ADD/ADHD – A Functional Medicine Approach
ADD/ADHD has become far too common in children today. The temporary “cure” for ADD/ADHD is basically speed for kids. Ritalin and Adderall, the most popularly prescribed medication for ADD/ADHD, are amphetamines – legalized speed. As our kids get older, we instill the thoughts that alcohol and drugs are bad, yet by giving our kids prescribed medicine for ADD/ADHD, we are in fact giving them a drug that can make them chemically dependent at an early age. For parents with children who suff er from ADD/ADHD, a temporary cure may seem like the right answer, especially during the days when all hell is breaking loose and you feel like you have no control.
However, by medicating your child, you are simply putting tape over your child’s mouth. At the Functional Medicine & Wellness Center, we have a permanent solution that does not include medicating your child. At the FM&WC, Dr. Ozzie will evaluate our child and determine the cause of the disorder, eliminate the cause and repair the damage that was done. The root of ADD/ADHD stems from diet (chemical stress), followed by structural and mental/ emotional stress. Most parents think that by eliminating certain foods from their child’s diet, like sugar, that everything will be okay. But, that’s not the case; there are other factors that come into play. At the FM&WC, we address and remove all three stresses, whereas most doctors either don’t consider or address one or more of the three stresses.
One or more of these stresses has caused severe damage that has led to your child’s disorder, so once the stress has been addressed, we repair the damage. Keep in mind, the process of repairing the damage may take some time, depending on the severity of the damage. Determining chemical stress in children requires looking for a food allergy or intolerance. This can be done through saliva testing. When the body ingests food that it is allergic to or cannot tolerate. As a parent, you may not remember that being a child can be very mentally stressful, whether dealing with problems at school, siblings or mom and dad fighting.
Emotional stress plays a huge part in contributing to ADD/ADHD. This type of stress can cause serious changes to the brain chemistry.The brain functions off of sensory input from the movement of muscles and joints. So, stress on the body’s structure can cause negative input to the brain and in turn the brain can cause negative impacts on the body. This is why chiropractic care contributes to the treatment of every single disease or syndrome known to man. Chiropractic care has the ability to reduce and eliminate a huge amount of stress on the body.
Eliminating stress allows the brain to focus on proper function of the whole body, including brain chemistry. You may think your child has no structural imbalances; however the vast majorities of kids that are treated at the Functional Medicine Center have extreme structural imbalances, can only be adjusted by a chiropractor. Chiropractors especially Applied Kinesiologists, such Dr. Ozzie, are experts in the field of muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints.
