Is Your Diet Affecting Your ADHD or Autism? (The BEST And WORST Foods For Neurodivergence)
"Ready to take your sleep and recovery to the next level? Head over to and use the code ABBEY to get up to $600 off your Pod 4 Ultra purchase when bundled."
Hey everyone I’m Abbey Sharp welcome to Abbey’s Kitchen. In todays video, we will be talking about how to navigate nutrition when you have a neurodivergent brain 🧠
This will be a relatable one! I’ve also brought in my colleague, Rebecca King (@adhdnutritionist on Instagram), to dive deeper into neurodivergent friendly nutrition strategies
🎙 Listen to my new podcast, Bite Back with Abbey Sharp:
🥤 Check out my brand neue theory for your new favourite plant-based, 2-in-1 protein powder probiotic:
✉️ SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTERS ⤵️
Neue Theory newsletter:
Abbey's Kitchen newsletter:
🥞 FREE HUNGER CRUSHING COMBO™ E-BOOK! ⤵️
💪🏼 FREE PROTEIN 101 E-BOOK! ⤵️
A FEW DISCLAIMERS
1) The information in this video is for education and entertainment purposes only, so you should always speak to a health care provider about your unique health needs.
2) Please use this video (as with all of my review videos) as educational, not as unique recommendations.
3) Please be kind in the comments.
4) Trigger warning to those with disordered eating tendencies.
5) Don’t forget to subscribe to this channel and ring the little bell so you never miss out!
👩🏼💻 RESEARCH LINKS:
📱 Follow me on Instagram and TikTok! @abbeyskitchen
Anorexia & Restrictive Dieting Freedom E-Course
(Use promo code Abbey20 for 20% off)
My book, The Mindful Glow Cookbook affiliate link:
Check out my blog for healthy recipes, parenting tips and tricks and busting nutrition myths and diets: www.abbeyskitchen.com
If you liked this video, please leave me a comment below with your thoughts and let me know who you want me to review next!
With Science & Sass,
Xoxo Abbey 🌸
“Ready to take your sleep and recovery to the next level? Head over to https://eightsleep.com/abbey and use the code ABBEY to get up to $600 off your Pod 4 Ultra purchase when bundled.”
Could you please do a video about diabetes? I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and even though I grew in a family with many diabetics so I was more aware, I feel like it would be really helpful for the public to know.
Love this video and all of your video, you’re doing an amazing work with your channel.
Seconding this!
As an autistic person.. Yuck.
Yuck to what?
A lot of this makes total sense.
Anecdotal… My youngest brother has ADHD. He is also severely asthmatic, with myriad allergies. Food dyes are hell on him. Detergents, foods and additives, soaps, fragrance… Ugh.
He’s over 40, and still takes medicine to maintain control of his own brain.
I also have a milder form of ADHD. Hyper focus is a major struggle. I also have health issues that have necessitated moving closer to a keto diet. Man, this stuff is hard.
Thank you for bringing attention to all of these things. ❤️
I really hope this video helps you all on your journey! You go this 💓
This title better be clickbait, and yet, don’t clickbait us, Abbey! You are wonderful and you are definitely better than that move.
She admitted that the title is clickbait.
My apologies if I offended! I’m obviously ND too and was simply trying to debunk this common myth. Obviously the video explains this
I have autism and I just can’t eat ultra processed or super sugary foods in moderation. It triggers binges and it takes a long time for me to stop the cravings. Avoiding it is easier than eating it in moderation for me, it took years for me to figure this out. I also have ibs symptoms. I’m lucky to be able to afford high quality meats, fresh fruits and vegetables but I do find it difficult to eat a variety of foods, especially minimally processed foods. I recently started taking antidepressants (after not wanting to try meds for a long time) and it has helped me not obsess over food. I haven’t binged since I started them 🙂
Meal prepping has also been great.
I will say I do agree with another comment on here, the title is super distasteful! There is so much misinformation spread about autism and these clickbait titles certainly don’t help.
Agreed 💯
I’m autistic and I don’t have any issues with gluten or dairy. Those are some of my dietary staples.
Me neither, TTFL, growing up in such a bread and cheese culture would have been hell.
While I favor whole, unprocessed grains over flour-based foods, and limit dairy for environmental reasons (plenty of plant-based calcium, though), a bit of goat cheese on a dense slice of sourdough is a pleasure I would hate to develop some kind of intolerance to.
Also, Abbey, 3:40 THANK YOU for leading with this.
Exactly! It’s highly individualized
Thanks for the content Abbey, really helpful but the title is quite inflammatory and upsetting, as a fellow Neurodivergent person. It would be great if you could change it to something more neuro-affirming.
Done! ✅ didn’t mean to offend – meant to be tackling this obviously misinformed myth with science
What was the initial title?
@@mariannescheesepulls is your diet causing adhd or autism
@@AbbeysKitchen thanks so much.
Vitamin D especially if you live anywhere in the world north of San Francisco! Outside of summer time, the UV you get from the sun is too low to provide any amounts of vitamin d absorption even if you’re outside for hours on end. Spring, fall, winter (and summer if you’re a homebody) vitamin D is a must
Yes!!
Thanks for busting some myths on how autism can be cured with diet. This is helpful esp as this misinfo spreads in the US with folks like RFK
Ugh I know. It’s rampant
As someone with both ADD and autism diagnoses: HELL YES to preparing seperate meal elements and putting them in the fridge or freezer for later. Yesterday I transferred two servings of spelt berries and black lentils to the fridge for use in lunches and dinners, and in the freezer is still three big broth jars full of lentil curry soup for days where I just can’t. Or when it’s just cold. I’ve also developed an unholy love of tempeh, got a whole block’s worth that I cooked with a versatile spice blend in the freezer, and I always cook multiple servings of legume (chickpeas, beans) to freeze for future use. It’s a really good habit that can save your dinner and your sanity.
OH I LOVE THAT!!
I was just diagnosed at 44 with combination ADHD, too. Your last video on it inspired me to seek help.
I try and buy food produce I know either keep for a minimum of a week without rotting OR that I know from regular experience that I finish quickly. I thoroughly check freshness when I pick things out and try and buy stuff with far out expiry dates and that are more unripe. This helps me to have flexibility on days where I have a new food aversion, am low on spoons, or simply forget the I owned that food. Because once it begins to go bad I get triggered by the smell and it can put me off that food for weeks.
My faves are cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, snap/snow peas, unripe avocados and bananas, firm apples, pepperoni sticks/sausage, and frozen produce for things like berries. I try and mix it up a decent amount, but having those go-to’s I know I can turn to reduce my food anxiety and drive me to eat more produce and create less food waste.
Thanks so much. Can you please talk about diet for Hashimotos? Especially, is it beneficial to avoid dairy, gluten, etc?
I wish you brought up arfid and such earlier in this. Especially ND kids are going to struggle so hard to cut out these foods much as it might be best to do so.
Just want to jump in and thank you. I have dealt with weight issues my entire life, even though I was in sports and a dancer in my youth, and had gastric bypass many years ago. Your hunger crunching combos and information have been so helpful to me the last couple of years.
Am I the only one who struggel to eat the same thing twice?😅 Its like if i have eaten the meal once recently, my brain think we ticked the box and i have to push myself to eat it again. Meal prepping doesn’t work for me, I need the food to feel new and exciting otherwise i undereat and then stuff my face in candy 🙈
Hopefully people who believe in MLMs who claim to “cure” Autism and ADHD see this video!
I definitely agree with the need for easy snacks!!
If I don’t have easy/ simple snacks available and I need to cook something, I will often get overwhelmed and end up just not eating
My husband is undiagnosed but we’re 99% certain he is autistic (his nephew was diagnosed recently and they are pretty much identical in their behaviours and triggers). Some hacks that have helped us.
He had seriously sensory issues around food as a child, but it also doesn’t help that his mother comes from the generation and region where everything had to be massively overcooked to avoid food-borne illnesses. He thought he hated all vegetables because every veg he tried was always cooked until it became a greyish mush. Gently encouraging him to try these foods prepped in different ways has been transformative – steaming or roasting veg instead of boiling into submission made a huge difference. I would often make something for myself and ask if he wanted to try a bit, rather than making it for him with the expectation he would eat it, so he didn’t feel pressured.
He also struggles with planning meals because he gets overwhelmed. If i ask him to decide what we’re having tonight, he’ll universally fall back on his safe foods – pizza and fries- which is fine occasionally but not great for variety. When I plan our meals for the week now I suggest a base ingredient and he helps construct something around that – so I’ll say I fancy something with noodles, and he’ll help pick a protein source and some veg, or I’ll say we’re having pasta and he’ll pick a sauce from our recipe book. It limits the range of options available and makes it easier for him to decide without getting stressed out