Gut Health and ADHD: 5 Quick Wins from Dr. Toribio-Mateas’s Webinar
ADDitude offers some great webinars for free, but I know you’re busy and don’t have time to sit and watch them.
So I’ll watch them and pull some Quick Wins for you to think about - and see how they can help you navigate your ADHD a little better this week!
The original webinar is titled How Gut Health Impacts ADHD Symptoms: New Insights on Food, Microbes, and Inflammation.
If you have time and want to read the editor’s top takeaways from the webinar, check out: ADHD and Gut Health: Surprising Insights from New Research
Here are 5 Quick Wins from Dr. Toribio-Mateas's talk:
Say what your body is telling you, out loud. ADHD often disrupts interoception. Naming it "my stomach hurts," "I'm wired," "I'm starving" closes the gap between the signal and your awareness of it.
Build one plate a day around fiber and color. Beans, oats, berries, leafy greens. This feeds the gut bacteria linked to lower inflammation and steadier dopamine signaling. Doesn't have to be every meal. One plate counts.
Protect your sleep like it's medical care, not self-care. Sleep isn't a luxury for the ADHD brain. It's part of how your gut and brain stay in communication. Poor sleep raises inflammation and makes everything else harder.
Notice your histamine ceiling before you cut out fermented foods. If kimchi or kombucha leave you feeling worse, it's not automatically the food's fault. Stress and poor sleep lower your tolerance. Check your capacity before you eat these foods.
Move your body a little, often. Frequency beats intensity for lowering inflammation markers. A short walk most days does more for your system than one hard workout a week.
Find more about Dr. Miguel Toribio-Mateas - Neuroscience for body and mind
