Is there an herb for ADD?

[tjporter]

I’m wondering if there is an herb/s that helps people with ADD? – something that maybe can get them off medication they are taking for it!

[Fey]

I wouldn’t try any medication or herbs until they had taken sugar, horrible, disgusting corn syrup, and all grains out of their diet for at least two weeks. Even the numbers in foods linked to these. Instant coffee, table salt, artificial smoke used in flavouring meats all have gluten traps in them.

It’s shocking the amount of diseases caused by grains and sugar (and horrible, disgusting corn syrup). :rant:

There are plenty of herbs that clear the mind and calm the person, but any possible causes have to be addressed first.

Just as a thought; does anyone here think that Gandhi had ADD? He drank Rauwolfia all the time. I think it’s been banned as a medication because of the reserpine content. That’s pretty serious stuff. Why would he drink that when he had Ashwagandha growing around him?

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

I agree with Fey. Clean up the diet and see what happens first.

Doc

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[IdahoHerbalist]

You also need to remove ALL artificial food colorings and additives as well as ALL GMO foods from the diet.

I am sorry, that really does mean eating like our ancestors did: raw and/or all natural and NO processed foods. It is amazing how much health improves when we eat that way.

[Fey]

I just found this today; it would be interesting to see how it works. Usually alternative medications are done with stimulants (strange) like coffee.

Product Description

Baical Skullcap is sometimes known as Golden Root. An attractive plant whose medicinal action sometimes resembles Goldenseal. Traditional use of roots (Huang-qin) in China are as an external remedy for boils and herpes. Highly regarded for its anti-viral, antibacterial and fever-reducing effects. In North America the roots are currently used internally as a remedy for allergies, attention deficit disorder (ADD), chronic fatigue syndrome and stress. Baical Skullcap is native to eastern Asia and prefers a medium well drained soil in a sunny position. Produces spikes of purple blue flowers in summer. Frost and drought resistant. A perennnial plant growing to 0.4m x 0.3m.

[IdahoHerbalist]

A LOT of ADD medications are actually stimulants! Seems that ADD brains process them differently OR it allows the rest of the processes to speed up to the part that is hypering out. :blink:

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

IdahoHerbalist wrote: A LOT of ADD medications are actually stimulants! Seems that ADD brains process them differently OR it allows the rest of the processes to speed up to the part that is hypering out. :blink:

Ritalin is a brain stimulant. One of my adopted kids has significant ADD. Caffeine knocks him out.

Doc

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[Fey]

Remember that caffeine can be dangerous and some of the plants that contain it can be poisonous (especially the Ilex family)

Which plants contain caffeine?

The following table shows the eight major sources of caffeine…

Source Plant Part Approx. caffeine Major sites of Popular mode of

by % of weight cultivation today consumption

Coffee bean Seed 1.1 (arabica) – Brazil, Colombia Coffee

(Coffea arabica 2.2 (robusta)

and Coffea robusta)

Tea Leaf, bud 3.5 India, China Tea

(Camellia sinensis)

Cacao Seed 0.03 West Africa, Brazil Cocoa and

(Theobroma cacao) chocolate products

Cola nut Seed 1.5 West Africa Chewing cola nuts

(Cola acuminata, and cola tree

Cola nitida)

Mate Leaf <0.7 South America Yerba mate

(Ilex paraguariensis)

Yaupon Leaf, berry (unknown) (not cultivated) Cassina

(Ilex cassine,

Ilex vomitoria)

Guarana Seed >4 Brazil Soft drinks and

(Paulinia capana) guarana bars

Yoco Bark 2.7 South America Yoco tea

[Fey]

I was thinking…. If people with ADD take stimulants to calm down, what effect are the stimulants having on the adrenals? Should they be taking stimulants but at the same time taking adrenal support herbs….which are anxiolytic?

I’m beginning to think that the big adaptogens would be the best thing for ADD.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Fey wrote: I was thinking…. If people with ADD take stimulants to calm down, what effect are the stimulants having on the adrenals? Should they be taking stimulants but at the same time taking adrenal support herbs….which are anxiolytic?

I’m beginning to think that the big adaptogens would be the best thing for ADD.

Exactly, just because the ADD brain is wired in reverse doesn’t mean that any of the other organs are. Over use of stimulants has its own risks.

Patrick

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

[Laurie]

As a mom of a family of 7 in which we all have adhd, and as the current owner/moderator of an adhd forum that started in the 1990s, I feel that I can add something here.

I agree that a clean/whole foods diet (processed foods free) is essential. We have been doing so for 14 years now & counting. We started with baby steps and built on it from there. It can take up to 3 months to see changes, but it can be as little as 1 week. You have to be committed & not do it willy-nilly to see the most results. I have learned to do everything from scratch, however more clean/whole foods are available in the stores than when we first started our journey and that helps. It can save you money, which you can then put toward organic produce (if you do not garden) that you otherwise not have been able to afford.

Nothing will cure add or adhd, but it will certainly make it more manageable. We do not go grain free. We do not go dairy free (we consume whole raw milk…we have a few cows). We did go salicylate free for a few years.

Each person is different. Some may be able to go synthetic additive free and have that be enough. Others need to go further with no salicylates, some need to watch dairy (due to additives), and I know of those who have gone further yet (grains, etc). But…if you do go so far as to go grain free and you think gluten is a problem, you might want to try an ancient grain that celiacs can consume safely called Emmer wheat. You will find it used in the Mediterranean a lot. It is available here as well if you look. It is generally grown organically, which is ideal. I believe many problems are caused by the high synthetic content (result of sprays) of the grains in modern times. It will affect the germination & DNA of the seed (as stated by a neighbor conventional seed grower).

The additives that we avoid are (big list here): the alphabet additives BHA, BHT, TBHQ; FD&C colors, tartrazine or yellow #5, artificial colors, artificial flavors, sodium benzoate, nitrates/nitrates and a few other full name preservatives. We also do not consume corn syrup (in its many sometimes hidden forms), soy, fake sugars (zylitol & some stevia products are not good either), nor msg in its many hidden forms. We eat raw (not runny brown burnt) honey. The processed honey acts as cornsyrup would in your body. We eat reduced sugar (at least by 1/2).

Feingold.org (non-profit) has very good advice about diet. They have some free and some paid resources that are especially useful to those of you in the US (I’m from Canada).

For some folks, there is a really bad trigger food. In one of our children, tartrazine (yellow #5) made her go from Jekyll to Hyde within 15 minutes and it lasted for 1 intense day followed by a day of crying. I suffered from inner rage or intense graphic nightmares when I ate certain additives. Some people get migraines.

If you cut these things out, you will find that food tastes way more awesome than you have ever tasted it before! We found that certain other health or behavioral “issues” we had vanished…a bonus! :yahoo:

We also only use natural cleaners (vinegar and Borax are both excellent, as is homemade laundry detergent) and we only invite real, natural scents into our home…nothing fake…or go unscented.

Some people have used omega 3, B complex, magnesium/calcium and tyrosine. Tyrosine can cause agitation/anger issues so be careful with it. If you can find some of these good things through herbs, it would be interesting to know where they are found and possible interactions…Doc?

I have all sorts of recipes if you need to find a great substitute for something that you may have to “give up”, although most should be easily found through an online search. I can even post the most simple, effective, inexpensive deodorant recipe & a great tooth powder recipe if you want one. 🙂

As for the stimulants, they speed up the brain so much that it actually goes into overdrive and can mess with the creative present mind. They may appear to work, but they are best avoided in all cases. Changing diet, learning coping mechanisms, sleep, giving lots of opportunity for movement while schooling and otherwise (we do judo), and a tailored hands on, interactive schooling curriculum (homeschooling!!!) helps a lot. All these things are work…not easy like a pill, but the benefits are worth it.

Sorry this got long, but I want to help others as I can in these situations.

1 user thanked author for this post.

AgnesRose

[IdahoHerbalist]

A LOT of the no go foods you mention are GMO or GMO derived “foods.”

[Laurie]

You can’t beat the real thing. 🙂

Yes, soy and corn are mainly GMO. GMO wheat is not yet grown in North America. Conventional dairy cows usually have a high GMO diet, but in the case of milk, higher fat milks are recommended (as it still has more nutritional benefit and often no synthetic additives). Ultra pasteurized and those milks that are even more highly processed should not be considered whatsoever because there is absolutely no good left anyway.

The main idea is to eat real and not industrially processed foods. A raw foods diet is not necessary. There are a fad diets that claim to be add/adhd diets, but if you take a step back and compare the common component, you will see that the synthetic additives that I have mentioned are the key. Organic is not necessary either (it is not part of the Feingold plan), but of course I highly recommend to do what you can…even grow it yourself! :love:

The reaction to the additives is considered a sensitivity, but we view the reaction as an allergic reaction. Those parents we know who have dealt with life threatening allergies confirmed our thoughts. BTW, consuming these things effects everyone and can make some people appear to have adhd, even when they do not. We would all do well to eat smarter.

[Author]

Posts