ADD and Diet Part 4

This segment is on ....

ADD and Diet Part 3

Diet in the ADD person is quite important and usually overlooked by health professionals. Yes, health professionals are likely to instruct patients to be compliant (with medication), rarely with intake of "high quality" of food. The higher the quality of food, the better and more it is bio-available to the body. Subsequently, less by-products and metabolic wastes results. For example, whole grain is better than wheat flour which is still better than white flour, etc. You get my point. Still more to come.....

ADD and Diet Part 2 (fatty acids, amino acids, etc)

Part two of the diet is a discussion of the “supplements” that our body needs and usually don’t get enough of. Essential fatty acids support and promote the building of neural pathways needed for learning and sustained attention. Essential fatty acids are especially needed in those with ADD. Amino acids promote the production of various neurotransmitters and enzymes critically needed in brain metabolism. Amino acids allow smooth, balanced cognition and fluid transition from thought to disciplined action. Also, helps to reduce stress, frustration and cognitive overload.

Some fatty acid of interest are phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylserine. Some common Essential Fatty Acid are Arachidic Acid, Arachidonic Acid, Caproic Acid, Caprylic Acid, Decosahexaenoic Acid, DMAE, dimethylaminoethanol Eciosatrienoic Acid, Lauric Acid, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Palmitoleic Acid, Pentadeconic Acid, and Stearic Acid. I am mentioning the major essential fatty acid here for recognition purposes and would suggest researching further if you wish to have a better understanding of them. Otherwise, this discussion would be a biochemistry discussion and too technical for my audience.

In addition to fatty acids, amino acids are also important. They are as follows:
Calcium Pantothenate and Magnesium Aspartate for normal cell function.
Cystine to strengthen the immune system, reduce damage from free-radicals, repair RNA-DNA in the cells and assimilation of vitamin B6.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) for normal inhibitory functions of the central nervous system.
Glutamic Acid to cleanse the central nervous system and improve overall brain health, attitude and mental performance.
Glutathione to helps detoxify the body.
Glycine to promote health of the thymus gland, spleen, and bone marrow and balance white cell production.
Isoleucine, L-Leucine and L- Cysteine to help detoxify the body and promote healing.
Methionine to support the liver's manufacturing of lecithin and help chelate heavy metals from the body's tissues.
Phenylalanine (DLPA) for improved learning and memory and to increase energy and decrease depression and pain.
Pyridoxine HCL (B6) to increase seritonin levels in the brain.
Tyrosine, an amino acid shown to increase concentration, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression. L-Tyrosine is best used in conjunction with vitamin B6
Valine for increased cognitive function and smooth nervous system functioning.

Other supplements of interest include:
Ginkgo Biloba to improve memory.
Chromium Nicotinate to stabilize blood sugar levels.
Radix Heraclei to reduce frustration and stress and increase attentiveness and awareness.
Flax Seed Powder to provide additional essential fatty acids.
Gotu Kola to provide a natural stimulant.
Pycnogenol, and Pine Bark Extract, powerful antioxidants that promote increased circulation and oxygen to the brain.
Pregnenolone, the "Memory Hormone," to enhance short-term and long-term memory function.
NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) to improve memory functions and learning.Catechol to enhance the creation of new neural pathways for ease in learning.
DMAE, dimethylaminoethanol, is exceptionally beneficial in helping to eliminate brain toxins and increase the brain's potential to make neurotransmitters. DMAE also helps with mood elevation, improved memory and learning. DMAE has shown benefits against the disruptive and impulsive behaviors caused by ADD. It also shows improvement in treating memory lapses, Alzheimer’s Disease and some troubling movement disorders. Also referred to as a “cholinergic”, DMAE is thought to increase the levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is a chemical in the brain that raises brain powers.

ADD and Diet Part 1 (General knowledge)

A.D.D. people tend to have a higher sensitivity to diet (and to their environment) than their non-A.D.D. counterpart. When the ADD person’s diet is inundated with irritating substances (such as food dyes, food additives, environmental chemicals, pollutants, etc.), their ADD symptoms become variable, out of control or worsen. Moreover, if these offending agents exceed the body’s physiological capability to detoxify the offending agents, the ADD symptoms will decline significantly. This is the working notion associated with variable ADD symptoms associated with diet. February is “food” month, and I will address “food” as something we digest, fuel for the body, restorative substances for the body, dietary supplements (vitamins and herbs) and pharmaceutical supplements.

Let’s start with ADD friendly foods that are consumed regularly and abundantly to help our ADD symptoms. First, eat fresh food, not highly processed convenient food. Fresh fruits and vegetable would be an excellent food source. Nuts such as almond, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, walnut, etc would be another source of food source. Snack on these food throughout the day. If you plan to eat, try to cook your own food from scratch, not the nukeable (i.e. microwavable) food if you can help it. Cooking is very easy if you understand the cooking principles and what are the food complementary relationships.

By the way, I created some pilot cooking videos (DVD) called “ONE PAN CHAN” sometime ago. I will reedit them for distribution latter this year. The concept of “ONE PAN CHAN” is simple. Everything is done in one pan; marinate, cook, serve in one pan. This is great for the bachelor (or the bachelorette) and was created for people with limited cooking experience. I structure this to be enjoyable and humorous. So, please stay tune for “ONE PAN CHAN”, the cooking series.

The fuel that the body needs is in the form of three major categories. They are proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The major meat proteins include beef, pork, chicken, fish, and lamb. The other exotic meat proteins are wild turkey, venison, buffalo, ostrich, and game meat. The non-animal proteins include legumes such as peas and beans. Tofu (soybean products from Asian culture) is an excellent source of protein. Soybeans have been suggested to have breast cancer protective properties. (Food for thought question: When was the last time you heard about an Asian woman eating lots of tofu in their culture developing breast cancer?).

The restorative foodstuffs are the cofactors in the biochemical pathways that are sometimes used but not replenish. Biochemical cofactors could be vitamins, trace minerals, and various biochemical compounds. Some of these could be precursors for neurotransmitters. Some are essential amino acids, fatty acids, and enzymes.

The dietary vitamin is a billion dollar industry. There are so many types of vitamins and so many different brands of vitamins that I will leave it up to you to try the various brands and “daily requirements” to fit your physiology. The caveat is that look for vitamins that are the most bio-available for your physiology. If it works to you, continue to take it. If you don’t feel much benefit, then stop taking that brand and switch to another brand. This is a trial and error approach. I am not here to endorse any one brand over another brand.

Herbs are somewhat of a delicate matter and may lead to misperceptions of their benefits. Some may not believe in herbal benefits. If you don’t believe herbal benefits, I recommend you skip this section and move on to the next area of interest. Since our culture hasn’t been exposed to herbs like other “older” civilizations throughout the world, I would suggest you be familiar with the herbal practitioner. As a general rule, those who are practitioner of the ancient Oriental Medicine (Doctor of Oriental Medicine) probably would be a good source to seek herbal remedies for your particular needs. Doctor of Oriental Medicine practitioners are licensed. Their training is usually a 3 to 4 year graduate level studies after their Bachelor’s degree, nursing degree, or in conjunction with an allied health career such as a chiropractor or osteopath doctor. Do your homework and find one you feel comfortable with.

The pharmaceutical supplements are the laboratory synthesized compounds manufacture to “mimic” natural compound’s properties. This usually is not as good as the real thing. During the manufacturing process, the structure of the compound may not be identical to the natural compound and thus the effectiveness and bio-properties may be of less. For example, if the lab is able to synthesized Ginseng. The synthetic Ginseng may only have small portion of the real Ginseng’s beneficial effects.

The next subdivision of diet is the sequence of ingesting your food. The most appropriate sequence of eating is to start with fats and proteins to initiate the digestive process and to get the digestive enzymes ready to break down the food. In addition, the fats and proteins take longer to digest than carbohydrates. Finally, end with fruits and green leafy vegetable (salad) so that the roughage “pushes” the sticky fats and proteins in your digestive tract downstream. The roughage has a secondary benefit of scrubbing the digestive lining of debris to prevent polyp development. Thereby, minimizes gastrointestinal cancer. The simple point to remember is to eat fats and protein first, end with fruit and salad, and eat everything in-between.

Next week, I will go into detail about the specific compounds that are needed by our body to function optimally.