Toxic Substances in the air, food, soil and water
Lead: Robert W. Tuthill, School Public Health, University of Massachusetts (Amherst), in an article entitled "Are Hair Lead Levels Related to Children's Classroom Attention Deficit Behavior?" stated:
"Hair specimens were obtained from 277 first grade people. The children's hair lead concentration labeled from less than one to 11.3PPM. The striking dose-response relationship between levels of lead and negative teacher ratings remain significant after controlling for age, ethnicity, gender and social economic status. An even stronger relationship existed between physician-diagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and hair lead in the same children. There was no apparent 'safe' threshold for lead." [emphasis added]
Pesticides in food: Here are excerpts from a book by John Wargo, Yale University, Our children's Toxic Legacy, How Science and Law Fails to Protect Us From Pesticides. Yale University Press:
"Children are especially vulnerable to health damage from pesticides. Following conception, a child's susceptibility as organ systems grow and certain functions mature, such as the detoxification potential of liver or the filtration potential of the kidneys ... They may be more susceptible to loss of brain function if exposed to neurotoxins during critical periods of development."
"The primary conclusions of this research is that young children eat more of fewer foods than adults .... Higher intakes of some types of foods, such as fruits, fruit juices and some vegetables, could in turn lead to a greater consumption of pesticide residues on those foods."
Although DDT and pesticides have been banned in the United States, they are widely used in other countries. Concern about these pesticides was expressed by neurologist David Perlmutter in Naples, Florida, in a letter to the editor in the April 20, 1994 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"The US government, hoping to stimulate the American economy ...would allow substantial levels of pesticide residues on U.S. imported produce. Levels of DDT, 5,000% higher than current U.S. standards would be permitted on imported peaches or bananas with similar deregulations affecting grapes, strawberries, broccoli and carrots."
Presentations by John Wargo and Theo Colburn at the November 407, 1999 conference, ADHD: Causes and Possible Solutions, will provide additional information on pesticides and suggestions for coping with this difficult problem.
Comments by WGC: "I graduated from medical school in 1942 and opened my office to practice pediatrics in 1949. During my early years of practice I saw only a rare patient with behavioral and learning problems. And I saw no child with autism until 1973. The observations of Wargo, Colburn and others may provide some of the reasons why so many of today's children are experiencing problems."
Comments of Physicians and Other Professionals:
C. Keith Conners, Ph.D., Duke University (in the preface of his book, Feeding the Brain - How Foods Affect Children, Plenum Press, New York, New York, Second printing) commented on the relationship of food to the brain. Here are excerpts:
"The premise of this book is that what children eat can profoundly shape the course of the brain's growth, its functions and its capabilities ... Important new understanding now exists about the ways that food changes behavior, mood and mental proficiency in children; [emphasis added] and how human behavior in turn affects nutrition. But little of this information is available to parents, educators and others who must decide what children should eat."
"This book tries to help parents and educators to become good consumers, not just of food, but of information. We argue that much useful information is prematurely dismissed by some scientists with biased agendas. But there's also a good deal of misinformation, too readily swallowed as if it were fact ...."
"Much is known from animal experiments about how food changes behavior. A little is known about food and mind in children and adult humans. But the volume of controversy far outweighs the volume of facts.."
"... But even if a child is eating a reasonably well-balanced diet, there are still many questions needing answers for any specific child: Which specific foods activate symptoms and should be removed? Does adding vitamin and mineral supplements improve my child's brain function? Which carbohydrates does my child react to most strongly? If I remove artificial flavors and colors will it help my child's irritability and sleep problems? And so on."
"For these questions, parents cannot wait while the government funds more studies and scientists continue to wrangle. Each parent must become a scientific observer... objective, systematic and curious about their own infants and school children." [emphasis added]
Paul E. Schwartz, MD, The Jackson Clinic, Professional Association, Department of Family Medicine, Jackson, TN 38301. "I've seen numerous patients who have been helped by some of the dietary manipulations and yeast treatment that you've preached for so many years..."
"I hope at some time academicians will be able to take the information you've worked to glean over a lifetime ... and put it in a form that will be intellectually acceptable to the rest of the medical community. IN the meantime, I ... continue to utilize some of these modalities of treatment to provide some relief to patients that have been basically ignored by much of the medical profession."
Patricia K. Hardman, PhD, Dyslexia Research Institute, Tallahassee, FL, "In our public and private schools, we're drugging literally thousands of ADD children because they have a different cognitive attention style... for over 20 years I've never found a chid or adult that I needed to have 'medicated' nor have I found those who are medicated to be as well off as those who are not. "We find the use of diets and allergy control with appropriate educational and behavioral interventions to have excellent results with no negative side effects."
Ralph Campbell, MD, Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Polson, Montana "I was stimulated to write you be reading the reports of Patricia K Hardman, PhD. of Tallahassee, Florida ... Apparently, Dr. Hardman's regimen for these children include the elimination of cow's milk and sugar. My record is nearly as good. For over 30 years I've had only three on Ritalin following an elimination diet protocol that failed to help.
"Most of these kids have trouble with only two substances, table sugar and cow's milk. I point out to parents that milk and sugar are not exiled forever. As the immure system recovers, we can determine individual tolerance for the defending allergen... I hope that most physicians in the "establishment" will remove the scales from their eyes. If they will, there's amazing potential for good."
Charles W. Lapp MD, Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Charlotte, North Carolina, "I'll be forever grateful for your advice in managing our son, Warren. As an infant, he was difficult; colicky and always unhappy. He had frequent rashes and diarrhea. As he got older he was generally irritable. Since allergenic foods were removed from his diet, Warren had developed into a warm, loving and wonderful child."
"When we are indiscreet with his diet, he immediately becomes irritable and has difficulty sleeping. He suffers with bedwetting and becomes active and unable to sit still. Within one to two days of diet restriction, he is back to normal."
Linda, P. Rodriguez, MD, Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, Virginia Beach, Virginia, "In my experience I've encountered many children with hyperactivity, inattention and learning/behavioural problems. In the past I was frustrated with the traditional approach to these problems until I read and learned about The Yeast connection. Since then I've been able to help these children with positive results. These children experience a remarkable improvement in their self-esteem, school performance and their behavior. So now, not only do I have healthier, happier children, but also happier, grateful parents!"
Jesus M. Alvelo Santiago, MD, Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics, San Juan, Puerto Rico, "As a pediatrician in the real world I agree with your position and that of the international Health Foundation... Behavioral childhood problems should be studied carefully by an expert panel looking at all of the possible etiological factors and the interaction of a relationship between them."
"I would suggest that you share your information with all pediatricians and disseminate it to parents and school teachers throughout the nation, and translate this information to other languages for the benefit of children, parents and physicians around the world."
Ruth A. Lawrence, MD, Professor Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, "Thank you for your correspondence and enclosure of your booklet, The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) It is very interesting and provocative and should be a wake up call for our nation's pediatricians."
"I would be interested in knowing as you review these studies and do studies of your own, whether the newborn history on feeding is recorded. It is my casual observation that ADHD is less common in infants who are breastfed for several months. [emphasis added] I would appreciate it if you would add this question to your surveys as you continue to study this issue."
John Wacker, The Wacker Foundation, Dallas, Texas 75229, "School performance of American youth has plummeted in recent years, accompanied by an equally sharp increase in antisocial and delinquent behavior. Blaming the schools, the teachers, the parents and the communities has not led to improvement."
"Accumulating evidence has led some researchers to the hypothesis that the academic and behavioral problems seen in American youth is the result of subtle biological factors which include impairment of the brain by lead, food additives and other toxic substances, food sensitivities and improper nutrition."
"For nine years I was chairman of the Scientific Studies Committee of the Association of Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities. That experience, and the years following, as I worked with researchers in this area, have convinced me that environmental pollution and what we eat can definitely adversely affect our thinking ability. I can, without reservation, recommend that the methods of Dr. William Crook be included as part of a balanced therapeutic approach toward remediation of learning and behavioral problems."
Comments about Ritalin and related medication
These medications help control symptoms in most children with ADHD - often dramatically. In so doing, they're a godsend to parents and teachers. Yet, reports summarized in this booklet show that many children with ADHD will not require medication if causes are identified and treated.
In 1993, James M. Swanson PhD., and colleagues, University of California (Irvine) and Todd D. Fisher, California State Developmentally Research Institute, published a report entitled "Effects of Stimulant Medication on Children with Attention Deficit Disorder: A Review of Reviews." Here's a chart included in this article:
Treatment of Children With Attention Deficit Disorder With Stimulant Medication: What Should and Should Not Be Expected
1. Temporary Management of Diagnostic Symptoms:
2. Temporary Improvement of Associated Features:
What Should Not Be Expected (excerpts):
3. Absence of Side Effects:
Infrequent appearance or increase in tics
Frequent problems with eating and sleeping
Possible psychological effects on cognition and attribution
4. Large Effects on Skills or Higher Order Processes
No significant improvement of reading skills
No significant improvement of athletic or game skills
No significant improvement of positive social skills
Improvement of learning/achievement less than improvement in behavior/attention
5. Improvement in Log-Term Adjustment
No improvement in academic achievement
No reduction in antisocial behavior or arrest rate [emphasis added]