Attention, Please! - Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 1999

Ritalin is prescribed almost reflexively to treat attention deficit disorders. But there are safer, gentler alternatives

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is a problem of grave concern, and a source of great confusion, to the millions of children, parents and teachers whose lives are disrupted by it. Technically, it's not one disorder but rather an umbrella term the American Psychiatric Association has given to the three recognizable subtypes, or forms, of the disorder: inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive. Still, the disorder is commonly referred to as AD/HD and we typically think of the AD/HD child as having difficulties focusing, concentrating and sitting still as well as being aggressive, defiant, overly emotional, resistant to discipline and accident-prone.

Studies indicate that AD/HD children usually have normal or even above-average IQs, yet there's a tendency for the condition to be present along with learning disabilities, such as language-processing problems or memory disorders. Consequently, the AD/HD child is often relegated to special-education classes. To ease the symptoms, doctors almost reflexively put the child on Ritalin, a stimulant medication that usually provides fast and effective relief but comes with a host of drawbacks. There's a new wave of researchers who ardently believe that AD/HD should not be treated with Ritalin alone (and perhaps not with Ritalin at all), because the disorder is actually a manifestation of biochemical disturbances that can be corrected by cleaning up your child's diet and environment. The following is an excerpt from a new book by certified nutritionist Marcia Zimmerman, called The A.D.D. Nutrition Solution: A Drug-Free 30-Day Plan (Henry Holt, 1999).

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is the fastest-growing childhood disorder in the United States. According to information published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in November 1996, an astounding 5 to 7 percent of American children and teens--approximately 4 million, 80 percent of whom are boys are believed to suffer from attention deficits. In some areas of the country, about half of all students are labeled as victims of this mentally disabling disorder. In addition, another 13 million adults are believed to suffer from it, bringing the total to a staggering 17 million Americans who battle the condition on a daily basis.

The treatment most often recommended for alleviating AD/HD symptoms is stimulant medication, most commonly methylphenidate (Ritalin, manufactured by Novartis). According to several government research institutes, 80 percent of the children taking it will continue to need it as adolescents and 50 percent of them into adulthood. The United States consumes five times more Ritalin than the rest of the world combined. Consumption of the drug has grown over 600 percent in the past decade from 50 million pills in 1986 to 350 million in 1996, with sales revenues totaling nearly half a billion dollars annually.

And yet, while Ritalin has helped thousands, many specialists agree that use of stimulant medication alone is not the answer because even though it may offer practically instant relief, it does not address the source of the problem. Treating the cause involves behavioral and nutritional modification, courses of action that take longer to be effective but that offer lasting results. Furthermore, medication often produces unwanted--and sometimes dangerous--side effects, including insomnia, slowed growth, facial tics, depression, a decreased zest for life and liver damage. Most professionals agree that Ritalin should never be the only course of treatment used, even if it is the most convenient.

Thomas Achenbach, Ph.D., stated the issue clearly in an article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in May 1995. "An important question for physicians to consider is whether stimulant medication alone results in more harm than benefit to the child and his family, since it may convince the parents that the child is receiving adequate treatment and divert attention from the need for treatment aimed at other associated disabilities such as poor self-image, antisocial behavior and learning disabilities."

Furthermore, the statistics on the single-treatment approach to AD/HD do not show significant long-term success. Despite the use of stimulant medication in childhood, many adolescents continue to have major attention deficit symptoms as well as academic, emotional or social problems without additional treatment methods.

Environmental Factors

In the 1960s, Rachel Carson warned us of the harm we were doing to our environment with pesticides in her now-classic Silent Spring (Houghton Mifflin, 1962). Today there are hundreds of studies demonstrating the harmful effects of pesticides and heavy metals on the development of the fetus and young child, yet only a handful address the question of neurological problems. But despite the lack of conclusive research, it is reasonable to assume that substances that can cause visible damage to a fetus or child can injure the brain as well.