Are There Natural Treatments for ADD?
Educational Content Disclaimer: This article provides educational information only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The content discusses general health topics and should not replace consultation with your licensed healthcare provider. Always consult with your doctor before making changes to your diet, supplements, or medications. Dr. JJ Gregor is a Doctor of Chiropractic licensed in Texas and practices within the scope of chiropractic care.
Are There Natural Treatments for ADD?
I hate labels. Whether ones we put on ourselves or ones other people define us by, they're ridiculous. The diagnosis of ADD/ADHD is just another label being put on our children at alarming rates. Conservatively, CDC estimates about 3.5 million, or 9% of school-aged children in the US, are being prescribed some form of medication for ADD/ADHD. That's a terrifying epidemic bordering on pandemic, especially when you consider the French only diagnose and medicate about 0.5% of their school-aged children.
The main reason for that difference isn't that the French have more restrictive diagnostic criteria or more complex tests. They just look at the cause of the disease.
What Is ADD/ADHD?
In the US, Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder are classified as neurological disorders where the patient has learning, focus, and attention problems with no underlying pathological cause. In the hyperactive version, there's a marked decrease in impulse control. The medical theory is that brain chemistry is running rampant, producing all the symptoms, and those symptoms get lumped into the ADD diagnosis.
The French model looks at the underlying cause of the improper brain firing instead. They treat ADD more as a psychosocial issue and address it through counseling and proper social support. American medicine treats it as a biological process in brain chemistry that must be controlled with medication.
The French model is better. But there's still a problem: neither model is addressing the true cause of the dysfunction in the child or adult.
The Adrenal-Blood Sugar Connection
Using Applied Kinesiology and acupuncture principles, there are several leading causes of ADD and ADHD. The primary one is usually an imbalance in adrenal function, occurring through a form of hypoglycemia.
When anyone, especially a child, eats a heavy carbohydrate meal, including bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, candies, rice, potatoes, soda, cereals, and anything else made from grains or sugar, blood sugar spikes. That sharp rise stimulates the body to increase insulin production to push glucose from the blood into the cells, which then causes blood sugar to drop quickly. The faster blood sugar rises, the more insulin is produced, and the faster it falls. These quick fluctuations are potentially the cause of lost focus and hyperactivity in children and adults.
When insulin does its job properly, it produces a state of relative hypoglycemia. And the symptoms of hypoglycemia sound a lot like ADD. Compare them side by side:
Hypoglycemia symptoms: Irritability or impatience, loss of attention to details, confusion, lack of focus, difficulty following instructions, headaches, weakness or fatigue, anger or sadness, lack of coordination.
ADD symptoms: Doesn't pay attention to details, makes careless mistakes, easily distracted, appears not to listen when spoken to, difficulty remembering things and following instructions, trouble staying organized and finishing projects, gets bored before completion, frequently loses or misplaces items.
The overlap isn't coincidental. Blood sugar dysregulation and adrenal dysfunction produce nearly identical presentations to what gets labeled as ADD. Fix the blood sugar pattern first and the "neurological disorder" often resolves or dramatically improves.
For more on the adrenal-blood sugar connection, read: What Is Adrenal Fatigue?
Diet Is Non-Negotiable
In my clinical experience, there is no way to naturally treat ADD without first balancing blood sugar and diet. Additional dietary stressors to remove: chemical dyes and preservatives. Every one of them needs to come out of the diet of anyone with attention deficit patterns.
Let's be honest. Changing a child's diet away from sugar and grains is not going to be easy. You can expect pushback and potential fights, along with social pressure and misunderstanding from children who don't have to restrict their diet. But I can promise you it will be worth the effort, not only for the child but for the parents too.
Once the diet is balanced it usually only takes a few chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology treatments to calm and balance the nervous system. There are natural treatments for ADD. They're not as easy as popping a pill, but they have the potential to be genuinely useful.
For comprehensive guidance on blood sugar management and removing inflammatory foods, visit the Eating Right: Nutrition Primer.
For stress management and adrenal support, visit the Live Right: Lifestyle Primer.
If you're in Frisco, Texas and looking for natural approaches to ADD or ADHD that address root causes rather than managing symptoms with medication, Applied Kinesiology can identify the blood sugar, adrenal, and dietary factors driving the pattern.
Call or text: (972) 989-4683
Email: drjj@drjjgregor.com
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