Vitamins Fight Learning Disabilities, Scientific Study Shows

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Misty L. Trepke

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VITAMINS FIGHT LEARNING DISABILITIES, SCIENTIFIC STUDY SHOWS

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/learning.html

 

Nutritional supplements were used, with considerable success, to

help overcome learning disabilities in children. In a well-designed

clinical trial, " megavitamin " doses were seen to be safe and

remarkably effective, even offering improvement in Downs Syndrome

children.

 

Dr. Ruth F. Harrell and associates published their important

findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA

(78:574-578)... in 1981! Although Medical Tribune picked the story

up, it is likely that your doctor is as unaware of this research as

I was until one of my chiropractic students showed it to me in `93.

 

The Harrell study was successful because her team gave LD kids much

larger doses of vitamins than other researchers: over 100 times the

ADULT (not child's) RDA for riboflavin; 37 times the RDA for niacin

(given as niacinamide); 40 times the RDA for vitamin E; and 150

times the RDA for thiamin. These are the quantities that evidently

get results, and get them safely. Safety and effectiveness are the

rule, not the exception, with therapeutic nutrition.

 

Here is an abstract (summary) of this important article:

 

" To explore the hypothesis that mental retardations are in part

genetotrophic diseases (diseases in which the genetic pattern of the

afflicted individual requires an augmented supply of one or more

nutrients such that when these nutrients are adequately supplied the

disease is ameliorated), we carried out a partially double-blind

experiment with 16 retarded children (initial IQs, approximately 17-

70) of school age who were given nutritional supplements or

placebos during a period of 8 months. The supplement contained 8

minerals in moderate amounts and 11 vitamins, mostly in relatively

large amounts. During the first 4 - month period (double-blind) the

5 children who received supplements increased their average IQ by

5.0-9.6, depending on the investigator, whereas the 11 subjects

given placebos showed negligible change. The difference between

these two groups is statistically significant (P less than 0.05).

During the second period, the subjects who had been given placebos

in the first study received supplements; they showed an average IQ

increase of at least 10.2, a highly significant gain (P less than

0.001). Three of the five subjects who were given supplements for

both periods showed additional IQ gains during the second 4 months.

Three of four children with Down syndrome gained between 10 and 25

units in IQ and also showed physical changes toward normal.

Other evidence suggests that the supplement improved visual acuity

in two children and increased growth rates. These results support

the hypothesis that mental retardations are in part genetotrophic in

origin. "

 

What intrigues me most is the need to explore this area further, and

medical reluctance to do so. As Lincoln said of the little girl who

put her hand in the stocking, " It strikes me that there's something

in it. " I urge you to read the full paper: Harrell RF, Capp RH,

Davis DR, Peerless J, Ravitz LR Can nutritional supplements help

mentally retarded children? An exploratory study.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1981 Jan;78(1):574-8.

 

Dr. Harrell, who had been publishing on vitamin effects on learning

for over 30 years, was not inventing the idea of megavitamin therapy

suddenly in one paper. Nor has the work ended; the Journal of

Orthomolecular Medicine is a good resource if you want to know more.

http://www.orthomed.org

 

 

Reprinted from the book FIRE YOUR DOCTOR, copyright 2001 and prior

years by Andrew Saul, Number 8 Van Buren Street, Holley, New York

14470 USA Telephone (716) 638-5357

 

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