Is Drugging Kids into Submission the Only Way?

Doctors as Pushers

The CDC has estimated that 9 percent of boys and 4 percent of girls in the U.S. are taking ADHD stimulant medications. ADHD drug prescriptions rose by almost 12 percent a year between 2000 and 2005! How is it that children who have been growing and doing fine for thousands of years, now all of a sudden need a drug to control them? Truth is most, if not all, do not need these medications. Problems can be addressed through healthier means. So, who do we have to thank for the drugging of our children? Mainly, Dr. Joseph Biederman.

Dr. Joseph Biederman of Harvard Medical School, is a world-renowned child psychiatrist. Unfortunately, he is using his reputation to help fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children. In fact from 2000 to 2005 ADHD drug prescriptions went up by almost 12% based on his views of medicating children.

The thing is, he also accepted $1.6 million makers of drugs and did not report it to the university he was working at. After Biederman accepted the money, certain drugs studies came back favorably for the companies involved. In exchange for these hefty consulting fees, Biederman was virtually guaranteeing favorable results from his drug studies.

In fact on March 20, 2009, the New York Times reported that Biederman told Johnson & Johnson that he planned for his proposed research studies on its antipsychotic drug Risperdal to turn out favorably (before the studies were done), which they did. How could he know that; unless he made sure.

The Times also reported that in 2005 Biederman proposed a study on adolescents using the ADHD-drug Concerta, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, and he assured the company that his study would “extend to adolescents positive findings with Concerta.”

And in 2006, Biederman was co-author of a study showing that children given Concerta for a prolonged period of time did not have reduced growth. This was a concern of the medication and one that could have stalled or stopped manufacture. Once this study came out, all was a go. The truth, which is now being established, is the exact opposite; children did/do experience bad side effects like reduced growth.

To give an idea of how far Dr. Biederman’s power goes, in addition to receiving awards of excellence from both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, he is also on the editorial board of multiple journals, a reviewer for most of the psychiatric journals, and has served as a grant reviewer in the Child Psychopathology and Treatment Review Committee of the NIMH.

Did his connection to the industry coincidentally result in favorable results from clinical studies? But to be fair, Dr. Biederman is not the only doctor getting kickbacks from drug companies for pushing their products. Many doctors make a nice living off these kickbacks.

ADHD Drugs and Tainted Research

Because of the money involved in research grants and kickbacks it’s not just the ADHD drugs that are being pushed. As was stated above, while doctors are cashing in on drug company payouts, ADHD drug presriptions have increased by 12% EACH YEAR from 2000 to 2005! What does this mean for our kids? Can we trust what is being pushed on our kids just because a doctor says so?

It seems psychiatrists who are prescribing these medications do not study the full evidence for themselves. If they did they would know that the powerful stimulants in these drugs may alter the structure and function of children’s brains in ways that may depress mood, cause anxiety and lead to cognitive deficits later in life. The drugs have also been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease and stunted growth.

But ADHD drugs only represent one portion of the massive psychiatric drugs marketed to children.

In 2007 alone, half a million children and teenagers were given at least one prescription for an antipsychotic, including 20,500 under the age of 6. What could a child that young possibly need this type of medication for? American children are also about 3 times more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than children in Europe.

Sadly, those who are consistently getting the short end of the stick are kids in foster care. Children in the foster care system, some as young as 3 years old, are being screened for mental illnesses and started on psychiatric drugs for disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. Horrible. Just drug the kids and they will do what you want.

Have any of you seen what kids are like on these drugs? Their personality is gone, they seem hollow and empty. It’s not right.

Among children in foster care:

• 60 percent in Texas take psychiatric drugs

• Two-thirds in Massachusetts take them

• 55 percent in Florida take the drugs

In the past decade Dr. Biederman and his colleagues have promoted the aggressive diagnosis and drug treatment of childhood bipolar disorder, maintaining that it was under-diagnosed in children and is treatable with drugs. Based on their influence, pediatric bipolar diagnoses and antipsychotic drug use in children have soared.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about 7 percent of all children seen at psychiatric facilities fit the bipolar disorder criteria, using research standards; much of which originated from Dr. Biederman and company at Harvard. This is disgusting and so wrong on so many levels.

What You Can Do INSTEAD of Drugs

When children have behavioral problems the fist places to start looking is their diet, their stress levels and their exposure to toxins, especially home cleaning products. If you go to a doctor or psychiatrist you more than likely will come out with a prescription for some dangerous drug or another. These drugs will do more harm than good and may cause permanent damage in a growing child who is still developing.

When you get to the root of the problem by addressing dietary changes, emotional stresses and eliminating toxins from your household, positive changes will occur. There is hope and a better approach to the wellness of your child. Find out what you need to know or seek out a medical professional who can help you, the right way.

When you cut out the root causes of behavioral issues, you may be surprised. Teaching your children how to deal with this problem naturally right now will equip them to over come more obstacles in life. Here are some ideas to help them take control.

• Give your child plenty of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats like krill oil, or a DHA/EPA supplement.

•  Balance your child’s intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fats from vegetables oils, by limiting their intake of vegetable oils.

• Make sure your kids are getting plenty of B-complex. The B vitamins help with stress and promotes calm.

• Avoid giving your child ANY processed foods, especially those containing artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives.

• This is HUGE since high fructose corn syrup is the NUMBER ONE source of calories in children: Replace soft drinks, fruit juices, and pasteurized milk in your child’s diet with pure water, make sure you use a filter to take out the fluoride and other chemicals from municipal tap water. Remember this includes fruit juices!

• Reduce or eliminate grains and sugars from your child’s diet. Even healthy organic whole grains can cause problems. Try eliminating them first for 1-2 weeks and see if you don’t notice a radical and amazing improvement in your child’s behavior.

• Make sure your child gets plenty of exercise and outdoor playtime in the sunshine. If you can’t get enough sun, supplement with a high quality vitamin D3.

• Give your child a way to deal with his or her emotions. Even children can benefit from learning how to pray, deep breathing exercises or the Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT) also known as “tapping”.

The Bottom Line

When you empower yourself with information, you can make the best choices for your family. Why risk the danger and pitfalls of modern ways of treating children with prescription drugs? Their future and their development could be severely impacted. Choosing instead to treat the root cause of the problem will be a blessing not only to your child but to you as well.

You will notice the changes as soon as diet is addressed. Your child will not be doped up and zombie-like, like those on prescription drugs. Your child will still be able to be a kid, keep their personality, and function so much better in their everyday tasks.

It does take more effort. Making sure they get the proper nutrition through a good home-cooked meal is a great way to keep the processed junk out of their systems. This is not to say treating them to a happy meal every once in a great while, should be cut out completely. Although once they get the gunk out of their system you both may notice a change when junk food is re-introduced. The key is moderation, moderation, moderation!

For More Information and Product Info Click the Links Below

Nutrition For ADHD Children, Natural Treatment For ADHD? 

Children’s DHA, Supplements and Brain Development

Shaklee Kid’s Vitamins Letter, Mighty Smart and Incredivites

DANGERS of Food Additives 

Dangers of Processed Food 

Toxic Brew in Our Homes, How Hazardous Are Your Household Cleaners?

 

Tagged with: natural treatments for adhd • treating adhd in children • treating adhd in children without medication • treating adhd naturally • treatments for adhd • vitamins for adhd and add

Filed under: ADD/ADHD

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