Heavy Metal linked to ADHD
By Paulette Roscoe
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is a term that covers a wide variety of symptoms. The most common ones are poor attention span, a tendency to be easily distracted, failure to finish a task before moving on to the next idea, and low tolerance to stress resulting in emotional outbreaks.
If symptoms of restlessness, impatience, and short emotional fuses are added to that mix then a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD) is given. ADD and ADHD are two different disorders. I am going to discuss these two syndromes separately but it’s important to recognize that factors and treatments relevant to one may also apply to the other.
In the last two decades I have seen the incidence of these two syndromes rise and it is now estimated that five per cent of our children are affected with boys outnumbering girls by seven to one.
Many parents and medical researchers have been puzzled by the rise of ADD and ADHD. There have been very few studies on the direct cause. Some postulations include oxygen deprivation in the fetus at birth, food additives, heavy metal toxicity especially lead, food sensitivities, poor nutritional status, and repeated use of antibiotics. Vaccinations also pose a big question mark.
Learning disabilities often have four factors that seem relevant to this syndrome. Often ADD can be a processing problem in children who are using the right side of their brains instead of the left. Our school system is based on left brain learning with an emphasis on logical thinking and auditory and visual learning. Right brain learning is more the tactile kind - learning by the hands. These children are usually very creative and their ability to sing, draw or play an instrument is quite high.
Because these children are often quite bright their learning style differences can be hidden until the fourth or fifth grade when school becomes more linear and paper and the blackboard are used more. Sometimes these children should not be labeled as learning disabled but rather as having learning differences.
Other factors to note with ADD children are that ear infections, heavy metal toxicity and nutrient deficiency may play a role. Children with moderate to severe hearing loss tend to have poor speech and language development, lowered general intelligence scores and learning difficulties. Current and frequent ear infections have been reported to be twice as common in learning disabled children as in non-learning disabled.
Many studies have shown a strong correlation between childhood learning disabilities and the body’s stores of heavy metal. Hair analysis of heavy metal toxicity, though imperfect, is still the best evaluator of high levels of mercury, lead and copper. Of these three heavy metals lead has the highest correlation to ADD.
Any nutrient deficiency can result in impaired brain function. Iron deficiency is often one of the most common ones and can be associated with decreased attentiveness and attention span. A study in The Lancet showed that supplementation with a multi-vitamin and mineral increased non-verbal intelligence in small children. Our food today, even organic food, tends to be depleted in vitamins and minerals. Vitamins are especially important to brain and nervous system functioning. B6, B12, zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium are the most important ones. Low levels of these nutrients in the diet will not allow the brain to function properly.
In my next article, I’ll write about ADD with hyperactivity.
Dr. Paulette Roscoe is a naturopathic physician who practices in Nanaimo. She welcomes your calls at 250-754-1733.
This article first appeared in the Nov/Dec’08 issue of the Herbal Collective. www.herbalcollective.ca
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
For the brain nutrition, let me share this with you:
Vitamin C is an antioxidant and it prevents damage leading to different types of diseases.
Vitamin B can improve our thinking ability.
Vitamin E can help preserve brain function and protect nerve-cell degeneration. It is also one of the important antioxidants that our brain needs.
Carbohydrates are good for the brain, because they contain Glucose which are known as the brain fuel. It gives off energy for us to concentrate, remember, learn, and other activities.
Then there’s your protein. Amino acids are obtained from protein. Neurotransmitters need those amino acids to relay or become a messenger from one nerve cell to another. A high protein meal can make us feel energized because it increases the tyrosine levels of our brain and blood. Tyrosine and tryptophan are some of the different types of amino acids. And because tyrosine can make us become more energized, our brain can concentrate more.