An Alternative To Medicating Children

Found an interesting article, an alternative to medication for ADD.

ADD: Feed Your Head
Author: Tellman H. Knudson

In a British study, scientists found that 80% of participants had a significant change in their mood disorders, which included depression, anxiety, and even encompassed ADD, since mood disorder often goes along with attention deficit. Both refined sugar and caffeine were found to have negative effect, while nuts, fruits, vegetables, and fish were proven to be beneficial.

One positive factor in brain health was water. It's important for all of us to consume at least 64 ounces per day or more. Yet, caffeine was shown to have a negative effect, as was refined sugar. Non-diagnosed caffeine allergies were shown to cause misdiagnoses for ADD, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even schizophrenia. Removing caffeine might be a good idea for an ADD person, but especially one who experiences depression or anxiety, as a first step toward a proper diagnosis.

Eating a healthy breakfast is the proper thing to do for your body, as well. People who eat breakfast have better memories and mental dexterity. You shouldn't try to tackle the day, unless your body has proper fuel. So, grab a banana or a cereal bar if you're rushing out the door to work. But ideally, you should be planning a meal around fruits and vegetables, and sitting down to eat them as a morning meal.

Fruit helps with getting enough vitamin C into your diet, and it can help you mentally. Your brain requires 15 times the amount of Vitamin C than your body needs for proper blood plasma levels. It can also control your mood and your ADD symptoms to some degree. Citrus fruits and strawberries are great for getting your vitamin C. Drink orange, pineapple, and grapefruit juices and you'll be on your way to getting the proper amount of that vitamin.

You can also fight depression and anxiety with the B vitamins--riboflavin, niacin, and B6, and they can be found in milk, yogurt, and dark green leafy veggies, like spinach. Boost your intake of vitamin B foods and you should find some improvement with those ADD-related issues.

Just remember that fresh foods are always better than processed foods, and steer clear of the freezer section in your supermarket. Though frozen, packaged food may be easier to prepare, it's better to go to the meat section where most supermarkets now have pre-prepared fresh meals and pop one of those into the oven. They're tastier, too!

And be sure that you're getting protein rich foods. They'll boost your levels of norepinephrine and dopamine. Since low dopamine levels have bee linked with ADD, this is something you need to remember. Eat some peanuts, unless you're allergic, or how about some cottage cheese and pineapple so you get a Vitamin C food in there, too. Or, grab a protein bar, if you're scurrying around during the day, or take some time for lunch and have tuna and a salad. All of these are easy to snatch and scarf.

Balancing your diet isn't just important for your body, but your brain, as well. Drink enough water. Eat foods rich in B and C vitamins and don't forget to eat lots of protein. Eat a mind-balanced diet, especially if you suffer from the added effects of ADD from depression or anxiety. If you aren't big on food preparation and can afford to pay, have someone cater the food in for you. It might be less expensive than you think, and it will make your brain happy. You could even see a reduction in your ADD symptoms, and that's one of the best benefits of all.
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Tellman Knudson is a certified hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner, who has helped many of his clients to cope with the symptoms of ADD. Subscribe to his Free weekly ADD Success Tips when visiting Instant ADD Success at http://www.instantaddsuccess.com