So many kids today have been diagnosed as having Attention Deficit / hyperactivity disorder. When this happens many youngsters are put on drugs that may do more damage than benefit. What is a parent to do besides suffer together with their youngsters? Look into alternative answers ; natural answers. Plenty of the youngsters I grew up with who were prescribed these medicines either sold them or took them in a way the tablets were not intended to be taken.

How can this cycle of prescribing drugs with side effects from suicidal thoughts and anorexia to substance abuse be useful to youngsters whose bodies are still developing? Is there a better, more natural way to make a contribution in these kids' lives?

The proverb, you are what you eat, is very true. Hence what precisely are youngsters eating now-a-days which make them more subject to hyperactive afflictions? What can be removed from their diets or added, that would help how their bodies process nutrient elements and information.

every year between three and 10% of college aged kids are diagnosed as having Attention Deficit / hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ), a. K. A hyperactivity. Most of these youngsters are at present being treated with drugs.

And these drugs have complications - starting from comparatively minor ( loss of appetite, weightloss, insomnia and mood swings ) to major ( suicidal thoughts, insane behavior and drug abuse ).

So it is only natural for parents to ask whether there's a more holistic angle that they could follow and, more specifically, whether diet could make a difference.

to respond to that question lets start by taking a look at only one aspect of children's diets - the accelerating prevalence of synthetic food colors and additives in the diet. The average kid today is consuming over 10 pounds of food additives every year!

the concept that food additions - especially synthetic colours and additives - could be responsible for hyperactivity was first raised by Dr. Ben Feingold over thirty years back. He invented the Feingold Diet - a diet that was freed from synthetic food colours, chemicals and other synthetic food additions.

Some tiny scale clinical trials suggested that the diet could be successful and millions of parents utilised the diet for their hyperactive kids with great success.

But the medical authorities pooh-poohed the Feingold Diet. They illustrated that when parents are putting their kid on a special diet they also are giving that child more attention - and it might be the parent's increased attention that decreased the child's hyperactive behaviour.

They also indicated when you eliminate food additions from the diet you are decreasing the "junk" food and increasing fresh fruit and vegetables - in short the child's diet is much healthier.

So eventually the Feingold Diet lost acceptance but the assumption synthetic food colours & preservatives might trigger hyperactivity has declined to go.

actually a couple of up to date studies have significantly strengthened the connection between synthetic ingredients and hyperactivity.

The first study was a meta-analysis of fifteen previous studies having a look at the consequences of artificial food colors and additives on hyperactivity ( book of developmental & behaviour Pediatrics, twenty-five : 423-434, 2004 ).

This meta-analysis concluded that synthetic food colours & preservatives caused an increase in hyperactivity in 28% of the youngsters tested.

just about all the children in those previous studies were selected for the study because they'd been diagnosed as hyperactive ( ADHD ).

however , a rather more fresh study looked at 297 children from Southampton Britain who had not been diagnosed as hyperactive ( Lancet, 370 : 1560-1567, 2007 ).

After a 8 week elimination phase in which artificial food colours and additives were removed from their diets, they were given an one week challenge consisting of fruit juice containing one of two different mixes of 4 synthesised food colors and the preservative sodium benzoate or a placebo.

The quantity of synthetic food colours and sodium benzoate in the fruit juice drinks was designed to match the average amount found in the English diet ( which isn't all that different from the American diet ).

Once more, the results were clear. The quantity of synthesised food colours and preservatives found in the typical child's diet will trigger hyperactivity in many youngsters.

So what does that imply to you if you've a hyperactive kid? Could the straightforward act of dumping synthesised colors, flavors & preservatives from your child's diet eliminate hyperactivity and give you back that calm, sweet kid that you like?

The available data suggest that removing synthetic food additives from your child's diet can make a contribution in their behavior, but I have a tendency to side with pros who suggest that a holistic approach is best.

Eliminating food additions from your child's diet is important, but also make sure the diet is a healthy one, that your youngster is getting all of the nutrients that they want and they are getting all of the attention and support that they need .