Trust drug companies and officials?

ADHD Ritalin child 500% greater sudden death risk but FDA silent

October 16, 12:01 PM Human Rights
Examiner Dupre'


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 An example of why parents today distrust drug makers and officials is FDA's silence about the new study revealing that healthy children taking Ritalin have a 500 percent greater risk of sudden death.

"These aren’t kids with pre-existing heart conditions. The results would have been worse if they were included," stated Dr. Al Sears, M.D. today.

Thousands of children have suddenly died as direct result of using psychotropic drugs used for ADD and ADHD according to Heather Smith, Executive Director of the National Alliance against Mandated Health Screening and Psychotropic Drugging of Children. (Smith, H. What Drugmakers Don't Want You to Know, Thousands of children have suddenly died over the years, as a direct result of using psychotropic drugs used for ADD and ADHD, RitalinDeath.com)

ADD and ADHD are the most common child diagnoses.

Sears provides the following alert that what parents have been told for decades – "Ritalin is safe for children" – could not be further from truth:

Ritalin is a stimulant. It causes the heart to beat faster. This can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

Ritalin acts exactly like amphetamines such as crystal meth and cocaine.

In spite of evidence that it could stunt their growth1, and cause irreversible brain damage2 and that it is linked to serious cardiovascular events, the FDA remains silent.

Still, the FDA refuses to take action.

No new warnings are planned and prescriptions for Ritalin continue to spiral upward.

Objections to the FDA’s sluggishness are even starting to appear in conservative medical journals like JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. In a recent editorial, they criticized the FDA by saying the FDA is “interpreting the results cautiously.”

Plus, JAMA notes that the FDA funded and approved the design of the study. Only when results came out did they have a problem with the design of the study. I guess the FDA didn’t like the results their own design produced.

This is the big point for all of us: Doctors hand out Ritalin prescriptions every day. And too often you aren’t told of the dangers.

ADHD is still the most commonly diagnosed disorder in children.

What’s more, studies show that the drugs don’t work. The same study that found Ritalin stunts kids’ growth also found that it has no beneficial effect on behavior over a three-year period.

So what do you do for children who have trouble concentrating, focusing, or calming down? Here are a few easy, safe, and natural ways to bring kids “to attention” without endangering their mental and physical health. 

1. Ramp up the amount of omega-3 in their diet.

  Studies show that many children with ADHD don’t get enough omega-3. Cod liver oil and fish-oil capsules deliver the two kinds of omega-3s the body needs.

You can also get them to eat more lean meats, eggs, and nuts, preferably free-range, grass-fed and organic. These are all great sources of omega-3. I recommend 1,000 mg of omega-3s daily. 

2. Pine bark extract is another natural supplement that works. 

One European study using pycnogenol, an organic compound found in the bark of the French maritime pine tree, showed that after only one month, children’s behavior improved significantly on as little as 1 mg per day.3 

3. Finally, certain naturally occurring amino acids can treat ADHD. 

One of them is 5-HTP, a precursor to serotonin and one of the chemicals in the brain that relieves anxiety and depression (popular antidepressants like Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexapro all boost serotonin levels).

I recommend 50 to 100 mg three times per day with meals.

Another is tyrosine. It works like 5-HTP, increasing levels of various chemicals in the brain connected to mood and the ability to concentrate. The optimal dose is 5,000 mg per day for children and up to 10,000 mg per day for adults.

These are natural and safe alternatives that I use in my medical practice every day. They aren’t harmful or addictive, and unlike all those ADHD drugs, they actually work. They are easy to find at health food stores.

1 Jensen et al, “3-Year Follow-up of the NIMH MTA Study.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2007. 46(8):989-1002.
2 Gray et al, “Methylphenidate Administration to Juvenile Rats Alters Brain Areas Involved in Cognition, Motivated Behaviors, Appetite, and Stress,” Journal of Neuroscience, 2007, 27(27):7196-7207.
3 Trebatická et al, “Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol.” European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2006. 15(6):329-35.

To learn more about Dr. Sears' Wellness Research and Consulting, call (866) 792-1035 or visit:

http://www.alsearsmd.com

Do you know that this makes me upset that some people just try to say that a child is a certain
way when they fail to communicate to that child.  We just need to learn to communicate better
and properly feed our children then the use of certain psychotropic drugs in children will go
down.

Yours Truly,

mediamerlin