ADHD and a gluten-free diet?

I am working with a naturopathic doctor on helping with ADHD. I haven't responded whatsoever to any regular medication so I'm somewhat desperate to find something that will help. One of his big things is a gluten free diet.

I really want this to help me but I'm very skeptical of the science behind it. My father tried the diet and a severe back problem has been greatly reduced. At this point he can really tell when he has had much wheat because the back pain gets worse for a day or two. However, I find it difficult to see back pain and ADHD as being equivalent. The doctor has explained some of the science behind the diet helping ADHD but it sounds like it could be pseudoscience.

My mother is enthusiastic about the diet because of this logic:
1. My father's problem was greatly reduced by wheat reduction
2. Therefore; naturopathic medicine has validity
3. Therefore; the doctor's claim that a gluten-free diet has a benefit for ADHD is founded on reality.
4. Therefore; I should go to the trouble and expense of avoiding a staple of the US/European diet.

Have any *scientific* studies been done on a possible link between gluten and ADHD? What was the outcome? I'm looking for rigorous science, not anecdotal evidence.

Good for you for looking for evidence.
"wheat free diet" is a very common recommendation of naturopaths for all kinds of ailments. It seems to be one of their standard treatments of a wide variety of conditions. There is no good evidence of the benefits of a gluten free diet, except in the case of Celiac Disease, where one lacks the enzymes needed to break down gluten.

Cochrane has nothing on ADHD and gluten, but there is a sytematic review on Autism and gluten
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003...
The fact that an organization like Cochrane, which scours the world for published studies has nothing, suggests that there is no compelling evidence, and that your naturopaths suggestion is based more on ideology.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/a...

A gluten free diet is very expensive and difficult to maintain, as gluten is found in all sorts of foods.

Google is a great way to find answers to this sort of question. Try "adhd and gluten"

Smart man! Research will give you MANY answers. Ask your Naturalpath about the Epsom salt liver cleanse. It can help you as well.

Don't know about gluten free for ADHD, but I used to work in a bakery, and I know that Preservative 282 (Calcium Propionate) is a mould inhibitor added to breads in most large scale bakeries to prevent mould when hot loaves are put into plastic bags. This preservative has been scientifically proven to produce ADHD symptoms in children. You may want to try eating home made bread, or bread from a small bakery where you can find out whether this preservative is added to it.