Have you tried changing your childs diet instead of giving drugs?

Question

for ADD/ADHD. Even natural food chemicals in so called "healthy foods" can effect behaviour and learning as can preservatives, colours, flavours etc. It's hard work but I feel that some parents go for the easy drug option. I have also read many posts on here saying that they've tried different drugs and they don't work properly, they wear off or behaviour isn't getting much better. Some say their kids turn into quiet zombies etc. Is drugs really the only option?

Answer 1

A very good question.
Today's children are far removed from nature, and removing them even further is of no help. They are pumped full of cocktails of vaccines, bombarded by mind control from the TV and Media, and usually fed food which has little nutritional value, and considerable toxins.

The best way to remedy this terrible situation is to provide a more natural diet, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, and by cutting out processed and packaged foods.
the worst thing that can be done is to provide drugs which are just more poisons in their system.
It is unfortunate that the 'health' industry is controlled completely bu the drug manufactures, who provide totally biased information, and positively object to anything natural.

Answer 2

I wish I could give a hundred thumbs ups to David W for his answer. It is spot on. I feel our entire culture has gotten so far removed from anything natural. We take our babies and force them on a sleep schedule that goes against their natural cycle. We bottle feed them instead of breast feed (I realize some women have no choice). We embrace anything artificial. The foods we eat are loaded with all kinds of chemicals. Have you shopped the cereal aisle lately? It is frustrating. They are all loaded with sugar even things like Total. Then they add BHT to all of the packaging as a preservative. The thing I hate about food preservatives is that they are not necessary!! If they were then you wouldn't find companies like Kashi putting out cereals without it. Processed foods are total poison and parents load their kids up on it. You'll see kids eat pop-tarts for breakfast, Lunchables for lunch, teddy grahams for snacks, and probably McDonalds for dinner. What do all those things have in common? They're loaded with trans fat and other toxic substances.

My youngest has terrible allergies and the doc put him on claritin. I threw it away. He'd have to take it every day!! I did research and changed his diet and I also found out that if you eat locally produced honey it can help build immunities to the pollens in your area. So, I found a place nearby that produces its own honey. He still has allergies to an extent but they got much better and he hasn't had to resort to claritin.

But I guess it is just so easy for some people to buy the boxed food and resort to drugs. It requires little effort and no thought. Our society thrives on those two things.

Answer 3

Good post. I also believe that children are over-diagnosed, period. While there are certainly some children who do genuinely suffer from ADD/ADHD, there are many others who are labeled as such who really only need structure and training, as does every child. If parents will take the time to be consistent with their method(s) of parenting and provide the security of routine and solid discipline (not "punishment"), I believe there could be far fewer instances of children being medicated, who don't need it. There are clear, classic signs of ADD/ADHD that often cannot be managed with instruction and discipline alone. This is a clue that there is a genuine disorder present. But there are far more instances of knee-jerk diagnoses, due to our culture's bent toward placing blame anywhere but on ourselves, and always wanting the "quick" fix for anything that presents the least bit of a problem. There needs to be more direct addressing of problems with our children instead of just slapping on emotional band-aids. At least that's my opinion.

Answer 4

The drugs that the doctors were giving my brother (he's 16) turned him into a zombie. Recently he did some bad things and ended up in a mental hospital. There they took him off of ALL his ADD/ADHD meds and he is doing so much better. He is actually behaving, and isn't having any anger issues at all. The only med he is on is something for depression (our dad died recently) and he is doing wonderful. So I guess sometimes the meds just make the kid worse!!

Answer 5

The drugs are terrible. My son got tics, and blinked his eyes constantly, and became irritable. I took him off immediatley and put him on another and it did the same things. I completely took him off and will never do that again. You can also give them Memorin, or Attend that you can get from a Health food store. Its good for ADD kids.

Answer 6

Amen. It has become so mainstream to medicate instead of educate. I don't know about other countries but America as a whole goes for the quick fix. No one wants to change their behavior or their diet to correct a problem.

Answer 7

i like the way you think!

no packaged food, nothing that comes wrapped in plastic or in a box. if it doesn't come from mother earth, we don't need it in our bodies. milk, to me, is one of the worst things to feed anyone. think about the hormones given to the cows at birth. think about what has to be done to pasteurize it. yuk!