There are a lot of researched supplements and combinations that have been found to be useful for ADHD persons. These are listed in order of their usefulness (in my opinion and my experience).
ALLERGY/SENSITIVITY: This is most common cause of almost all "brain problems" from ADD to schizophrenia! It's not a simple subject, and of course, it is enormously complicated by the medical and drug establishment, but it's not that difficult to understand either. It is clearly explained on the website below. A good FREE allergy/sensitivity test is the Caveman Diet and Pulse web page on that website.
http://Alternate-Health.com
I would advise every ADHD person go on a Caveman Diet for a minimum of 5 days. If any "symptoms" have appeared during that time, but at the end of five days, the person feels better than for a long time, this shows definite food problems. The most common are wheat and corn and milk products. This is why the so-called gluten-free/milk-free (GFMF) diets often work. The Feingold diet can also be a good one if certain foods cause problems. (I used a made up solution containing all three food dyes and some aspirin, diluted down about 1/5, and did a sublingual test (under tongue with 2-3 drops, and pulse measuring after 5 and 10 minutes.) If this is positive, the Feingold diet may help considerably.
SUGAR HANDLING: This is somewhat similar to allergy/sensitivity in that it can cause some “brain problems”. In boys and men primarily, it can cause undifferentiated anger (sudden rages that are not really justified). If these occur about 3 to 4 hours after eating a high carb meal, this is often due to a hypoglycemic episode. The above website has more detail on all this.
Sugar and high carb intakes are always bad for all we humans who have not evolved enough to handle this amount of glucose. Cutting out, or at least, cutting way down on these “bad foods” often brings about surprisingly good effects on ADHD children and adults. Of course, these are the very people that crave them the most. The Caveman diet will often show marvelous results just from cutting out high carb foods. (It'll also lose excess weight for many. Check your scales daily.)
SUPPLEMENTS THAT HAVE WORKED FOR SOME:
These are several supplements that have worked for some others. It must be emphasized that each person is different, and what works for one may or may not work for another.
OMEGA OILS: There seems to be a definite link between lack of these essential oils and ADHD. Over the past few decades they have become prominent in research as very essential to health, yet lacking in our modern diet. One theory has it that this is at least one major reason why so many ADD/ADHD kids are now showing up.
A study in the UK showed dramatic improvement in school age children that were a year behind in school because of ADHD and other problems. Speech, behavior, and reading were all improved greatly.
Omega oil can be obtained from fish, and also flax oil and other vegetable products. Fish obtained oils can pose another problem, as much fish today is contaminated with mercury. Be sure that any supplements you feed your family are free of this.
I understand that Nordic Naturals and Coromega are good sources for omega oils, although Coromega has vanillin flavoring added. The websites for these are:
<http://www.NordicNaturals.com>;
<http://www.coromega.com/index3.html>;
AMINO ACIDS: There are several different ones on the market. All supposedly help the brain neurotransmitters work better. The only one I am familiar with is BCalm. It contains the two supplements (Tryptophan and Tyrosine) that I used in my orthomolecular practice years ago for helping depression. It does have a “calming” effect, and slows the hyperactive child down. I understand that it also has a newly discovered ingredient that improves it greatly. It is available from:
http://ADDrelief.com
ANTIOXIDANTS: These are needed to help the body prevent free radicals, and to help remove contaminants. Mineral toxicities such as lead and mercury can be taken out of the body (albeit slowly) by fairly large doses of vitamin C. There is a lot more info on this on the Alternate-Health website above as well. Vitamin E is a primary antioxidant as well. It is usually not as necessary in children, but is more essential as we grow older.
PROBIOTICS: this is especially important if the person has had antibiotics. It seems that antibiotics not only kill the “bad” bacteria in our bodies, but it also kills the “good” bacteria in the gut, and that's bad news. This gut bacteria balances the yeast, mold and fungus in the gut (which is impervious to antibiotics as they are made from such). So, the “good” bacteria colonies are killed off and replaced with yeast, fungus and mold colonies. This leads to poorer health overall.
The best way to restore these “good” bacteria is to “overwhelm” the new yeast colonies with good bacteria. This is what probiotics are - made from milk bacteria, (Lactobacillus Acidophilous and others), and taken in mega doses, it helps to restore this critical balance. Among other things, this “good” bacteria helps to absorb B12 into the body from the gut. It also produces vitamin K (about 80% comes from this source). It is essential to good digestion, and lack of this can lead to “leaky gut” syndrome, which promotes allergy/sensitivity.
There's a web page on the above “alternate-health” website that has much more info on the workings of the gut.
If your gut is “infected” with yeast, it can affect everything including your personality. Look at the stool in the toilet. If it's dark and very smelly, that's a good indication of poor gut bacteria. It should be orange-brown, or even yellowish (a baby has good gut bacteria usually). It also should not smell that bad, and often bad breath and even Vaginitis are signs of poor gut bacteria.
GLYCONUTRIENTS: These are essential sugars, which are needed for every cell in the body to better communicate. Our cells do everything in the body, without them functioning correctly then nothing else works right. Glyconutrients have been called the "missing link" to health.
There's a lot of recent research which shows that these sugars work in the body
in the following ways:
MANNOSE: Helps prevents bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal infections. Eases inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. Lowers blood sugar and triglyceride levels in diabetic patients
FUCOSE: Influences brain development. Improves brains ability to create long-term memories. Inhibits tumor growth. Guards against respiratory infections.
Inhibits allergic reactions
GALACTOSE: Enhances wound healing. Increases calcium absorption. Triggers long-term memory formation
GLUCOSE: Potent fast-energy source. Enhances memory. Stimulates calcium absorption. Too much or too little can be problematic. Glucose metabolism disturbed in depression, manic-depression, anorexia and bulimia.
XYLOSE: Antibacterial and antifungal. May help prevent cancer of the digestive tract. (We usually get too much of this sugar in our “modern” diet.)
DIGESTIVE ENZYMES: Very few people actually have too much acid in their stomach. This will surprise those with acid reflux, but it is true. By ADDING acid and digestive enzymes after each meal instead of antacids, they will usually be much better off, not to mention healthier. Advertising to the contrary!
Many ADHD and even autistic types have been helped enormously by adding digestive enzymes after each meal. A website that has more info on this is:
http://www.enzymestuff.com
B6 and Magnesium. Another tried and true supplement that can do no harm and it definitely affects women. Taken in reasonable amounts, it stops PMS symptoms, and positively affects depression. Most people do not suffer from too little calcium, but from too much calcium and too little magnesium. Unless these two minerals are in reasonable “balance” in the body, various symptoms may be present. Cramping can be from a deficiency of either, but is more often lack of magnesium. Magnesium is soothing, and many mothers of ADHD kids have found that a warm bath with Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulphate) makes them sleep much better, and are calmer next day.
I have seen dramatic improvement in many ADD-Autism cases with the above supplements, in particular when used with either EEG biofeedback or the Bate Auditory Training (Subliminal Training). Info on the latter is available at:
<http://Subliminals-Training.com>;
Phil Bate PhD - Retired Orthomolecular Psychologist
Inventor and Patent Pending Holder for
Brain Wave Amplitude Changing via Auditory Training
http://Subliminals-Training.com
http://BateAudio.com
Retired Orthomolecular Psychologist - Inventor and patent holder of "Brain Wave Amplitude Change via Subliminal Training". full resume at:
http://Subliminals-Training.com
or at:
http://Alternate-Health.com
