Natural ADHD Solutions

Hey guys, Dr. Josh Axe here. Welcome to Ancient Medicine Today. Today we're going to be talking about natural ADHD solutions. You know, I was diagnosed with ADHD and ADD every year almost since birth. In fact, my parents almost put me on medications because my symptoms were so bad. So this is something that's sort of near and dear to my heart.

And in this video, I'm going to go through the top essential oils, the top vitamins, supplements, and diet And things you want to stay away from, all of these things that can really help ADHD. And hey, do me a favor, be on mission with me right now. The number of people that are being diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed synthetic medications with serious side effects is staggering.

Take a minute right now, punch that share button, click that like button. Let's teach the world how to use food as medicine. Let's dive right in. Here we go. Foods to avoid. Number 1, this is the big one. Sugar. It's processed sugar. Added sugar will cause insulin and blood sugar spikes. What that's going to do is cause a lot of those hyperactivity reactions.

Now, the other issue with sugar is that it feeds Candida in the body. When Candida or excess pathogenic microbes start lining your gut lining, they will literally produce poisons that start to eat away or cause inflammation of your intestinal lining.

When that happens, it can cause a condition called leaky gut syndrome to where proteins, toxins, and bad bacteria can leak through the gut wall into the bloodstream causing inflammation. And this can cause, again, ADHD and ADD, a lot of those symptoms to where the child can't focus, pay attention in school, or the adult for that matter.

So again, sugar, probably the worst of the worst when it comes to brain health. Causing symptoms of ADD and ADHD. Now, the next one here is gluten. Again, gluten is a similar thing. It will cause intestinal inflammation, get into the bloodstream, and cause issues. Now, gluten not only will cause leaky gut syndrome, it can also contribute to issues like autoimmune disease over time.

But gluten, a big thing you want to stay away from if you're a parent or an adult either way that has a child with ADHD or you yourself Another big thing you want to stay away from is conventional dairy. Now listen, if you were doing a little bit of goat's milk yogurt from your local farmer's market or sheep's milk yogurt or kefir, that's fine in small amounts, okay?

You're going to do fine with that. Most kids will do fine with that. But conventional dairy, especially conventional milk and cheese products, they contain a protein called beta-casein A1. And this A1 casein Casein is actually worse than gluten. In fact, there are more receptor sites in your body.

It could be anywhere from 2 to 26 times more inflammatory to your body if your body is not doing well with casein, as well as lactose is in there as well. So that's a milk sugar that can be difficult for some people to digest. So again, staying away from conventional dairy, a big one you want to get rid of and can be a major trigger for ADHD. Okay. Food dyes.

There are studies showing that food dyes and food additives can cause outbursts in people with ADHD, which was a study that was done. So you can see here, you know, these colors, these artificial colors and food dyes are something that can absolutely cause a reaction.

So here's the big thing, if you flip over a box of food, if it says like Yellow 5 or Blue 22 or Red Number 4, Anything with a number or anything that doesn't sound like a real food ingredient, you shouldn't eat it. The person or a child with ADHD shouldn't eat it. Stay away. Big things to avoid. Refined carbohydrates.

Remember refined carbohydrates are essentially— they're going to turn to sugar within your body in minutes and cause major inflammation. Most refined grains contain gluten and sugar, so in fact, they might be worse than straight sugar. So stay away from refined grains. You know, all of the cereals, the breakfast pastries, the food bars, all of these things, they contain refined grains.

You want to stay away from them. Nitrates or nitrites, these are found oftentimes in lunch meats, okay? They're found in breakfast bacon and things like that. These are found in processed meats, these nitrates. They cause major acidity in the body. They can cause major gastric inflammation. You want to stay away from nitrites.

Artificial sweeteners, listen, just because it doesn't have sugar doesn't mean it's not inflammatory. You know, the product sucralose actually has chlorine in it which can kill off probiotics in the gut. One of the most important things for anyone struggling with ADHD is that we build up those good microbes and probiotics. Right.

Well, artificial sweeteners have been linked to short-term memory loss, causing issues with the brain, issues with the gut, that gut-brain connection that's so important for people with ADHD. Artificial sweeteners destroy that gut-brain connection. You want to stay away from those. And soy, soy is very high in phytoestrogens.

Now, if we're talking about a fermented soy like a miso or like a natto, for instance, That's going to be fine. Organic natto, fermented soy from, you know, used often within Japanese medicine. But other soy products, soybean oil, soy protein, these are inflammatory to the gut. They tend to be very high on the allergen spectrum of things that many oftentimes adults and children are allergic to.

So I would stay away from all soy ingredients and flip over, read bottles, if it says soybean oil, Don't consume it. Food sensitivities, here's another big one. Many different foods can be somebody's kryptonite, okay? So think about this, when Superman gets around this green kryptonite, it weakens his body. It doesn't weaken others. The same thing can happen with you.

You might have a food sensitivity to eggs. It could be certain types of nuts. It could be certain types of dairy and your body, it just wrecks it. So one of the things you can actually do for, you know, If you have ADHD or someone you love, you can get something called an IgG food antibody test and see if there's something like— to see if your body is really reacting strongly to certain foods.

You can cut it out and see how you do. Or another option is going on an elimination diet where you just add in a food at a time and really journal and pay attention to after you eat, does your nose run or does their nose run? Do they get stuffy? Is there any redness anywhere? Is there a change in bowel movements? To where they become too loose or constipated.

All of those are warning signs that you have a food sensitivity. Another big one is peanuts. Many kids today and adults are allergic to peanuts because— and have those mold allergies that can be associated with peanuts as well. So again, be wary of food sensitivities. Here are some great natural remedies to support the brain and ADHD.

One of my favorites which is used over in Eastern medicine is bacopa. Bacopa has been shown to help nourish the brain and overall improve focus. So again, bacopa is great because it actually calms the mind and improves focus at the same time. So this is a great herbal extract you want to look into for ADHD is bacopa. The next one here, omega-3s.

You know, omega-3s, if you can get fish in your diet like wild-caught salmon, Mackerel, sardines, wild tuna, these are great superfoods to support the brain. Now, if you can't do those omega-3s, I'd recommend taking a fish oil supplement, a fish roe supplement, and whether it's a liquid or in a gel capsule or regular capsule, but I would recommend omega-3s.

You know, you typically want to be getting about— depends on the milligram dosage, but again, you typically want to be doing about 1 to 4 capsules a day. Okay. Of those omega-3s. And omega-3s are high in, specifically if it comes from fish, EPA and DHA. And that's more important than getting the omega-3s that are found in flax and chia and hemp.

But EPA and DHA have been shown directly to support the brain. In fact, there's a study on children who took a fish oil supplement and it showed a significant improvement in their ability to focus and concentrate in school. So again, omega-3 is an absolute must, I believe, in terms of supplements for anybody struggling with ADHD.

And again, you can add flaxseeds to a smoothie and chia seeds and things like that, but ideally getting wild-caught fish in the diet, or if you can't do that, taking a good fish oil, cod liver oil, fish roe supplement on a regular basis can go a long way at improving ADHD symptoms. Probiotics. Remember, you are not what you eat, you are what you digest.

I mean, to a degree, you are what you eat, but you've also got to be absorbing those nutrients, okay? So again, probiotics, most of us have had probiotics wiped out. And I really believe this is at the root cause of a lot of kids that struggle with ADHD and ADD today. And I'll give you an example, here's kind of how this works.

From birth, if the mother does not have enough probiotics, Oftentimes, she doesn't pass off quite enough to her child. And then if a child is born C-section and they are not born through the vaginal canal, that's really when the child is flooded and first exposed to a lot of microbes. And so if they're C-section, they can be probiotic deficient there.

Then kids are typically given antibiotics for ear infections, for common colds, for flus, for eczema, for all kinds of things, those prescription antibiotics destroy a lot of the probiotics in the gut and then they consume foods like conventional dairy products with antibiotics and pesticides in the food supply and they're not in touch and outdoors with nature and being exposed and building up their gut microbiome.

So what happens is most people today, especially our youth, are majorly deficient in probiotics. So it is more important than ever before. That we are getting probiotics in our diet on a daily basis. I recommend finding a good SBO, that's a soil-based organism probiotic supplement. So look for SBO type of probiotics. And I would also get probiotics in the food you're eating.

You know, some great sources of probiotics are sauerkraut is one of the best things you can get. There's kimchi, kombucha in small amounts to a degree. Coconut kefir can be very beneficial, and then sheep's milk yogurt, goat's milk kefir in small amounts as well if someone tolerates dairy well enough. But again, probiotics are key for building up that microbiome.

And listen, probiotics are incredible. Probiotics themselves in your gut produce vitamins and minerals like vitamin B12, which supports the brain and focus, or other types of B vitamins. They support the absorption of zinc and other nutrients that can help focus and concentration. So getting more probiotics is key.

By the way, if you're enjoying this live training right now on how to overcome ADD and ADHD naturally, do me a favor, help me spread the word that food is medicine. Punch that share button, click that like button. More people need to know because you know what's happening?

There are so many parents that are bringing their kids into doctors, they're being prescribed medications out there today with serious, serious side effects. Side effects. I mean, the side effects are mind-boggling. In fact, hey, after this episode, go online and do a Google search for ADHD medication side effects or look up things like Ritalin and Adderall.

Look those up and find out for yourself what the side effects are. So I want to say thank you for everyone who's sharing this message right now. More people need to know the truth. Let's talk about another incredible form of natural medicine for ADHD and it's essential oils. You know, essential oils have been used for thousands of years.

They're referenced in Egyptian medicine, biblical medicine, Greek medicine, Chinese medicine. They are powerful. My favorite oil for focus concentration is vetiver. There's a medical study done showing that vetiver helped almost all kids improve their overall focus. So vetiver, a powerful essential oil. To use. Another great one is rosemary oil. Rosemary oil has been shown to help memory.

And then along with that, cedarwood is great and lavender oil is great as well. Lavender is very calming if you want to use that oil, if you have— if there are really a lot of hyperactivity issues there, lavender can calm the body. Rosemary helps with that memory, the alpha-pinene and the other compounds in rosemary oil and vetiver. So what I would do is make a blend.

2 Drops of each oil and rub it on the neck, the head, and even a little bit of the temples of your child who's going into school or yourself if you're struggling with ADHD. But use essential oils, especially if you're homeschooling.

Another thing you can do is get a diffuser and add those oils, the vetiver, the cedarwood, the lavender, the rosemary, add those into a diffuser and having it diffuse around the home. And I know professors and teachers who have actually diffused them around their classroom, in their classrooms both in elementary school and high school and in college there as well.

A few other great things that are great— and by the way, I'd love to hear from you. If you've ever benefited from an essential oil when it comes to the brain or memory or used that for ADHD or focus or memory or concentration, let me know your favorite essential oils. Also, let me know if you've used them to help improve your memory, focus, concentration. There in any way. Coconut.

Coconut is a great form of healthy fat that can support concentration, contains medium-chain fatty acids that really help keep your insulin levels balanced. You know, when you're consuming a food, let's say a meal, here's a big one. A lot of times today, we consume a meal that's very high, it may be high in a lot of carbohydrates.

If you consume excess carbohydrates and your body can't absorb them right then and your body can't store of them as glycogen, it really causes this major up and down blood sugar spike. I'll give you an example. This happens with lunch especially. Kids at school eating school lunches or adults for that matter, well, let's start with school lunches.

They're eating the pizza, they're eating the little whatever snack cakes, they're drinking dairy, they're getting all this stuff. So man, and teachers, you know what I'm talking about, you get to about 2 o'clock in the afternoon or— 1:30. Right after lunch and kids are either in a carb coma or they are bouncing off the walls. It is like crash and burn.

And same thing, you know, if you're at work and you ate a lot of carbs at lunch, you go into this like carb coma at your desk. That happens when you get too many carbohydrates in your diet at lunch and not enough healthy fat, not enough protein, and not enough fiber. And not enough foods that are loaded with vitamins and minerals and that are energizing.

So your lunch and breakfast, especially for kids, should be loaded with protein, healthy fat, and fiber every single meal. Here's what the perfect meal would look like for someone with ADHD. You wake up every morning for breakfast and you have a bone broth smoothie.

You do 1 scoop of a protein powder that comes from bone broth, 1 cup of coconut milk, One handful of berries, and maybe add a little bit of cinnamon in there. I mean, that is the perfect recipe. You've got protein from the bone broth powder, you've got healthy fat from the coconut milk, you've got fiber from the berries, perfect for breakfast.

And for lunch, you know, you could do, let's say, rice with some organic vegetables and with some meat, or a big superfood salad with chicken breast and spinach, or a healthy soup like a healthy Chicken vegetable soup is something great that kids love, or even a healthy sandwich can be okay. You know, you get some Ezekiel bread, some organic turkey, and things like that.

But, you know, you want to make sure you're not doing a lot of excess carbs and processed foods for lunch because— and breakfast for that matter. But again, every meal you want protein, healthy fat, and fiber. That is the secret ingredient for fitness and health. Absolutely. It's a secret ingredient for keeping blood sugar balanced and keeping focus and memory good and fighting ADHD.

And then exercise. You know, we are created to move. We're created to release some of this energy. I believe, and I can tell you this, my parents and I've had teachers who said this, is that when children are playing sports, it actually helps their focus and concentration and actually helps their self-discipline. Karate and martial arts can be a great thing to do.

Any type of sport such as soccer or basketball or volleyball or just any type of gym exercise, kids working out, going out for a run or just doing some push-ups and pull-ups. But exercise increases circulation in the body, increases blood flow and nutrients getting to the brain, which overall can help the body heal, can help with so many things. So again, exercise.

Has so many benefits for supporting your body with more nutrients, releasing that pent-up energy. And remember, we are created to move. It's part of how we nourish and heal our bodies. So again, exercise and sports for adults and for kids can be huge at combating ADHD symptoms. So again, here's the big things to remember.

By the way, if you're enjoying this live training right now, help be on mission with me. I remember when I was a kid diagnosed with ADHD. The doctor put me on medication. I took it for a day. It really— I felt like I was a zombie. I immediately got off of it when I was a kid.

But there are parents today still that feel like they have to do that because they don't know the natural ways to help people with ADHD. So take a minute right now, hey, click on that share button right here on Facebook Live and YouTube Live as well as the like button right now as well. So again, big things you got to get out.

Get rid of sugar, get rid of gluten, conventional dairy, food dyes, refined carbohydrates, really anything. If you look at a food box and you can't— you don't know exactly what the ingredient is, don't consume it. Packaged meats which are full of nitrates, artificial sweeteners, soy products like soybean oil, and foods that are high of sensitivities oftentimes like peanut butter.

Hey, almond butter, cashew butter are better options. Here are some things you want to consider doing. Taking bacopa as a supplement, omega-3s, probiotics, essential oils like vetiver, cedarwood, lavender, and rosemary oil, coconut, protein, healthy fiber, and fat, exercise. I'll mention one other here, a vitamin B complex.

Vitamin B complex has actually been shown in clinical studies to support those with ADHD, especially vitamins like vitamin B12. So again, that's the other one I would consider up there. So again, kids in terms of supplements with ADHD. An omega-3 supplement, a probiotic, and a B complex would be the best along with maybe a protein powder that comes from bone broth and a morning smoothie.

Listen, if anybody follows this advice and plan, I'm telling you, you will absolutely see results in ADHD. I've seen it myself. I've worked with thousands of patients with ADHD and seen improvements. I know it can help those you love. I want to say thanks again for everybody that's on mission with me. And helping change the health in the world by spreading this information and this live video.

And hey, think about it, if you know somebody who maybe is a parent who has a child with ADHD, you can go onto the Dr. Josh Axe Facebook page, click on videos, and send them a link to this live video. More people need to know the truth about how to use food as medicine. And hey, if you're not subscribed here to our channel, make sure you're subscribed.

And hey, if you want to learn more of my tips on how to overcome ADHD naturally, Just Google search my name or go to my website, look up Dr. Axe ADHD, and I've got even more articles and videos on the topic on my website. Guys, hey, have a great week. Hi, Dr. Axe here.

I want to say thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video, and also don't forget to subscribe if you want to get more great content on things like herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also, check out more of our content on my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.