ADHD DrugFree Solutions Blog

What an advertising slogan for these drinks!  I’m sure they don’t include this in their advertising material…

In a previous posting, we looked at what your child could be drinking, here we’ll continue that topic.

It’s surprising really that there are only 20 worst drinks, and even more surprising that some obvious drinks are conspicuously missing.   The basis of this list of drinks is their sugar and saturated fat content.

While these are two things we want our children to avoid drinking, there are other dangers lurking in some beverages – such as chemicals that can alter the genetics of a growing body, and cause cancers to form.

We won’t get into that now though.  Here we’re focused on the 20 worst drinks and what they compare to.  For example, it would appear that 1 bottle of Sunkist soda has the sugar equivalent of 6 Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches.
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This is not strictly for children or adults with ADHD symptoms, but it is so important that we have included it here.

We are both strong proponents of supplementing our close-as-possible organic eating and drinking habits with vitamin and mineral supplements. To make sure we stay abreast with current research, we subscribe to several websites / organisations who give their subscribers the latest research in foods and supplementation.

One of these websites is Credence run by Phillip Day of the UK – go to Sitemap and check out ‘Latest’ for past newsletters. We had the pleasure of attending one of Phillip’s information sessions during one of his frequent visits to Brisbane. If he ever comes to where you live, do go and hear him, you will be amazed. You can find his speaking schedule by going to his website.

One of his latest newsletter articles contains a link to a video which is a must-see for everyone. I’ve taken the following verbatim from his newsletter. Here is the link for the video. If you are having trouble with the link, here is the URL:

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We all crave recognition and praise at some point in our lives, and winning an award is possibly one of the best feelings a child can experience.

There are some awards however, that aren’t so desirable… Such as the 20 Worst Drinks in America 2010.  The list is nothing short of remarkable, with some well known beverages on the list.  Even a version of water makes it onto this not-so-fabulous list!

The list compares the amount of sugar and saturated fat in the drinks, to highly sugary sweets such as donuts, and popsicles.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the saying “you are what you eat”.  This now brings new meaning to that, adding “you are what you drink” to the ever growing list of catch phrases.
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I’m sure you are like us in that you believe in the value of juicing as well as eating fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Over the years, we have found that, although supermarket chains are stocking more and more organic fresh produce and products, there is cause for concern as to how organic they actually are.

We came across this article from Dr Joseph Mercola  recently which was disturbing.

And now, only a couple of days ago, we came across this research article that talks about pesticide contamination of sprayed fresh fruit and vegetables.

I used to have ADHD symptoms and my daughter had ADD symptoms, and although we have not shown these symptoms for a long time, having applied the various non-drug methods that we have written about in the Ebooks we have written and in the books that we have had published, we still eat organic as much as possible.
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Following is a very relevant article with more and more foods being subjected to pesticide spraying, pesticide-filled storage and pesticide-ridden soils.

All the more reason to check out other options for home products from kitchen and bathroom products to skin and body care to baby products, supplements and so on.  No need to go to a supermarket or elsewhere to buy potentially contaminated products.

Also all the more reason to buy organic foods, and then eat them as raw as possible, and so on.
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Fructose is the sugar found in fruit.

To understand the negative relevance of fructose in the diet, it is necessary to first talk about uric acid.

Uric acid is a waste product left over from metabolism of chemical compounds called purines that can be found in some of the foods commonly consumed by many people today.

Low purine diets are extremely helpful in lowering levels of uric acid in the body, and will usually involve reducing or cutting out foods that have high levels of purines.

It’s been known that meats and purine* rich foods can raise uric acid, but it turns out that one of the most potent ways to raise uric acid is via fructose!
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The popularity of agave syrup, also called agave nectar, is amazing — thanks to clever marketing agave syrup is positioned as a healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.

• Agave products more than tripled in number between 2003 and 2007.
• McCormick & Co., a major food manufacturer, placed agave syrup in its “top 10
  fla­vours” list for 2009.

Agave can now be found in prepared tea, energy and “health” drinks, nutrition bars, desserts, and other food items typically found in health food stores.

Agave is also quickly crossing over from the health food market to mainstream grocery chains, and consumers (especially vegans and raw food enthusiasts) to replace  other sweeteners, like honey.

Why is agave syrup popular?
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I came across an article just a few days ago that I felt was worth sharing with you.

As you know, we are for drugfree options to dealing with the symptoms of ADHD and this article talks about herbs that can be used for just this purpose.

Here is what it says:

“There are dependable and effective options to conventional prescription stimulant medicines and other conventional prescription ADHD/ADD medicinal drugs. Herbs for ADHD/ADD can be used along with other things like lifestyle as well as diet program adjustments, dietary supplements and herbal cures. Numerous people are finding that these things may be especially effective for addressing ADHD in addition to ADD.

Standard alternative and natural ADHD/ADD treatment system with many alternative and natural health care providers consists of specific diet alterations. Food chemicals are frequently a partial cause of problems as are food allergies or sensitivities, which are located and removed from the diet.
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A study was undertaken at Osijek University Hospital, Croatia about zinc deficiencies in children with ADHD.

The following is is a summary of the findings. 
 
Zinc is an essential cofactor of more than 100 enzymes, which are necessary in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fatty acids, proteins and nucleic acids.

It is an important factor in the metabolism of neurotransmitters, prostaglandins, and for maintaining brain structure and function. Dopamine is one of the most important factors in the pathophysiology of hyperactivity disorder, and the hormone melatonin has an important role in the regulation of dopamine.
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The following article was published by Juliana Campbell, Daily Titan staff Reportter on 1 March 2010.

It talks about the downsides to energy pills and study-enhancing drugs such as Adderall.

I’ve placed the complete article in this posting but you can see the original here.

The concern is that many ADHD children are prescribed Adderall, and these side effects could be more harmful on a child.  The article deals with the side effects on an adult.

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