Mental illness affects one in every five youth, currently the most disabling group of disorders in the world. Whether it's for anxiety, depression, ADHD, or schizophrenia, many medical professionals turn to prescribing psychotropic drugs to children very early in their treatment plan. There is emerging research showing the impact of complimenting traditional treatments with nutrition, exercise, diet, and vitamins. These interventions have far fewer side effects, and they minimize the likelihood of liver damage and pharmacological dependence in adulthood. Although psychotropic drugs can provide symptom relief, it is often accompanied by negative behavioural changes, dizziness, weight gain, and/or increased risk of addiction and suicide. If you could prevent this from happening in our children, wouldn't you?
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD PhD has pioneered over 40 years of clinical practice and research in the concept of Orthomolecular Medicine (OM). OM "aims to restore the optimum environment of the body by correcting imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry, using substances natural to the body such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements and fatty acids."
An example of Orthomolecular Medicine is the Feingold diet for the management of ADHD. The Feingold diet involves eliminating foods that contain artificial colours and flavours, as well as salicylate-containing foods such as apricots, teas, and berries. Approximately 70% of the children Dr. Feingold worked with showed major improvements, and about 50% of those children did not need any other intervention to keep their symptoms at bay. Furthermore, those that required the use of both stimulant medication and diet required a lower dose than expected in almost all cases.
The International Schizophrenia Foundation (ISF) has promoted vitamin and nutrient intervention for over 40 years to reduce the symptoms of mental illness, as well as the side-effects from psychotropic drugs. The ISF launched its newest education network, Mindful to provide parents of children afflicted by mental illness with information about nutrition, diet and lifestyle. Mindful also connects them with practitioners who use orthomolecular medicine techniques in their practice.
For more information on Mindful, click here.
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD PhD has pioneered over 40 years of clinical practice and research in the concept of Orthomolecular Medicine (OM). OM "aims to restore the optimum environment of the body by correcting imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry, using substances natural to the body such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements and fatty acids."
An example of Orthomolecular Medicine is the Feingold diet for the management of ADHD. The Feingold diet involves eliminating foods that contain artificial colours and flavours, as well as salicylate-containing foods such as apricots, teas, and berries. Approximately 70% of the children Dr. Feingold worked with showed major improvements, and about 50% of those children did not need any other intervention to keep their symptoms at bay. Furthermore, those that required the use of both stimulant medication and diet required a lower dose than expected in almost all cases.
The International Schizophrenia Foundation (ISF) has promoted vitamin and nutrient intervention for over 40 years to reduce the symptoms of mental illness, as well as the side-effects from psychotropic drugs. The ISF launched its newest education network, Mindful to provide parents of children afflicted by mental illness with information about nutrition, diet and lifestyle. Mindful also connects them with practitioners who use orthomolecular medicine techniques in their practice.
For more information on Mindful, click here.
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