Ask Natural Life:
Learning
Difficulties, Health and the Environment
by Wendy Priesnitz
Q:
My 11-year-old nephew has been diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed
Ritalin. His parents don’t seem too worried; perhaps they are
relieved to find him some help. But I have to wonder about the
diagnosis and the remedy. I think he is just a normally active and
curious little boy who needs more opportunity to run off his energy.
And isn’t Ritalin an addictive drug? What do you have to say on this
topic?
Photo © Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock |
A:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the descriptive
label given to an ever-increasing number of children – especially
boys – who have trouble fitting into the school system and
other social settings. Complaints
about their behavioral issues include hyperactivity, poor
attention span, lack of concentration, disruptiveness, clumsiness,
recklessness, defiance, and irritability.
The label has become a disorder recognized
by the American Psychiatric Association. And the remedy is often the
stimulant Ritalin, prescriptions for which have risen by something
like 600 percent. At best, Ritalin treats the symptoms and not the
problem (although some research even suggests it can make the
symptoms worse.) At worst, it is a habit-forming amphetamine.
In addition to possibly creating psychological
dependence, Ritalin can have a number of side-effects, including
increased blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, and temperature;
stomach pains; weight loss; growth retardation; facial tics; muscle
twitching; euphoria; nervousness; irritability; agitation; insomnia;
heart palpitations; and more violent behaviors like psychotic
episodes and paranoid delusions. Research published in 1995 by the
National Toxicology Program in the U.S. found that Ritalin caused
liver cancer in adult mice who were fed the drug over a two-year
period at dosages close to those prescribed to children.
Psychiatrist Peter R. Breggin, director of the International
Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, has been informing his
medical colleagues and the public about the potential dangers of drugs –
including treating children with Ritalin – for over three decades. A
distinguished expert whose background includes stints at Harvard Medical School,
the National Institute of Mental Health and Johns Hopkins University Department
of Counseling, he is the author of dozens of scientific articles and 19
professional books about psychiatric medication. His work formed the basis for a
class action suit for “fraud” and “conspiracy” in over-promoting the stimulant
medication Ritalin, which was filed in 2000 in a Texas court. Named as
defendants were Novartis, the manufacturer of Ritalin; CHADD (Children and Adults
with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), a parents’ organization that is
partially funded by drug companies; and the American Psychiatric Association.
In testimony in 2000 before the U.S. Congress, Breggin told the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Education and
the Workforce that they should understand that the ADD/ADHD diagnosis was
developed by the American Psychiatric Association “specifically for the purpose
of justifying the use of drugs to subdue the behaviors of children in the
classroom.” For instance, he says the first two and most powerful criteria under
the hyperactivity part of the diagnosis are “often fidgets with hands or feet or
squirms in seat” and “often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in
which remaining seated is expected.” “Clearly,” he told Congress, “these two
‘symptoms’ are nothing more nor less than the behaviors most likely to cause
disruptions in a large, structured classroom.”
In addition to problematizing and medicalizing normal (well,
maybe overly exuberant) little boy behavior within
classroom situations that don’t suit their learning styles, a variety of other
theories about the causes of ADHD have been floated over the years. They include
heredity, nutritional imbalance, and environmental pollution.
Research in recent years has focused on prenatal exposures to
agents such as lead, cigarette byproducts, and alcohol. High levels of lead in
the blood are known to cause aggression, poor impulse control, and short
attention span. And studies have found links between high levels of copper and
aluminum and hyperactivity symptoms. Other research suggests that PCBs may also
cause hyperactivity or contribute to the changes in brain function that
characterize ADHD diagnoses.
A 2003 study published in the Alternative Medicine Review
noted eight risk factors: food and additive allergies, heavy metal toxicity and
other environmental toxins, low-protein/high-carbohydrate diets, mineral
imbalances, essential fatty acid and phospholipid deficiencies, amino acid
deficiencies, thyroid disorders, and B-vitamin deficiencies.
Since the 1970s, researchers have been studying the effects of
certain foods and food additives such as dyes and colorings. Many studies have
found that food additives exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD in some children. And
the effect of vitamin and mineral supplements on children’s behavior is well
documented. Deficiency of magnesium, for example, can lead to fidgeting, anxious
restlessness, coordination problems, and learning difficulties.
Many children who switch to a diet free from artificial
colorings and flavorings, as well as aspartame and preservatives like BHA and
BHT can experience major improvements in behavior and attention. The negative
behavior and health effects of synthetic food additives on certain sensitive
people was documented in 1975 by the late Dr. Benjamin Feingold in his book
Why Your Child is Hyperactive. According to research cited by the
Feingold Association, children with ADHD are seven times more likely to have
food allergies than other children. Foods most likely to cause allergic
reactions include food colorings, flavorings, synthetic additives, wheat, dairy
products, corn, yeast, soy, citrus, chocolate, peanuts, eggs, and foods
containing salicylates.
More recently, a study in the UK found a link between artificial
food colorings and hyperactivity in children, even those without a diagnosis of ADHD. The
study, entitled "Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old
children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial" was
published in The Lancet medical journal. Following the release of that study,
the European Union required products containing certain dyes to have a
warning label noting they could have an adverse effect on children's
activity and attention spans. Subsequently, many manufacturers removed synthetic food
dyes for their European market instead of carrying the warning.
In spite of the now considerable body of evidence that food dyes can
worsen the symptoms of ADHD, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
published a pamphlet called Food Color Facts, which states that “there
is no evidence that food color additives cause hyperactivity or learning
disabilities in children.” The pamphlet, though published by the FDA, was
written in conjunction with the International Food Information Council, a trade
association representing many makers of food additives including General Mills,
Kraft, Procter and Gamble, Pepsi-Cola, Coca Cola, Monsanto (maker of aspartame)
and Ajinomoto (maker of MSG).
So if your relatives want to avoid saddling their child with a
negative label and the long-term health effects of a dangerous drug, there are
alternatives. These include finding a new educational setting that suits his
personality and learning style, allergy testing, hair analysis to test for the
presence of heavy metals, change in diet to eliminate allergens and synthetic
additives, improved nutrition including supplementation, and if necessary,
detoxification treatments like chelation therapy.
This article was researched and written
by Natural Life's Editor
Wendy Priesnitz. First published in
2006, it was updated in 2022.
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