Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food –Hippocrates

Although a significant number of studies are have found that “natural" treatments, can substantially improve the condition of ADD/ADHD patient, other than prescribed medicine, no other form of treatment is not recognized yet in the US. With this development, some health professionals are turning to behavioral and dietary interventions to cure this disorder. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration still only supports drug therapy as the treatment for ADD/ADHD.

The use of prescription medications to treat any type of disorder has been a relatively new development in terms of the practice of medicine. Although plant extracts and other holistic remedies have existed since the dawn of time, the ability of modern medicine to alter natural substances to form a chemical derivative that, in its final form, has absolutely nothing to do with the original material.

It is, however, very interesting that it was the advent of chemically-based foods, sweeteners, additives, and, yes, medications that signaled the advent of the ADD/ADHD “epidemic".

Are there any possible connections?

ADD/ADHD is a result of the appearance of chemical substance which has the ability to produce biochemical reactions within the body. It is then capable of altering the body’s functioning to elicit unnatural symptoms. All this of course is the result of changes in the environment change the natural bodily function.

The rise in cases of ADD/ADHD have risen in concurrence with the widespread usage of chemical additives, preservatives, and substances. This further testifies that natural malfunction of the human body is cannot the major cause of ADD/ADHD most cases. The toxin environment created by unnatural substances is what causes failure in for the body to function properly.

As the use of chemicals has increased, so have the rates of ADD/ADHD diagnoses.

The toxins introduced into the body of individuals which are more sensitive to extraneous toxins will generate very severe reactions. These toxins will not have very severe effects on individuals who are not sensitive to the allergens. This proves that not all of us have it in our body to have reactions on toxins.

The body of a highly sensitive individuals can react in a way such as developing symptoms like fidgeting, distractibility, impulsivity, hyperactivity, forgetfulness, and behavioral problems when placed in a toxin environment but if these individuals are removed form the environment then the symptom can be reduced or even disappear completely.

The issue of ADD/ADHD treatment is that many people knows that the toxin effecting sufferer of ADD/ADHD must be removed from them and this goes for removing the individuals from the toxic environment too but the vast number of us are still unclear about how to go about doing that. With the many non-medication method available today, prescribed medication should be the last choice in anyone seeking out ways to deal with this disorder.

It is found that many ADD/ADHD cases can be treated by managing the following issues:

- the nutritional needs of the individual

- Behavioral issues

- toxins that are currently in the patients environment

Most found that medications may not be needed after all even during emergencies.

Many researchers suspect, and are now investigating, the correlation between food allergies and behavioral problems. These researchers have gone so far as to suggest that more than 60% of individuals suspected of having ADD/ADHD might be “cured" by eliminating such toxins as sugar, artificial colors and preservatives, soy, milk, chocolate, wheat, some citrus fruits, and eggs from their diets.

To prove this theory, and to help determine which toxins might be responsible for ADD/ADHD-like behavior, experts suggest the implementation of an elimination diet. An elimination diet is conducted in the following manner:

1. One should eliminate straight away foods that are suspected to be accountable for the symptoms. For instance, if dairy products are the suspected culprit then take it of the diet and then, after symptoms have improved, one can introduce it back to the diet but just one at a time. If the symptom returns that you can identify which food caused it.

2. Start with foods that are usual suspects such as diary, wheat products, sugar, eggs, nuts, soy products, corn, and citrus fruits and juices.

3. Foods elimination can be carried out for the minimum time of two weeks. Breathing, and general health are monitored closely during this period.

4. Foods should then be introduced one at a time and for the period of three days minimum. Introducing food should be done at three days interval until a reaction appears.

5.Make sure to read food labels! Some products contain the offending foods as an ingredient and will produce a reaction.

Food diary is another method that can be used to detect food allergies. This method is done by recording all foods, beverages, snacks, candies, etc. that are consumed. This is also extended to inoffensive substances as gum, medications (even over the counter meds), and candies. Don’t forget to record down breathing, and general health in the diary as well as sleepin patterrns, activity levels, and attitude. Patterns should be detectable according to what was ingested at the end of the month.

Elimination diet is also a popular means to uncover toxins that may be responsible for many other conditions such as Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, general food allergies, Fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, and depression.