Use this drugless, nutritional protocol to care for your pediatric patients with ADHD and depression

We live in a day and age where everything from food preparation to treatment of health conditions is expected to be fast, extremely fast. The public wants, as they say, to have their cake and eat it too, without gaining weight or affecting the body in any negative way.

The public is subliminally manipulated by the pharmaceutical and food manufacturers with a mind-set that sickness is common, and you deserve to reward yourself with food. The food designed today has been formulated to complement the current research on health conditions that are destroying us. Ironically, the food being produced is actually the cause of most health ailments.

The most blatant example of this is hydrogenated fat or trans fat is good for heart function. Trans fat has recently been shown to be a source of saturated fat; these fats actually clog the blood vessel walls (trans fat or hydrogenated fats are heated vegetable oils with added hydrogen used in processed snacks, convenience, and fast foods). Trans fats are currently being addressed by the American Heart Association as the leading cause of vessel inflammation versus an alternative to lard or saturated fat.

Give Fat a Chance
Fat is essential for proper health. Each cell membrane is made out of fat. The leading cause of behavioral, emotional, and mental health is the improper metabolism of fat. The body needs fat. This documented physiology will take time to reverse in the consciousness in America. We have been fat phobic for years.

Behavioral and eating habits start early in life, 2 or 3 years old. Behavioral dysfunction starts in the development of the child while in the uterus. If the mother has been eating processed or sugar-laden foods, her liver will be overworked. The liver is the organ where fat metabolism occurs. Eating patterns and habits are passed on from generation to generation.

There are an estimated 5 million children and 8 million adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Eighteen percent of adults in America are depressed and take some type of medication. These two common conditions have similar causes: not enough long-chained omega-3 fats or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

In nature, the human body requires two essential fats that must come from eating food, which are necessary for life. Eating greens, including romaine lettuce or green beans, for example, require steps to become eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), DHA, or a fat-tissue hormone called prostaglandin.

The two essential fatty acids are also classified as omega-3 or omega-6. This is determined by a bond or link position in the fat chain. Omega-6 fat includes linoleic acid, which commonly is sourced from primrose, safflower, or sunflower oils.

Omega-6 fat can also be synthesized to make a fat called arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid comes from red meat, milk, mollusks, and shell fish. This fat causes pain, inflammation, and irritated blood vessels. Commonly, arachidonic acid is considered a bad fat and the one altered by aspirin.

Minimizing dairy helps behavior challenges because the abundance of arachidonic acid interferes with the formation of DHA from the alpha-linolenic acid pathway. Linoleic acid goes through steps to become prostaglandin number one, which relieves pain and minimizes inflammation. Omega-6 fat or linoleic acid is commonly found in most diets today.

The other omega or omega-3 fat is called alpha-linolenic acid. We do not normally consume enough of the omega-3-based green foods. The most popular vegetable in America today is the french fry. Food, rather from the omega-6 or omega-3 family, needs to go through steps or pathways that require vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

We live in a mineral-deficient society. Our soil is mineral depleted from overfarming. Sugar-laced foods and stress also can use up mineral reserves. I supplement my patients with whole-food vitamins and minerals when treating behavioral dysfunction. This supplementation enhances the formation of DHA, which is required for brain health.

Figure 1. Metabolic flow chart with examples of constituents of the alpha-linolenic acid pathway to make DHA, EPA, and prostaglandin 3.

Eat a Whole Lot Better
The primary cause of ADHD and depression is a deficiency of DHA from the alpha-linolenic pathway.

The major sabotaging agent that prevents this from occurring is trans fat or hydrogenated fat. This man-made chemical interferes with the body’s ability to create DHA from food.

Incredibly, most people do not eat whole foods, but food loaded with these trans fats. It is estimated that one third of youths in America, from ages 4 to 19, eat fast food daily. It has been reported the most common item ordered is chicken nuggets. The real clincher is the half-life (the length of time it takes for an item to cycle) of trans fat is 51 days. Which means in 102 days, 25% of the negative effect caused by the trans fat is still interrupting with the body’s ability to make DHA.

The molecular shape of the trans fat is T, the shape of healthy cell fat is C or cis. Cell membranes are links of C’s. The half-life of cis fat is 18 days. That is why we saw positive results in our pilot program participants in 3 weeks and continue to see that in our practice.

The T shape of trans fat creates altered cell membrane function. Fluids are incapable of freely passing back and forth across the membrane. The brain uses fat to send messages. Continued consumption of snack or convenience foods interferes with DHA production.

There are several factors to consider that interferes with DHA production. Deficiencies of B-vitamin complex, including B6, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, precipitated by stress, poor food choices, and mineral-depleting sugar. Overeating refined sugar elevates insulin, which can depress DHA production.

Regular consumption of dairy products, including yogurt, cottage cheese, ice cream, milk, and pizza, resulting in an overabundance of omega-6 in ratio to omega-3 fat, also negatively effects DHA production. Food additives, prevalent in nearly all commercially prepared food, including colors, taste enhancers, pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, and others, can also stop DHA production. Food needs to be organic, fresh, and near raw (animal and fish products should be cooked).

ADHD symptoms over time, without correction of the underlying nutritional causes, will continue on as adult ADHD. The physiology creating ADHD continues to depression and eventually Alzheimer’s and dementia.

We are living in an epidemic of behavior dysfunction, millions of Americans are depressed. The medications prescribed can result in severe side effects, including death.

Slowly eliminate processed food, dairy, and refined sugar for 3 months. Food manufacturers are aware of the ingredients in their food. You may notice less trans fat in processed foods because there is trans fat awareness spreading across the country.

My protocol for behavior dysfunction includes flax oil, 1 tablespoon daily per 100 lbs of body weight. Consider whole-food supplements, including six tablets of vitamin B and a mineral source. I suggest alfalfa as a natural source of minerals.

Your patients need a direct source of DHA to start the process, which is why I encourage one salmon capsule taken before bed for 18 nights (the half-life of cis fat). Also, take a salmon capsule at night on days for when they deviate from the diet—eating sugar, dairy, or trans fat.

This program should be followed for 102 days. Encourage your patients to stick with the program and their circle of friends will wonder what happened to their children. I continually receive reports from patients with positive results. CP

Robert DeMaria, DC, DABCO, FASBE, has been in practice for more than 25 years and currently practices in Elyria, Ohio. He is the director of Drugless Healthcare Solutions. DeMaria is a lecturer and the author of Stop ADHD, ADD, ODD, Hyperactivity: A Drugless Family Guide to Optimal Health. He hosts a television program, Half Hour to Health, and teaches postgraduate studies. DeMaria can be reached at drb4health@aol.com  and www.druglesscare.com.