Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity have been “diagnosed” in more children in the last 20 years than ever before but the treatment available today is woefully inadequate.  While our society is waging an ongoing “war on drugs” millions of children are hooked on “speed” in the form of Ritalin and amphetamines.  Apart from the serious side effects and the long term problems these drugs create, they do not come anywhere near addressing the underlying causes and can in no way be regarded as a cure.  They are simply masking the symptoms.

Diagnoses such as learning disability, hyperactivity and poor impulse control are usually attributed to a brain chemistry imbalance.  A better label might be “toxic brain syndrome” since the most common factor is a constant bombardment of the child’s nervous system with pesticides, mercury, lead, food additives, artificial sweeteners, vaccines, antibiotics and allergenic foods.  Each one of these have been shown to significantly and profoundly impact developing brain cells and combine together with devastating effects.

A full scale assault on these problems requires a homeopathic, herbal and nutritional program to undo the developmental and biological damage caused by chronic exposure to toxins.  Herbs have the short-term gain of relaxing and calming, while improving brain function and neutransmitter production.  In the long term, nervine and adaptogenic plants can protect, detoxify and heal the nervous system – all without the significant toxicity or side effects of drugs.

Let’s start the most beneficial herbs first.  What you will notice is that these herbs work with the body rather than against it.  The desire is to calm the frenzy and quiet the mind.  By giving amphetamines, you, in my opinion, are making the brain even more frantic and basically overwhelming the child.  He gets so confused and short-circuited that he shuts down and, in a lot of cases, becomes dazed, numb to feelings and unresponsive.  The herbal goal is to quiet the already frantic brain chemicals to calm down and allow the child to think, understand and respond appropriately to the stimulus around him.

When you think of ADD or ADHD or simply hyperactivity, think of the nerve endings in the brain looking like split ends of hair.  Normal nerve endings are single ended branches and closely touch the other nerve endings and make the spark between the two ends clean and neat.  When you have children that are easily excitable, the nerve ends look similar to split ends where the spark goes off in all directions with no specific target.  These sparks fire aimlessly and the thought process gets lost and frustration and anger occurs.  The following herbs can closely be described as “nerve conditioner” – smoothing the ends of the nerves allowing the spark to reach its target, thought processes to be completed and satisfaction and self-esteem to be restored.

Another consideration to note is that the largest organ of the body is the skin.  In addition to modification of diet, soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners, lotions, detergents and other chemicals your children come into contact with should be as pure as possible from toxins.  Homemade soaps, lotions and shampoos, etc., should be used especially with this sensitive child.  I’m not saying YOU have to make these products yourself, but purchase from a reputable health food store or herbalist and READ THE LABEL carefully.  It has been determined that Sodium Laureth Sulfate is not cancerous, but that’s not to say your sensitive child should be using it.  Essential oils like Lavender, Chamomile, rose and others, can be very soothing and aid the relaxation process.  Just remember, they must be ESSENTIAL OILS and NOT FRAGRANCE OILS – fragrance oils are chemically derived – no use in putting more chemicals on your child than already are.

 So, let’s start with the most relevant herbs first:

To calm your child in order to get their attention so you can work on the other problems, you may consider California Poppy, St. John’s Wort, Valerian, Grape seed Extract and Oats.

California Poppy – A gentle sedative that relieves psychological and emotional disturbances in kids.  Soothes and balances an overactive nervous system.  Reduces anxiety and tension in overactive states, decreases spasms.  Effective for difficulty in falling asleep, or frequent, regular waking.  This herb is seldom prescribed, on its own, but is many times part of a preparation for insomnia.  If used alone, 1 tsp. in 1 cup of boiling water, steep for 10 minutes and drink as a Tea.

St. John’s Wort – Most of us have heard of St. John’s Wort  used for depression, because, like hyperactive or children with ADD/ADHD, you are working with a short-circuited nervous system.  This herb regulates mood and attention, relieves feelings of sadness, apathy, low self-esteem, isolation, anger, guilt, and shame.  St. John’s Wort is relatively safe for long term use in children of all ages. A Tea of 2 teaspoonfuls of St. John’s Wort in 1 cup of water and steep for 10 minutes is the normal recipe.  You may drink this 2-3 times a day.

Valerian – Relaxes and reduces restlessness, nervousness and improves Sleep.  Valerian is a slower acting herb and should be taken for 2-4 weeks, daily, to improve mood and Sleep.  A Tea can be made using 1 tsp per 1 cup of water and drunk 2-3 times daily and before bedtime.  Fifteen to twenty drops in water of 1:5 Tincture can be used several times daily. Valerian has shown to improve learning skills and children have less aggressive behavior.

Grape Seed Extract – GSE contains bioflavonoids with the most potent antioxidant effects known.  It is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and directly protect the brain against a wide variety of toxins and damaging free radicals.  Grape Seed Extract improves brain blood flow and strengthens brain capillaries.  Grape Seed Extract is only available as a capsule or tablet.  Preventative therapy suggests 50 mg daily and treatment doses of 150 to 600 mg daily in divided doses.

Ginkgo – It improves focus, Memory, cognition, and helps with knowledge retention and perception.  Ginkgo boosts the brain’s ability to use oxygen, thus helping the neurotransmitters.  Ginkgo is high in nutritive antioxidants that protect the brain and nervous system from damage by various toxins

The next stage is to treat the nervous excitability.  He may be calm now, but something could trigger unwanted behavior such as anger or violence.  These herbs help this stage:

Oats – Oats is a nervous system nutritive and tonic for mental stress, nervousness, overwork, exhaustion, weakness.  It improves mental concentration and focus.  Oats ease stress, tension, depression and insomnia, but also improves clarity.  They are excellent for transitioning and weaning off neurological medications.  Feeding your child oatmeal for breakfast can be one of the most beneficial things you can do.  If you have time, please don’t fix the instant oatmeal – it’s been chemically modified.  Please prepare your child the original (Quaker) oats – it takes a little longer to cook, but is closer to the original oat.  Oat Tea is made by taking 2 tsps of oats and boiling in 2 cups of water, strain after cooling and indulge.  If your child is gluten sensitive be aware that oats contain gluten, although minute amounts, and there could be a slight reaction.

Hops – Very useful for nervous tension, excitability, restlessness and irritability.  Great herb for insomnia and can be used not only internally, but in a Sleep pillow in addition to Lavender.  Hops calms and improves your child’s mood, but should be avoided if your child has been diagnosed with depression.  Also, if you child complains of a stomach ache, Hops relieves intestinal discomfort and strengthens and stimulates digestion.

Bacopa – A calming herb, Bacopa improves anxiety.  It improves intellectual capacity, acuity, clarity of thought and helps with concentration.  Memory improver, especially in the elderly, and it helps to shorten learning time.

Kava Kava – Works similarly as Hops, but also produces a sense of tranquility and softens angry or violent feelings.  Great mood improver and tension leveler.  Produces normal Sleep patterns.

And finally, Lemon Balm – This gentle safe and calming children’s herb is wonderful for depression and anxiety.  It relaxes the nervous system and eases agitation while soothing digestion.

Any or all of these herbs can be used together in a Tea combination or in an herbal extract.  These herbs, historically, have been used for nervousness, agitation and anxiety.  Unlike pharmaceuticals, there is no “weaning” your child off the herb if you find that your child is not achieving the desired balance.  Just continue down the line of herbs until you feel that you’ve hit on a combination that works for you and your little one.

Take Care Naturally offers an herbal Tea called “Sereni-Tea” that contains Organic Raspberry leaf, organic Catnip, organic Spearmint, organic Skullcap, organic Calendula flowers and a pinch of organic Stevia.  I personally use this Tea when I have trouble winding down from a stressful day. 

Contact me with any questions:  Kathi Garrison, MH ( Kathi@takecarenaturally.com )