A Drug-Free Approach to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD.

For as long as you can remember, you've been easily distracted, chronically forgetful, restless, disorganized, and impulsive. Your work and relationships have suffered. In short, you're an adult with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Since this is a problem that out-of-control kids are famous for, you go to your doctor seeking the medication that's prescribed for millions of youngsters with ADHD. The obliging physician writes you a prescription for. . .Cocaine.

Well, actually, it's methylphenidate (Ritalin), a drug so nearly identical to cocaine that the two are used interchangeably in medical research. And, like cocaine, the "benefits" of
Ritalin are a mirage.

"Ritalin and similar stimulant-type drugs used to treat the symptoms that are called ADHD simply snuff out vitality, curiosity, imagination, and sociability-all the higher mental functions-and replace them with narrowly focused obsessive behavior," says Peter R. Breggin, MD., director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology in Bethesda, Maryland.

In other words, Ritalin helps you focus-by turning you into a robot. There are better, natural ways for adults to deal with the symptoms of ADHD (also called ADD, for attention deficit disorder). Dr. Breggin looks for the cause of the person's distraction, which could be anxiety, lack of confidence, a brain injury, or other factors.

And Mary Ann Block, D.O., an osteopathic physician at the Block Center in Dallas-Fort Worth, believes that diet holds the key.

FOOD: Eat Every 2 Hours
Aggression. Nervousness. Agitation. Anxiety. Those typical ADHD symptoms are also symptoms of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, says Dr. Block. "Blood sugar, or glucose, is the body's primary fuel, and low blood sugar is the most significant problem I find in people with the behavioral symptoms of ADHD," she says. There is, however, an easy way to avoid low blood sugar and help clear up the symptoms of ADHD. Just follow this rule: Never let yourself get hungry.
"Always carry food with you and eat every 2 hours," says Dr. Block.

By eating often during the day, you keep blood sugar on an even keel.
She recommends breakfast, a midmorning snack, lunch, a midafternoon snack, dinner, and a bedtime snack.

And be sure to include some protein with each meal and snack. "Protein will break down slowly in the body and help keep blood sugar levels stable," she says. Good-for-you protein foods include chicken, turkey, fish, low-fat dairy products, beans, and nuts and seeds.

SUGAR: How Sweet It Isn't
High-sugar foods such as candy, cake, pie, and soft drinks pour excess glucose into your blood, which triggers the release of insulin, a hormone that lowers glucose. Thus, eating a lot of sugar actually ends up lowering blood sugar.

If you have ADHD, you should eliminate refined carbohydrates from your diet, says Dr. Block. That means not only sugar but also white flour, which quickly turns into glucose.

MULTMTAMIN/MINERAL SUPPLEMENT: For Better Biochemistry
"I have seen many of the symptoms of ADHD improve in my patients when they supplement their diets with high levels of nutrients," says Dr. Block. That's because vitamins and minerals improve the biochemistry of the body and the brain so that your nervous system (and every other system) can work as nature intended: A-OK, not ADHD.

Take a high-potency nutritional supplement only with the approval and supervision of your physician, says Dr. Block. Look for a multivitamin/mineral supplement that contains the following levels of nutrients.

. Thiamin: 25 milligrams
. Vitamin B6: 100 milligrams
. Pantothenic acid: 50 milligrams . Folic acid: 400 micrograms
. Beta-carotene: 15 milligrams
. Vitamin C: 1,000 milligrams
. Vitamin E: 400 international units
. Calcium: 500 to 1,000 milligrams
. Magnesium: 100 to 400 milligrams
. Zinc: 15 milligrams

MAGNESIUM: A Calming Mineral
Extra magnesium (more than what's in most multivitamin/mineral supplements) will help calm ADHD symptoms, says Dr. Block. In addition to a multivitamin/mineral supplement, she recommends 500 milligrams a day of magnesium.

FATTY ACIDS: Nutrients for the Brain
Supplementing the diet with fatty acids has been shown to help brain cells function better. "I have seen them reduce the symptoms of ADHD," says Dr. Block. She recommends 500 milligrams a day of evening primrose oil and 3 teaspoons a day of flaxseed oil, both of which are rich in fatty acids.



Stop Procrastinating: Imagine a new internal voice.
Procrastination is a common characteristic of people with ADHD, says Thom Hartmann, a psychotherapist in Montpelier, Vermont. He says, however, that getting control of it can be as simple as changing the way you talk to yourself.

Procrastinators hear obnoxious and aggressive internal voices yelling at them in a tone that implies dire consequences if they don't do something right away. "What a great voice to ignore!" says Hartmann. Here, in his words, is a quick way to change that voice.

"Imagine something that you need to do in the near future. Next, imagine a sexy, curious, soft, nurturing voice inviting you to accomplish the task and pointing out to you all the warm, wonderful, pleasant things that will result from your action.

"If the old, obnoxious voice is still there, grab it with a loving hand and adjust its tone, pace, and volume to be sexy, curious, soft, and nurturing (or whatever adjectives work best for you). The very same words said in a different tonality will have dramatically different results:'