This book is an updated version of Rachel Bell, Dr. Howard Peiper, and Nina
Anderson's booklet,
A.D.D. The Natural Approach. In the Preface the authors present a constellation of behavioral, cognitive, social, and muscular symptoms attributed to A.D.D./A.D.H.D. In the Foreword, Dr. Doris Rapp estimates that 8 to 22 million children will have been placed on activity-modifying drugs like Ritalin by 2000, yet 20 to 40% will not be helped by these drugs. She believes drugs similar to cocaine should be the last choice in treating A.D.D./A.D.H.D., especially when they have a long list of side effects. The first choice should be to detect and eliminate "the cause" of the illness among multiple causes from favorite foods, diet, additives, metals, toxins, dust, mold, pollen, chemicals, noise, sources of electromagnetic (and other forms of) energy, misalignments of the skull, vertebra of the spine, and so on. The authors' strongly assert that you can do something about these conditions, if willing to open your mind, search, and find out what works best for you or a specific child.
Nine of the ten chapters of The A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. Diet! focus on diet,
nutrition, and the foods we eat. Some foods (e.g., milk, wheat, corn, rice,
peas, peanuts, cane sugar, chicken, chocolate, beef, pork, tomato, potato,
cheese) can stimulate allergic, A.D.D./A.D.H.D.-like effects that can be
detected. How? One way is to follow a 'single food and elimination diet.' First,
take one probable offending food. Eat that one food for one day, then wait 5-7
days before eating it again. Designate the 5th, 6th, or 7th day as the test day.
On the test day, eat nothing for 3 to 5 hours, then only the one food tested. If
more than one food is tested, wait 3-5 hours between foods. Test only one food
per meal. Finally, write in a journal any and all reactions to each test food.
Diet recommendations include eating more protein, fat, and vegetables for A.D.D.
and A.D.H.D. and learning to combine foods at mealtimes that digest at the same
rate (e.g., don't mix proteins and starches; eat fruits by themselves). In
Chapter Six the authors provide a few tasty, healthy recipes.
The second half of the book is devoted to describing the importance of
nutrients and different ways to detoxify the body with herbal, colon, cellular
cleansings and fasts. More attention is given to nutritional supplements, trace
minerals (e.g., crystalloid, ionic, chelated, colloidal), essential fatty acids,
enzymes, and oils (like unprocessed, cold-pressed, virgin oil). Specific
nutrients especially recommended for A.D.D./A.D.H.D. symptoms include amino
acids, bee pollen, cat's claw, garlic, lecithin, nutritional yeast,
proanthocyanidins (found in dark-colored grape seeds and pine bark), zinc,
flower essences, and Peruvian herbs. Also, the authors list some non-dietary
approaches for the treatment of A.D.D./A.D.H.D. -- hair mineral or tissue
analyses; atlas subluxations; craniosacral, aroma, flower, homeopathic, herbal
treatments; tachyonized energy, kinesiological, and brainwave synchronization
approaches. A resources directory of suppliers and providers along with a
bibliography of references conclude the work.
The authors have presented a wide array of brief, interesting leads to consider,
but apparently no updated, scientific studies or specific research findings to
support the evidence or address issues of strength, selectivity,
contraindications, toxicity, cross-drug/counseling usage, and applicability.
Hopefully, the book identifies new ways to ameliorate symptoms of A.D.D./
A.D.H.D. without doing harm to the individual in need. A framework for
evaluating relevant studies, purported updates, and competing claims would have
been helpful. The reader must exercise due diligence and caution in assessing
the risks and all evidence supporting, and not supporting, the authors' (and
referenced authorities') methods, claims, and conclusions.
© 2002 by David L. Johnson, Ph.D., for Curled Up With a Good Book
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