ADD, School Performance and Diet

TheJournal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 274 No. 20, November 22, 1995) Published a meta analysis of studies linking hyperactivity to sugar and came to the conclusion that sugar does not affect behavior or cognitive abilities in children. But the studies are flawed, because the researchers are looking at a single dose of sugar and the immediate effect on the children. Something needs to be said here about medical research. Drugs for ADD and ADHD make the parmaceutical industry about $3 Billion each year. These companies buy advertising in medical journals. The journals have an economic interest in keeping their advertisers happy. Seriously looking at the connection between diet and ADD would not be in the best economic interest of these pharmaceutical companies—or the journals. There is a complex relationship between diet and how the nervous system works—one that needs to be examined more thoroughly than these flawed studies.
If you want to get a better sense of the connection between diet and behavior, follow this link APPLETON SCHOOLS to learn about a program in the Appleton, Wisconsin schools. You can see the amazing results that diet has on behavior and learning. The connection between diet, and learning and behavior needs to be more closely examined.  Children who eat a lot of sugar are vitamin deficient—especially in B vitamins and in minerals. A large percentage of their food is starch, which is turned to sugar by the body. Lots of parents think that bagels, English muffins, and sugar-free cereals are healthy. What they need to realize is that starch and sugar are essentially the same thing. Starch and sugar deplete B vitamins, vitamin C and minerals. Sugar also stresses the adrenal glands. Some holistic practitioners think that Ritalin mimics the output of the adrenal gland and if you give up sugar and support the adrenals, you will get a better result.

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