Attention Deficit Disorder

Diet and Nutrition: (references)

• Eliminate foods that cause an allergic response or to which there is a sensitivity (fast, use an elimination diet, or allergy test to isolate such foods) - especially food additives and preservatives. When there is hyperactivity along with the ADD it is inevitably due to an allergic reaction to some food or chemical. Most common causes, in order of likelihood, are:
  
  Coloring and preservatives
  Cow's milk
  Soy products
  Chocolate
  Grapes
  Oranges
  Peanuts
  Wheat
  Corn
  Tomatoes
  Eggs
  Cane sugar
  Apples
  Fish
  Oats
  
• Avoid simple sugars - allergies to other chemicals are exacerbated when sugar is ingested
• For chelating heavy metals: apples, seaweed, foods high in methionine and cysteine, garlic, and beans

Vitamins and Minerals: (references)

• Niacinamide: 1 - 3 gm.
• Vitamin B6: 20 - 30 mg./kg.
• Vitamin C: 3 gm. (for chelating heavy metals)
• Zinc: 30 mg.
• *Calcium: 1 gm.
• Magnesium: 500 mg.

Supplements: (references)

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 500-1000 mg. TID
• Pycnogenol: 20-100 mg. TID

Botanicals: (references)

• Compound Glycerite - *Passiflora incarnata, *Melissa officinalis, *Nepeta cataria, *Eschscholzia californica, *Lavendula angustifolia: for the acute child, 10 drops up to 5 times a day

• Individual botanicals to be considered for this condtion:
  Allium sativum (Garlic)
  Eschscholzia californica (California poppy)
  Lavendula angustifolia (Lavender)
  Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm)
  Nepeta cataria (Catnip)
  Passiflora incarnata (Passionflower)
  Piper methysticum (Kava kava)

Homeopathic Remedies: (references)

• Aversion to concentration:
  
  calc, gels, lyc, med, nux-v, phos, ph-ac, plb, sil, staph
• Difficult to concentrate in children:
  
  aeth, am-c, BAR-C, carc, lach, med, ph-ac, phos, sil, zinc
• Difficult to concentrate in the afternoon:
  
  ang, cham, ery-a, myris, sang
• Difficult to concentrate while studying and reading:
  
  acon, AETH, agn, alum, ambr, ang, asar, bar-c, bar-m, bell, calc-f, calc-sil, carb-ac, carb-s, caust, cham, coff, corn, dros, fago, ferr-i, HELL, iod, kali-p, kali-sil, lach, lyc, merc, mur-ac, nat-a, nat-c, nat-p, NUX-V, ox-ac, phos, pic-ac, scut, SIL, spig, staph, sulph, syph, tab, zinc-p
• Hyperactivity in children:
  
  anac, ars, ars-i, calc-p, CARC, cina, coff, HYOS, iod, MED, nux-v, STRAM, tarent, thuj, TUB, verat

(For an overview of Homeopathy, click here.)

Other Therapies: (references)

• Chelate lead or other heavy metals if hair analysis or other lab work indicates
• Avoid television and fluorescent lights

Recommended Labs:

• Rule out food allergies: IgG Food Allergy Antibody
• Rule out heavy metal poisoning: Hair Analysis
• Rule out thyroid problems: Thyroid Panel with TSH

*  The recommended use of this supplement or therapy is based on a physiological mechanism or empirical data and is not necessarily supported by peer-reviewed research studies.

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).