www.Drdanachurchill.com Natural Treatments for ADD and ADHD ADD and ADHD are treatable. Here are some methods I have employed to treat those with ADD and ADHD at Heartfelt Medicine with positive results. They can be applied individually but are most effective when applied together. ADD/ADHD Treatments Food Sensitivity The first step is to find and eliminate all food sensitivities (IgG) and allergies (IgE). I use several different labs to measure he food sensitivities. The blood is the best media to test. We can do a blood spot for kids ( only requires a quick finger stick). It is necessary to test for Candida (GI Health Panel) and usually there is a Gluten/Casein intolerance. Most cases I like to use Great Plains Lab for all the tests necessary. Dr. Shaw specializes in lab work for ADD/ADHA and Autism Spectrum Disorder, which Dr. Churchill treats very often too. All these can be eliminated with a very comprehensive rotation diet which the lab prepares for you and at the same time all the foods that you reacted to will be eliminated from the diet for 3 months. This gives the immune system enough time to re-set. I have seen many of the symptoms that my patients arrive with go away as a result of diet modification, because remember we are usually dealing with food sensitivities, not allergies, which the patients are fully aware of and avoid. On another note I have seen most of the women who undergo these tests and follow the diet lose many pounds just from eliminating the foods that their immune systems have become intolerant of. This is a mechanism that involves cortisol and our metabolic systems. Detox and reinoculate with probiotics: GI tract First do comprehensive GI Health Panel: ( Blue Cross usually covers this 100%) You have to completely clean up the GI tract, kill all pathogens (using herbal tinctures and teas like gentian and worm wood, Biocidin Advanced Botanical tincture…) and stop bad bacterial overgrowth. You then re-seed and feed the GI tract with good bacteria and food that the enterocytes like to eat (pre and pro-biotics). We also have to eliminate all inflammation causing factors in the gut, and this is done using a number of Nutraceuticals, botanical tinctures, teas, and super foods, especially E-3 Live. This will stop any leaky gut syndrome also known as intestinal permeability food particles from entering the blood stream so that the immune system will stop attacking the body where ever these particles land on (they can and do cross the blood brain barrier, and are therefore harmful). Eliminate Harmful Pharmaceuticals Take out any pharmaceuticals causing any kind of GI inflammation (antibiotics and non-steroidal antiinflammatories are two of the worst causes). Check for Nutritional Deficiencies You can do a Nutritional PE for nutritional deficiencies using Dr. Russel Marz’s extensive health history PE and or SpectraCell’s Functional Intracellular Analysis of vitamins (both lipid and water soluble), minerals, antioxidants, amino acids and carbohydrate metabolism and fatty acid metabolites or use our in house lab machine called Solaris Body Composition Analyzer, using the patient’s own urine and saliva in 10 minutes. Apply Herbal Remedies To improve memory, cognition, decrease restlessness, lessen distractions, difficulty listening and improve the ability to finish tasks, I use a combination of herbs. I have found the best herbs for treating ADD and ADHD are Rhodiola in fairly high doses, as well as Ashwaganda, Gotu cola, Eleuthrococcus, and Rosemary. Apply Homeopathy The most comprehensive way to assess and treat this disorder is using homeopathy. I will not give any specific remedies here because you have to undergo a proper constitutional intake with a trained homeopath to find a remedy specific for each case. I use the spider remedies quite a bit, which many kids think is really cool. Tarantula Hispanica is the main theme for this remedy and is used to treat overstimulation of the nervous system. There are others such as Theridien or Aranea and a non-spider nosode that works great is called Tuberculinum. Using any one of these remedies can usually result in everything slowing down. As a result the mind can work much more efficiently and many of the self esteem issues that cause these kids and sometimes adults to be very self conscious will go away, and they will once again feel confident and trust their abilities to perform tasks that most of us take for granted. Homeopathy is so important in helping the patient heal because it addresses the mental emotional component in the case. At the very least it can decrease stress that can impair memory and or cognition through regulation of the adrenal/pituitary axis. Another way to do this is to look at the family dynamics. The parents or care givers can be exerting a lot of pressure on the child for any number of reasons; this can lead to increased stress which in turn can decrease memory and or cognition. I have given one or both of the parents a remedy in a few cases and then the child progressed quite nicely. Recognize Their Inherent Intelligence and Abilities One final note… ADD and ADHD diagnosed people are usually highly intelligent, hence the perpetual boredom. They can truly see things in a different light compared to the rest of us and have great and innovative ideas. Put in the correct environment and work position they can be extremely productive and give any company or business a competitive edge in creativity and design. Now many companies are actively seeking individuals with ADD for their marketing and design departments. Many of the most successful people in the world are ADD. So be kind to yourself and give yourself a pat on the back! By Dr. Dana Churchill, a Naturopathic physician in LA and La Jolla