According to the Centers of Disease Control, over eight percent of children in the US are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or AD/HD.  That’s about 5.3 million of those ages 3-17 years old that have this disorder.  In our home state of North Carolina, ten percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD.  So what can we do at Carolina Partners in Mental Health to help our community with this epidemic?  Some treatments that we can provide are :

• medications
• behavioral intervention strategies
• parent training

And one of the newest treatments that we provide is NUTRITION!!!  Our naturopathic doctor, Dr. Kivette Parkes,  is an expert on how nutrition can affect the symptoms and treatment of AD/HD.  She is able to create a customized nutrition plan that best suits your child and his or her needs based on blood type, symptoms, medications taken and much more.  She also prescribes whole food supplements that increase nutritional intake and that can often replace traditional medication, or at the very least ensure that traditional medication is working to the best of it’s ability.

One study done by Dr. Lidy Pelsser of the AD/HD Research Centre in the Netherlands found that 64 percent of children diagnosed with AD/HD are actually experiencing a hypersensitivity to food.  The hypersensitivity could be from anything to peanuts to fruit.  Dr. Parkes is able to test for such food allergies with the use of nutrition response testing.  From there, Dr. Parkes can prescribe a restricted diet that will eliminate these food sensitivities to help with AD/HD symptoms.

The study showed that through the use of a restricted diet, teachers and parents saw a significant change in the behavior of the children that were in the study.  One parent was quoted saying, “After the diet, they were just normal children with normal behavior…No longer were they easily distracted or forgetful, and the temper tantrums subsided. ”

To read the full article on this study and how nutrition affects ADHD, please go to:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/12/134456594/study-diet-may-help-adhd-kids-more-than-drugs?sc=nl

If you are interested in creating a customized nutrition plan and whole food supplements for you or your child, please feel free to call Dr. Kivette Parkes at our wellness center at 919-792-3940.  We are more than happy to answer any questions or concerns on how we can help with the symptoms and the treatment of AD/HD.