ADD brain concentrating

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Prefrontal region

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ADD brain with medication

The consistent inattention and impulsive behavior seen in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—is often treated with Ritalin. As many as 2 million children in the U.S. are currently taking Ritalin, a prescription drug with cocaine-like characteristics.

Why a nervous system stimulant for hyperactivity? Because stimulants like Ritalin help to increase the controlling action of the midbrain and increase dopamine in frontal lobes that regulate attention and impulses.

Ritalin (methylphenidate) blocks reuptake of dopamine targets basil ganglia	dopamine available to bind receptors
heroin/cocaine/THC/tobacco	dopamine
caffeine	norepinephrine

Ritalin is training children to fix themselves with stimulants, but there are other choices:

Heron Herbals KAVA KAVA FORMULA dopamine

sniffing bergamot essential oil petitgrain essential oil	dopamine
homeopathic natrum carbonicum 30C	dopamine
Brainstorm from Allergy Research includes acetyl-carnitine, phosphatidyl serine	dopamine

Heron Herbals MELISSA FORMULA	norepinephrine
single herbs: ginko, eleuthero, damiana st. johnswort, helonias root	norepinephrine

Epidemic of the post-industrial era

Before we settle for dopamine or norephinephrine stimulants to cure attention disorders, let's look at why ADHD is called the epidemic of the post-industrial era. Attention deficit is a modern problem with roots in modern chemicals, diets, and health care.

“Between 9-75% of children given phenobarbital are likely to develop hyperactivity or to have any ADHD symptoms worsened by this drug.” [from Barkley p. 174, see Resources]. Many modern chemicals (an estimated 3,750) including pharmaceuticals and perfumes can trigger porphyria, an enzyme disorder that causes neurogenic inflammation. See PORPHYRIA article.

ADHD affects somewhere between 10-15% of all school children in U.S. (1.8 to 2.7 million children). ADHD among children in U.S. is doubling every 3-4 years. Ritalin use quadruped between 1990-97. One disadvantage to using Ritalin is that it is not treating any underlying causes of ADHD, but instead relying on a stimulant intervention. Ritalin cannot heal ADHD; essential oils, herbs and nutrients can heal ADHD.

An often overlooked link to attention disorders is the role played by volatile petrochemical-based substances inhaled via the nose. The olfactory neurons are the only part of the nervous system in direct contact with the outside environment. Volatile organic compounds can disrupt the responsiveness of certain brain tissues, and create the changes seen in the brain scans on the previous page.

Underlying physical causes of ADHD:
	nutritional deficiencies from poor diet from poor absorption of nutrients from allergies due to additives, dyes due to refined sugars infection dysbiosis (gut ecology out of balance, i.e. parasites) candidiasis virus pollution heavy metals volatile chemicals

Porphyria (see PORPHYRIA article) can be triggered by all three of the above factors: nutritional deficiencies, infection, or pollution.

See Smart Drugs (below) for recommendations in all these categories.

Rethinking ADHD

The behavioral markers of ADHD may represent adaptive traits that served well, particularly for males, in paleolithic environments where rapidly shifting attention and impulsive responses would have helped in exploring potential opportunities or threats. “Driven, drifty, daring” (descriptors for dyslexics) mavericks are often good problem solvers and become successful entrepreneurs later in life. Educational strategies that are tailored to response-ready children would include: small, separate classrooms; stressing hands-on learning projects; and teachers who relate well to kinesthetic learning styles. Another prerequisite for a healthy learning environment would be eliminating all volatile neurotoxins, from scented markers to teacher's and students' perfumed shampoos. Read on to learn how volatile chemicals enter and damage the brain.

How Inhaled Chemicals Damage the Brain

We have no physical barrier in our nose and throat to block substances we inhale from entering the brain. Especially petrochemical based, fat soluble hydrocarbons, like perfumes can dissolve in the membranes of nasal nerves and translocate by solvent transport directly to the brain. A direct pathway has been demonstrated from the oropharynx (at back of throat) to the brain. The olfactory system links to the limbic system (including hippocampus and hypothalamus), the focal point in the brain where the immune, nervous and endocrine systems interact. Inhaled toxins lead to release of a flood of excitatory neurotransmitters that damage neighboring cells, disrupting blood flow and neuroactivity, and thinning grey matter (as seen on page 1 ) in those with learning problems/ADHD.

The hippocampus appears important for laying down new memories and thus is essential for learning. Hippocampal lesions may cause difficulty in retaining recent memories. The hippocampus, at the intersection of numerous neural pathways and in a critical position to affect the transfer of information from one brain region to another, acts as an information switching center. Learning and memory decrements are a frequent consequence of exposure to toxic substances, and some researchers view the hippocampus as a prime target for such toxins. Damage to the hippocampus itself, or to nerves leading to or from it may adversely affect the synthesis, storage, release, or inactivation of the excitatory and inhibatory amino acids that serve as neurotransmitters in this region of the brain. Toxins may disrupt the delicate balance of these amino acids, perhaps leading to the release of a flood of excitatory neurotransmitters that damage neighboring cells, a phenomenon that has been called excitotoxicity. Relatively small perturbations of hippocampal function may have large and long-lasting effects upon behavior and cognition [p.93]. . . . . Most of the neural input to the hypothalamus comes from the nearby limbic and olfactory areas. Lesions in the limbic region may be associated with irrational fears, feelings of strangeness or unreality, wishing to be alone, and sadness. A feeling of being out of touch with or out of control of one's feelings and thoughts, not unlike that described by many patients with chemical sensitivity, may be perceived. [p.95-6] Quote from Chemical Exposures: Low Levels/High Stakes (See Resources) hypothalamus hippocampus

A child who wears clothes freshly laundered in Tide and Bounce, and who drinks one 12 oz. coke has created low blood sugar in the brain coupled with depleted dopamine and brain lipids; in other words, an attention/learning challenge.

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