Supplement Detective

By Curtis Alexander, Pharm.D.

Summary: There are some promising ADHD natural remedies.  Prescription ADD medications are potent and, in some cases, close in chemical structure to street drugs.  Many people believe ADD is very over-diagnosed.

Q: Are there any reputable and effective ADHD natural remedies?  My school has suggested that my son may have ADHD.  I don’t want to put him on Ritalin® or any heavy duty prescription drugs.

A: I want to commend you for trying to avoid putting your son on any prescription medications.  They were never really designed for kids and it has always broke my heart as a pharmacist to see so many kids being put on stimulants when the parents haven’t looked into all their other options.

It also breaks my heart because I myself have been told by colleagues that I am probably ADD as well as having my youngest son being put in the same boat.  So, this issue hits pretty close to home.

ADD Over Diagnosed

The first thing you should do is take a step back and get a second opinion.

In the last twenty years it seems like 50% of kids are being put on ADHD medications.  In fact, one of my professors (who was definitely NOT against medications) said ADD is the most over diagnosed disease today and that it was usually a diagnosis of convenience.

Often times one of the biggest reasons for kids appearing like they have ADD is because of the parents.  Frankly, with the number of single parent homes on the rise kids often have less supervision and discipline.  Teachers at schools are outnumbered more than

they ever have been and often their hands are tied when it comes to keeping kids in line during class.  Medications – as is most often the case – are the easy way out instead of addressing the root cause of the problem.

And let’s face it, kids aren’t robots that are meant to sit at attention for an hour at a time.  They squirm and fiddle and goof around.  Especially boys.  Sometimes I don’t think we let kids be kids.

In addition to medications being the easy way out, they are also dangerous in my opinion.  I mean, on one hand this country loves to tell kids to stay away from drugs.  In my part of the country methamphetamine (“Meth”) is cheap and popular.  It’s a big problem.  You know what else is a big problem?  The fact that this nasty street drug we preach to our kids about is one carbon group away from the popular ADD medication Adderal® (amphetamine).  Take a look:

I know that you know prescription drugs are a last resort.  But there may be other parents who read this article and for them to read that little nugget is pretty eye-opening.

Natural ADHD Options

(1)  Nutrition

There’s no doubt that nutrition plays a role in ADD.  Just how big of a role is a topic of debate among experts.

I will say that I have read case studies where parents have good results simply switching to a completely natural eating style.  Eliminate dyes, fillers, processed foods.  Also, allergies can play a role.  Finally, cutting out processed foods cuts down on carbs which are then turned into sugar.

Really, this is going to be a process of elimination for you.  I would recommend eliminating one food group a week.  For example, week one try getting rid of breads.  Week two try dairy products.  Week three, sweets.  You get the idea.

Your goal should be to get your son to a completely natural eating style within four to six weeks.  Then, give it a month or two to evaluate.

Before you go on, yes.  I know.  This won’t be easy.  Many people (kids are no different) becoming ‘addicted’ to processed foods and will fight tooth and nail a switch to anything natural.  If you need some help on making the switch I wrote an article on healthy eating tips for kids.  I’ve had good luck with my own kids but I started young.  Now, my kids consider – and ask for snacks – like apples, bananas, carrots, etc.

(2)  Natural Therapies

I really can’t go into an exhaustive list here because there are so many herbs and so forth that claim to help ADHD.  But I will attempt to cover the high points.

If you were to do a search online or in a health food store for natural ADHD remedies you’d likely come across two main groups:

1. Supplements that focus on general nutrition and have vitamins, minerals and so forth in them.  This is like a potent multivitamin marketed for ADHD.
2. Supplements that contain specific herbs used to address concentration and focus issues.

If anything, I’d recommend you try something in the second group because, in my opinion, the first group are overpriced multivitamins.  By all means, try a multivitamin with similar products in it while at the same time change your sons eating style.  But I’d avoid spending a bunch of money on them.

The second group usually contains products such as:

• Panax Ginseng
• Ginkgo Biloba
• Oral Flower Essence
• Melatonin
• Skullcap
• Chamomile

The next question you might have is are these products safe to use in a child?  My best answer?  Probably.

They’ve been used in kids and products are available that claim to be safe in children.  But, just like prescription medications, even natural products come with risks.  That’s one of the biggest misnomers about natural therapies.  But, given my choice, I’d try a natural product first, before trying a prescription stimulant.

(3)  Other Options

Because I went through a similar situation with my own son here are some other – albeit more radical – considerations.

Talk With the Teacher: Do your best to stay open-minded and get a feel for where the teacher is coming from.  Do you think his or her recommendations are valid?  Do you notice the same thing at home?  What exactly is the your child doing every day that makes the teacher think it’s ADHD?  How much experience does the teacher have with ADHD?  Sometimes you might get a teacher who is just critical of your child because he rubs him the wrong way.  Or, perhaps the teacher has seen a few valid cases of ADD and brings up some good points.

Private/Homeschooling/Tutoring: I know that often times parents don’t have the money to put a child in private school or the time to homeschool.  I understand.  But, if the school is really pushing prescription meds you may have to take drastic action.  My wife and myself chose homeschooling.  Not everyone will agree with you – but it has turned out well so far for us.

One of the reasons homeschooling has worked well is because it allows my wife to work one on one with our boys – especially the younger one.  After a half-hour or so if he loses attention and she is really struggling she can just let him color or go play for fifteen minutes.  When he comes back his focus is better.

Some call this ‘chunking’.  Where instead of force feeding a kid one-hours worth of material.  You break it down into three 20 minute sections with a five minute break in between each section.

I read about other parents who had good luck with ADHD by letting them jump on a trampoline while asking them questions.  It was almost like the movement calmed their brains and allowed them to focus.  I’ve noticed our son thinks well when moving vs being confined to a chair.  This probably sounds radical to parents.  But part of the reason we think ADD medications help is because it the ’speed’ actually allows your child to focus.  It doesn’t hype them up like it would a normal person.  This probably explains my sons behavior.

Music: There have been reports that playing music, or even the sound of a ticking metronome in the background can be calming to a child with ADD and allow them to focus.

Massage: Our youngest son absolutely loves to be tickled and massaged.  While this may not seem like any big breakthrough as most kids would probably like this it does seem to help him focus and relaxed.  It also helps that my wife, Jodi, is a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT).

Being told that your child has ADD is a blow as a parent – my wife and I know that personally.  But, your first step should be to evaluate the information you’ve been given, get second and even third opinions and then make the decision that is best for you and your child.  Too often, parents or other adults knee-jerk reaction is to put them on stimulant prescription medications.  As you can see above, I personally think there are better options to try first.

Also, in my experience most of the kids I see diagnosed as ADD are really just acting out and being belligerent.  A true case of ADD is generally not a bratty kid but a kid who truly has trouble focusing.  There is a difference.

If, after you’ve exhausted all your other options first, you still feel that treatment is required then try natural ADHD remedies first.