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NUTRITION and the Brain & Body

In 1985 the American Medical Association called a meeting of experts on the subject of food and behavior. Conclusions from this conference were summarized as follows: "Dietary pharmacology is no longer at the fringe of medicine ... foods do affect behavior...foods do affect the brain."

There is increasing recognition among physicians, nutritionists and parents that nutrition plays an important role when regarding hyperactive and learning disabled children. The relationship between the child's biochemical life and his functional performance is very important. Blood tests reveal that 75 percent of hyperactive-learning-disabled children have low blood sugar and/or allergies.

Inadequate nutrient intake affects the development of the brain most crucially during the period of rapid growth. In humans this critical period occurs during the last three months of pregnancy and the first six months of infancy. And, 90 percent of the total growth of the brain takes place during the first three years of life! Evidence is accumulating which details the influence of nutritional status on neuromuscular functions, behavior and intelligence.

Behavior and Nutrition
A study conducted on 220 preschool children demonstrated that children who lack optimal amounts of essential nutrients experience reduced attention span and intellectual ability. The same researchers conducted a study at the University of Minnesota in 1960 which showed that students' ability to think was reduced when kept on a nutritionally poor diet, characterized by a lack or imbalance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins.


Feed the Mind:
The Brain is a Hungry Organ

In recent years, many in the scientific community have devoted their research to documenting the relationship between nutrients and brain cell function.
The brain is dependent on adequate gastrointestinal function for delivering the essential nutrients it cannot make on its own.
Otherwise, the brain cannot keep its biological machinery running. In addition to providing the essential compounds for cellular energy production, the GI tract must also deliver the ingredients for other critical brain constituents.
These include essential fatty acids, or phospholipids, which act as building blocks for cell membranes, hormones, and certain neurotransmitters.
The GI tract also carries B vitamins to the brain. B vitamins are indispensable in synthesizing neurotransmitters and in forming myelin, the insulating substance that sheaths connections between neurons and makes it possible for them to transmit messages effectively.


The Brain-Immune
Connection
Top research institutions worldwide now understand that there is a two-way chemical dialog between the brain and the immune system. Each can influence the other directly. There is an ongoing chemical dialog between the brain and the immune system, a connection that depends on two languages: the neurotransmitters of the brain, and the immunotransmitters of the immune system.


Another study, as reported in Pediatrics, also reported on sugar as a possible instigator of aggressive behavior, hyperactivity, and attention problems exhibited by children with ADHD. In that investigation, children with ADHD who consumed large amounts of sugar showed greater inattention in performing tasks.

Meanwhile, investigators reporting in The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders revealed that children with ADHD experienced abnormal rhythms in the stress hormone cortisol--an abnormality frequently associated with problems in metabolizing carbohydrates. Yale researchers have confirmed that children with ADD may have a problem in metabolizing glucose, in that offering children doses of oral glucose significantly diminished their ability to concentrate.

Learning, Behavior and Allergies

Perhaps these behavioral problems are also manifestations of allergies caused by foods that are not handled successfully by the body. In a study conducted at the Institute of Child Health in London, using an elimination diet resulted in significantly improving the behavior of a group of hyperactive children. Their behavior worsened when they were challenged with allergy-provoking foods. Similarly, in the prestigious medical journal Lancet, investigators reporting on a study conducted with 185 hyperactive children on an elimination diet supported the concept that food allergies are associated with hyperactivity.

In another report published by Lancet, a carefully designed and executed study of 76 overactive children found that 62% improved on elimination diets. Foods causing hyperactivity included colors and preservatives, soy, milk, chocolate, wheat, oranges, eggs, sugar, and other foods.


In a five-year study conducted on 182 hyperactive children, 136 of the parents noted clear-cut improvement in their child's behavior with an elimination diet. An additional 17 expressed that their child's hyperactivity was "probably related to the diet." The foods causing the hyperactive symptoms were identified as:
Sugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Chocolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Colors/additives/flavors . . . . . . 48 Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Milk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Wheat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Where conflicting data exists regarding food allergies, sugar and ADHD, clinicians generally recommend modifying the diet to eliminate possible allergenic foods, dietary chemical preservatives, and sugar to determine whether a particular individual is affected by any of these factors.

It is not uncommon to find environmental toxicities, heavy metals, air and water pollutants along with food additives to serve as additional irritants, compounding the ADD/ADHD child's and adult's already internally stressful world.

 

 

 

 


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VIBE, an all
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