Approximately 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011. The prevalence of children 4-17 years of age taking ADHD medication increased from 4.8% in 2007 to 6.1% in 2011. Prevalence of ADHD diagnosis varied substantially by state. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC 24/7: Saving Lives. Protecting People.)
Children with ADHD may have three basic problems: they can’t pay attention, they are hyperactive, they act on impulse. It may be difficult to draw the line between a child’s normal range of energy and abnormal behavior. Conventional treatment usually involves behavior therapy and/or medication. At the Brain Bio Centre, help for patients with ADHD/hyperactivity is achieved by looking at a number of possible avenues of treatment. Nutritional factors are deemed very important and include: Blood sugar problems…Essential fat deficiencies…Vitamin and mineral deficiencies…Pyroluna and the need for vitamin B6 and zinc…Food allergies.
Balance Blood Sugar Food studies consistantly reveal that hyperactive children eat more sugar than other kids and reducing sugar has been found to halve disciplinary actions in youngsters. This is not necessarily the sugar itself, but the forms it comes in, the absence of a well-balanced diet overall, and abnormal glucose metabolism.
Increase Omega-3 Fat Omega-3s have a clearly calming effect on many children and hyperactivity and ADHD. If a child exhibits excessive thirst, dry skin, eczema and asthma, these are visible symptoms of essential fat deficiency.
Increase Vitamins and Minerals Although it can’t be said that ADHD is a purely deficiency disease, most kids with this diagnosis are deficient in certain key nutrients and respond well if these are supplied in the diet.
Avoid Allergy Food There is a documented link between hyperactivity and food sensitivity. Type 1 allergies are severe, immediate and associated with foods like peanuts and shellfish. This is the IgE antibody. Type 2 allergies involve the IgG antibody. Symptoms can be many and varied and may not appear until hours after the food is eaten.
“Artificial food colors (AFCs) have not been established as the main cause of ADHD, but accumulated evidence suggests that a subgroup shows significant symptom improvement when consuming an AFC-free diet.” (Dietary Sensitivities and ADHD Symptoms: Thirty-five Years of Research, SAGE journals ) This category would include Sodium benzoate, FD&C Yellow No 6 (sunset yellow), D&C Yellow No 10 (quinoline yellow), FD&C Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine), and FD&C Fed No. 40 (allura red).
The nutritional approach to a child’s overall health is a diet that limits sugary and processed foods and is rich in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. There is a brain-gut connection. If your gut is inflamed, out-of-order, chances are your cognitive function is impaired as well.
Click here to read the latest on the legitimacy of ADHD: http://time.com/25370/doctor-adhd-does-not-exist/
Gut and Physchology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a food plan that improves the way the digestive systems functions even if that system is over-loaded, tired, lethargic, toxin-ridden, out-of-balance and damaged. For more information on the GAPS Diet, click the link: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/02/the-gaps-diet-what-it-is-and-why-you-might-consider-doing-it.html Dr. Campbell-McBride said, in a lecture given at the Weston A. Price Convention in Dallas several years ago, that weaning children off sugar is extremely difficult and most parents don’t have the staying power to do this…they give in to the desires of their children even when they know a more nutritional food plan is better for everyone in the long run.
Don’t forget gluten-sensitivities! “We can even make a case for linking gluten-sensitivity with some of the most mysterious brain disorders that have eluded doctors for millennia, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorder, and, more recently, autism and ADHA.”
Dr. David Perlmutter author of Grain Brain.