Blueberry Almond Smoothie

3 cups water
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons almonds
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*Coarsely grind almonds, sunflower, and flax seeds in a blender before adding other ingredients.


Nothing says love like a delicious smoothie, and the good thing is that children LOVE smoothies and they are healthy! This is designed for feeding the brain and the body the good stuff needed to improve concentration and get those natural results you need.

Do you just love this smoothie recipe? Visit Natural ADHD Cure and sign up for the free, no-obligation, spam-free newsletter and receive absolutely free “109 Brain-Busting Smoothie Recipes”!

Pile on the Praise

If you want to drastically change the relationship between you and your child in a very short amount of time, shift your attention away from his shortcomings. ADHD kids are typically so accustom to hearing negative reinforcement all day long. Sometimes, the only attention these kids receive is in response to their negative behavior. Step in your child's shoes and consider how this must feel.

Consider the breath of fresh air an "Atta Boy" would be. Starting today, show more enthusiasm for his positive attributes and his good behavior and pay less attention to the negatives. Be his cheerleader. Believe in him. Offer kind words, a hug or special rewards for achievements. Smile at him in the morning. In the afternoon, tell him you are proud of him for [insert good quality here].

After all, isn't this how we treat those who you want to nurture a relationship with and isn't that how we would like others to treat us?

Drug Manufacturers Accused of Faulty Advertising

Heading to the doctor’s office to get relief or comfort from what ails us has become commonplace. But when the pharmaceutical companies nudge a caregiver to give a medication a try with fancy advertising and appealing promises, we want to believe that those pharmaceutical companies are being honest.

On September 26th, the Food and Drug Administration stepped forward with letters to multiple drug companies including Covidien, Shire, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis complaining of exaggeration when it came to the efficiency and accuracy of certain medications shown on advertisements.

Many of us enjoy watching Ty Pennington, and that means when he talks, we tend to listen. Is that why drug manufacturers chose this celebrity as the spokesman for living better with the help of specific medications?

Of course, promotions and advertisements are nothing new, but when it comes to medication, the Food and Drug Administration requires (and ensures) the promises made are realistic and truthful.

The makers of such drugs as Concerta, Focalin XR, Methylin, Adderall XR, and Strattera had violated safety standards. By claiming that certain medications utilized in treating ADHD and other disorders were safer and worked better than actually proven, these makers were misleading the public with false advertising.

Not only was the information provided misleading, but the risks of taking the medications were minimized or ignored all together. One company even claimed a medication was for treating ADHD, yet, the medication has not yet been approved for such use.

When drug manufacturers are accused of faulty advertising that is misleading and accurate, one must stop and wonder what other areas of the process are these drug manufacturers being neglectful with and how is that affecting our lives and the lives of our children living with ADHD.

Exercise for ADHD

I ran across an article Monday that I thought you all would find interesting. A teacher at an alternative school in Canada incorporated exercise into the daily curriculum. Here are a couple lines plucked from the article;


"Less than two months later, her students' attention has sharpened and they spend far more time on assignments without interruption."

"She has found 20 minutes of exercise have translated into two hours of sustained concentration from the students."


You can read the full article here; http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=cc9c11c4-b0eb-4746-bd72-20c24bcfed2b

If this motivates any of you to add a little exercise in your ADHD child's daily routine and find great results, please add a comment to this post. Or, share your current experience with exercise to help reduce the symptoms of ADHD.


Check back in a couple days and I'll let you in on one of my favorite "punishments" when the boys misbehaved. As you might guess, it's exercise related.

Never Miss a Blog Post Again

Did you notice the addition of the bookmarks on the right side of this blog? If you use del.icio.us, Google or Technorati, click on the icon and will know whenever there is a new post. Otherwise, simply bookmark this page and check back.

Sometimes I post two or three times a week. Sometimes I'm lucky to get one post in. It really depends on how crazy things get around my house. Can you relate? :-)

Great article in ADHD newsletter

A dear friend of mine, and fellow mom of an ADHD wild child, manages the ADHD Help Center website. I want to not only introduce you all to Jeannine Virtue's website, but to direct you to a very interesting article in this month's newsletter. Check it out;
http://www.add-adhd-help-center.com/newsletter2.htm

BTW - You might consider signing up for this newsletter group. There are some great monthly specials. :-)

The ADHD Stigma

According to a study reported in Science Daily, nearly twenty-five percent of the 1,134 parents in the study reported that they would not like their children to be friends with a child with ADHD. These parents then went on to say that they wouldn’t want an ADHD child living next door.

Wow.

I was quite surprised at the findings of this study. What was even more surprising was the title of this article; “Many Parents Want
Distance Between Own Kids And Those With Mental Illness.”

I will be happy to see the day that people look at ADHD as a personality type instead of a "mental illness" and we all embrace the differences that make our children unique.

Catching ADD Early Helps

Catching ADD early may make it possible to reduce symptoms, says a study by the National Association of School Psychologists. The most important tool is "environmental management" (this is what "structure" for ADHD kids is being calling). According to this study, 30% of preschool aged children with ADHD improved with no medication at all, according to a new study. Changing the routine, diet, and overall family atmosphere can make a huge difference. A few more examples are monitoring sugar intake, a strict bedtime, and more structure throughout the day. Proactive parenting and education makes it possible to tackle ADD and make medication a last resort.

Natural ADHD Cure: ADHD Medications Increase the Risk of Heart Problems

Natural ADHD Cure: ADHD Medications Increase the Risk of Heart Problems

Natural ADHD Cure: No Long-Term Benefit with ADHD Drugs

Natural ADHD Cure: No Long-Term Benefit with ADHD Drugs

ADHD Medications Increase the Risk of Heart Problems

A new study shows that Adderall, Ritalin and other stimulants used to treat ADHD can increase the chance of your child being rushed to the emergency room for heart related problems by 20 percent.

This study, published in the journal “Pediatrics,” looked at data on 55,383 ADHD children ages 3 to 20 years in FLorida. About 59 percent were taking a stimulant medication during the study period of 1994 to 2004.

Children taking a stimulant to control ADHD symptoms were 20 percent more likely to visit an emergency clinic or doctor’s office with heart-related symptoms, such as a racing heartbeat, than children who had never used or discontinued treatment.

In 2006 the FDA added a “black box” warning to the labels of ADHD drugs warning of cardiovascular risks associated with the medications. These risks included sudden death in patients who have heart problems or heart defects; stroke and heart attack in adults; and increased blood pressure and heart rate.

The authors of this study expressed the "great need" for additional research to determine the consequences of long-term stimulant use during childhood and its effect on heart disease in adulthood.

Each year between 3 and 4 million children take stimulant ADHD medications to control symptoms of ADHD.

Other known side effects of ADHD stimulants include loss of appetite, abdominal pain, sleep disruptions, headaches and stunted growth. Additionally, a small study, conducted by the University of Texas and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, found a link between Ritalin and increased risk of cancer. In this study, all children taking Ritalin experienced a significant increase in the chromosomal abnormalities associated with an a higher chance of developing cancer.

No Long-Term Benefit with ADHD Drugs

Two recent studies could change the way doctors view the current ADHD treatment protocol. These studies showed that;- ADHD medications do provide short-term benefits.- However, ADHD medications do not provide long-term benefits.

In the first study, UCLA researchers took the results of a study from Finland, where medication is rarely used to treat ADHD, and compared the findings against ADHD Americans. In the United States about 60 percent of ADHD children receive medication for symptoms at some point in their childhood. Interestingly, the medicated American ADHD children fared as well as the non-medicated Finland population by the time ADHD children reach 16 to 18 years of age. This study that was published in the “Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry” December 2007 issue.

Next, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) showed that ADHD medications provide short-term benefits, while also confirming the lack of long-term benefits. In this study of almost 600 children, researchers found that medicated ADHD children functioned better at home and school at the end of 14 months compared to those who received behavioral therapy or no treatment at all. However, there was little difference between the medicated group and the non-medicated groups after three years.

These studies should put parents at ease when faced with the ADHD drug decision. Your child will not be slated for ruin in their adult years if you choose not to medicate. In fact, he will likely fare as well as his medicated peers by the time he reaches adolescence. And, he will likely do better at home and in school in the short-term if he is medicated. With this information in hand, parents can decide if the risks and side effects of ADHD drugs outweigh short-term benefits.

Chew Gum for Better Test Grades?

Can chewing gum actually increase student performance? Dr. Kenneth Allen, a professor at New York University’s College of Dentistry, found this to be true when he allowed his students to chew gum in the classroom.


In a study to see if chewing helped test scores, half of Allen's 56 students chewed sugarless gum while studying while the other half did not. After three days of instruction, the gum-chewing group scored, on average, a half grade higher on a written test.

The rhythmic act of chewing stimulate the brain and helps the mind and body relax. For ADHD kids, chewing can reduce fidgety behavior.

While most classrooms ban gum, you can always toss a stick of gum at your youngster during the homework hours. Try it and see if it helps.

Reduce ADHD Symptoms without Medication

According to National Association of School Psychologists study, catching ADHD early on may make it possible to reduce symptoms. The most important tool is structure, or "environmental management."

According to this study, 30% of preschool aged children with ADHD improved with no medication at all. Changing the routine, changing the diet and improving the overall family atmosphere can make a huge difference.

A few examples of small changes that net big results are; monitoring sugar intake, establishing a set bedtime, and providing structure throughout the day.

Proactive parenting and education makes it possible to tackle ADD and make medication a last resort.