The FDA has so far said there is no proven relationship between food dyes and hyperactivity in most children. But the agency said that for “certain susceptible children,’’ hyperactivity and other behavioral problems may be exacerbated.

Another report in International Business Times reports that the FDA has said:

A FDA panel ruled that there is not proof that artificial food coloring caused hyperactivity in most children, and concluded that products containing these substances do not need to carry special warning labels or be banned altogether.

There are some studies which suggest that food dyes, and food preservatives can lead to inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. There are also newer studies which show that elimination diets may lower symptoms of ADHD. However, these are relatively early studies, and the link is not clearly established. In my office, I hear a few times a year from parents who are convinced that certain food additives impact their children significantly. And I believe them.

Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Best,
Dr. Kenny

p.s. If you’d like to learn more about the research on alternatives for ADD/ADHD, you can either get a copy of my book: Attention Difference Disorder, which as a chapter on the alternative treatments, or my 2 CD audio program on Alternatives for ADHD, found here: www.AlternativesforADHD.com

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADHD, Alternative Medicine, Alternatives for ADHD, FDA, Food Dyes

I’ve created a follow up video – as well as the chance for people to take part in a very affordable form of ADD Coaching.

You can watch the video and learn more here.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADD Coaching, ADHD, ADHD Coaching

• Diet for ADD/ADHD
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Neurofeedback and
• Working memory training

You can watch the video here:

At the end of the video – I mention the new 2 CD program that I’ve developed on Alternatives for ADHD. This is now available – and there is an ‘early bird discount’ which lasts until Monday April 19th 2010 until 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
To learn more about these CD’s – visit: Alternatives for ADHD.

Best,
Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Alternatives for ADHD, Complimentary Medicine, Diet Change, naturopathic, neurofeedback, omega 3, Working Memory

Please share your thoughts and comments below.

Best,
Dr. Kenny

p.s. watch for video #3 coming soon!

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Alternative, Complimentary, herbal, naturopathic, neurofeedback

In this first video – I share how you can use alternatives as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for ADD/ADHD. I also share the guiding principles you can use when deciding on an alternative treatment.

Please share your thoughts and comments below. I’d love to hear your perspectives.

Best,
Dr. Kenny

p.s. sign up for my newsletter to be notified of when video #2 is being posted

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, herbal, naturopathic, neurofeedback, omega 3

One amazing fact about this is – the riding is apparently subsidized by the Israeli healthcare system!

Do you have experience with horseback riding to help people with ADHD?

Please share your comments and thoughts below.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

‘Alternative’ or ‘complimentary’ treatments are used very frequently, and most of the time, people don’t talk to their doctor about it. Yet it’s important for both the doctor and yourselves to be aware of the up-to-date research in the area of alternative treatments.

I was recently approached by the organizers of the first ever ‘Virtual World Yoga Conference‘, to speak about Alternative Treatments for ADD and ADHD. I happily accepted.

While I’m not sure if there is any solid research on Yoga helping ADHD, this conference goes far beyond the idea that most people think about when they envision yoga. Most people imagine a thin man or woman, stretching gracefully on a yoga mat (usually in some position that most of us could never imagine getting into!). However, this Yoga Conference goes far beyond that. It is all about wellness, and holistic health.

When I do my session on alternative treatments for ADD/ADHD, I’ll be discussing the research behind neurofeedback, diet changes, omega 3 fatty acids and much more.

The other speakers will cover many health topics, including:

• Relaxation
• Meditation
• How to overcome technology overload
• Nutrition/ healthy eating
• ‘Energetic Wellness’
• Supporting children through Yoga and Creative movement
• Stopping Procrastination
• Intuition
• Meditation for Mood Management
• Business advice for Coaches
• And much more…

In total – there are over 57 sessions!

Don’t worry – if you can’t attend all of the sessions you want to (there are actually two tracks – i.e. two lectures at each time slot). You’ll be able to listen to the recordings in the member’s area for up to 2 weeks after the conference.

How You Can Participate:

Participation in this virtual conference normally costs $197. That works out to less than $4 for each of the expert sessions…

However, because I’m participating in this conference, I’ve been able to get a special coupon code – which will give you a full $100 off the price of admission.

That means – when you use this code – you only pay $97. All you have to do is enter the code at the time of checkout.

Here’s the link to sign up: http://www.contentabout.net/adhdyoga
Here’s the discount code: KNY219

I got this coupon code for you – my blog readers and subscribers.
You’re also allowed to share it with your friends and family (or even your support groups).
This is a unique opportunity for those of us in the ADD/ADHD area to get exposed to so many experts in alternative health and wellness. So, feel free to use this coupon code and share it with your network – i.e. the people you care about.

Do You Want to Attend This Event for Free?

When I agreed to do this event, the organizers were kind enough to give me a coupon code for you – my blog readers and email subscribers.

But I wanted more…

These are tough economic times, and I’m very committed to making sure people get the health information they need – when they need it. (that’s why I run this blog, my podcast, my newsletter, etc.).

So, after some discussion - the organizers gave me THREE (3) free passes to the event.

I’d like to give you a free pass to go to this breakthrough event.

After some consideration – we’re going to have a little ‘contest’ here on this blog – so you can win one of the free passes.

Here are the rules to win a free pass to the ‘Virtual World Yoga Conference‘:

1. You must enter a blog comment below (on this post) – and it must be entered before Monday February 15th, 2010 at 11:59 pm eastern time. If your comment is entered later than that, you’re disqualified – no exceptions. Please note – all comments on this blog are moderated – so if you enter a comment, please don’t re-enter it – give us some time to review and approve it – we do this to block spam, not to censor legitimate comments.
2. Ensure that you enter your name, and proper email address in the blog comment form. The email address is how we will contact the winners. Please note – no one else can see your email address except for the blog administrators.
3. Answer these questions:

• Where do you live?
• Are you interested predominantly in child, teen or adult ADHD?
• Have you tried any alternative treatments before for ADHD? Which ones?
• Did they work well?
• Of the sessions available on the Virtual World Yoga Conference, which one will you be sure not to miss, and why? (you can’t say my session on ADHD, please pick another one – no ‘sucking up’ LOL) — You can access the schedule by visiting here.

The answers provided on this blog will be reviewed by our own appointed judges, and any decisions made will be final. We will email the winners by Wednesday February 17th at the latest – and we’ll post it on this blog.

**If you’re sure you want to attend this conference – feel free to register even before the contest finishes. The conference has a no-hassle money back guarantee – so you can order, and if you win on this blog, you can request a refund and get into the conference for free because you won this contest (i.e. judges won’t know if you’ve already registered or not).

So – here’s what to do next:

• Take a look at the page on the virtual yoga conference here
• If it’s right for you – register, using the coupon code: KNY219 (to save $100)
• Go ahead and enter a comment below to enter into a contest to win one of 3 free passes to attend the event (make sure to answer all of the questions!)

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, Yoga

So, on occassion, we get people who write in and characterize me as a doctor who just cares about medication for ADD/ADHD.

Suggesting that I don’t care about any other treatments…

My view is actually quite the opposite.

Medication is a great tool for ADD/ADHD treatment, but it is not the only one. I like to see people have a comprehensive treatment plan, that includes ‘multimodal treatment’. This means that it includes the medication treatments as well as non-medication approaches as well.
Which non-medication approaches? Certainly counselling, parenting therapy, family therapy, academic strategies, coaching, and also alternatives.

I am pretty open about alternatives, and I actively engage in discussion with my patients about it.

Why?

Research has clearly shown that about 66% of people try some kind of alternative treatment for ADD/ADHD, though most don’t talk to their doctor about it. I regularly ask about diet changes, supplements, and other treatments that families may have tried. I often recommend that people try some supplements – like Omega 3 fatty acids, melatonin to help with sleep; and that they consider treatments like neurofeedback, cogmed, as well as other options.

So, I acknowledge that many of my blog articles contain info about medications.
That said – I want to point you toward three resources on Alternative Treatments for ADHD in the coming weeks.

The first is a Virtual Holistic Health conference, being run by Jennifer Koretsky. She ran the Virtual ADHD Conference that I participated in last fall.
This conference has several experts, and I believe that it is a resource which can help you out. Go over to their site and see if it’s for you.

It takes place Tuesday January 26th 2010, and Wednesday Januray 27th, 2010. I know that this is short notice, but if you decide to participate, then you can get access to the recordings of any of the sessions that you miss.

Take a look and see if it’s for you: Virtual Holistic Health conference.

I’ll be following up in the coming weeks with two other resources on Alternatives for ADHD for you.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADHD Alternatives, Alternative Medicine, Holistic Health Conference

My topic is: “Update on Evidence-Based Alternative Treatments for ADHD”. In this session, I’ll be discussing the role of alternative treatment in ADD and ADHD, as well as the research behind them.

As part of the lead up to the conference, host Jennifer Koretsky interviewed me. In this 10 minute interview, we discuss the nature of my presentation, and why you shouldn’t miss it.
You can listen to that interview here:

When you sign up for this conference, you’ll hear from many other ADD/ADHD Experts, including Dr. Hallowell, Dr. Amen and many more.
You can learn more and sign up here.

I hope to ‘see’ you there

Dr. Kenny

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.

Technorati Tags: ADD, ADHD, Alternatives for ADHD, Conference

• Food Additives and ADHD
• More Info on Food Additives and ADHD
• Food Additives and ADHD – Becoming Mainstream?

It has just been reported in February 2009 that the state of Maryland is considering legislation to inform consumers of the risks of these food additives (with a label warning), and then ban them completely in 2012.

You can read the full report on this issue here.

This article shares:

Which food colorings should you look out for? If Maryland’s food warning bill passes, these chemical additives would bear the following warning: Warning: The color additives in this food may cause hyperactivity and behavior problems in some children.

* Blue 1
* Blue 2
* Green 3
* Orange B
* Red 3
* Red 40
* Yellow 5
* Yellow 6

Will this potential law hit the law books and set a precedent which may impact the rest of the USA, and many other countries?

Or will the ‘food lobby’ aim to crush this legislation in an attempt to keep control of costs, or some other explanation?

What would you like to see happen?

Please share your thoughts below.

Best,

Dr. Kenny

Technorati Tags: ADHD, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, Diet, Feingold, Food Additives

©2012 ADD ADHD Blog.com. All Rights Reserved.