Vitamins and Minerals

"Mommy, I think Tigger must eat a lot of food dye and dairy" - our son age 4

We have found that a combination of Magnesium and B vitamins has positively impacted our son's behaviors and symptoms. I can generally tell by the end of the day if I forgot to give a dose in the morning. We use Liquid-Health-Attention (Vitacost) and liquid Fish Oil (Vitamin Shoppe). I have to admit the name of the vitamin made me question the efficacy, but after comparing numerous products I found this brand to have the most concentrated Magnesium and B Vitamins, plus Vitamin C and Zinc. There needs to be more research in this area. Drug companies lobby in Washington though, not vitamin suppliers. There are many positive changes that can occur without the use of drugs, simply by giving the body the right fuel.


From University of Maryland Medical Center. 

Magnesium (200 mg per day) -- Symptoms of magnesium deficiency include irritability, decreased attention span, and mental confusion. Some experts believe that children with ADHD may be showing the effects of mild magnesium deficiency. In one preliminary study of 75 magnesium-deficient children with ADHD, those who received magnesium supplements showed an improvement in behavior compared to those who did not receive the supplements. Too much magnesium can be dangerous and magnesium can interfere with certain medications, including some antibiotics and some high blood pressure medications. Talk to your doctor.

Vitamin B6 -- Adequate levels of vitamin B6 are needed for the body to make and use brain chemicals, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, the chemicals affected in children with ADHD. One preliminary study found that B6 pyridoxine was slightly more effective than Ritalin in improving behavior among hyperactive children. However, the study used a high dose of B6, which could cause nerve damage (although none occurred in the study). Other studies have shown that B6 has no effect on behavior. Because high doses can be dangerous, do not give your child B6, or take high doses yourself, without your doctor's supervision.

Zinc (35 mg per day) -- Zinc regulates the activity of brain chemicals, fatty acids, and melatonin, all of which are related to behavior. Several studies show that zinc may help improve behavior, but only slightly. Higher doses of zinc can be dangerous, so talk to your doctor before giving zinc to a child or taking it yourself.

Essential fatty acids -- Fatty acids, such as those found in fish and fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) and evening primrose oil (omega-6 fatty acids), are "good fats" that play a key role in normal brain function. Experts have suggested them as a treatment for ADHD. The results of studies are mixed, but research continues. Omega-3 fatty acids are also good for heart health in adults, but high doses may increase the risk of bleeding. If you want to try fish oil to see if it reduces ADHD symptoms in you or your child, talk to your doctor about the best dose.

Read more: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/attention-deficit-000017.htm#ixzz1npOUXDcf

Also fascinating article: Food for the Brain

Behind Closed Doors

Excerpt....

Today, I choose to be brave.  Brave enough to say, “I have a child with special needs you cannot see.”

I am a mother who has struggled day in and day out with doing the right thing for a child who tests my very limits and capacities.  I am a mother who has stayed up nights worrying about the health and welfare of a child who didn’t act “normal.”  I am a mother who rejoices at even the tiniest breakthrough because it means we are one step closer to learning to live and flourish in a life that once felt out of control.

And I am thankful.  Thankful for good days,  Thankful for other mothers who have mentored me.  Thankful for coping skills.  Thankful for a daughter who didn’t mistakenly end up in our family.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.  Psalm 139:14

If you are a mother like me, I encourage you to keep praying, keep giving thanks, keep searching and learning and loving as only a mother can!  You are not alone because even when you feel like no one else in the world understands, God does.  In fact, He knows your child much better than you ever could and WONDERFUL are His works.


Behind Closed Doors - www.thebettermom.com

Green Eggs and Ham

We always called Tylenol "purple crack" ..same thing with birthday cakes or candy... we always thought the erratic behaviors were from sugar.  But a "sugar rush" is over quickly, food dyes stay in your system for much longer. My "ah-ha" moment was when Avery was still in preschool. We had eliminated dairy, restricted glutens, and inflammatory foods, everything was great. Then we had "Green Eggs and Ham" day. The teacher smiled as she told me how much he loved them and that he ate 3 plates, but my stomach sunk. Since preschool was so stimulatory it was hard to get an initial assessment on whether or not he would be effected. But by the next morning it was clear... where we had been at a more "normal" baseline we were all of a sudden back to arm flapping, oral fixations, hyper erratic behaviors, and extreme emotional lability. It took about a week to see him return to baseline.

It tore me up because I somehow felt like it was my fault, I should have prevented it. There are many journal articles world wide citing this hyper reaction. In Europe the use of dye has been drastically reduced and foods that contain certain dyes are now labeled as "potentially causing hyperactivity in children".  Many Eurpean products use natural coloring (vegetable, fruit based) yet the same products sold in the US contain food dyes instead. 

It's interesting when you start paying attention to the food dye issue. It goes beyond the obvious. Just the other week we are in the grocery store. The kids wanted some pickles... guess what there is yellow food dye in most pickles - I never imagined! And it is in everything from cereal to soup, to condiments. 

The more you look the more you will find it. 

We are an aesthetic country, everything must appear perfect, yet we are sacrificing our own health for it. Our "spectrum disorder" rates are growing daily at an alarming rate but we are more concerned about the shortage in our medications than working to resolve some of the triggers. 

Articles of Interest

ADHD Med Shortages

Food Dye Report 2010

CNN Report

Beginnings

Since November of this past year we have done a complete overhaul of our families diet. I always cooked whole foods and we ate healthy, but it was the little things that I believe were building up. We may have never noticed it ourselves, but when you have a child with a "lower threshold" everything shows up as an extreme. So rather than medications we chose to initiate a LIFE CHANGE.  We eliminated dairy, food dyes, preservatives (i.e. nitrates, MSG), and reduced our gluten intake. I began making all of our own bread (which I love now!) and we introduced a combination of fish oil, Magnesium, and B vitamins for our son. 

We have seen an incredible response from our son*. Many of his sensory and hyperactivity symptoms drastically decreased. As a pediatric nurse it breaks my heart to see how many kids are comprehensively medicated. But no one has taken the time to educate the parents on the "fuel" they are putting in the child's body and the extreme effect it can have. If you have a child like mine then you know how sensitive they are to external factors... imagine what we are doing internaly with the food they eat?

*Although we choose not to pursue any formal diagnosis, our son exhibits some mild autism and sensory processing sensitivities as well as hyperactivity. The definition of "spectrum" is range, gamut, sweep, extent, scope, span; the definition is truly inclusive of the many children that fall in that rainbow of dispositions.*