Well. He's a vegetarian (with exceptions for shrimp and scallops), so "veggies and meat" become 90% veggies. That's really not what I would call balanced. With no dairy (why no dairy? that's so weird), he would get virtually no protein.

Could he still eat beans, or do those count as carbs?

Oh, I should be more clear. He's not actually following her nutritional advice, other than aiming to cut out the sugar. I was more boggled at how restrictive it seems, and how it doesn't give much leeway for physical activity (muscle recovery needs carbs, man).

His primary care doctor is all "Eh. Eat some quinoa. It rocks."

for beans, some of the fiber counts against the carbs. so their actual carb load is lower than say a banana.

Yeah, I'm not supposed to do beans because it's a net carb gain. I was really surprised; when I went in I totally expected to walk out doing all lentils. But no. And honestly, she doesn't like soy either, but allows it. I had to switch to almond milk from soy milk.

Do bitters taste anything like fernet? They sound like they should.

Nope! They're flavor extracts. I have cardamom and chocolate bitters, and LOVE them.

Regular bitters do though. I love bitters and soda when I'm really thirsty. Plain old Angostura.

I had to switch to almond milk from soy milk.

I was shocked when I was looking at almond milk in the market and saw how little protein it has. I thought a milk made from nuts would have a ton of protein.

There are very few studies on food and ADHD that rise above the level of anecdata. There are some studies that indicate that a diet low in fat and high in whole grains, fruit and vegetables may help, but most studies are iffy because there's no definitive ADHD diagnosis and the studies rely on self-reporting. Increasing Omega-3s may help. There are some indications that specific foods make specific individuals worse, and that possibly some kind of allergic reaction is involved. From what I've read, dairy gets cited mainly because it's a relatively common allergy. No reputable study I've seen has shown that sugar per se is the culprit, despite the popular belief that kids get wound up on sugar.

I was shocked when I was looking at almond milk in the market and saw how little protein it has. I thought a milk made from nuts would have a ton of protein.

In order to get it into milk form, they have to add so much water that very little of anything from the almonds is there in big amounts.

I thought a milk made from nuts would have a ton of protein.

Yeah, it seems like it would, but that makes sense, Hil.

I definitely do end up leaning paleoish in my diet, but you know, not in the over the edge way I see out there in the wild (ha, see what I did there?) sometimes.

Steph about the dairy - there's a theory out there that ADD is caused, in part, but a allergy/sensitive to Casein and that the symptoms of ADD are actually reactions to the casein. Another claim is that hormones and antibiotics injected into the cows is in the milk and meat and that's a cause or factor in the problems.

Another claim is that hormones and antibiotics injected into the cows is in the milk and meat and that's a cause or factor in the problems.

In which case, it might be worth trying to switch to organic for a while and see if it helps.