ADHD/ADD or Nutritional Deficit?

[Guest guest]

When you see commericals for " lunchables " - those boxed lunches that

look cool to kids but contain hardly a grain of nutrition, I think

there has to be some connection between nutrition, behaviour in

school and the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD...

Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Nutritional Aspects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

 

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

 

ADHD/ADD

" Candy corn is not a vegetable. "

(Author unknown)

 

When my brothers and I were cranky, Mom used to tell us that " There

are good boys and tired boys, and tired boys cry. " She meant there

are no " bad " boys (or girls) by nature. If we were fussy, we must

therefore need a nap. As a former teacher, Mom knew that you

seek to change the behavior, not condemn the person.

 

I have taught every grade there is. My students have ranged from

primary school, long ago, all the way to the doctoral level. This

experience has helped me to understand the essential role that

nutrition plays in the education process. May you never have a class

full of sugared up, chemically fed, vitamin deficient students.

Regardless of age, they are too poisoned to pay attention.

 

Many, perhaps most, of the " difficult " pupils in schools today are

not " bad " but nutritionally impaired. School lunch programs attempt

to provide calories and a full belly, and they are clearly better

than nothing. It would be much better to approve and fund only menu

items free of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives and added

sugar. The addition of a good multiple vitamin and extra Vitamin C

to each meal would do even more. Over and over again, large

research studies confirm that American kids are NOT getting even the

modest US RDA of many vitamins and minerals. This has to effect

their school performance. What would be surprising would be if it

did not.

 

For some reason, though, " natural foods " and vitamin supplements are

taboo in most nurse-and-dietitian circles. " Just eat a balanced

diet " still rules nutritional politics. How bad is it? Well, did

you know that Food Stamps cannot be used to buy vitamins? But you

CAN use Food Stamps to buy " Trix " and " Fruit Loops " cereals, which

are loaded with sugar and chemical colors. What do you expect,

when nutrition textbooks say, in the same chapter, that 1) Vitamin

C is quickly destroyed by heat AND 2) French fries are a good source

of Vitamin C?

 

Did you know that children are not allowed to take vitamin tablets

in school without a doctor's written permission? Yet they can be

fed cupcakes and candy right in class or the lunchroom.

 

Even Rodney Dangerfield might agree that vitamins and natural

food " don't get no respect. " Does comedy show food awareness? " My

wife: I won't say she's a bad cook, but how come the flies chipped

in to fix the screen door? Hey, should meat loaf really glow in the

dark? But seriously... "

 

There is reason to suspect that Attention Deficit Disorder is really

Vitamin Deficit Disorder. What is so difficult about giving

schoolchildren a multivitamin supplement to make up their deficit?

 

Don't tell me that vitamins would be too dangerous, expensive or

impractical to administer in school. They give kids the prescription

drug methylphenidate (Ritalin) in schools everywhere. Look at

Ritalin's dangers, contraindications and side effects, listed in

the Physician's Desk Reference (Medical Economics Co., Oradell,

NJ). Such information covers over three columns of fine print and

you might not enjoy reading it. Now compare this to non-

prescription vitamins taken safely by nearly 100 million Americans

every day. Let's get food supplements into kids whose parents

cannot afford them. Isn't that the logic behind school meals?

 

Schools can easily avoid artificial chemicals in their menus. You

want to see for yourself? Visit the kitchen of your local public or

private school and read the labels on the boxes they get from their

food distributors. Yet a school district has only to specify a

standard and the suppliers will jump to keep their business. Cars

have seatbelts and airbags now. How about putting a little pressure

on your Board of Education to go chemical-free in their served

meals?

 

The behavior benefits of subtracting food chemicals and adding

vitamin supplements are elementary. Many children respond promptly

to a chemical-free diet. Benjamin Feingold, M.D., an allergist,

wrote Why Your Child is Hyperactive to help parents get behavior

improvement through foods without drugs. It works for many, and

it's safer than " speed. " Ritalin, after all, has " a potency between

the amphetamines and caffeine... it is now estimated that over

750,000 public school children are currently receiving such

treatment in the United States. " (Ray and Ksir, Drugs, Society and

Human Behavior, 5th ed., 1990, page 121) As of today (2000), that

number is probably nearer to two million. Like the amphetamines,

Ritalin reduces a child's growth rate by up to 20%. Kids as young as

age six line up daily, in school, for this drug. Let's line them up

for vitamins instead.

 

You can create behavioral-social problems in an animal with a

vitamin deficient diet. Many major symptoms of attention-deficit

hyperactivity disorder are very similar to those of niacin

deficiency.

 

Natural diet need not work for every child to still help thousands

of them. It is safe to try it for all. There are no harmful side

effects whatsoever from avoiding added sugar and artificial food

additives. Drug dependency isn't encouraged with good nutrition.

Neither are all those adverse reactions (I counted over 30 just for

Ritalin alone) listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference. There is a

copy of the PDR for you to look at behind any pharmacy counter.

 

I know, of case after case, where a kid stops getting food additives

and starts taking vitamins, especially C and the B-complex, and is

off Ritalin in two weeks or less. It is most effective to give

vitamins in divided doses with food. Breaking a common B-complex

tablet in thirds can cover all three meals. Frederick R. Klenner,

M.D. recommended giving children their age in grams of Vitamin C (a

gram being 1,000 milligrams). We found that half of that was enough

to keep our kids well; that is 4,000 mg daily for an eight-year-old,

divided over three meals and snacks.

 

To paraphrase my mother: There are good kids and there are

misbehaving kids, and misbehaving kids are probably malnourished.

 

For more information, I highly recommend that you read Dr. Hoffer's

ABC of Natural Nutrition for Children, by Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D

(Quarry Press, Kingston, Ontario 1999) ISBN 1-55082-185-7

(Softcover, 280 pages plus tables and bibliography)

 

Copyright C 1999 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. From the book

PAPERBACK CLINIC, available from Andrew Saul, PhD Number 8 Van

Buren Street, Holley, New York 14470.