ADHD

What is ADHD?
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have become common among children in recent years and may be accompanied by learning difficulties, stress and depression. It is thought that the conditions affect between 3-9% of school and young children in the UK.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms may also include poor co-ordination, inability to concentrate, restlessness, aggression, excitable, impulsive, risk-taking, lack of self-regulation, low tolerance of failure and frustration, failure at school despite normal or high IQ, clumsiness, mood swings, inappropriate emotional reactions, poor sleeping, fatigue, digestive problems and visual perception problems. Boys are more likely to suffer from ADD or ADHD than girls.
What are the causes?
· Food and chemical sensitivity
· High sugar consumption and blood sugar imbalances. Studies consistently report that hyperactive children have higher sugar consumption than calmer children and reducing sugar has been found to halve disciplinary actions in young offenders.
· Soft drink addiction: most soft drinks contain large quantities of sugar and some may also contain caffeine.
· Nutritional deficiencies, particularly essential fatty acids, vitamins B (especially B6) and C and the minerals zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium.
· Heavy metal toxicity
· Disordered thyroid function
· Liver detoxification problems
· Gut infection, leaky gut, dysbiosis
· Serotonin deficiency
· Genetic susceptibility