The A.D.D. Nutrition Solution

I got this book to assist in my education of A.D.D. as we are concerned Daniel is showing signs. I really enjoyed reading this book and found it enlightening and insightful. I made sure to take her points and theories with a grain of salt and not get too "carried away" by them. I wanted to make my own decisions about what I believed and would adopt as my own. For instance, she insists on switching soy milk for cow milk for various reasons and I personally believe in drinking real milk and have familial issues with soy. She also suggests taking several supplements and that is too many pills to swallow for me :)

She begins the book by discussing what A.D.D. is, how it presents itself in children and adults, and how it is dealt with by doctors and families. She explains the symptoms of the two types (my lucky husband has both) and details what is normal child behavior and what is A.D.D. This was good for me in helping to determine if my child was presenting signs of A.D.D. In discussing the current treatments of A.D.D. and AD/HD she points out their flaws. One of which is that parents and teachers alike think of drugs as miracle pills and they don't have to make any modifications to their lifestyle or teaching methods. Convenient.

She discusses the make up of the ADD brain and the things that make it different from a non ADD brain. This was fascinating! When you eat sugar, your body produces insulin to distribute the sugar evenly to your body. The brain is the last to get its share and in non ADD brains there are two hormones that allow the insulin to calm down and give the brain the sugar it needs. In the ADD brain these two hormones are deficient and the brain does not get its needed sugar. Therefore, the ADD child becomes hyper active or risk taking to get those hormones working properly to allow the sugar in. Very interesting.

After defining true ADD and AD/HD, she gives her nutritional solution to stop aggravation of the symptoms or keeping them in control. She discusses artificial sweeteners and what they do to your body. She discusses carbohydrates, fats, fatty acids, etc. Her main points of what you need to eat are:

*Stay away from additives as much as possible (she explains what they do to the brain functions)
*Eat proteins for breakfast
*Eat foods in season to maximize their nutrients (tomatoes in season (summer) are deep red because they contain lycopene which protect the skin from UV light, tomatoes red out of season are injected with additives)
*Avoid sugar as much as poosible, try honey molasses or fruit sweetner
*Eat proteins as they are essential for brain cell communication and ADD people have poor protein digesting capabilities.
*Eat more fruit than just apples, bananas, and oranges (mangoes, pineapple, berries, cherries, melons)
*Increase your intake of DHA Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, this is what your brain is mostly made of.
*She is a proponent for nursing as no formula currently (1999) has any of the fatty acids and LCP's which are deficient in the ADD brain.
* Because our fish is not ocean fresh and our meat is corn fed, this causes our intake of essential fatty acids down 50% of what they were 60 years ago, so buy organic and local as much as possible to ensure natural nutrients.
*Allergies are rampant in individuals with ADD and a natural anti histamine can be found in pine bark and grape seed extract. Taking these will result in increased attention and reduced hyperactivity.

A lot of main points, I know. These are mostly my main points I have taken away from the book. She discusses in depth all her reasons for and studies proving these suggestions will effect the ADD brain. It is good information if you or one in your family has these symptoms or in general for good health. Just don't get too caught up in everything she suggests because living in the world we live in it is virtually impossible to get all the nutrients you need and stay away from all the harmful additives and sugar. I have tried diets and it is way too much work and are drastic changes to our current eating habits. Just be aware and make better and healthier options. I can already say that having eggs and bacon or sausage for breakfast instead of cereal and milk has made many a boy happy at my house, and I'm happy too:)

P.S. We are thinking about raising our own chickens for eggs!