The mind and body react to each other. Functional/Integrative medicine, treating people rather than individual body parts, is a revolutionary field that recognizes body systems work together as a whole rather than separately.
This underlines the importance of healing brain disorders such as ADHD, autism, Alzheimer's, and depression by considering the whole self.
Before the obesity crisis, people as well as medical doctors were indifferent about what goes in our mouths. Even today, few know much about nutrition. What we eat is important since this contains the materials that develop brain cells. Without foods that supply the necessary nutrients, the brain cannot function well.
All of the body parts and every cell in the body are constantly communicating with each other. "Good communication is good health (Mark Hyman MD)."
A good place to start healing ADHD is with nutrition. Use a whole food approach free of chemicals, pesticides, additives, sugar, trans fats, and processed foods. Check for food sensitivities. Gluten and dairy head the list. These are easily detected using a food elimination diet.
Work with your health care professional to rule out or receive treatment for environmental toxicity (lead/mercury/mold), and yeast overgrowth. Also, check for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Although doctors specializing in Functional medicine are scarce, it is worth your while to check for one in your area.
Once the root causes of ADHD symptoms are removed, a complete turn-around of mood, behavior, attention span, irritability, and anxiety is possible.
Functional Medicine recognizes and treats each person individually. Each person has a unique genetic make-up. Causes behind ADHD for one person may differ from another. Functional Medicine treats people, not diseases.
Functional Medicine is a fundamental change in thinking. Its role in ADHD and overall brain function is to be applauded.
