Nutrition and How It Affects ADD and ADHD

By Charlene Doak-Gebauer

I believe that the terms "ADD" and "ADHD" are difficult for parents to understand.  These terms are very negative.  I taught at the high school level for 20 years in special education environments.  The students in these classrooms are always challenging and extremely interesting to teach.

Many parents are told that their children are ADD or ADHD.  Because the word “disorder” is involved, it is devastating for parents to hear.  Along with the identification of their child being ADD or ADHD, it is often recommended that parents resort to medications in order to “calm” down their child. 

I have had many clients with children who are ADD or ADHD.   They have to overcome the fear of their child having learning difficulties because of the condition; and also their guilt because the education system has made them believe that their child is a “burden” in the classroom.

I prefer to refer to the conditions as ADD - "Awesome Day Dreamer" and ADHD - "Awesome Day Dreamer/Hyperactive Day Dreamer".  They are much more positive.  Through a consultation with me, the parents become educated regarding the foods that their child is eating that can cause them to be “awesome”.  Or, the child could have food allergies that have gone undetected.  Food is the most benign method of dealing with “awesome” children.  Medication should be the last choice.

Emotional challenges can be caused by foods that children and adults consume that they are allergic or sensitive to. Many people think that sensitivity or allergic reactions are rash, vomiting, headache and the like.  For many adults and children, these sensitivities can come out in emotional challenges.  For example, children who are my clients can be hitting their siblings, banging their heads, rocking repeatedly, not concentrating in school, delayed in school because of concentration difficulties and the like.  After identifying food related issues, parents who ensure that their children consume the suggested foods in a comprehensive, individualized nutritional plan, see amazing results.  Emotional challenges can be the greatest sign of food issues.  One family in particular, saw all negative behaviours disappear.  As soon as their son had one cheat meal full of allergens, his negative behaviours appeared again.  It is true, what you eat will affect your life. 

Pharmaceutical medications should be avoided as much as possible.  If many of these children started taking medications, the real issue would not surface and the “band aid” would only mask the real problem.  I have seen this theory validated many times.

It is always an “awesome” experience to help families and children.  When parents call to tell me that their child is finally at their age level in learning or that their child has finally passed a math test and their teacher is happy with the change, it makes my work so worthwhile.

A New Paradigm on the Road Less Travelled Part 2 – Concepts Needed Along the Road

By Kim M. Watson, RN, MScN

As we travel this road less travelled, and bring in an integrative healthcare approach for the delivery of care we will draw on the best that the scientific approach can bring, which includes the conventional, or allopathic type of medical care. Integrative medicine combines conventional and complementary approaches in a coordinated way. As we move forward we will need to refocus and expand on these concepts:

1.      Caring for the whole person (holism) – focusing on mind-body-spirit of persons. This includes looking at additional aspects such as the social, emotional, spiritual, environmental and more. It is time there is recognition of the importance of the mind-body-spirit connection, and incorporate these aspects in the planning and execution of care. Emphasizing lifestyle changes and patient responsibility and ownership will also be important.

2.      The practitioner-patient relationship will be key with an importance placed on caring, compassion, health and wellness. The dynamics of the practitioner-patient relationship will evolve, and entail a variety of partnerships, similar to the Family Health Teams that have developed over the last few years in Ontario, yet they will take it even a step beyond. The importance of caring and compassion will point us in the direction of a therapeutic relationship between the caregiver and the client. The NCCIH, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health https://nccih.nih.gov, says this relationship is the heart and soul of integrative medicine. We need to structure a focus on optimal health and wellness, to think beyond the disease-oriented approach and shift away from a curing view, to one of healing.  

3.      The patient in the driver seat of care, at least the one to determine the route! We will need to evolve to a model with the patient being the driver; a model of self-regulation within the therapeutic partnerships. Accountability for decisions will ultimately lie with the client.

4.      A truly multi-disciplinary approach to care. Unlike the present conventional medical system, the new one will not be purely physician driven in all aspects of care, though they will play a major lead with conventional medical care. Each member in the partnership will be equally important, realizing what each brings to the table, though the client will be doing the steering. Lucia Thornton (2013) states “the patient is the focus of all care, and members of the team are unified in a common mission and purpose to promote health and healing and to deliver the highest quality of care possible” p. 184. The leading Canadian research group, IN-CAM (Canadian Network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research community generating knowledge through research on complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine/health care to enhance the health of Canadians, has a wide variety of disciplines involved in driving the research. They are affiliated with the NCCIH, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Healthcare, who are the leaders in the USA. Both advocate a multidisciplinary approach to research, education and care, as depicted in Thornton’s (2013) concept of therapeutic partnerships. 

5.      Willingness to use various complementary therapies, which are viewed as unconventional modalities of care. When you think of an integrative approach, you must have a willingness to include complementary therapies, those seen by many as unconventional modalities. Many Canadians have experienced or integrated these therapies already. Many other healthcare professionals (not just physicians) have resisted the move to an integrative approach because of these modalities. It is time we do not exclude things because we are skeptical or do not quite know how they work. Dr Andrew Weil, MD, a leader in North America for the work he has done in the field of Integrative Healthcare, says being skeptical is okay, though it is time we give these modalities a chance, especially when they are shown to not be harmful and if we are fully informed. Ultimately we may be surprised when the evidence is in.

6.      Scientific evaluation or research – a new look on how to study this approach. Dr. Ralph Synderman, in a lecture for the NCCIC stated: “we need to understand ultimately what the alternative and complementary therapies are actually doing so that we will mainstream them. And... as long as our skepticism isn’t so great that, by reductionist design, we eliminate any possibility for truth to be seen” https://nccih.nih.gov/training/videolectures/integrative.htm. It is time to perhaps look a little closer at some of those ‘soft’ methods of research and their validity from a patient perspective and outcome measurement; after all, perhaps all the Canadians who have been using complementary therapies, and are paying for them out of pocket, know something the healthcare field has yet to learn.

These are but the first baby steps on the road to better healthcare, for practitioners and patients alike. Stay tuned, we are just in the beginning of adventure. Enjoy the ride!

Blessings, in love and in light, Namasté, Kim

References:
Thornton, L. (2013). Whole person caring. An interprofessional model for healing and wellness. Sigma Theta Tau International: Indianapolis, IN.

To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate … The Measles Epidemic

By Brenda Pearce, RN
 

The Disneyland Measles Epidemic may lead to banning unvaccinated people from public places? Here we go again. Is this message a new way of getting people to comply with Public Health/WHO policy? Hmmm.

There is a lot of speculation regarding next steps to get vaccination compliance, when more and more educated people are choosing to not vaccinate. There is a growing trend to question the effectiveness and efficacy of various vaccines that have been used over the past several decades. From the time of the Salk vaccine in the 1950’s, we have seen an explosion of vaccines being scheduled since then. I think that living in a FREE society, and yet feeling forced to comply with vaccine schedules through our regulated health systems is causing many, many people to question what this is all about.

There have been advocates and papers and outspoken movie stars who have become advocates of anti-vaccine stances. Before the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine, there are actually documented and posted studies indicating that there were declines naturally occurring for these now vaccinated illnesses.  And…there are also, vaccinated people who are also catching these illnesses as well. One has to question why babies are being vaccinated with Hep B vaccines in their early and tender life moments for a liver disorder that comes through blood transmission for unprotected sex, and/or blood transfusions. And… what about the HPV vaccine to our young teenage or preteen girls, that only protects against 3 of the 101+ strains of the virus?

There is something called herd immunity, which relies on the fact that to ensure the maximum amount of public protection relies on 94% of the population receiving vaccinations, and receiving immunity. That allows for only 6% of the population to decide to take advantage of choice to not immunize. However, more than 6% of the population are opting out. There is also an argument that the vaccines are losing their efficacy.  Case in point, in my research, a mom whose son died at 17 days of a disease that she had been vaccinated for opens up many questions. What are we building up antibodies and immunity for? Are vaccines losing efficacy over time? Or is the herd immunity ideation losing its validity? Where is the long term research? What studies were being created for all of this in the first place? Who is running the studies? Hmmm….

How many parents remember immunizing their children to have a localized red area of inflammation at the injection site of their babies? Yes, we are told that is normal, yet go back to continue the immunization schedules because we are encouraged to by our Doctor’s, and health professionals. We are told that our children cannot go to public school unless they have their immunizations up to date. Inflammation at the injection site is a reaction! There has been a move to remove Thimerosol, which contains ethyl mercury, as a preservative, which to some sources is safer than the methyl mercury which is occurring in our world and is toxic. We consume this when we eat fish! Yes, a government video promoting the flu shot says this thimerosol is no more dangerous than the amount of mercury consumed in a can of tuna! Excuse me, mercury is not safe in whatever form it is in. However, the trend to remove the thimerosol to get increased compliance and to get people to understand that the vaccine is safe, has actually increased the rejection of vaccinations as a whole. There is risk to not vaccinating, but also with vaccinations as well. To think otherwise is unwise. It is not just the mercury issue, it is also about the other items that are not openly talked about either… Polysorbate 80, latex, aluminum toxicity (which can remain in the body up to 8 years post injection), and so much more.

I merely suggest, linking Disneyland with measles epidemic, and shutting down the parks is a slippery slope to greater ways and means of vaccination compliance. We need to be aware, we have a choice. PRIM is a Canada wide Grassroots Mobilization Movement aimed to alert Canadians to their rights under the Charter of Freedoms http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1356631760121/1356631904950.

 

I would kindly suggest watching the following:

Vaccine Nation - https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/vaccine-nation/