Alternate Solutions

                          There is a myriad of alternative treatments on offer to assist those who have the AD/HD. These include diet, biofeedback, exercise and herbal remedies which just names a few.

The first thing to make sure of is, has the diagnoses of AD/HD been confirmed? If so then consider if you the parent of a child with AD/HD or if you are the adult with the disorder that you have fully accepted that your child or you yourself have the disorder. This is said as some may find it difficult to accept the diagnoses and attempt to find a miracle cure by going outside the normal recommended medical treatments. There is no miracle cure. Time alone may improve some.

It is strongly suggested, and this cannot be emphasized enough that should anyone consider any of the following treatments, that they find out about the treatment, its success rate, the improvements it is claimed to give, when can you expect to see an improvement?, how easy it is to implement and what is the cost of this treatment. And a definite must is to discuss the alternative treatment with your medical professional that is your doctor.

Diet

                       It is recognized a very small percentage (5%) of people with AD/HD can have their AD/HD symptoms enhanced with certain food additives. Removing these additives will not cure AD/HD but it will improve the symptoms, which the food additives are responsible for. Medication may still be needed. Likewise removing food additives from an average person, who displays poor behavior as a result of an adverse reaction to food additives, can solve the problem.

If looking at varying diet, or attempting a diet that some book has recommended firstly look to see if the family or the AD/HD person, is in fact eating a well balanced diet. If not, then correct that first and see how things go. If you are not sure exactly what a healthy balanced diet is; get your doctor to recommend that you see the dietitian at the local hospital. A dietitian will, in consultation with the person who does the cooking devise a healthy diet, which fits into the family’s likes/dislikes and lifestyle.

There have been good reports about Omega Three oils. They are relatively inexpensive, will not cause any harm and it won’t hurt to add them to the AD/HD person’s diet. Omega Three is reported to improve memory, good for the heart and joints. It is worthwhile trying this and particularly so in the case of those with AD/HD-I. It will take some three or so months before any change will be noticed.

It is interesting to note that if the person eats fresh food in preference to processed food they are basically on a diet free of additives and dyes. So to eat a healthy fresh food diet and additives are just about gone.

To date there is no evidence that cutting out sugar (research has verified this) relieves the symptoms of AD/HD. Some say that chocolate relieves these symptoms. In fact chocolate may be helpful, but in moderation of course.

Chocolate may be like coffee, some say coffee is helpful, while others say not.

There are some eliminating diets, which recommend removing certain foodstuffs such as those belonging to the deadly nightshade group, tomatoes being one food, which comes under the heading of deadly nightshade. There is no evidence to prove that this is the case. Thus eliminating these foods does not assist AD/HD-C or AD/HD-I. However, if you wish to attempt such a diet, make sure you consult with the relevant medical professional.

Some say that a salicylate free diet is the way to go. This is in case the person has intolerance to Salicylates. Salicylates (aspirin) are chemicals that occur naturally in plant life. In fact all plants have them. They are there to act as preservatives and delay rotting. There is a problem with this; as to make diet salicylate free means cutting out a lot of good food and it is hard if not impossible to eat a balanced diet. However, in the case of a person who may have intolerance to salicylates then those foodstuffs, which are high in salicylates, are taken out of the diet. This however should be done under the supervision of a dietitian. The reason being, a diet with certain salicylates removed may not be a balanced diet.

Cutting salicyates out of the diet is supposed to assist irritability, restlessness and sleep. Intolerance to salicylates can show itself as hyperactivity, poor memory and a lack of concentration.

Another dietary change is giving a high-protein and low GI diet, some say that children and adults with AD/HD have responded favorably to this diet. Again care is needed, a high protein diet can cause problems with kidneys and thus medical supervision is needed.

Biofeedback

                           Previous EEG studies it had been observed that all suffers of ADHD no matter what their age have increased slow wave patterns in their frontal regions. With differences also showing for all brain wave types. It has been observed that people were able, at their own will; change their brain wave pattern. Thus it is thought that the ADHD subject maybe taught to change their abnormal brain waves to be closer to those of the average person, which might result in an improvement of their ADHD symptoms.

Biofeedback involves placing a cap on the patient’s head. This cap fits closely to the patient’s head; there are a total of 19 – 26 electrode positions on the skull, which are built into the cap. These electrodes are in contact with patient’s head via a gel, which is squeezed between the electrode and the patient’s head by the operator. There is no pain or particular discomfort felt by the patient.

The leads from the electrodes are attached to a computer, where the patient can see their brain wave patterns. Then with the computer showing the particular brain wave from two or three electrodes. The person is trained to change the brain wave pattern, should the person do so, they are given a reward. There are different training programs for say the reduction of Alfa waves, or an increase in beta waves.

There are varying reports as to how effective this is. Some say there have been good improvements, while others say the improvements only lasted while the treatment was in progress.

Herbal Treatment

               Various combinations of stimulating and sedative herbs have been used in naturopathic and herbal practices in the treatment of ADHD and ADD.

There are several herbs, which are known for their stimulating effects on the nervous system, with some known as "alertness enhancers". Ginkgo is known to increase blood flow to the brain, improve glucose metabolism and possibly affect some of the neurotransmitters in the brain. Brahmi, is known as a cognitive enhancer, while protecting the brain from free radical damage it stimulates improved learning and cognitive functions. Siberian Ginseng is known to stimulate brain activity and to regulate stress reaction.

It is also suggested in one British study that removing five food additives leads to improvements in ADHD. These additives are tartrazine (E102), Sunset Yellow (F110), Ponceau 4R (E124), Carmoisine (E122) and Sodium Benzoate (E211) gave a significant improvement in ADHD symptoms. Or some have tried adding more iron, or magnesium to the diet.

Then there are other plants such as chicory, which is useful for behavior issues or holly or vine maybe good for children who are aggressive or angry.

As stated at the beginning of this section, before embarking on an alternative treatment, find out all about the treatment and consult you doctor and obtain their opinion. Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Sydney has a diet unit, where they test children for allergies and food intolerances.

Even so, it does not hurt to look at just what we are eating. In this day and age a good few seem to have very poor diets. So it could very well be an advantage to at least see that you have a balanced diet and one that contains all the nutriments that your body needs.