To Your Health

Q: My 9-year old son is very active and somewhat easily distracted, so much so that I worry his teachers will someday suggest Ritalin or some other medication to control his behavior. If he really is ADHD, are there alternatives?

A: A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) have become serious problems in the past few decades, and there must be some reason. Dr. Benjamin Feingold was convinced that the salicylates occurring naturally in certain foods and the artificial colors and other chemical additives common in the modern diet contributed to hyperactivity in some children. He devised a diet, which bears his name, that excluded them. The spotty success of his approach may be due to the difficulty in following the diet as strictly as he advised, but another possibility involves sugar intake. In his original investigations, sugar was rather severely limited, but by the time his diet became popular, this was a minor and often ignored aspect of the restrictions. The diet was difficult enough to enforce when only food additives and a few select fruits and vegetables were avoided, but when sugar was removed it became too onerous for all but the most dedicated parents. Sometimes neither the parents nor the children could bear the psychological burden of being so different from their peers, and as a result the diet was often abandoned in favor of medication.

Medications of any sort may be used to "buy some time" while you find the root cause of a problem. However, if the remedy for that root cause is overwhelming, another remedy will be sought. It appears that this is the case with A.D.D. and ADHD. The best remedy seems to be a radical reduction in both sugar and foods with artificial ingredients, such as "convenience" foods. The problem is that some parents (and probably all the children) consider the cure worse than the disease. Starting early and remaining determined will make the endeavor more manageable.

The "Feingold list" of "forbidden" vegetables and fruits is available in his books and from the national Feingold Association on the Internet (www.feingold.org). The group's free newsletter also keeps a running tally of commercially available foods that are additive-free.

Besides the Feingold hypothesis, there is some evidence that sensitivity to ordinary foods such as wheat, eggs, and milk trigger hyperactivity. Dr. William Crook's classic book Tracking Down Hidden Food Allergies (Professional Books, 1980) helps in identifying such potentially offending foods that are not on Feingold's list. The news that a common food is the culprit does not necessarily mean that the diet is any easier to follow, but this information could be vitally important.

Nutritionally, the distant second best to the rigid diets would be a supplement of certain essential fatty acids (EFAs). Both gamma linolenic acid found in borage seed oil and the omega-3 EFAs found primarily in fish oils tend to reduce the body's overreaction to certain chemicals in foods. Modest supplements of magnesium, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and inositol, plus a good multivitamin/mineral, help maintain balance among the nutrients.

In addition, it is worthwhile to check for lead toxicity. This is best done with hair mineral analysis. Your child may also benefit from deep massage or other methods of "body work." Some children respond well to increased exercise or martial arts training. Consider music and dance lessons to calm your child.

Listen to your child's verbal and nonverbal communications to find the solution that is best for him or her.