HELP WITH NATURAL REMEDIES

Lynn33

New Member
Hi, Im looking for suggestions on what to purchase for my 5yr old
for ADHD.

I am wanting to try something other than medication for now to see if it helps. I have noticed he gets very constipated and he drings milk like water. Im thinking he could have somekind of digestion problem or maybe sensitive to all the milk he drinks.

He doesnt drink soda or eat candy, well once in a while ill let him, but not very often.

He is very unfocused, and doesnt follow direction very well.
Any suggestions would be GREAT!
 

Josie

Active Member
This is not as easy as purchasing a supplement but if you think he has a problem with milk, why not eliminate all milk and milk products from his diet and see what happens?

My 2 children and I are gluten free and casein (milk) free. My difficult child didn't have ADHD but she was diagnosis'ed with ODD/Depression. After eliminating gluten and casein, she is fine. I've read about this diet helping ADHD but don't have any real experience with it.

In my own case, I thought I had ADD even though I was never diagnosis'ed that way. When I went gluten free, that went away. I also noticed a brain fog clearing. I didn't even know I had this brain fog until I noticed it clearing.

After you eliminate milk, you could try eliminating gluten to see if there's any improvement.

I will say you have to be extremely strict to see results. If difficult child has even a trace of milk or gluten, it is back to the old difficult child. I become extremely emotional for up to 2 weeks if I have any traces of gluten (like from a restaurant worker touching my food with some gluten on their hands). It is not an easy diet to start but it is so worth it for us.
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
Gluten is a protein found in grains. A gluten free diet generally means eliminating all wheat from one's diet. My daughter was on a very strict diet for a while and we substituted soy milk, almond milk, rice milk and even tried goat milk (she really disliked that!).
 

Josie

Active Member
Gluten is also found in rye and barley and most oats. You can get gluten free oats but you have to buy special ones. The oats you see in cereals, snack bars, etc. are not gluten free. If you decide to try it, let me know and I will give you the basic rules for what to look for on labels.

We substitute mostly almond milk for cooking and use olive oil, coconut oil, or shortening for butter in cooking and baking. We don't have a replacement for milk for drinking. We do drink calcium fortified oj.
 
I would be interested in knowing what to look for? I am very curious! It is also more expensive right? I know that isn't the important thing, I am just curious what to expect.

Thanks again!
Jessica
 

Josie

Active Member
The gluten free substitutes are more expensive but there is a lot you can eat that is naturally gluten free. So cakes, cookies, and pasta are more expensive than the regular ones but you don't have to buy special meat or fruits and vegetables.

My rules are:

Read the label. Now it is required to list wheat if it is there. If it says wheat, it is obviously off limits.

If it says oats, malt, rye, or barley, it is off limits. Malt almost always comes from barley. You can call about it if it is something you really want.

If it says natural flavors, this might be gluten. If it is from a safe company that will list gluten, this would be ok. If it isn't, then you can call the company or pass it up. Often, the number is listed right on the package.

Safe companies are Kraft, Unilever, Sara Lee, Nestle, and General Mills. There are more but those are the ones I remember and come across.

If you have a Whole Foods near you, you can get gluten free pasta and mixes for bread and desserts. Other grocery stores sometimes have this too. There are also some gluten free cookies and muffins already made. There's a lot of not very good gluten free stuff out there so you'll have to try to find things you like. I mostly make things from mixes instead of buying it already made because it tastes better.

My kids' friends like the food I make even though I always make it gluten and dairy free, so it can be done without compromising taste.

We spend a lot on groceries because I used to like to go to restaurants. I decided if I had to eat at home all the time, I was going to eat well. Our food bill is about the same as it used to be when we ate out a lot.

A good website where you can get lots of advice, recipes, and support is http://www.glutenfreeforum.com. For inspiration, you can search there about gluten and behaviour or mood.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
I'd like to suggest that you eliminate food coloring and corn syrups. Although my easy child is not as affected by it as Missy, he certainly goes off-the-wall-hyper when he has those things. I limit him also, just not as closely as Missy.
 

Josie

Active Member
Do you eliminate all corn syrup or just high fructose corn syrup? All food coloring?

I would like to try this. At least eliminating HFCS and red and yellow dye. But it seems to be in everything my kids have left to eat that is "normal" food. What kind of snacks/treats do your kids eat?

difficult child is doing great now just on the girlfriend/CF diet, but easy child is still struggling. I'm not sure if food additives are her problem but either way I just think it can't be good to have those things in their food.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Yes, all food coloring and all corn syrup.

There are M&M type snacks made with vegetable color. They are made by Sunspire. If you have an all natural store, you can find lots of stuff there. I like to go to Whole Foods about once every few months and get snacks there.

My kids eat all natural fruit strips, potato chips, pretzels, all natural cotton candy (yes they do make it, although hard to find....it's very good), all natural liquorice, cookies, chocolate, Breyer's ice cream....but be careful with Breyers. A lot of them have corn syrup. Granola bars (all natural). There are sodas that are made with Cane Juice instead of corn syrup.

A lot of stores have more organic products on the shelves now...even store brands, especially cereals now. Just be careful to look at the labels. Even organic products use corn syrups. If it says modified corn starch....it's corn syrup.

I make a lot of stuff too. I make ice cream cakes for birthdays and use all natural food coloring (found at Whole Foods) and I use homemade whip cream for the icing. Chocolate can be added.

It's not hard, just a lot of label reading. I always try to make sure that we have snacks that are similar to the most popular snacks, so she's not missing out. Horizon and Organic Valley (organic milk companies) started making their version of Go-gurts, which is awesome.
 

prayerful

New Member
i have a question? is it true that this vitamin named brainiums helps with adhd some one told me that and i was wondering and also i am in the process of changing his diet which won't be that bad we already don't eat pork or red meat, but any way i am staring to give him vitamins daily omega 3, b6, zinc along with medication will that be start in a different direction if any one knows any thing please reply . thankyou
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
There are all different name brands of different vitamins. I haven't heard of that one before.

A good vitamin B complex is good. If you can find a good multivitamin with plenty of B complex, that would be a good start. Omega 3s are good, but there are other Omegas like 6 and 9 that are important too.

Find yourself a good healthfood store. Ask around, then ask the owner or someone there to recommend a good supplement. Missy happens to need Magnesium. I have a magnesium defficiency that she has apparently inherited. May be part of the reason for the seizures. The supplement that I give her has it in there.

If you aren't sure, you can ask your doctor to do some blood work. I had it and was severely deficient in Magnesium.
 
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