Holistic medicine and diets are a great option to manage an ADD child.
Currently the diagnosis for ADD and ADHD is becoming more and more common for students and children with extra activity. The most common form of treatment is to give stimulant type drugs that enable the children to focus and harness their energy. However we find that stimulants are not only hard on children’s health but also not a good long term fix. What most parents feel passionate about is what are the healthier and more of the long term options for their child? The answer is holistic medicine and diets can actually be a really great option to manage an ADD child.
The first option is diet. Numerous amounts of children with ADD or ADHD have food sensitivities of some kind. There are two types of immunoglobulin’s IgE and IgG. IgE antibodies are the ones that cause an immediate allergic reaction. An example of this is a child that eats a peanut and then has an immediate allergic reaction which can put them in danger of not being able to breathe. IgG antibodies are a delayed sensitivity that can cause numerous symptoms. The symptoms include but are not limited to: fatigue, behavior modification, headaches, sore-throat, loose stool, constipation, mood changes and decrease in immunity due to body inflammation.
The second option is homeopathy. Homeopathic medicine is very effective in treating not only ADD but also other childhood behavioral disorders. This is a type of treatment that is easy for kids to take and produces remarkable results. Parents love it too since they don’t have to force their kids to take something that doesn’t taste good. An example of Homeopathy is taking a specific symptom or personality and diluting compounds that would enhance that symptom. By diluting the compound only a mild remnant remains and this stimulates a negative feedback loop causing the body to stop the overactive symptoms of ADD. This reaction helps the body to teach itself to adapt to its lack of concentration by knowing when it’s time to focus and when there is an appropriate time to be energetic. This can be very empowering for both the parents and child.
The third option is to modulate their daily activity. For most of us, it can be very challenging as a parent since it requires you to get your child on a schedule that can sometimes be very strict. This schedule would include exercise, a set bedtime and scheduled study or homework time.
Our Los Gatos office can help with any and all of these elements. We would love to answer any questions you have.