LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

ADHD

Psychological Problems in Children: Surprising Cause

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diet and behavioral problems in children
Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/pixaio

There are few things as important to us parents as our children’s brains.  So why do we treat our children’s brains so poorly?

Our brains are very susceptible to the foods we eat, the chemicals we are exposed to and the stresses we experience.  That means that every molecule of food you eat can have a direct effect on the way your brain functions.  And this, of course, includes your child’s brain as well.

I cannot understand how a parent who has a child with a behavioral problem can feed his or her child Cheetos and yet think that there is no real help for his or her son or daughter.  These decisions absolutely affect the way brain cells function, from sending messages between cells to NOT sending messages between cells that are not supposed to fire.

Top of the list of nutrients that are essential for brain health are the fats.  Good fats like the omega 3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats help to make up a more stable cells membrane in the neuron.  Poor quality fats, on the other hand, destabilize the brain cell membrane.  As you can imagine, destabilized brain cells are not something we want to support on the inside of our skull.

This particular study supports the relationship between our children’s behaviors and the foods that they eat.  While the term “junk food” may be subject to interpretation, I think we can all agree that, in this study, defining junk food as a high energy, low nutrient content just seems to cover it all.  In this study, it means sweets, sweetened beverages, fast foods and salty snacks.

13,486 children, aged 8-18 were evaluated for psychiatric distress (worry, depression, confusion, insomnia, anxiety, aggression and worthless) and violent behaviors (physical fight, victim and bully) and the presence of these factors was weighed against how much junk foods were regularly consumed.  Here’s what they found:

  • There was a relationship between violent behaviors and the intake of junk foods.
  • Daily consumption of sweetened beverages and snacks increased self-reported psychiatric distress.
  • Daily consumption of salty snacks increased the risk of violent behavior (physical fight 39%, victim 19% and bully 55%).

If you’ve ever tried to deny that the foods you are feeding your child will not have an impact on his or her behaviors, this study should put this notion to rest.  If you are a parent of a child with anything other than a perfectly psychologically and behavioraly normal child, and you child’s diet has  daily exposures to the foods listed in this study, it’s time to wake up.  There is not any other way to look at it.

 

Dangers of Tylenol Use in Pregnancy; Use Chiropractic Instead

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Pregnant women are told to stay aware from steroids and ibuprofen because it can have direct effects on the developing baby, so OBs recommend Tylenol. This is a bad idea.

For starters, it has been known for a long time now that acetaminophen is linked to asthma in adults. Then someone asked if acetaminophen use in pregnancy could contribute to the development of asthma in the child after he or she is born. Turns out that the answer here is also a yes. Despite this information, OBs still recommend products like Tylenol for pain in pregnant women.

While my opinion on this topic may be slightly biased, it seems to me that chiropractic care during pregnancy is the ONLY safe approach that will in no way harm your little developing lima bean. Not only safe, but effective as well. Not too shabby.

Just in case you have no fear of your little one developing asthma from popping a few acetaminophen over the course of 9 months or so, hopefully this particular article will help sway you against over the counter wonder drugs.

From this study, I think the scariest take home message is that, out of 64,322 births (there may have been some twins mixed into these numbers, but essentially, it’s a LOT of births), over HALF had used acetaminophen during pregnancy. HALF!!! That just shocks me. Maybe it just illustrates how incredibly permissive we have become in society to drugs regardless of the situation. And understand that if there was ever a sensitive time in life it is during pregnancy.

Here’s the details of the study:

  1. Children whose mothers used acetaminophen during pregnancy were 37% more likely to have a hospital diagnosis of hyperkinetic disorder.
  2. They were 29% more likely to be on ADHD medications.
  3. They were 13% more likely to have ADHD-like behaviors at age 7.
  4. If acetaminophen was used in more than 1 trimester during pregnancy, these percentages were even higher.

Clearly there was a relationship between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and childhood behavioral problems years later. Is there any point at which society will stand up and say that ANY medication during pregnancy should be avoided unless absolutely, positively necessary?

All those pregnant women how had pain during pregnancy are likely cursing me now. However, I can tell you, from 15 years’ experience, that chiropractic care is VERY effective for most of the pains experienced in pregnancy, especially when you combine soft tissue methods along with the adjusting.

And yet, despite this, I find that few OBs will recommend chiropractic care before use of analgesics like Tylenol.

This has to change.

Aberrant Immune Response Seen in Autism – (05-07-01)

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Aberrant Immune Response Seen in Autism

I have seen many children diagnosed with conditions like autism, ADD and ADHD that begin the morning with enough sugar to stagger the mind. Many of these patients do not think for one instant that what a child eats can have an effect on the mental performance. I think this article illustrates nicely that there are alterations in some autistic children that can be either addressed or made worse by lifestyle choices.

Experimental Biology 2001 Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) produce higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines than children without autism, researchers announced Monday at the Experimental Biology 2001 meeting in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Harumi Jyonouchi of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and colleagues analyzed the immune responses of 83 children with ASD, between 2 and 17 years old, compared with a group of healthy matched controls. The researchers measured the levels of TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10 in the subjects before and after exposure to low doses of endotoxin. “More than three-quarters of the ASD children produced higher levels of at least one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines compared with controls,” Dr. Jyonouchi told Reuters Health. These differences were evident both with and without endotoxin exposure, she added. The researchers also found that “75% to 80% of these children have T-cell reactivity to dietary proteins including soy, milk, and wheat,” Dr. Jyonouchi said. “If their response to endotoxins is dysregulated, children with ASD may be predisposed to other adverse reactions to foods, bacteria, and vaccines, and may have an increased risk for autoimmune reactions,” Dr. Jyonouchi explained. She noted that these children may also require a longer time to recover from such exposures. “This is scientific data supporting parents’ claims that autistic children may get sicker from colds and flu and are more sensitive to dietary proteins,” Dr. Jyonouchi said.

 

Increased leukotriene production by food additives in atopic dermatitis – (03-26-01)

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Increased leukotriene production by food additives in atopic dermatitis

Think the dermatologists are talking to the gastroenterologists on this one? Or would that be the allergists? In reality–neither group believes very heavily in food allergies causing seemingly unrelated systemic symptoms. Nonetheless, this is an excellent article stressing the importance of a food coloring/preservative free diet in the management of many diseases. Dr. Feingold many years back had proposed and had good results in the use of a non-processed diet for children with ADD/ADHD type disorders.

Synergy : Clinical & Experimental Allergy 31 (2), 265-273

Read entire article here

‘Safe’ Blood Lead Levels Can Cause Cognitive Deficits – (05-28-01)

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‘Safe’ Blood Lead Levels Can Cause Cognitive Deficits

I’ve mentioned before that heavy metals are a seldom-sought after component of many of today’s chronic diseases. This article suggests that, even at dosages generally considered “safe,” that IQ suffers in suseptable children. Think of todays’ “disordered” children with ADD and ADHD–could lead be a contributing factor? Vit C is known to reduce the absorption of lead from the GI tract–could todays’ kids be absorbing more lead because the intake of Vit C from fresh fruits and veggies is at an all time low? Personally, the concept of having a “safe” level of most heavy metals is beyond me. “Safe”, when it comes to the US Government, means that no obvious disease state occurs at that level of exposure.

Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Baltimore Lead can cause cognitive deficits in children even when blood levels are well below the officially sanctioned 10 µg/dL mark, according to study results presented Monday at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Baltimore. The concentration for defining lead intoxication has been lowered progressively from 60 µg/dL to 10 µg/dL over the past three decades, explained Dr. Bruce Lanphear from Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. But he described the choice of 10 µg as arbitrary, saying that it remains unclear whether lower levels are actually harmless. Dr. Lanphear and his associates measured blood lead levels during the first 5 years of life and IQ at 60 months in 276 children and adjusted their comparisons for factors with a recognized influence on child IQ (sex, birthweight, maternal IQ, in utero tobacco exposure, and so on). Dr. Lanphear reported that the mean blood lead level at 60 months was 6.1 µg/dL and the mean IQ was 90. The mean blood lead level rose from 1.9 µg/dL at 6 months of age to peak at 9.3 µg/dL at 24 months, when 33.8% of children had levels above the 10 µg/dL “safe” cutoff, Dr. Lanphear said. “There was a consistent inverse association between blood lead level and IQ,” Dr. Lanphear noted, “which proved statistically significant beginning at 36 months of age.” Overall, Dr. Lanphear said, there was a 5.7-point drop in IQ for each 10-µg/dL increase in blood lead level. But among children with lower lead levels, the effect of rising lead levels was more striking: an 11.5-point drop for those whose levels were initially below 10 µg/dL and more than a 15-point drop for children whose lead levels were initially below 5 µg/dL.

Pay Attention: Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine – (08-27-01)

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Pay Attention: Ritalin Acts Much Like Cocaine

Geez..do I really need to comment on this one? Just to reiterate…the numbers of kids diagnosed with ADD or ADHD has sky-rocketed, and the quick answer to these cases has been the use of psychoactive substances such as Ritalin. There are no long term studies to verify the safety of long term use. NONE. Myself and many others out there are not entirely convinced that this is even a problem. Sure, I would agree that many of the diagnosis given are accurate, but I would have to guess they are a minority. Programs such as the Feingold diet, which removes all added chemicals such as food additives, colourings and preservatives, have had good results in bringing the focus back in these children. And, as with many other natural therapies, there are no side effects, unless you consider overall improved health as a side effect.

Read entire article here

ADHD in Elementary School Children in North Carolina – (02-18-02)

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ADHD in Elementary School Children in North Carolina

If this article does not scare the daylights out of you, nothing in the realm of pharmaceuticals will. 10% of children were given the diagnosis of ADHD and 7% of all children are medicated. This is an incredibly high prevalence of a childhood “disorder” and raises huge issues. First, do these children really have a diagnosable condition? If they do, than is it a result of some abnormality during fetal development or is it a current deficiency (or exposure)? Big, big questions. Next, what of the impact on the 7% of kids who have been taught that drugs are okay? Do we really want to fool ourselves that these kids will be able to “just say no” to illicit drugs later in life? Will they (and can we) justify/rationalize the difference between prescription drugs and illicit drugs? I firmly believe that, while the ADD/ADHD diagnosis does exist, it is currently overdiagnosed at a tremendous rate by doctors who do not have the training and experience to properly label these children.

AJPH — Abstracts: Rowland et al. 92 (2): 231

Read entire article here 

Natural Help for ADHD: Brain Health Answers

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In the discussion and treatment of kids with ADHD, brain health never seems to come into play.

We talk about behaviors and medications and diagnosing these kids, but never about the critical aspect–improving the health of your child’s brain.

I am certainly willing to entertain the idea that things happen in the womb (specifically, epigenetic changes that modify the way DNA is expressed) due to stress, vitamin D deficiency, poor quality diets and toxic exposures.  I also believe that these changes are later ignited, if you will, by a secondary event such as vaccination or poor nutritional status.

Regardless of the cause or causes that we may all argue over, I’m pretty sure no one would argue that a brain-healthy lifestyle would be a bad approach.

So what does a “brain health lifestyle” look like for a young child?  It can include:

  • An unprocessed diet from of artificial food colorings and flavors (the Feingold diet).
  • Low or no stress (which starts with the parents).
  • Exercise (both physical and brain based).
  • Consistent intake of health fats found in wild caught fish, avocados, nuts and seeds.
  • Good night’s sleep.
  • Supplementation to include a multivitamin, vitamin D and fish oils.

Beyond that, there are additional supplements that may play a role in improving the brain health of your child.

This particular study looked at the ability of phosphatidylserine, a compound found in foods like soy, to improve ADHD symptoms in children, aged 4-14 years of age.  Phosphatidylserine is known to help stabilize the membrane of our brains cells, making them more effective at getting messages in and out when these messages are supposed to be moving in and outside.

Here’s what they found improvements in:

  1. ADHD, Attention disorder and hyperactivity disorder.
  2. Short-term auditory memory.
  3. Inattention (differentiation and reverse differentiation).
  4. Inattention and impulsivity

That’s a pretty impressive list for a single supplement, but keep in mind that this would merely be one tool in the list noted above of a brain-healthy lifestyle.  It is NOT a replacement for those other aspects.

If you have used phosphatidylserine with your child, did it seem to help?