ADHD: A Demand For A Healthy Diet?

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ADHD: A Demand For A Healthy Diet?

by Mary Ann Block, D.O.

 

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In the last 10 years, medical care for Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has grown into an industry that tends to treat

symptoms and not cure the problem.

 

Children with the disorder are handed a psychiatric label, a drug prescription

and a discouraging diagnosis--

 

ADHD persists into adulthood even with medical treatment. According to

statistics supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act, 3 percent to 10

percent of the U.S. population have ADHD symptoms.

 

There is an alternative treatment that doesn't require drugs,

however.

 

As a specialist in ADHD and other chronic health problems,

I've determined that diet is one of the most significant factors

behind ADHD symptoms--it's what people eat or don't eat that creates

the degrees of the disorder. For this article, I will focus on

children with ADHD.

 

Based on my observations, the most common underlying cause of the

behavioral symptoms of ADHD, particularly in children, is

hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). When individuals have a low blood

sugar response, the body releases adrenaline to normalize blood

sugar levels.

 

In children, the adrenaline release may cause them to act out, even

aggressively. The behavioral symptoms associated with low blood sugar can

include agitation, anger, hostility,

hyperactivity, irritability and an inability to sit still and

concentrate. Other physical signs are headaches, insomnia, rapid

heart beat, shakiness and sugar cravings.

 

There are several ways a child may become hypoglycemic. One way is

not eating often enough.

 

Eating a morning, afternoon and evening snack, in addition to three meals each

day, is recommended for children with symptoms of hypoglycemia.

 

They should also eat foods high in plant protein and fiber; compared to refined

carbohydrates, plant proteins break down into glucose slowly, sending only small

amounts of the sugar into the bloodstream at one time.

 

Carbohydrate intake should always be in the form of complex

carbohydrates such as organic whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

 

In some people, simple sugars in candy, cookies and soft drinks trigger

glucose metabolism problems.

 

Eating too much refined simple sugar or eating it on an empty stomach may also

cause reactive low blood sugar

later.

 

Thus, blood sugar increases after eating sugary food, but

drops below normal levels a few hours later. When this occurs,

adrenaline is released and produces the undesirable symptoms of

ADHD.

 

Simply eliminating sugary foods often changes a child's behavior for

the better.

 

However, low blood sugar symptoms will not occur in

every child who misses a meal or eats sugar, but it has been noted

that children do not need to have as low a blood sugar level as

adults to have low blood sugar symptoms.

 

Food Allergies -

 

Based on my clinical observations, food allergies or sensitivities

are the second most common cause of ADHD symptoms. (Allergies stem

from specific biochemical reactions in the immune system, while

sensitivities result in reactions that are not specifically

biochemical.)

 

Children who have typical allergic symptoms such as

skin rashes, runny noses, watery and itchy eyes and chronic coughing

or clearing of the throat may also manifest allergic symptoms

through their behavior.

 

The mast cells in our body that are related to allergic reactions are found in

the brain as well as the skin, nose, eyes, throat and lungs.

 

If mast cells in the lungs are related to asthma, then mast cells in the brain

may be involved in changes in the nervous system. This may be the reason for the

behavioral symptoms in children who suffer from allergies.

 

Removing the offending food from the diet or using the appropriate

allergy treatment remedies the symptoms. It's important to note that

both the testing and treatment for behavioral symptoms are done

differently than the conventional testing and treatment for

allergies.

 

If all the allergens are placed on the arm or back at one time, as is done

conventionally, there is no way to determine which

symptoms were caused by which allergen, and therefore it is

impossible to have accurate results.

 

Thus, it is essential to test these agents one at a time. In a similar manner, a

diet that

eliminates foods and adds them back one at a time can help determine

which food a child is reacting to and how badly he or she reacts.

 

Nutritional Shortfall-

 

The third area to consider for the non-drug treatment of ADHD

symptoms is nutrient availability. Most of the biochemical processes

in our body, including enzyme reactions, only work in the presence

of vitamins and mineral cofactors.

 

Magnesium, for example, is required in at least 35 amino acid processes

including the

conversion of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to ADP (adenosine

diphosphate). Other important cofactors include calcium, zinc and

vitamin B12.

 

The body can compensate for short-term nutritional deficiencies, but if

cofactors are continually lacking, the body will not function properly.

 

" But we eat a balanced diet " is a common reply to this explanation.

 

A balanced diet as defined by certain food pyramids may not be the best

diet for everyone.

 

Ironically, sometimes the very food thought to be good for children may be the

food they are sensitive to.

 

This problem is compounded by the many products available today that are not

really food.

 

Artificial sweeteners and fats formulated from chemicals are substances the body

may not be able to metabolize.

 

I recommend nutritional supplements for ADHD sufferers. Supplements

such as evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil, magnesium, vitamins E

and C, and zinc help the body combat the effects of pollution and

stress and allow it to work the way it was meant to work.

 

It is important to note that different people have different vitamin and

mineral needs, and testing may be required to determine the

appropriate supplements for each patient.

 

A healthy intestinal tract is just as important as a healthy diet

for treating ADHD symptoms.

 

The nutritional value of all foods depends on proper absorption in the

intestinal tract. Tests

conducted at the Block Center in the Dallas/Fort Worth area revealed

interesting statistics about ADHD patients' intestinal tracts.

 

More than 95 percent contained too much yeast, another 50 percent

contained harmful bacteria, and approximately 25 percent contained

parasites. All of these factors adversely affect food breakdown and

absorption.

 

Correcting these abnormalities and improving intestinal tract

function requires a variety of treatments, particularly

recolonization of beneficial gut bacteria such as lactobacillus,

acidophilus and bifidobacterium infantis.

 

Learning Differences -

 

Other causes of ADHD include emotional disturbances such as abuse or

stress in the home, thyroid problems and learning differences. Such

factors should always be evaluated and addressed.

 

Psychologists are helpful when it comes to dealing with emotional situations,

while

thyroid problems can be evaluated with a simple blood test.

 

It is extremely important to address learning differences. Most

children diagnosed with ADHD symptoms simply learn differently than

other children. They are usually intelligent, but tend to be

kinesthetic and tactile learners, while most teaching styles rely on

the auditory and visual senses.

 

ADHD children would benefit from a more even playing field in schools. Rather

than calling them

learning disabled and putting them in special classes, ADHD children

should be taught how to learn.

 

These underlying emotional, medical or educational problems must be

corrected once discovered; children do not outgrow ADHD as was once

commonly thought.

 

Questionable Treatment-

 

Burdening children with a psychiatric diagnosis of ADHD is

detrimental. Once labeled with the disorder, these children are

treated with drugs that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency monitors

because of the abuses associated with them.

 

These prescribed drugs do not even cure the problem--they merely mask the

symptoms. Once

the medication is stopped, the symptoms return.

 

There are also certain risks to taking such drugs. Medical studies

have shown that methylphenidate (Ritalin), commonly prescribed

for ADHD, has similar properties to cocaine.

 

It goes to the same receptor sites in the brain and gives the recipient the same

" high " as cocaine does. Children have figured this out. According to the

television news show the Merrow Report, aired Oct. 29, 1995, there

is evidence that children are crushing their pills and snorting the

substance to get high.

 

Prescribing drugs such as Ritalin may also send children the

dangerous message that taking a drug is the answer when things don't

go well.

 

It makes more sense to set a positive example and take care

of ourselves, eat right, take nutritional supplements and avoid

substances that have an unhealthy or adverse affect on the body.

 

Rather than calling ADHD a medical problem and treating it with

drugs, or calling it a psychological problem and trying behavioral

modification, it should be considered either a nutritional problem

that can be handled by adjusting a child's diet or a learning

problem that can be overcome by teaching that child differently.

 

Children act in a manner that meets our expectations--instead of

labeling them ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and

expecting them to misbehave and have difficulty learning, let's call

them ADHD

(Another Dynamic Huggable Delightful child who is

indicating A Demand for a Healthy Diet).

 

All children deserve an opportunity to reach their potential.

 

Sidebars:

Homeopathy for ADD

Nutritional Supplements for ADHD

 

 

 

References

1. Haymond, M. " Hypoglycemia in infants and children, " Endocrin and

Metab Clinics of North Amer, 18(1): 211-53, March 1989.

 

2. Volkow, N. " Is Methlyphenidate like cocaine? " Archives of Gen

Psychiatry, 52: 456-63, June 1995.

 

Mary Ann Block, D.O., is the medical director of the Block Center, a

medical facility in the Fort Worth/Dallas area for adults and

children with chronic health problems. Block lectures nationally on

ADHD and is the author of No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without

Drugs (Kensington Books, 1996).

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

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