6-year-old girl with ADHD
We have an exuberant 6-year-old girl with ADHD. She has a never-ending drive for attention and has trouble working in a group. She wants to read (she is unable to read or even recognize letters) and have friends more than anything. Her self-esteem is slipping. We have encouraged her to develop her talent for sports. Sports build her confidence, yet they do not improve her ability to get along with her peers. The school psychiatrist recommended that she take Ritalin, but I’ve since discovered that wheat is the main cause of her hyperactivity. What can we do to help her improve things like her short-term memory?
answer:
This may be too complicated to answer in a few short paragraphs, but I can get you started. You have found that wheat is a downer for her. You might also notice that other foods can produce neurological symptoms: Milk, soy, corn, eggs, chocolate, shellfish and nuts are some foods to watch. If she had ear infections as an infant, milk may be like a poison to her. If she took antibiotics for the infections, she may be struggling with the yeast infection candidiasis.
Under a nutritionally oriented—or ordiomolecular—physician’s guidance, try Ritalin for a few days as a diagnostic tool. If Ritalin normalizes her symptoms, you know that her difficulties are caused by biochemical problems that can be solved with nutrition. Ritalin may show benefits in as little as an hour.
Vitamin B6 helps with memory. If she cannot remember even small parts of her dreams, she needs about 25 to 50 mg of B6 daily for a week or so. Is she ticklish, goosey or sensitive? These characteristics usually stem from a magnesium deficiency. A lack of magnesium shortens the attention span and slows learning ability. Does she have good and bad days or hours—okay in the morning but a terror in the afternoon? Such behavior is caused by blood-sugar fluctuations. However, sugar is not the only culprit; blood sugar fluctuates when you eat foods that you are sensitive to.
Your daughter’s situation may also respond to homeopathy.
Did she crawl and creep on the floor as an infant? Research indicates that if a baby did not get that kind of stimulation as an infant, reading skills are harder to obtain.