Nutritional Deficit Disorder

This is an excellent article from the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, titled "Nutritional Deficit Disorder: A Holistic Approach in Nutrition" and addresses what I have written about several times and that is too many children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and prescribed drugs, as opposed to at least attempting to treat ADD as a nutritional problem first. I have suggested to several parents, asking me about nutritional requirements and supplements for their ADD children, that trying to minimize high glycemic foods and providing their children with a quality daily nutritional supplements, including an Omega 3 supplement, is much less dangerous than the side effects from conventional prescription medications used to treat ADD, and ADHD for that matter. That's would I would do as a parent anyway.

Nutritional Deficit Disorder

An increasing number of kids are diagnosed with learning and behavior disorders. But rather than labeling these kids with ADHD, or the list of other “D” disorders, I focus on the impacts of nutrition and lifestyle choices, referring instead to it as a nutritional deficit disorder (NDD). Each year, the FDA is approving a record number of new drugs, many of which are for cancer treatment, rare diseases and hematology. Prescription drugs, however, are not limited to those medical uses. Children are increasingly being prescribed antipsychotic and antidepressants as young as 2 years old!

In 2014, 20,000 antipsychotic prescriptions were written for children 2 and younger, which is a 50% increase from 2013, and there were 83,000 prescriptions written for the antidepressant Prozac. Additionally, at least 10,000 children in that same age group were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Wouldn’t it be better to focus on the how we feed our kids, rather than focusing on what pills we can give our kids? Since nutritional deficit disorder has the same behavior and learning implications of ADHD, I work with parents on understanding how they can naturally help their children before resorting to prescription pills.

The Pills and Skills Model of Health

My treatment for nutritional deficit disorder does not focus on what “magic pill” I can prescribe to help with the increasing number of learning, behavior and health issues that are ailing our kids (and adults alike). Instead I focus on what I call the pills and skills model to health – it’s not about what someone can take, rather what someone can do. Lifestyle and nutrition choices have a major impact on brain development and a child’s ability to perform in school.

The Hole

Pills can cause a problem that I dub “the hole.” Here’s how kids get into the hole. A child is prescribed a perk- up pill, such as an antidepressant. “I think he’s better,” parents report. So the doctor leaves the child on the pill. After a few months on the pill, the brain habituates to, or gets used to, the pill, and the effect wears off. Or the brain gets used to the pill producing an antidepressant effect, so the brain decreases its own production of happy hormones, a drug effect called down regulation. The wise doctor tries to take the patient off the pill. The child gets worse. Here’s the hole. Does the child get worse off the pill because he needs the pill, or is the getting worse really a withdrawal effect from the pill? There is often no way to tell.

The doctor is in the hole, and so are the parents and the child. So the child goes back on the pill – and stays on it for years – or the dose is increased, or more pills are added to counteract the unpleasant side effects of the first pill. The only way for everyone to get out of the hole is to do what is called a washout, which means taking the child off all pills for at least six weeks to see which symptoms are caused by the problem and which are caused by the pills. During a washout, the child may experience unpleasant withdrawal effects, such as anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and mood swings. It hurts to get out of the hole, but a washout is often the only way to tell whether or not a child still needs the medicines. It’s best not to get into the hole in the first place!

Does your child have nutritional deficit disorder (NDD)?

The term nutritional deficit disorder (NDD) is something I use in my practice when parents express behavioral and learning issues with their children. Here are the main signs I look for when diagnosing a child with NDD:

•frequent mood swings
•unrelenting temper tantrums
•restless sleep
•poor attention span
•impulsive outbursts
•labeled with a “D”: ADD, ADHD, BPD, OCD, etc.
•behavior problems at school, home, and day care
•learning difficulties
•hyperactivity
•frequent infections
•dry, flaky, bumpy skin
•intestinal problems: refulx, abdominal discomforts, constipation, diarrhea
•vision problems
•frequent allergies
•dry, brittle hair
•brittle, thin nails
•very pale skin, especially on the earlobes

The First Step: Understanding

In understanding NDD, it’s important to analyze lifestyle and nutrition choices first. I noticed early in my practice working with families that kids who were raised with real food rather than junk food suffered less from the “D’s.” While there are many studies that support the axiom “you are what you eat,” those are found in journals like the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which don’t get read and appreciated by parents (or even by many doctors!).

Optimal growth and development occur when a growing body is in biochemical balance. In fact, a good definition of health itself could be “the state in which biochemical balance exists in the body,” a concept that has been appreciated in Eastern medicine for centuries. One reason we have so many “D’s” in our schools is that we have so many little bodies that are out of biochemical balance. This is not a result of the lack of care from parents, rather it’s that many parents just don’t know the facts. They are not convinced that fake food harms and real food helps growing brains and bodies.

Once you nourish your body with whole, fresh, natural, real foods and you start implementing this pure way of eating with your family, you’ll notice many positive side effects. For your kids, you can expect that their learning and behavior will change for the better. Why not try that before turning to prescription drugs?



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French Kids Don't Have ADHD

Suffer the Children,......Or why don't French children have ADHD? French children don't need medications to control their behavior. The case against labeling and medicating children, and effective alternatives for treating them, by Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D on Psychology Today.

In the United States, at least 9% of school-aged children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and are taking pharmaceutical medications. In France, the percentage of kids diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is less than .5%. How come the epidemic of ADHD—which has become firmly established in the United States—has almost completely passed over children in France?

Is ADHD a biological-neurological disorder? Surprisingly, the answer to this question depends on whether you live in France or in the United States. In the United States, child psychiatrists consider ADHD to be a biological disorder with biological causes. The preferred treatment is also biological--psycho stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall.

French child psychiatrists, on the other hand, view ADHD as a medical condition that has psycho-social and situational causes. Instead of treating children's focusing and behavioral problems with drugs, French doctors prefer to look for the underlying issue that is causing the child distress—not in the child's brain but in the child's social context. They then choose to treat the underlying social context problem with psychotherapy or family counseling. This is a very different way of seeing things from the American tendency to attribute all symptoms to a biological dysfunction such as a chemical imbalance in the child's brain.

French child psychiatrists don't use the same system of classification of childhood emotional problems as American psychiatrists. They do not use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM. According to Sociologist Manuel Vallee, the French Federation of Psychiatry developed an alternative classification system as a resistance to the influence of the DSM-3. This alternative was the CFTMEA (Classification Française des Troubles Mentaux de L'Enfant et de L'Adolescent), first released in 1983, and updated in 1988 and 2000. The focus of CFTMEA is on identifying and addressing the underlying psychosocial causes of children's symptoms, not on finding the best pharmacological bandaids with which to mask symptoms.

To the extent that French clinicians are successful at finding and repairing what has gone awry in the child's social context, fewer children qualify for the ADHD diagnosis. Moreover, the definition of ADHD is not as broad as in the American system, which, in my view, tends to "pathologize" much of what is normal childhood behavior. The DSM specifically does not consider underlying causes. It thus leads clinicians to give the ADHD diagnosis to a much larger number of symptomatic children, while also encouraging them to treat those children with pharmaceuticals.

The French holistic, psychosocial approach also allows for considering nutritional causes for ADHD-type symptoms—specifically the fact that the behavior of some children is worsened after eating foods with artificial colors, certain preservatives, and/or allergens. Clinicians who work with troubled children in this country—not to mention parents of many ADHD kids—are well aware that dietary interventions can sometimes help a child's problem. In the United States, the strict focus on pharmaceutical treatment of ADHD, however, encourages clinicians to ignore the influence of dietary factors on children's behavior.

MyAchingKnees comment: I am disappointed in this article as the word nutrition only appears once, and even then there is no real information pertaining to what I believe is a root cause for ADHD or ADD symptoms in children - poor nutrition. I have seen three friends of mine with children under 10 years old, two boys and one girl, at their wits end with their children’s behavior, one of which was kicked out of 1st grade. I asked them to try a quality nutritional daily multi supplement and a Omega 3 supplement for at least month as well as limiting the high glycemic carbs they were allowing their children to eat....high sugar juices, pop-tarts, instant oatmeal and sugary cereal. All three did these simple things, and attributed the behavior change in their children to these small changes in nutrition and adding a high quality supplement to ensure their children received the daily nutrients they needed. And undoubtedly, some of the reasons the French enjoy a much, much lower rate of ADHD/ADD diagnosis' is their cultural diet with includes many foods rich in Omega 3 which are thought to drasically help brain and cognitive functions.

And then, of course, there are the vastly different philosophies of child-rearing in the United States and France. These divergent philosophies could account for why French children are generally better-behaved than their American counterparts. Pamela Druckerman highlights the divergent parenting styles in her recent book, Bringing up Bébé. I believe her insights are relevant to a discussion of why French children are not diagnosed with ADHD in anything like the numbers we are seeing in the United States.

From the time their children are born, French parents provide them with a firm cadre—the word means "frame" or "structure." Children are not allowed, for example, to snack whenever they want. Mealtimes are at four specific times of the day. French children learn to wait patiently for meals, rather than eating snack foods whenever they feel like it. French babies, too, are expected to conform to limits set by parents and not by their crying selves. French parents let their babies "cry it out" if they are not sleeping through the night at the age of four months.

French parents, Druckerman observes, love their children just as much as American parents. They give them piano lessons, take them to sports practice, and encourage them to make the most of their talents. But French parents have a different philosophy of discipline. Consistently enforced limits, in the French view, make children feel safe and secure. Clear limits, they believe, actually make a child feel happier and safer—something that is congruent with my own experience as both a therapist and a parent. Finally, French parents believe that hearing the word "no" rescues children from the "tyranny of their own desires." And spanking, when used judiciously, is not considered child abuse in France.

As a therapist who works with children, it makes perfect sense to me that French children don't need medications to control their behavior because they learn self-control early in their lives. The children grow up in families in which the rules are well-understood, and a clear family hierarchy is firmly in place. In French families, as Druckerman describes them, parents are firmly in charge of their kids—instead of the American family style, in which the situation is all too often vice versa.



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Truths About ADD/ADHD

I wanted to address this article for several weeks now. This is from an article entitled "The Top 10 Myths About ADHD" by the Editors at RealAge, on 18 August 2011, which appeared on Shine by Yahoo,...which I sometimes call "shine you on"......just kidding.

Just-released government statistics confirm that ADHD (attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder) is more prevalent than ever before, increasing over the past decade from 6.9% to 9% among children ages 5 to 17. With nearly 1 in 10 kids being diagnosed with ADHD, and more adults learning they have it, too, it's become commonplace to blame it for everything from bad behavior to a messy house.

Everyone, from friends and neighbors to Hollywood celebrities, has something to say about it, much of it with no basis in science. Here to help you get your facts straight, the top 10 misconceptions about ADHD:

Myth #1: Only kids have ADHD.

Although about 10% of kids 5 to 17 years old have been diagnosed with ADHD, at least 4% of adults have it, too -- and probably many more, since adult ADHD is often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. That's partly because people think only kids get it.

Myth #2: All kids "outgrow" ADHD.

Not nearly always. Up to 70% of children with ADHD continue to have trouble with it in adulthood, which can create relationship problems, money troubles, work strife, and a rocky family life.

Myth #3: Medication is the only treatment for ADHD.

Medication can be useful in managing ADHD symptoms, but it's not a cure. And it's not the only treatment. Lifestyle changes, counseling, and behavior modification can significantly improve symptoms as well. Several studies suggest that a combination of ADHD treatments works best.

MyAchingKnees comment: Medication should be the last choice in my book unless you readily accept the risks of many side effects. The hands down best treatment for what may be termed ADD or ADHD is nutrition. We have had several parents who once they reduced high glycemic foods and put their children on high doses of nutritional supplements, they have seen remarkable changes in weeks. Omega 3 Fatty Acids isn't just a joint health supplement. Lack of Omega 3 Fatty Acids and/or a high ratio between Omega 6 Fatty Acids to Omega 3 Fatty Acids are thought by a increasing number of nutritionists and Medical professionals to be a major contributing factor in ADD/ADHD. Why wouldn't any parent, who has a so -called ADD/ADHD child, try a low cost, lower risk experiment of placing their child on high quality nutrients and an Omega 3 supplement to see if it will help?

Myth #4: People who have ADHD are lazy and lack intelligence and willpower.

This is totally not true. In fact, ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence or determination. It's a neurobehavioral disorder caused by changes in brain chemicals and the way the brain works. It presents unique challenges, but they can be overcome -- which many successful people have done.

MyAchingKnees comment: It is outside the realm of belief to think that a lack of nutrients, including Omega 3 Fatty Acids, has something to do with a neurobehavioral disorder? Everything from energy transfer to absorption of micro nutrients by the cells has to be effected by a lack of nutrients provided.

Myth #5: ADHD isn't a real disorder.

Not so. Doctors and mental-health professionals agree that ADHD is a biological disorder that can significantly impair functioning. An imbalance in brain chemicals affects brain areas that regulate behavior and emotion. This is what produces ADHD symptoms.

MyAchingKnees comment: In my opinion, ADD or ADHD is by and large a nutritional disease. However, I am sure that there are some causes of ADD or ADHD that cannot be effectively managed through lifestyle change and a solid nutritional plan. In one particular case a friend of mine put her 11 years old son on a high quality nutritional supplement and an Omega 3 Fatty Acid supplement. I also had her change from white bread and orange juice from concentrate in the mornings before school to a multi-grain bread and fresh or organic juice and within 3 weeks she told me her son's teacher and her noticed a big change in the boy's behavior and attention span. And this is a boy who when I was visiting the family one day, he came crashing out of the ceiling into the living room! He had been up in the attic jumping on the insulation and sheet rock ceiling!

Myth #6: Bad parenting causes ADHD.

Absolutely not! ADHD symptoms are caused by brain-chemical imbalances (see #4 and #5) that make it hard to pay attention and control impulses. Good parenting skills help children deal with their symptoms.

MyAchingKnees comment: Of course bad parenting does not cause ADD or ADHD. But what kind of parent pumps ritalin or whatever into their kids without first trying less risker protocols? Boy, writing that is going to get me some hate mail!!

Myth #7: Kids with ADHD are always hyper.

Not always. ADHD comes in three "flavors": predominantly inattentive; predominantly hyperactive-impulsive; and combined, which is a mix of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Although kids with hyperactive-impulsive or combined ADHD may be fidgety and restless, kids with inattentive ADHD are not hyper.

Myth #8: Too much TV time causes ADHD.

Not really. But spending excessive amounts of time watching TV or playing video games could trigger the condition in susceptible individuals. And in kids and teens who already have ADHD, spending hours staring at electronic screens may make symptoms worse.

Myth #9: If you can focus on certain things, you don't have ADHD.

It's not that simple. Although it's true that people with ADHD have trouble focusing on things that don't interest them, there's a flip side to the disorder. Some people with ADHD get overly absorbed in activities they enjoy. This symptom is called hyperfocus. It can help you be more productive in activities that you like, but you can become so focused that you ignore responsibilities you don't like.

Myth #10: ADHD is overdiagnosed.

Nope. If anything, ADHD is under diagnosed and under treated. Many children with ADHD grow up to be adults with ADHD. The pressures and responsibilities of adulthood often exacerbate ADHD symptoms, leading adults to seek evaluation and help for the first time. Also, parents who have children with ADHD may seek treatment only after recognizing similar symptoms in themselves. For people with severe small intestine inflammation, doctors sometimes prescribe steroids.

MyAchingKnees comment: Over diagnosed? No, I agree probably not. But over medicated? For sure.

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