Stop Drugging Our Children
By Steven Horne, RH (AHG)

Natural Solutions for ADHD
If drugs aren’t the answer to the behavioral and learning problems children have at school, what is the answer? The answer is multifaceted, because there are many factors involved. Here are some of the important ones to consider.

Positive Attention and Loving Discipline
We’ll start by pointing out that children (including teenagers) need attention. Experts in parenting know that if children can’t get attention in positive ways, they will act out in negative ways, just to get attention. In a child’s mind, negative attention is perceived as better than no attention at all.

In today’s society, both parents usually work, schools are overcrowded, and television, computers and video games are used as electronic baby-sitters. So, many of today’s youth are literally starved for attention. Furthermore, electronic baby-sitters are well known to reduce attention span. Research has also shown that children have an easier time in school, when they have parents who actually spend time playing with them, reading to them and otherwise interacting with them. Children need loving guidance and in many cases that’s all some of these children need.
But, let’s assume that we have a child exhibiting the symptoms of ADHD who is getting positive loving help and attention from parents and other adults, providing them with firm, but loving guidance. What else could be a problem

Junk Food Diets and Junk Food Brains

It’s no secret that most Americans have a very poor diet and so do their children. There is ample evidence that a junk food diet contributes to reduced mental function, difficulty concentrating and behavioral problems. An increase in hyperactivity, juvenile delinquency and even criminal behavior has been associated with diets high in refined carbohydrates and food additives.
Most of today’s kids are practically weaned on sugar and refined grains. High levels of simple carbohydrates cause rapid rises in blood sugar, which over stimulates the brain, causing nervousness and agitation. This is compounded by the fact that many kids are becoming addicted to caffeine at a very early age. Caffeine dehydrates the brain and depletes energy reserves in the nervous system. This also contributes to restlessness, irritability and difficulty concentrating.

Many parents would be shocked to discover how much calmer kids are when they aren’t fed refined sugars, other simple carbohydrates and caffeine. They would probably take their children off these foods immediately (assuming they could manage to give them up themselves).

To help kids (and yourself) make these changes, start by trying a junk food fast.
Refrain from these foods for a period of at least three to four days and preferably a whole week.
Then, as a reward, let yourself “pig out” on junk food and watch the almost immediate psychological and behavioral changes.
Then point these out to your kids and help them understand that these foods are harming their health.
It’s also helpful to make healthy substitutes. Try using whole grains instead of refined flour and white rice and use natural sugars like freeze-dried sugar cane juice or honey to make some natural treats.
This helps transition away from the bad to the good.

Licorice Root and Super Algae are great supplements to help kill sugar cravings. They balance blood sugar levels when taken in the morning, again at lunch and once more when kids come home from school.

Kids (& Adults) Need Good Fats
Good fats are absolutely critical to brain function, since the brain is 50% fat by dry weight. Most of those fats are omega-3s, which are deficient in modern diets. Many parents have found that giving their children healthy fats like Super Omega-3 EPA and Krill Oil with K-2 helps them learn better. You can also supplement with DHA, the most important omega-3 fatty acid for brain function. Young children typically love naturally fatty foods because their developing brains need them. So, it also helps to have sources of good fats in the diet, including walnuts, macadamia nuts, avocados, butter from grass-fed animals and coconut oil.

Brain Building Protein
The neurotransmitters that allow nerve cells to “talk” to each other are made from amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Many children with learning problems aren’t getting enough protein, particularly for breakfast. Research shows that children who have protein foods for breakfast perform better in school than kids who skip breakfast. Children who eat sugar sweetened breakfast cereals (especially with low fat milk) do the worst.
If you’re in too much of a hurry to prepare a traditional breakfast for your children, at least make them a protein powder smoothie using Aivia Plant Protein Chocolate or Vanilla. You can add fresh or frozen fruit, organic, whole milk or whole milk yogurt to vary the smoothie and make it more nutritious. Super Algae, mentioned earlier, is a good source of amino acids and helps balance brain function as well as blood sugar.

Other Supplements to Enhance Learning
GABA Plus is sometimes helpful. GABA is a calming neurotransmitter that inhibits the brain from "over-fIring," calming down mental chatter and aiding relaxation and sleep.
Children, like adults can simply be stressed. If your children have enlarged pupils and seem anxious or nervous, they could probably use some nervines to help them relax. Nutri-Calm feeds the nerves with important B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, helping both adults and children to be more relaxed and focused.

Stress-J, available in both capsule and liquid form, and Chinese Stress Relief may also be very helpful for these kids.
If a child has small pupils and seems to calm down when given stimulants, they are parasympathetic dominant and the previous remedies will tend to make them more agitated. In this case, give them more iodine to stimulate the thyroid in the form of Liquid Dulse.
You can also give them Focus Attention, a formula that enhances the neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for memory and attention.

These are not the only issues that can cause children to have problems learning. Heavy metals can damage the nervous system, making Heavy Metal Detox a helpful remedy.
Leaky gut can also be a factor. In these cases remedies such as Intestinal Soothe and Build taken with Stress-J may help.

Homeopathic Remedy: ADD HP