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By
Dr. Joseph Mercola
with Rachael Droege
Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is the most commonly diagnosed
childhood psychiatric disorder and rising numbers of children are
being found to display the tell-tale symptoms: distractibility,
impulsiveness and hyperactivity (with hyperactivity the diagnosis
becomes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)). Not surprisingly,
the preferred treatments by many physicians are the widespread and
well-known stimulant medications like Ritalin. Well over 1 million
American children are on drugs for ADHD.
Many kids take the drugs for years, which is akin to a large experiment
because the long-term effects are not known. In fact, in a Canadian
Medical Association Journal study researchers found that the
average length of randomized trials of Ritalin is 3.3 weeks, and
the effect of treatment beyond four weeks has not been demonstrated.
In other words, no one knows what the long-term effects will be.
Nonetheless, drugs for attention disorders bring in $2.2 billion
a year. Although these are already huge profits, they will soon
get even bigger because drug companies have discovered a new attention-drug
market: adults. There is currently only one ADHD pill--Eli Lilly’s
Strattera--on the market that is FDA-approved to treat adults, but
others are seeking approval.
Although it is estimated that more than 8 million adults in the
United States have ADHD, the disorder is typically thought of as
something that is outgrown during adolescence. Why, then, would
adults need these drugs? Perhaps it has something to do with one
pharmaceutical executive’s statement in a Reuters interview,
"The adult market is three times the size of the children's
market. The market is ripe and is moving in the right direction."
The logic behind it, which some experts are now echoing, is that
lots of adults may have had ADHD as children but were never diagnosed.
The major problem here is not new, but rather is an extension of
the same routine often applied to drugs. However, instead of adult
drugs being marketed to children, "children’s drugs"
will be targeted at adults. But adults have an advantage in this
situation in regard to taking drugs: they can refuse. Children,
on the other hand, are not able to decide for themselves whether
or not to take medication, and, in a sad statement of our world
today, parents
are often pressured to keep their kids on psychiatric drugs
or face allegations of child abuse.
Rather than rely on drugs, both children and adults can use natural
methods to address ADHD, and rather than risking the negative side
effects that surround most all drugs, if you use natural methods
you will actually experience positive and pleasant improvements
in all aspects of your health.
Natural Methods to Treat ADHD
The great majority of people would notice amazing improvement in
their ADHD by following these three steps:
If this sounds too simple to be true, I encourage you to give it
a try and see the results for yourself. No one, no drug company
or other corporate conglomeration, has anything to gain but you.
Related Articles:
Maybe
Attention Deficit Isn't the Real Problem
Ritalin is More Potent Than
Cocaine
US Courts Forcing Parents
to Medicate Kids for ADD/ADHD
Does Your Child Have ADHD? Consider
Fish Oil Over Ritalin
High U.S. Costs for Treating
Attention Disorder
US Congress Told
of ADHD Overdiagnosis in Schools
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