis in children today. The CDC’s most recent national data found that 11.4 percent of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 — about 7 million kids — have been diagnosed with ADHD at some point, an increase of roughly 1 million children since 2016. That makes ADHD the most common childhood behavior disorder. Boys are diagnosed at close to twice the rate of girls (15 percent versus 8 percent), and about 6 in 10 children with ADHD have moderate or severe symptoms.
ADHD affects a child’s ability to balance activity, complete tasks, and regulate behavior. Kids with ADHD often struggle in the classroom, at home, and in peer relationships. Typical symptoms include difficulty sitting still for a reasonable stretch of time, acting without thinking, and trouble finishing tasks.
Why I’m Cautious About Medication as a First Step
Conventional treatment often relies on stimulants like Ritalin, Adderall, and Dexedrine, which raise dopamine, the brain chemical tied to motivation, attention, movement, and pleasure. Non-stimulant options raise norepinephrine instead and tend to be somewhat less effective, but remain a common choice for kids who can’t tolerate stimulants. Atomoxetine (Strattera) has been around the longest, and viloxazine (Qelbree), approved in 2021, is a newer non-stimulant option for kids 6 and up.
Stimulant medications can be appropriate when natural approaches aren’t enough on their own, but they’re not without real risk. Nearly a third of children on these medications experience side effects significant enough to be concerning, and research has linked them to sudden unexplained deaths in pediatric patients, increased suicide risk, liver toxicity, adolescent medication abuse, and increases in blood pressure and heart rate.
Here are the naturopathic approaches I’ve found genuinely effective for treating ADHD.
Modifying Diet: Sugar Balance, Fewer Additives, More Protein
If it’s not already in place, stabilizing blood sugar is usually my first recommendation — avoiding high-glycemic foods that spike blood sugar quickly, and replacing them with complex carbohydrates, along with enough protein and healthy fat to slow sugar absorption. Meal timing matters too. Long gaps between meals can trigger irritability and mood swings, which in turn can worsen impulsivity, concentration, and behavior. The fix is straightforward: regular small meals, healthy snacking, and more protein throughout the day, all of which help prevent extreme swings in blood glucose.
It’s also worth recognizing that food sensitivities, along with additives like food coloring and preservatives, can play a role in some children’s ADHD symptoms. As a naturopathic physician, I’m specifically trained to help identify which dietary factors are actually affecting your child.
Making Sure Your Child Gets Enough Sleep
An estimated one-third of children in the U.S. don’t get adequate sleep, and inadequate sleep appears to be an independent risk factor for ADHD on its own. Research has found that kids sleeping less than 7.7 hours a night are significantly more prone to hyperactivity and inattentiveness compared to kids who sleep longer. Consistent bedtimes matter too. Melatonin, a hormone your brain naturally produces to help induce sleep, has also been shown to help with delayed sleep onset in children with ADHD when used as a supplement.
Encouraging Exercise
Dopamine and norepinephrine both help your brain stay attentive, and exercise is well known to boost concentrations of both, along with other beneficial brain chemicals. So it makes real sense to build meaningful movement your child actually enjoys into their everyday routine. Getting outside in nature as often as possible helps raise vitamin D levels and has a naturally calming effect. It’s also worth taking a close look at how much screen time your child gets each day — TV, video games, computers, all of it — since excessive screen time has been linked to increased ADHD behavior.
Supplementing to Address Nutritional Gaps
Naturopathic medicine offers a lot of well-supported nutritional tools for reducing ADHD symptoms. Here are a few worth knowing about, though this only scratches the surface of what’s available for your child specifically.
Essential fatty acids. About 10 percent of the brain is made of fat, so kids need adequate healthy fat intake to build a well-functioning brain. These are called “essential” fatty acids because the body can’t make them on its own — they have to come from diet. Most kids’ diets fall short here. Good sources include cold-water fish, raw nuts and seeds, and flax meal.
Zinc and other trace minerals. Kids with ADHD are commonly at risk for low trace mineral status, including zinc deficiency. Zinc helps the body produce dopamine, the same neurotransmitter that stimulant medications work to raise.
Iron. Iron matters for healthy mood too. Research has found that serum ferritin levels, the body’s iron storage marker, are often significantly lower in children with ADHD, which likely contributes to inattentiveness, distractibility, and learning difficulties.
Vitamin B12, vitamin D, and carnitine levels are also worth checking in kids with ADHD, given their ties to mood.
Herbal remedies. Botanical medicine can also improve focus, reduce anxiety, and help with the digestive issues that often accompany ADHD. Ginkgo biloba is a common choice for improving focus, and chamomile is helpful for both its calming effect and its support for digestion.
The Bottom Line
ADHD is a genuinely challenging condition, but I’ve seen children respond really well to naturopathic treatment, often avoiding the need for medication altogether. The key is working with a practitioner who takes the time to sort out which factors matter most for your specific child, and builds a plan around the recommendations above that actually fit their needs.
— Dr. Faith Christensen
Sources: CDC — Data and Statistics on ADHD, Qelbree FDA Approval — Psychiatric News