Jamieson Health Center Newsletter

February 10, 2010

Volume 2, Number 2

Dear friends and patients,

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, commonly called ADHD, is the leading childhood disorder in the world. The rise in childhood neurological disorders, mostly described as behavioral, social or learning disorders, has risen so sharply that it has become the most serious threat that this country has ever faced to the health and well-being of our children. It is also one that is increasing in epidemic proportions.

· Autism, considered a rare disorder a decade ago, affects 1 out of every 150 children born

· 1 in every 100 newborn baby boys will be diagnosed with autism before the age of three, striking twice as many boys as girls

· In 2009, 1.5 million children entered school, and 1 out of every 6 five or six year olds will be diagnosed with some type of neurological disorder that affects their ability to learn and socially interact

· In 2008, doctors in the USA wrote an estimated 20 million prescriptions for Ritalin to treat ADHD. The use of Ritalin increased 800 percent between 1990 and 1998, even though it has severe side effects and its long-term consequences on the developing mind are still unknown.

(from the book “Disconnected Kids” by Dr. Robert Melillo)

ADHD is a learning disorder caused by underdevelopment of the frontal cortex. ADHD can be helped without drugs when we take the time to understand why the frontal cortex isn’t firing as it should and then correct those causes holistically.

My wife and I have a heart for children and we hope to talk to you about treating your child holistically. Hopefully this newsletter will give you a first start and if nothing else, give you some hope…

Yours in good health,

Dr. Samuel Jamieson, D.C.

ADD/ADHD – is this your child?

Every child is different.

Cognitive symptoms are the symptoms most associated with learning and behavioral disorders and are focused on the most by parents, teachers and health professionals. Cognitive skills are what define a child as an individual with a unique personality and which will carve a child’s future success in life. They are the executive functions, controlled by the prefrontal lobe of the frontal cortex, the slowest to grow and most sophisticated part of the brain. There are different symptoms and different types of attention deficit disorders. To illustrate the differences, I’d like to make a comparison with the characters from the Winnie the Pooh family:

	Winnie the Pooh: This child is inattentive and has his head in the clouds.
	Tigger: This child is hyperactive and bouncy.
	Eeyore: This child is depressed.
	Piglet: This child is anxious and easily startled.
	Rabbit: This child is inflexible, rigid, and wants things his way. He can’t let go of emotional thoughts.

Symptoms of ADD/ADHD.

In addition to the above cognitive systems, children may also show other symptoms, some of which are not always associated with ADD/ADHD.

· Poor gross and fine motor skills

· Persistence of primitive motor reflexes

· Poor eye coordination

· Poor social skills

· Abnormal emotional reactions

· Sensory processing symptoms of vision, hearing, touch, smell and taste

· Compromised immune system- either they get sick a lot or suffer from asthma and allergies

· Rapid heartbeat

· Food sensitivities causing inflammatory responses resulting in mental and behavioral symptoms

· Poor digestion – they can’t break down and digest food well and are prone to leaky gut syndrome

· Academic symptoms – although often very intelligent, they struggle with school

For more information about childhood neurological disorders, call our office at 408-517-0706 or visit our website at www.jamiesonhealthcenter.com. An excellent resource we recommend is the book “Disconnected Kids” by Dr. Robert Melillo.

What is ADD/ADHD?

ADD/ADHD is a learning disorder caused by underdevelopment of the frontal cortex of the brain.

The frontal cortex has two types of actions:

· Excitatory actions such as alertness, focus, concentration, planning, learning and remembering

· Inhibitory actions to dampen the limbic system of the brain. The limbic system causes impulses, rage, anger, arousal, laughter. As a matter of fact, it has been said that 70% of the brain is there to inhibit the other 30%.

If the frontal cortex fails to inhibit the limbic system, this can lead to

· Impulsive behaviors

· Quick temper

· Poor decision making

· Saying things out of turn

· Inability to wait for turn

Holistic treatments for your ADD/ADHD child.

Since every child is different and the symptoms are different, there is no “one size fits all” cure. But the cure is definitely not Ritalin. As with any other disorder, the solution is found when we look at the body holistically and examine the structural, biochemical and emotional stressors. Here are some of the areas which I like to discuss with parents and which need to be closely examined when I treat their children:

· Lack of movement and physical exercise

· Too much TV and computer games. TV especially numbs the brain.

· Mechanisms to increase firing of the frontal cortex

· Diet – without healthy nutrition, a child’s brain cannot develop

· Gluten, casein and sugar responses: in many children, those substances are inflammatory to the brain and have excitatory actions.

· Gluten creates enzymes that prevent the metabolism of GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and children become hyperactive.

· Neurotransmitter deficiencies of serotonin, dopamine, acetylcholine and GABA

· Deficiencies in Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), which are very important for the healthy development of the brain. Unfortunately, many babies are born with insufficient EFA levels caused by the low-fat diet of their mothers.

· Methyl-donor deficiencies

· Stress, which can be physical and/or emotional – you wonder why children may have stress, but in many cases, not having parents around means stress for the child.

· Primitive reflexes that are not integrated properly

· Environmental toxins

For more information about our holistic treatments for ADD/ADHD and other learning disorders, call our office at 408-517-0706 or visit our website at http://www.jamiesonhealthcenter.com/reflexintegration.htm.

JAMIESON HEALTH CENTER

Samuel R. Jamieson, D.C.

Applied Kinesiology

Nutrition

Emotional Stress Relief

Total Body Modification

1175 Saratoga Ave, Ste 8

San Jose, CA 95119

Phone 408.517.0706

Email drjamieson@sbcglobal.net

We’re on the Web!

www.jamiesonhealthcenter.com

Seminars we’ve taken.

Since I want to make a difference in your lives and that of your children, I’m constantly trying to keep up with the latest developments in healing practices and new discoveries in the area of alternative holistic medicine. To that end, I have attended the following seminars and conferences over the last several months:

· Metabolic Biotransformation: an overview of detoxification and weight management

· Restoring Gastrointestinal Health

· Practical Blood Chemistry

· Functional Neurology for the Primary Care Provider

· Neurotransmitters and Brain

· Applied Brain Concepts

· The Thyroid-Brain–Immuno Connection

· Restorative Endocrinology: Balancing Female Hormones in Menopausal Women

· Restorative Endocrinology: Balancing Hormones in Cycling Women

· The Impacts of Estrogen on the NeuroEndocrine-Immune Axis

· Restorative Endocrinology: Balancing Male Hormones

· Advanced Nutrition Therapeutics for Addictions and OCD

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