ADD Supplements vs. Medication

It isn't an either-or decision: most of the people I encounter who use medication for ADD/ADHD also use supplements. I often discuss supplements with people who are using them for ADD/ADHD. Some of them are satisfied with a supplements-only approach, or use supplements with medication.

I'm not a physician or nutritionist. You are responsible for consulting with a trusted health prfessional when you consider applying published health-related information such as this.

After Much Feedback

Best supplements for ADD/ADHD

I have spoken with many people, seen online polls and online discussions, and read up on a good deal of research. The following supplements are those that I have heard the most positive comments about or seen the most research about regarding the use of supplements and ADD/ADHD and attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms.

Attend: This supplement combines the ingredients that I have been hearing the best feedback on, and that has the best and most complete combination that I know of, as well as additional ingredients that the manufacturer recommends. Amazon (left) tends to have competitive prices for this product.

Pycnogenol: Grape seed extract or from maritime pine bark. This is the one I hear about the most.

Tyrosine: An amino acid that helps the body create the neurotransmitters that are important in ADD/ADHD, and that stimulant medication helps with.

Amino Acids: A supplement that contains many amino acids. Many people with ADD/ADHD find that their energy gets out of whack at certain times, and eating protein helps steady them. It seems that taking a supplement provides a stronger, more immediate effect, along with the other benefits of amino acids. Lunch time amino acid supplementation may help beat the afternoon doldrums. Avoiding carbohydrate-heavy lunches is a good idea for that. Carbohydrates are starches and sugars (such as bread, pasta, potatos, smoothies, candy...)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A highly researched supplement, with research supporting its health benefits as well as help for ADD and ADHD. Sources include flax seed oil and fish oilBenefits are being found for emotional stability as well, even in research on borderline personality disorder, which involves great difficulty with emotions.

Lithium: No, not prescription doses. There is some evidence that taking lithium as a trace mineral supplement is good for emotional stability and self-control.

Related Resources There are many other supplements that have some support from the public, research, or in theory. Marketers make a lot out of these things, but it is important to have more information than that.

Have you visited RevolutionHealth.com? Very interesting place where people rate treatments, medication and supplements for their problems or diagnoses.

My favorite places for supplements are iHerb.com and MuscleSurf.com (you don't have to be a body builder to buy there, goodness knows I'm not). They both have excellent service and prices, and they offer links to articles and information related to the products.

Best Medication for ADD/ADHD

People vary a great deal in their responses to the medications that they try. Strattera does not have a very good reputation for effectiveness (despite the early research results), but the people it works for are glad they tried it. The most popular, prescribed and effective stimulands are Ritalin and Adderall (with various names depending on whether they are extended release and so forth). Of course, there is not guarantee that any supplement or medication will by appropriate for any individual. Do your best to keep learning and discussing, to create your own, personal approach. Sometimes people try other medications such as Provigil (modafinil), which is an unusual stimulant normally prescribed for people who fall asleep too easily.

I know that it is difficult to accept that a stimulant could be good for anyone, especially children. But consider this. For people with ADD, the right medication can normalize brain activity levels so that the person can have better success and control over their habits. This is too important to ignore. You should not be intimidated by the uneducated comparisons to cocaine and other alarming comments online.

Consider the issue of child development: there are "windows" of development (time periods that are best) for maturation, self-concept, and skills. Untreated children with ADD may not successfully reach the developmental milestones for all of these windows if they are not effectively treated. Long-term research is showing us, for example, that people who received treatment during childhood are less likely to be addicted to drugs than untreated children.

An acupuncturist wrote a column in a local paper saying that stimulant medication depletes chi (cosmic energy) and would result in bad health. However, a great deal of research as well as decades of use of prescribed stimulant medication have not led to bad health. Apparently, some people don't want the inconvenience of getting the reality check, that is, seeing what actually happens in the real world to confirm or disprove their favorite theory. Go with what's really happening, not theories about what is supposed to happen, even if they have become mystical in many people's minds or are made to sound fantastic by people selling them. Watch out for the "true believers".