Solutions for Attention Deficit Disorder
You don't have to have children for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) to impact your life. Sharing this information with others may be one of the best things you can do for your workplace and neighborhood. This is all because the original ADD generation has grown up and more generations are on their way.
ADD is a treatable, usually completely solvable problem. Without complete resolution, this malady may continue to follow a child into adulthood and beyond. When the untreated adult becomes your employee, your employer or your neighbor you will witness directly the difficulties and consequences of their behavior.
Restless inattentive adults and children are looking to all of us for help. The children's behavior requires a great deal of time from both their parents and their teachers. The pervasiveness of Attention Deficit in 1997 affected more than just the 4 million school children that took Ritalin that year. In almost every classroom, in our public schools, 30% of the children are taking medication for attention deficit. An estimated 17 million Americans have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
When the children leave high school, their need for medication and assistance does not go way. Their adult behavior commonly becomes a health risk to both you and I. They exhibit a "lack of concern for health-related behavior, such as diet, exercise and so forth; and they are smoking and drinking more than the control group." writes Dr. Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D a researcher at the University of Massachusetts.
Dr. Barkley has followed children with ADD and done extensive follup studies on individuals with ADD. He states that "they have a higher incidence of motor vehicle accidents and speeding citations. A second area of the medical risk category is the rather heedless sexual conduct of our subjects that leads them to have more partners. Those in the AD/HD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) group have more partners and have significantly more unprotected sexual relations. Over half of the AD/HD group have had themselves tested for HIV. Fortunately, none of them have tested positive. About 25 to 30 percent of them, however, have already had a sexually-transmitted disease for which they have sought treatment. Also indicating this rather high-risk sexual lifestyle is the fact that, out of forty-two births that occurred in the two groups, forty-one were born to the AD/HD group."
We need our children to have a positive constructive effect on the world in which they live. True holistic medicine that is fully integrated with the entire medical community can help adults and children with ADD and ADHD. We will explore how this can be done.
Restless World, Restless Life, Restless Times
If you are like me, you know how every year our lives seem to get more complicated and overwhelming. Fulfilling our obligations and meeting our expenses seem to dominate our day and dominate how we make our decisions. People are getting more restless and cranky and yet, in the same breath, people are more interested in peacefulness and a quality life.
The word "restless" describes our world fairly well. We are restless because we are eager, we are restless because we are stressed, and we are restless because we want to do something with our life. "Restless" literally means "less rest." We may sleep 8-10 hours, but many times we wake-up unrefreshed and tired. We are not rested, thus, we feel restless.
Restlessness is one of the key symptoms of attention deficit disorder. In my holistic medical practice of more than twenty years, I have worked with many adults and children that were too restless to attend to their duties with skill and precision. Every situation, every family was a little bit different and yet, there was still a lot of common ground between all of my patients with ADD and with hyperactivity.
I am going to share with you the main commonalities that I see in my patients with ADD. I will show you how to help your child and yourself with natural therapies and lifestyle recommendations. I certainly acknowledge that a small percentage of patients need prescription medications and invasive forms of therapy. There are amazing high-tech diagnostic tools available today, including brain scans, neuropsychiatric evaluations and laboratory studies. The technology and the costs of this technology are both really amazing. Medication options have far exceeded the old Ritalin days, we now have anti-depressants, anti-convulsants (seizure medication) and anti-anxiety drugs being given to children with ADD. While Ritalin is still common, we have gotten more serious about suppressing the symptoms of restlessness, hyperactivity and inattentiveness.
The seriousness of the situation is multi-layered. Parents and teachers do not have the time for this behavior. The child's self-esteem can suffer greatly from their inability to help themselves. Parents are afraid of medications and yet are not well educated in natural holistic therapies, all they know is they want to help their child.
Ideally, the role of a parent or teacher is to spend the time with the less-than-perfect child/student. However, our lifestyle, our community, our employment and our schools do not allow the time for this intensive, quality relationship. Instead, we only planned for the happy, eager self-guided student who needs very little outside help compared to the truly challenged kiddo with ADD. I keep all of this in mind when I meet with families at my office. Now that you understand my perspective, let's look at simple, powerful things that you can do today to make life more restful and more successful.
As a scientist, I have searched all over the world for insights into the origins of restlessness. I have spent thousands of hours observing my own breath, diet, behavior and thought patterns. I have gathered a broad range of insights from the yogis in the Himalayas to the modern writers of today. There is a clear connection between behavior and lifestyle. Regardless of our gene pool and current situation, we have choice. Our brain is the child of our mind, it is there for us to enrich and evolve to the highest level of function. And the highest level is yet to be reached. And every year, we raise the bar.
Lifestyle options can include diet, exercise, internal dialogue, relaxation, meditation and types of healthcare choices we make. These various options can dramatically sway our gene pool in our favor. At first, it seems to be more complicated than just trying to become a vegetarian or trying to get biofeedback therapy. However, for many of my patients, it was not complicated at all. Early diagnosis and early treatment can keep the momentum of ADD to a bare minimum.
The question below address a wide variety of valid treatment options including supplements, amino acids, menu planning and much more.
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How do breathing and relaxation help ADD?
More and more research is coming out showing that ADD has a physiological component - from neurotransmitters to brain blood flow. Breathing techniques may be the easiest and most profound way to change neuro-pathways and neuro-physiology.
There is no faster, no cheaper, no simpler way to balance both hemispheres of the brain than alternate nostril breathing. If you do not think that specific breathing techniques have an impact on your body, please review the following articles and studies.
Are there specific herbs for ADD/ADHD?
Herbs are a great place to begin your journey using natural therapies for ADD. Many parents write and tell us about the amazing benefits of using herbs.
Ashwagandha (WlTHANIA SOMNIFERA; Winter Cherry)
- gives physical and emotional strength
- important for self-esteem and self-confidence
Brahmi (BACOPA MONNIERA)
- known as the memory miracle
- assists in the development of language skills
- improves the function of the part of the brain used for logic, reasoning and symbols
- gives subtle abstract insights in problem solving and gives mastery in logic and reasoning
Shank pushpi (EVOLVULUS ALSINOIDES)
- known to support the development of the part of the brain that deals with abstract concepts
- associated with the development of thoughts and the energy flow of brain waves
- assists one with orderliness of speech and in making a clear declaration of judgment
Vacha (ACORUS CALAMUS: Sweet Flag)
- encourages brilliance in the mind
- helps with good metabolism, both mentally (thoughts and feelings), and physically (digestion)
- gives motivation and courage
Now, that you know a little about herbs for Attention Deficit Disorder, let's look at the best way to take these herbs.
Ideally, most herbs would be taken with boiled milk. Herbs can be taken deeper into the tissues of the body, giving them a more powerful effect, when taken with milk. If they can not be taken with milk, take them with food. Most herbs are going to act like an herbal food once inside the body. Thus, it is best to take them with other foods so that they are more easily digested and absorbed.
What are good foods for ADD/ADHD?
When we look at any food or any action we need to observe the end effect on our body and our mind. Pretend your entire life is an experiment - we need to remember to collect the data from all of our life experiments. This way we learn what works for us - we learn to discern which foods, actions, thoughts and emotions are helpful from those that are destructive.
Experiment #1: Eat 2 full servings of buttery mashed potatoes, a steak and then have a pint of ice cream for dessert. Notice the effect on your mind and body. Most people will experience slowness. The mind is usually not sharp and the body usually becomes lethargic.
Experiment #2: Instead eat a salad with a piece of fish and some fruit for dessert. Now notice the effect on your mind and body. Will you feel energized or tired afterwards? Will you be creative or lazy?
Food is one of the most important and easiest factors that can lead to a path of health or a path of disease. We eat every day and over time our diet has a cummulative effect on our well-being.
In Ayurvedic medicine, they talk about 3 gunas, or 3 ways that things effect us. They are:
Sattvic: inspiring, illuminating, uplifting, full of life, brilliance
Rajasic: restless, stimulating, spicy, agitating, throbbing, selfish
Tamasic: slow and dull, dead, lazy, heavy, lifeless, unclearThese 3 gunas apply to everything in life - foods, movies, books, people, etc. So let's now apply this concept to foods:
Sattvic: fresh and light foods, easily digestible, not overcooked or undercooked
Rajasic: strong in taste, spicy, over salted, over-spiced
Tamasic: stale, heavy, overcooked, over-preserved, hard to digest, overly sweetWith these foundational concepts, let's look at foods that should be included in your child's diet and foods that should be avoided at all cost!
Foods to Include
Fruits and Vegetables: remember these? Frsh, colorful and delicious. Cooking is great but avoid the microwave.
Flax Seed Oil: A great source of Omega Oils which researchers have shown are often depleted in those with ADD.
Cooked Foods: Not overcooked! Warm foods are easiest to digest because we do not have to expend energy in heating them.
Moderate Carbohydrates: No more all-pasta meals. These carbs turn into sugars in the body!
Whole Grains: Basmati rice, millet, oats, and barley.
Legumes: Legumes are beans-pinto, navy, split mung, chana and toordal are very helpful to the body. Find ways to incorporate these!
Fish: Use instead of red meat
What foods should be avoided?
Sugars especially High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): increases agitation and restlessness.
Food additives and artificial colors: this includes NutraSweet and other artificial sweeteners - they are difficult to digest and synthetic.
Processed meats such as sausage and bologna: preservative rich and very hard to digest!
Fried Foods: Oily, heavy and difficult to digest.
Junk Foods: Candy, chocolate, or highly processed foods.
Red Meat: Limit red meat consumption as much as possible.
Caffeine and Coffee: Stimulants and coffee is hard to break down.
Soda Pop: Carbonation is the problem here. Carbonation forms carbonic acid. Acids are agitating and cause restlessness in the mind and body.
