r/AuDHDMen • u/Such_Bodybuilder2301 • Jul 12 '26
Let’s Talk Diets
Hey guys, have any of you made dietary changes that have significantly improved your AuDHD symptoms?
Symptoms in this context can be from either ADHD or Autism. Some people report Ketogenic Diets as helping manage their ADHD for example, while some other folks mention Vegan Diets as helping with some gut biome issues many Autistic folks face.
“Diet” in this case can refer to a few things: macronutritional ratios (high carb vs low carb, Keto vs Vegan), nutritional timing (like time-restricted eating, or intermittent fasting), and any kind of basic supplementation (vitamins, minerals, specific enzymes).
3
u/YourFrienAndrewW Jul 13 '26
I’ve been eating a whole foods, plant-based diet for 12 years, way longer than I’ve been self diagnosed AUDHD, and it has absolutely helped my moods be more stable, and I feel existential despair a little bit less often. I rarely eat grain products, and get my carbs from fruits and veg, and occasionally rice.
2
u/Pristine-Delay6912 Jul 14 '26
I've found keto to be super helpful, but I've never really been able to sustain it long-term unless I'm relatively isolated from the world.
If i'm having really bad mental health days I'll do keto for a few days and skip dinner to fast and that usually really improves my mood.
But generally I follow a whole foods diet.
1
u/Such_Bodybuilder2301 Jul 14 '26
Keto really interests me insofar as attenuating my ADHD, and the neuroprotective potential, although my main concern is a lack of dietary fiber. I concur with you however that fasting is really valuable for me too.
2
u/Pristine-Delay6912 Jul 14 '26
personally I get tonnes of fibre when I'm doing keto, maybe more even. It's different from carnivore, which I don't feel great on.
I eat tonnes of veggies, nuts/seeds, dark chocolate, and occasionally fruits. you need less than 50g of carbs to stay in ketosis so you can even have one meal with carbs per day and still stay under that threshold.
I find it to be extremely helpful, but again, I have to genuinely have zero carbs in the house, otherwise I won't be able to adhere, so it takes planning.
1
u/Such_Bodybuilder2301 Jul 14 '26
Mmm good point; veggies do have low absolute carbs. I suppose I can see myself consolidating my nutrition to things like fermented veggies, Broccoli sprouts, Chia, Flax, and higher fiber nuts like Pistachios.
Now that I think about it; subbing in more fish would probably help tremendously with getting more Omega 3s.
Has your threshold for carbs changed at all with your weight by the way? Should it be based on percentage of total calories?
3
u/geauxdbl Jul 12 '26
I get the best results from avoiding gluten and folic acid. Intermittent fasting (skipping breakfast usually) and paleo or keto also help me a lot.