Non-Drug
Treatment of ADD/ADHD
Exclusive Interview with Lendon Smith, MD
Lendon H. Smith earned
his MD degree and began the practice of medicine almost 55 years
ago and has fought for children's health and nutrition issues
for over three decades. Dr. Smith was among the first to caution
against sugar, white flour, and junk food known to contribute
to sickness, hyperactivity, obesity, allergies, and many illnesses
in children and adults.
He has authored or
co-authored 15 books, dating back to 1969. He appeared on the
Phil Donohue Show more than 20 times and The Tonight Show 62 times.
He was awarded an Emmy for his "My Mom's Having a Baby"
after-school special. Dr. Smith has had a truly illustrious career,
going from US army medic to pediatrician to national bestselling
author.
For more information,
you can try his website (www.smithsez.com) that is currently being
upgraded.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optimal Wellness Center
(OWC): You have been active on the issue of behavioral problems
in childhood for many years. How did you first get involved with
the issue of ADHD and related behavior disorders?
Lendon Smith, MD: My
father was a pediatrician and he believed that behavior was more
genetic than environmentally produced. I was going to be a psychiatrist
from about age 15 on. I felt that if we straightened out one generation,
every one, including their children, would be normal after that
- Freudian concept (wrong!).
In my fourth year
in medical school I attended a lecture by a Portland pediatric
neurologist. In the 1930s he was in charge of a home for "oddball"
children. One of his clients was a wild and crazy girl. He told
his nurse to give her a dose of bromide. She reached up and by
mistake got hold of the benzedrine bottle. In about 30 minutes
the girl was asleep.
The doctor said to
the nurse, "That bromide works." The nurse said, "What
did you say?"
Of course she had
to fill out an accident report, but the two of them could not
believe the therapeutic results. They repeated the maverick dose
the next day and the girl calmed down again. The doctor wrote
a paper about this and it was reported in one of the pediatric
journals. He noted that most of the kids he was seeing for this
same syndrome had had some sort of "hurt" to the nervous
system at birth such as:
Cord around the neck
Prematurity
Second of twins
Collapsed lungs
He felt it was a "hurt" to the part of the nervous system
that had to do with self-control. He had no idea why a stimulant
had this calming effect. We now know that it is because there
is not enough norepinephrine in their limbic system, the part
of the brain that is supposed to filter out unimportant stimuli.
This serendipitous
result of an accident has now allowed the psychiatrists and pediatricians
to prescribe this type of narcotic drug to 4,000,000 kids on any
given school day, and even pushed some of them into psychosis
and homicide.
I was one of those
drug-pushing pediatricians for a couple of decades. Then it became
clear to me that there was a pattern to the behavior of these
children. Genetics is there, of course, and can result in "hurts"
to the nervous system, but my patients were 80% boys. I found
in examining them -- - trying to find some common denominator
that I could use as a diagnostic criterion -- - that they were
exquisitely ticklish.
They were unable to
disregard unimportant stimuli.
That is why they have
trouble in the classroom with 30 other kids burping, coughing,
passing gas and dropping pencils. The teacher says, "Charlie,
sit down and stop moving around." No wonder home schooling
is becoming popular.
Blood tests were not
helpful, but hair tests showed me that they were all low in calcium
and especially magnesium. No wonder they craved chocolate. (There
is more magnesium in chocolate than any other food on earth.)
I began to treat them
with oral doses of 500 mg magnesium and 1000 mg calcium daily.
It took three weeks, but 80% of them were able to get off Ritalin
or dextroamphetamine, or whatever stimulant they were on. It did
not work on all of them. As time went by, I had them take vitamin
B6 if dream recall was poor and essential fatty acids if they
had dry skin or a history of eczema. If they had ear infections
as infants, they were taken off milk.
As time went on, I
found it worked on adults if they had symptoms of ticklishness
and inability to disregard unimportant stimuli. Apparently these
people have some enzyme defect, genetic or nutritional, that prevented
them from making norepinephrine, a stimulant, which we all now
recognize is made to help the filtering device in the limbic system
do its job.
It is too bad that
psychiatrists have failed to recognize that if a stimulant acts
as a calming agent, then they must shore up the flagging enzyme
that is under-producing. This all fits with the damage that we
have done to the top soil. It is washing and blowing away and
with it, the magnesium. The psychiatrists have made ADD/ADHD a
disease, like pneumonia.
It is actually a syndrome
due to a defect in the screening device of the brain. I understand
that since they had made it a disease they can be compensated
for treating it. Another rule they have used: "If the Ritalin
works, they need it." Sort of like a Ritalin deficiency.
They had another one:
"Dyscalcula" if one is bad at math. They are good with
words. For instance, they know that vegetarian is an Indian word
meaning: "poor hunter."
OWC: Is ADD/ADHD a
single disorder with a single cause or optimal treatment or is
it more of a broad term to describe nearly all children with behavior
problems?
Dr. Smith: I am glad
you said "disorder," because as I mentioned previously,
the condition is not a bona fide disease, but a collection of
symptoms and signs that seems to get in the way of a child being
educated. The teacher or school administrator is usually the one
who suggests that the child see a doctor for the behavior problem
(psychiatrist or pediatrician), whom they know will put the kid
on Ritalin or a similar drug.
The doctor hears the
story from the parents that her child (usually her son) will be
thrown out of school unless something is done. She has tried isolation,
spankings, standing in the corner, etc, but nothing seems to work.
She also knows that a one-to-one situation would be effective.
The teacher may write
down the symptoms noticed: restlessness, talkative, doesn't seem
to listen, forgetful, short attention span, distractible, class
clown, wants attention, may be a bully, as well as a few other
related symptoms and signs.
The doctor knows what
to do. Usually without even an exam, except a quick look in the
eyes, and a listen to see if his heart is beating, the doctor
reaches for his prescription pad and writes one out for Ritalin,
5 mg, #20 (or one of the newer drugs of the same type). "Try
one or two in the morning after breakfast, and see what the teacher
says. It may wreck his appetite, however."
The next day, the
very first day of treatment, his attention span is better and
he cannot eat his lunch. It works. It is a miracle. The doctor
is called and thanked profusely. He assumes since it works that
the boy needs it.
When I became familiar
with nutrition, I found that if a stimulant drug had a calming
effect like the above, it meant that the child did not have enough
norepinephrine (a stimulant) in his limbic system, and that I
could help with a good diet and some supplements which should
shore up the enzymes in his brain that make that neurotransmitter.
If he had ever had
ear infections, I stopped his dairy products, and added calcium
1,000 mg, usually at bedtime.
If he was ticklish,
I added magnesium - 500 mg is usually safe for child or adult.
If he was a "Jekyll
and Hyde" type of person (severe mood swings), he had intermittent
low blood sugar and he needed to nibble all day to keep his blood
sugar up. Or at least eat some additional protein and less carbohydrates
for better maintenance of blood sugar levels. No sugar or white-flour
junk food.
If he could not remember
his dreams, he needed vitamin B6 - 50 mg is about right.
If he ever had eczema
or dry scaly skin, he is to take the essential fatty acids.
If he had dark circle
under his eyes, he was eating something to which he is sensitive.
Milk, wheat, corn, chocolate, eggs, citrus. Usually it is his
favorite food.
I often ask these children
what they like to eat. I often get a smart-alec answer, like,
"rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, and broccoli." (The mother
is sitting in her chair shaking her head.) People tend to eat
the food to which they are sensitive. It is like the alcoholic
who has low blood sugar. The child who loves milk is usually sensitive
to it. They continue to drink dairy products, because somehow
they need the calcium, but they are so sensitive to it, it does
not get absorbed. Blood and hair tests will reveal the deficiencies.
Non-Drug Treatment of ADD/ADHD
Exclusive Interview with Lendon Smith, MD
Part 2 (Previous -
Next)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OWC: What are some
of the causes and cures for ADD/ADHD? Do you recommend diagnostic
tests for nutritional deficiencies? Are there obvious signs of
deficiencies other than the ones mentioned previously?
Dr. Smith: Over time
back in the 1960s and 70s, I began to notice there were certain
common symptoms and signs amongst the "hyper" children
I saw who had been pre-diagnosed by the teachers.
In addition to being
80% boys, they were usually blue-eyed blondes or green-eyed redheads.
About half of them
had dark circles under their eyes (a give-away that they were
eating something to which they were sensitive. Not necessarily
allergic, but at least sensitive.) In most cases, that sign indicated
a dairy sensitivity.
That stimulated me
to ask about any ear infections the child had as an infant. Almost
all had suffered from a few of those painful conditions. This
is another clue that dairy products may account for some of the
symptoms. Next question I asked the mother: "Does he drink
milk?" Her answer: "Oh, yes, he loves it. Isn't he supposed
to drink it?" Well, yes and no. If a person loves something,
it suggests that he is allergic, addicted, or sensitive to it.
Like chocolate or booze.
Next question for the
mother: "Anything unusual about the pregnancy with him?"
Many, but not all, of the mothers responded with some or all of
the following problems:
Nausea for all the
nine months
Not much weight gain during the pregnancy
Threatened miscarriage with spotty bleeding
Overwhelming food cravings (sweets, chocolate, dairy, pickles,
or whatever)
Emotional stress (e.g., stress from mother-in-law)
Fetus was always moving in the uterus ("he once kicked so
hard, he knocked me out of bed.")
Some mothers had delivery problems like:
Placenta previa
Precipitous delivery
Nurse tried to hold him back
Big baby -- - over 10 pounds
Small -- - under 4 pounds
Blue coloring at birth
Needed the incubator for a few days
Still other mothers reported problems during early infancy:
Could not latch on
to breast feeding
Constant colic for the first several weeks
Required many formula changes
Some had all of the above; but some had none of them.
Then there followed
the ear infections, as well as high fever and screaming after
the vaccinations. He was a "touchy" kid.
My next question:
"Does he have mood swings? Is he a Jekyl-and-Hyde person?"
If yes, it is due to fluctuating blood sugar, as sugar (glucose)
is a substance that the brain needs in a constant supply.
Then the physical
exam started. He noticed what I was doing and needed constant
reassurance that I was not going to hurt him. The heart was beating,
and as I moved the stethoscope around to hear the different heart
sounds, he would ask, "Can't you find it?" When I looked
in his ears, and usually noted some retraction of the eardrums,
he acted a if he could hear the light. The abdominal exam was
difficult because he was so ticklish -- - exquisitely so. I had
to forget the hernia exam, even though I had backed him up against
the wall by this time. These patients were usually of wirey and/or
athletic build; they were rarely obese.
Because so many of
these patients had some or all of the above symptoms and signs,
it suggested to me that they had a vitamin or more likely, a mineral
deficiency. I did some blood and hair tests. All of them, yes,
all of them, had a calcium and magnesium deficiency, despite the
fact that many were drinking a quart of milk a day. Apparently
they could not absorb the calcium from the dairy products because
of their sensitivity. The intestines were rejecting it. It also
explained why they loved the milk: somehow the body was telling
them to drink it to get the calcium.
Another possibility:
when they had ear infections, they were put on antibiotics and
those frequently needless use of powerful drugs could have wiped
out the friendly bacteria and allowed the yeast, candida to grow,
or at least produce an intestinal dysbiosis, and poor absorption.
As I mentioned previously, but can't stress enough, there is this
rule: If you love something, you are probably sensitive to it.
Diagnosis Recap
Just to recap some
of my previous statements, after a few years of trying to be a
good diagnostician, I accumulated these findings:
1. If a person is
ticklish, goosey, sensitive, and notices everything in his environment,
as he is unable to disregard unimportant stimuli, it means that
he is low in magnesium, and possibly calcium. Muscle cramps and
trouble relaxing or going to sleep also suggest low magnesium
and calcium. These symptoms correlate nicely with the hair test
showing low levels of these two minerals.
2. Poor dream recall
is related to a need for vitamin B6.
3. A history of eczema
or dry, scaly skin usually means a person is low in the essential
fatty acids. These acids are also necessary for brain function.
The nutmeg-grater feel to the skin on the thighs and back of the
upper arms is usually a Vitamin A deficiency. White spot on the
nails is due to low zinc.
4. A bad self-image
could be the result if the parents, teachers, and classmates who
are all screaming at him to sit still, shut up, and constantly
asking disparagingly "What are you dong now?"
Ritalin works in just
30 minutes, while the minerals and the other supplements and diet
changes take about three weeks to achieve results. The whole family
has to stop the desserts, sugars, white flour, and "put-downs".
Too many questions and commands lead to the poor self image.
OWC: Are Ritalin and
other stimulant drugs being over used or at least oversubscribed?
Is there a proper place for these drugs? Are there any children
who can't be helped in any other way? If so, what % would you
say fall into this category?
Dr. Smith: There is
no doubt that these stimulant drugs are being over-prescribed
for these out-of-control children. If, however, the prescribing
doctor feels he/she has no alternative for the child who has been
"diagnosed" by the teacher who is trying to scrape this
child off the wall, the drug seems mandatory. "If it works,
the child needs it" seems to be the motto.
Those of us working
with these children like Dr. Doris Rapp and Dr. Billy Crook have
no doubt that this is usually "a physiological screwup"
and not a disease. (One reason it is called a disease is that
insurance companies need a standard diagnosis before they will
pay for the treatment.) ADHD and ADD have been now called diseases
and have a diagnosis code number, for the psychiatrists along
with the previously mentioned "disease" called dyscalculia.
ADHD will subsequently
soon become a palpable disease called a neurosis when the child
gets depressed and even suicidal if he is put down at every turn
by teachers, parents, and his peers.
The only proper use
for these drugs for a vast majority of kids -- - as I have come
to realize -- - is that it will temporarily control the restless
behavior.
If it works, it is
not a "Ritalin deficiency", but likely a magnesium,
calcium, or vitamin B6 deficiency. I have learned from my naturopathic
and herbal therapists that our topsoil is becoming deficient in
several minerals. The farmers are putting nitrogen, phosphates,
and potassium (NPK) on the soil and their plants grow and look
healthy but magnesium, zinc, selenium and other valuable minerals
are depleted.
At the height of the
dust bowl, the US Department of Agriculture put out a "white
paper" saying that the minerals in the top soil were deficient
and people may have to supply their own with supplements to avoid
sickness and problems like early aging, heart attacks, joint problems,
and surliness.
The point seems to
be that sometimes we cannot get everything we need for healthy
living from eating foods from the store or maybe even from organic
farms, although those will likely be better.
Then, on top of that,
if we or our children are eating the "Standard American Diet"
(SAD) our nutritional status will only be worse. If a person has
even one cavity, he is flawed already, and it is a clue that other
nasties are just around the corner.
Maybe, a small percent, like ten percent or less of "hyper"
children may need the drugs to calm them, mainly because they
have had some sort of injury to their nervous system that diet
will not touch.
Many of those, however,
can be still be salvaged with neurodevelopment therapy. I have
seen the work of those therapists and know of the miracles they
can perform. Homeopathy is a well-known and sometimes surprising
type of treatment, that has saved many of these "throw away"
children before they give up and go into crime for their kicks.
There are so many
side effects from the stimulant drugs, I would recommend that
the diet modifications, outlined elsewhere, should be tried first.
These children realize they are not so bad and will even start
to smile and laugh. It helped me. I was the class clown in the
6th grade, because the teacher did not know what to do with me
besides making me the "humor editor" of the class newspaper.
Don't give up on these
children! Remember Edison, Sir Winston Churchill, and Einstein.
Return
to Information Library
|