Natural remedies for ADHD: Is it scientifically proven?

On a global scale, we see that the rate of growth of ADHD cases is about 5%. Also, ADHD is twice as common in boys as compared to girls. Today, every pharmaceuticals company sells its products on the name to treat ADHD, but most of their products have no scientific backing. Some of these medications are stimulants while others are non-stimulants. But we can also cure it using natural remedies for ADHD which have no side effects as most of the allopathic medicine has.

Stimulant medication may have side effects:

We use stimulants in ADHD patient to increase the production of hormones or for hormones balancing.

Like all medication, the stimulants have side effects. The most common problem is decreased appetite. Most children don’t eat well when medication is working. The commonly loose weight the first 1 to 2 months of starting medication. But most children’s weight then improves. Thus, it’s essential that your child eats a good breakfast and eat well later in the day when the medication wears off. If weight loss becomes big problems, changes to the medicine may be necessary.

For some children, medication makes it harder to fall asleep. It often gets better over the first couple of weeks of using the medicine. But if it continues to be a problem, you will need to discuss options for managing the sleep difficulty with your doctor.

Children may develop a headache or stomachaches early on when using stimulants medications. But for most children, this improves in 1 to 3 weeks. If the pain is bothering your child, it’s okay to use Tylenol.

Some children get spacey or too quiet or may feel when on medicine. If this continues over one to two weeks or is a problem for your child, then consult with a doctor.

About 5% of children become irritable when the medicine wears off so, in the late afternoon or evening, this could be a problem.

Sometimes, we use caffeine along with ADHD medication which may have adverse effects on the ADHD children. Hence, we need to consult with the doctor to take caffeine with ADHD medication.

Things we need to avoid:

• Process sugar: Added sugar can cause insulin and blood sugar spike which causes a lot of hyperactivity because of the rise in energy level.
• Gluten: It causes intestinal inflammation, getting into the bloodstream and cause issues. It not only causes the leaky gut syndrome, but it also contributes to problems like an autoimmune disease. So stay away from it if you have ADHD or ADD.
• Conventional diary: Convention dairy products like cheese product contains a protein called beta casein A1 protein. It could be 2 to 25 times more inflammatory with your body if your body is not using beta casein a1 correctly. It may be a significant trigger for ADHD.
• Food Dyes: Studies shows that food additive can cause outburst in people with ADHD. So stay away from the food containing any food additives.
• Refined carbohydrates: It turns to sugar in the body which increases the energy level, causing an increase in hyperactivity.
• Nitrates: It causes acidity in the body and significant gastric inflammation which might trigger symptoms of ADHD.
• Artificial sweeteners: Most of these don’t contain sugar, but it has chlorine which kills probiotic in the gut. As many studies prove the link between gut and ADHD, healthier is your gut help in managing ADHD symptoms. It has also linked artificial sweetener with short-term memory loss, causing an issue with brain and gut.

Some natural remedies for ADHD Treatment:

Herbal medicine when the right one is selected for the hyperactive child, the child naturally calms down into the natural state of energy. It balances the body and mind, not put our mind into a state of dullness like various allopathy medicine do to cure ADHD.

Chamomilla:

It is an effective medicine when

• Children who become irritable and loses his temper
• If children lost his temper but don’t know what he/she needs.
• Cry for things which he/she is demanding
• Remains too much angry throughout the day
• When children cry too easily
• If children fight instantly with no significant cause

If children with ADHD have any of the above symptoms, chamomilla in 30 potencies is an effective medicine.

Essential Oils:

Several studies can be used as an ADHD natural treatment. Here are the few essential.

Vetiver oil and cedarwood oil:

Vetiver is a super thick oil which is known for its ability to ground the emotions. It is equally helpful for restlessness and often used for promoting sleep. Cedarwood is an essential oil that is rooting and often used to increase focus and ground the mind. Many studies prove that both oils can become effective at improving concentration and calming children with ADHD.

Rosemary and peppermints oils:

Rosemary and peppermints oils, another natural remedy for ADHD, are known for body strengthening ability such as the healing of sensitive organs like the liver, brain, and heart. Now, the study proves its effectiveness for enhancing memory and improving alertness.

Vitamin B-complex:

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which is released from the pineal gland in the brain. Serotonin is responsible for most of the function of the brain like mood, behavior, sleep, depression, etc. We can enjoy our life only if the serotonin level is at a reasonable level. Its deficiency causes many health issues like low self-esteem, social phobia, memory loss, anxiety, and panic attacks. Vitamin B aid in the formation of serotonin. Both child and adult need with ADHD may need more Vitamin B-complex to help stabilize their mood and anxiety. Hence, Vitamin B-complex might solve ADHD if it occurs because of the low level of serotonin.

CINA: 

• Children who don’t like to go away from parents and cry when other peoples touch them or try to talk to them
• Lost temper easily
• Irritable every time
• Children who don’t satisfy with things. E.g., You have given him/her pen. He/she will play with it for 1 to 2 minutes. After this, they threw it away and cried

CINA homeopathy natural remedy for ADHD is an effective medicine for these children. Most of the times, children show the above symptoms when they have worms in the stomach. For them, CINA is an effective dewormer.

Hyoscyamus:

If Children or adult with ADHD has the following symptoms, the hyoscyamus is an effective medicine.

• Anxiety
• Anger too easily and desire to kill other
• Abnormal mind and fearful
• Don’t believe anyone and have difficulty in making friends
• Doubtful and jealous
• Meaningless self-talking and shaking head
• Weak memory and sometimes even
• Inability to focus on things

GABA: Gamma-Amino-butyric acid

GABA, another natural remedy for ADHD, is an amino acid that’s known for its calming ability. It acts as a natural tranquilizer. It is an amino acid produced in the brain that regulates chemical reaction between glutamic acid, decarboxylase, GAD and pyridoxal. By using GABA, we can infuse this amino acid into the body which naturally attracts itself to the synapses found in the membrane receptor of the neurons of the human brain. GABA can naturally regulate these neurotransmitters.

A study conducted in Japan at the Chiron university medical school reviewed how GABA might help ADHD. In this study, sixty students were given either 100 mg of placebo for the GABA supplement. And we then administered a math test. It was found that the GABA group provided 20% more correct answers than the placebo group. Thus, it improves mental performance.

It has the potential to interact with your other medication for ADHD. So consult your doctor before its use. We can naturally stimulate GABA production by drinking green tea. Complex carbohydrates rich food like barley. Corn, potatoes, legumes, etc.

Brahmi Ayurvedic herb:

Its scientific name is bacopa monnieri. Brahmi is an Ayurvedic herb which was popular in traditional India because of its ability to increase memory. It also helps in improving focus. It gave slightly bitter so you can consume it along with one spoon of honey. Brahmi is also known to be a natural stimulant due to its stimulating property of nerve cells. It calms the mind and helps to improve focus.

Rhodiola Rosea:

It is another natural remedy for ADHD treatment used in traditional Chinese medicines to promote physical and cognitive health. We can also use it as an alternative treatment of ADHD. Rhodiola Rosea increases the sensitivity in the neurological and nervous system and encourages the formation of serotonin. Both children and adult can use it to improve their focus.

Omega-3 other natural remedies for ADHD:

Omega-3 foods like fish, Mackerel, salmon, Cod Liver Oil, etc. act as a superfood for the brain. Thus, it acts as another natural remedy for ADHD. Study on children was conducted who took fish oil supplements, and it shows a significant improvement in their ability to focus and concentrate in schools. Omega 3 is a natural remedies for ADHD according to various researches.

Probiotic:

Studies have shown a link between brain health and gut health. Keeping your gut health can help reduce brain fog, regulates memory — concentration and focus. The way you eat directly affects the way your brain works. Hence, add probiotic food in the diet or take probiotic supplements. ProbioticProbiotic help create an environment full of helpful bacteria in your gut. Probiotic themselves in your gut produces vitamin and minerals like vitamin B12 which supports the brain. The supports the absorption of zinc that can help focus and concentration. Its supplements added to your diet makes the best diet plan for weight loss.

These all-natural remedies for ADHD don’t harm as most of the allopathic medicine has so much side effects.