How to Help ADHD Without Drugs

ADHD can be hard on all of us!

How do we change ADHD behavior without drugs? The pieces of the puzzle necessitate a holistic approach. The body simply acts on the information it's given; if a child is sensitive to gluten, the body is going to react. Many children with ADHD have diets full of hybridized wheat, genetically modified corn and sugar, synthetic sugars, and chemical additives. Some specific foods can cause a child to become agitated, to space out, or to become violent. Well-behaved children suddenly start to bite their mothers, hit their siblings, wander around in a daze – all when they are tested for specific foods. Sometimes what sets the children off are not foods, but rather coloring, additives, and preservatives. Red dye is a big culprit, for example. The symptoms are readily reversible, when the appropriate homeopathic dilution of the substance is administered, and the effects are reproducible. Some children have turned around just by removing specific foods to which they are sensitive and adding omega-3 fatty acids to correct a deficiency.

Other children get a big boost with chelation to remove metals that are silently warehoused in brain and bones and gum up the works. Children with elevated body burdens of lead are more easily distracted, less organized, and more prone to aggressive behavior than children without this burden. The average American infant is born with more than 200 synthetic chemicals in its body.4 A study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center confirmed a suspected link between prenatal tobacco exposure and ADHD, and demonstrates that the greater the level of blood lead, the greater the risk of ADHD.

Many children and adults with ADHD have leaky gut syndrome, meaning that their intestines are so damaged that they cannot process what they eat, and so become malnourished.

A starving brain has an extremely difficult time simply functioning, much less learning anything. We often think of the brain as a computer that just has to be plugged into an electric outlet in order to work perfectly. However, if the software is deficient or corrupted, the computer does not run its programs very well. Similarly, the brain functions through electrical impulses and specific pathways. However, in order to generate those impulses, it requires many nutrients – proteins to supply the amino acids needed for manufacture of neurotransmitters and other messengers, glucose to supply the energy needed for the manufacturing process, lots of vitamins and minerals to serve as cofactors, or assistants, in the manufacturing process. … The pathways have to be correctly developed, and able to handle the flow of information. If any of these components are missing or deficient, then the brain can no longer process information at top speed. It slows down, or gets the messages garbled.

What is in the child’s environment? Sometimes a child will react to mold in the classroom, or have a bad day every time the grass is cut because of allergies to the grass. Some children react to pesticides or to chemical air “fresheners.”

Parasitic infections are common with ADHD and autism; remedies can correct that. Sleep deprivation is another piece of the puzzle that can be addressed through both behavioral and nutritional means, sometimes with specific supplements.

David Granet, PhD, director of pediatric ophthalmology at the University of California, San Diego, reviewed 1700 records of children diagnosed with ADHD. He discovered that, of those who had taken eye exams, 16% had convergence insufficiency, an eye disorder that makes focusing on nearby targets difficult. This is three times the number of non-ADHD children. More research is needed to determine if a brain impairment is causing both ADHD and the eye disorder, or if the eye disorder manifests the same symptoms as ADHD and causes misdiagnosis. That's why we do an eye exam using infrared glasses that look at tracking and convergence, or how your eyes work together!

Call us at 714-269-7990 today to see how we can help you!