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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

IMPORTANT ADD INFORMATION - Diagnostic Traits and Misconceptions

Be sure to click the links in this article!
 
Six or more of the following symptoms of inattention have been present for at least 6 months to a point that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:here
Inattention
  1. Often does not give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities.
  2. Often has trouble keeping attention on tasks or play activities.
  3. Often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly.
  4. Often does not follow instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions).
  5. Often has trouble organizing activities.
  6. Often avoids, dislikes, or doesn't want to do things that take a lot of mental effort for a long period of time (such as schoolwork or homework).
  7. Often loses things needed for tasks and activities (e.g. toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools).
  8. Is often easily distracted.
  9. Is often forgetful in daily activities.
  1. Six or more of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have been present for at least 6 months to an extent that is disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level:
Hyperactivity
  1. Often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat.
  2. Often gets up from seat when remaining in seat is expected.
  3. Often runs about or climbs when and where it is not appropriate (adolescents or adults may feel very restless).
  4. Often has trouble playing or enjoying leisure activities quietly.
  5. Is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor".
  6. Often talks excessively.
Impulsivity
  1. Often blurts out answers before questions have been finished.
  2. Often has trouble waiting one's turn.
  3. Often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games).
  1. Some symptoms that cause impairment were present before age 7 years.
  2. Some impairment from the symptoms is present in two or more settings (e.g. at school/work and at home).
  3. There must be clear evidence of significant impairment in social, school, or work functioning.
  4. The symptoms do not happen only during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder. The symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g. Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).
Based on these criteria, three types of ADHD are identified:
  1. ADHD, Combined Type: if both criteria 1A and 1B are met for the past 6 months
  2. ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type: if criterion 1A is met but criterion 1B is not met for the past six months 
  3. ADHD, Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type: if Criterion 1B is met but Criterion 1A is not met for the past six months.
American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2000.
For a version of the DSM IV criteria and quotes on related MBTI temperament traits, click

For more complete information on ADD/ADHD , misconceptions, diagnosis and treatment, go to:

http://www.borntoexplore.org/whatisadd.htm

For additional information and a  checklist for children see  Children: Diagnosis, "Treatment" and Alternatives.

Monday, September 26, 2011

ADHD Is Not a Disease

ADHD Is Not a Disease

ADHD“Hey, Phillip… do you mind if I sit here and eat with you?” I asked.
“Sure, whatever…”
“How’s school going? Are you doing well?”
“Not really. I just want it to be summer.”
“Yeah, I remember how that used to feel,” I told him.

Phillip is eleven years old. He’s the son of some family friends and I was at a small party when I saw him sitting by himself. I hadn’t seen him for a few years, so I wanted to remind him who I was and get to know him a little better.

As he became comfortable, he opened up a bit more. He told me his plans for the summer. He told me about his friends and the girl he likes at school. And he also told me that he didn’t care for school all that much.
“It’s hard,” he said. “Plus, I have ADHD, so I don’t pay attention very well.”

“Really? How do you know you have ADHD?” I asked.

“That’s what my doctor said. He said I’ve had it since I was born. That’s why I have to take medicine.”
“Well, I think you’re just fine. How does that medicine make you feel?”

“It used to make me kinda nervous,” he said. “And I couldn’t go to sleep when I took it. Now, it just makes me not want to eat.”

After complimenting Phillip on his manners and intelligence, I changed the subject back to his plans for the summer. But what he said bothered me. Here was a bright young boy who was bored and frustrated in school… who probably had a few behavioral problems… and who had now been labeled as having a “disease” and put on medication.

And, unfortunately, Phillip is just one of millions…

I was bothered by his story because I could only imagine what that would do to the psyche and development of a child to be handed a lifelong sentence like that from a doctor. You are broken. You are defective. Your brain doesn’t work right. You are not acceptable in your natural state, but taking these drugs every day can help you.

It might be one thing if ADHD was actually a “disease”… but it’s not.

In 1987, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was voted into existence by the American Psychiatric Association and inserted in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Yes, that’s right… the “disease” was “voted” into existence.

Can you imagine if we had to take a “vote” to determine whether cancer is a disease… or diabetes… or heart disease? That would be patently ludicrous. But every year, more and more disorders are voted into the DSM.

In the case of ADHD, psychiatrists made a list of the most common behaviors among children that parents and teachers object to — and then termed them a disease. Within one year, more than half a million children were “diagnosed.”

Since then, the number of behaviors that constitute the disorder has continued to grow. There are now 18 of them. That opens the door for even more children to be labeled and then put on drugs.

Today, most ADHD “testing” consists of parents, teachers, school administrators, or social workers checking off these behaviors as observed at home and in the classroom. A doctor reviews the checklist, and if six or more of these behaviors are exhibited, then the child is “diagnosed” with ADHD. In almost every case, the treatment is pharmaceutical.

Today, the “epidemic” of ADHD has grown to about seven million young people in the U.S. Most of these children are on medication. And if you add in the numbers that are on antidepressants and other psychotropic medications, the number is over 10 million. That is larger than the entire population of New York City!
You might ask, where were these kids when I was growing up?

Dr. Russell Barkley, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts, has the answer for that. They were there, he says. “They were the class clowns. […] Back then, we didn’t have a professional label for them.

“They were the lazy kids, the no-good kids, the dropouts, the delinquents, the lay-about ne’er-do-wells who were doing nothing with their lives. Now we know better. Now we know that it is a real disability, that it is a valid condition…”

They were the dropouts, huh? The kids who didn’t fit in? The kids who found traditional schooling to be hostile, boring, and unacceptable? I wonder if Barkley was referring to “dropouts” like:
  • Bill Gates & Paul Allen (college dropouts, cofounders of Microsoft)
  • Sir Richard Branson (high school dropout, founder of the Virgin Group)
  • Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, and Steve Jobs (college dropouts, computer company founders)
  • Kirk Kerkorian (eighth-grade dropout, billionaire)
  • William Faulkner (high school and college dropout, Nobel Prize-winning novelist)
  • Ray Kroc (high school dropout, founder of McDonald’s)
  • Dave Thomas (high school dropout, founder of Wendy’s)
Almost certainly, if many of these men were in school today, they would be “labeled” with a mental disorder.
The pharmaceutical companies and modern psychiatry represent ADHD to be a biological abnormality of the brain. Along with many other “mental illnesses,” it is often said to be caused by that catch-all phrase — “a chemical imbalance.”

The problem is that psychiatry has never validated ADHD as a biological entity. They have never shown even the slightest bit of proof of a “chemical imbalance” or that this is an actual brain disease. And yet, millions of children and parents are told fraudulently that this is the case.

Dr. Fred Baughman is a respected pediatric neurologist who has been in practice for 35 years. He knows what a real disease is.  So, from 1993 to 1997, he doggedly pursued correspondence with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Ciba-Geigy (the original manufacturers of Ritalin), and top ADHD researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health. He asked them to show him ANY peer-reviewed scientific literature proving a physical or chemical aberration that would qualify ADHD as a disease or a medical syndrome.

After years of persistence, Dr. Baughman finally got these groups to admit that there is NO objective validation for ADHD. Today, the National Institutes of Health state that, “We do not have an independent, valid test for ADHD, and there is no data to indicate that ADHD is due to a brain malfunction.”

And yet, hundreds of thousands of doctors still “label” children as diseased and prescribe powerful and dangerous drugs for something that they have admitted they can’t prove. That is not medicine. It is fraud.
And many doctors and social workers push these drugs forcefully and manipulatively. I heard of one doctor who asked a parent, “If your child had diabetes, you would give him insulin, wouldn’t you?”

Unfortunately, that parent probably didn’t know enough to tell the doctor that diabetes can be measured — either by blood sugar abnormalities or pancreatic malfunction — while ADHD cannot.

When you go to a doctor, they take blood, they do X-rays. They don’t ask how you behave. And yet, that is how the “disease” of ADHD (along with depression and many other “mental illnesses”) is diagnosed.
Thomas Szasz, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York, says, “No behavior or misbehavior can be a disease. That is not what diseases are.”

Diseases are malfunctions of the human body. For example, typhoid fever is a disease. Spring fever? Not so much. Spring fever is a metaphor. It is a figure of speech… just like most mental illnesses. And yet, the treatment for this figure of speech is now worth billions of dollars a year.

Though there are now many drugs used to treat ADHD, Ritalin (methylphenidate) is one of the most common. In 1970, there were an estimated 150,000 U.S. children taking Ritalin. Today, the number is estimated to be higher than five million. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, the production of methylphenidate increased 700% between 1990 and 1997!

And the trend is to “diagnose” children at younger and younger ages. According a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, prescriptions for two- to four-year-olds increased by almost 300% between 1991 and 1995. I didn’t search for more recent statistics, but you can be sure the trend has continued.

And despite what those who promote them might say… these are NOT safe and harmless medications.
Ritalin, for example, is classified by the FDA and the DEA as a Schedule II Controlled Substance. It is listed in the same category as methamphetamines, cocaine, morphine, and Dilaudid (among other powerful illegal and prescription drugs). These drugs are powerful. They can cause harm. And they carry a significant risk of abuse.

Most ADHD drugs are a class of amphetamine. On the street, these stimulants are commonly known as “speed.” And while “speed” can increase alertness and productivity, the trajectory is crash and burn.
But what are the risks of long-term use of these drugs, especially by developing children?

These drugs have been known to cause depression and psychotic states. And they can be the cause of real neurological disorders like epilepsy and seizures. They can also lead to physical dependence and have been shown to precipitate illegal drug abuse.

Studies have also shown that ADHD drugs stunt the physical growth of children and cause the brain to atrophy and shrink.

But of course, the biggest risk is death. In fact, research funded by the National Institute of Mental Health showed that children and teens on drugs such as Ritalin have a 500% higher risk of sudden death than would be typical for children of a similar age and health status.

Not surprisingly, long-term use can increase the risk of heart attack.

And cancer is a known risk, too. In one study, researchers identified twelve children who met the criteria for ADHD in the DSM-IV and were to begin taking methylphenidate in daily doses between 20 and 54 mg. Because the test group was small, each child was used as his or her own control.

Chromosomal abnormalities in blood cells were measured before starting the treatment. Then these same tests were performed after three months of taking the medication. Three separate chromosomal abnormalities were evaluated. In every single child, significant increases in chromosomal aberrations were measured. On average, the aberrations increased by 323% following treatment. Researchers believe that greater frequencies of these aberrations equate to an increased risk of cancer.

And to balance out these significant risks… there are absolutely NO long-term studies that show positive effects from these drugs on learning, academic standards, or social behavior.

Certainly there are children who are misbehaving at school and at home. There are kids who are unable to achieve self-control. There are those who are unusually hyperactive.

But in the vast majority of cases, these kids do not need medication. They certainly do not need to be exposed to the dangers of these drugs. But do their doctors ever ask what kind of foods, preservatives, and additives these children are exposed to? Do they inquire about nutrition or give advice about the many ways that the foods children eat, the toxins they are exposed to, and the nutrients they are missing can affect mood and behavior? Of course, most doctors do not. That would require too much effort and follow-up. It is much easier (and more profitable) to write a quick prescription and usher in a new patient.

Today, we are constantly told to protect our children from drug abuse. And yet, there are some disturbing exceptions to that rule. Thomas Szasz put it well when he said, “Labeling a child as mentally ill is stigmatization, not diagnosis. Giving a child a psychiatric drug is poisoning, not treatment.”

To Your Health,
Jon Herring

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Why Supplement? Common Mistakes - Best Choices

My name is Sam.  I used and abused my body for decades.  Then I had a heart attack.  The official diagnosis was that I needed a heart transplant.  In two years time I went from needing a heart transplant to being heart healthy without drugs or surgery.  Part of my regimen was nutritional supplementation.  Now I am on a mission to educate as may people as I can about the need for nutritional supplementation.  Why?  Because I found out that most disease can be prevented or reversed by changes in life style and putting high quality nutrition into our bodies.

 “Why Supplement?”
Below is the science that supports my mission.
Here is a new digital version of “Why Supplement” based on a Time magazine article on health.

View the full digital version here:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/shaklee/whysupplement/index.php

Please feel free to forward it to your contacts



Here is a short summary of the “Why Supplement?” brochure.
Since growing crops was taken over by agri-business, rather than family farms, crops are grown for their monetary value not their nutritional value.  The chart below is a small sample of the problem.  In general, foods that are mass marketed can not provide adequate nutrition to maintain your health.
Decline in nutrient value of crops from 1950 to 1999
    Protein  calcium   iron  Vit “A”     Vit “B” Vit “C”

This lack of adequate nutrition has led to startling increases in the incidence of disease over the last decade.  Longer studies show an even more dramatic increase in incidents of disease in many categories.
Supplementation
Proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle can prevent many major diseases 60-90% of the time.

The good news is that the very latest research verifies that you can positively influence your health every day through the lifestyle changes you make and through the quality of your nutritional intake.
A recent groundbreaking Landmark Study correlates long-term supplement use with better overall health.  People using a wide range of high-quality nutritional supplements for 20 years or more showed dramatic benefits compared to those who took just a one a day mass marketed multivitamin or no supplement at all.  These long-term supplement users were nearly four times more likely to describe their health as “very good” or excellent compared to other study participants.
Countless Studies Can’t Be Wrong!
Many of the world’s leading experts in medicine, biochemistry, and nutrition believe nutritional supplementation positively affects overall health.  Doctors from Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, and researchers from the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Cancer Society can’t all be wrong!  If you know people who say “vitamins don’t do any good”, they are just plain wrong.

If you want to prevent illness or reverse health conditions be sure to get the most important nutrients your brain and body needs to function optimally.  The short list for these necessary nutrients is:
A multivitamin – Vitamin “D” – Calcium – “B” Vitamins – Vitamin “C” – Omega-3 fatty acids -  Antioxidants – and Probiotics

90% of Americans fall short in getting essential nutrients in our diets!
Warning: There is much misinformation and lack of knowledge about vitamin supplementation. Below is a helpful summary of research work being done by Dr. Michael Pazdon, at the University of New Hampshire. His report is as follows:
“Of the vitamin supplements being marketed in the United States today, we found that there are basically three types (1) Synthetic (chemical), (2) Crystallized (heat processed) and (3) Lyophilized (low temperature dehydration). These three types were tested by chromatograms prepared by the method of Pfeiffer (BioDynamics 50, 2t), with slight modification.
  • SYNTHETIC: These one a day type of multivitamins are a chemical vitamin isolate made from inorganic materials, i.e., petroleum by-products. Sold mainly in drugstores, these vitamins act as drugs in the body. They may set up toxic reactions, and thereby rob the body of its own storehouse of antibodies.  
  • CRYSTALLIZED: Commonly labeled “organic” or “natural,” these vitamins are isolates derived at least partly from a whole food (organic) source but processed by a less expensive, high temperature process. Products need be only 10% organic to legally carry the label “natural ingredients.” Most of the live enzymes necessary for absorption into the body have been destroyed in this type of vitamin. (Example: If we labeled a dead horse “natural and organic,” our label would be correct. If we wanted to ride him to town, however, we would be out of luck. “Organic and Natural” do not necessarily mean vital or “alive.”) Sold in some drug stores and most health food stores.
  • LYPOHILIZED: Whole food is dehydrated by a cold process, preserving the complex of vitamins, bioflavonoids and enzymes found in nature. Enzymes necessary for absorption into the body remain intact. The only company we could find marketing this type of supplement is Shaklee Corporation. Shaklee products are sold by independent distributors and are not available in retail stores.”
Shocking Revelation - Here is a summary chart of the comprehensive 20 year Landmark Study dome by the University of California at Berkley.  Note that people who used the one a day type of synthetic nutrients were more at risk for disease than those who did nothing at all.  The category with the lowest risk of disease used organically sourced, cold processed, natural nutrients.


The average person over age 65 has taken 19.1 prescriptions.

The average person 50 to 65 has taken 7.6 prescriptions.


The Shaklee user for 20+ years has taken 0.6 prescriptions. (avg. age 62)

To see the full Landmark Study click the link below

HOW ARE SHAKLEE SUPPLEMENTS DIFFERENT?
Technical Services Dept. Information Sheet
1. Shaklee’s Health Sciences researchers establish that there is a real need for a particular combination of nutrients. They do NOT simply react to faddy trends in the nutrition world.
2. Shaklee’s Product Development staff develop a stable, balanced formula reflecting the requirements identified by the health scientists. (They do NOT just make formulas with more of ingredient "X" than the competition.)
3. Raw ingredients are selected for each product using these criteria:
• They are from natural sources wherever possible (natural materials often contain other related beneficial compounds along with a particular nutrient).
• They must meet rigorous Shaklee quality standards for purity, potency and identity before being used in a batch of the product
4. No artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors are added.
5. No preservatives are added.
6. Packaging materials are carefully selected and tested to give proper protection of the product throughout its shelf life. The shelf life is determined using scientific stability studies.
7. Products are made to pharmaceutical standards using Good Manufacturing Practices and employ controlled temperatures, pressures, humidity, etc., so that no loss of the product's nutrients or damage to naturally occurring enzymes will take place during manufacturing and packaging.
8. Every batch of product is subjected to Quality Control tests to ensure full compliance with Shaklee's finished product specifications.
9. Many products, in the research and development stage, are subjected to clinical studies with human volunteers to demonstrate that the dosage forms are effective in delivering the nutrients to the body. Many of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
10. Full technical information about Shaklee products is made available to customers on request, e.g., ingredient listings, nutritional profiles, etc.

Changing brands Can Change Your Life and Save You Money
This is interesting: a line-by-line label cost comparison of Walgreens and GNC supplements compared to Shaklee Vitalizer, done on 1/14/11.  Both Walgreen’s and GNC supplements do not meet the quality standards of Shaklee so most people would expect to pay more for Shaklee
Note that GNC's multi contains no bioflavin, quercetin, nickel, tin, vanadium, or boron.  

Otherwise, to get the same amount of vitamins and minerals as Vitalizer, you would have to buy:
Walgreens- 30-day supply
Centrum Performance multivitamin/multimineral: $11.99 X 4
MegaRed omega fish oil: $29.99 X 2
Naturemade probiotic: $11.49 X 1
Total: $119.43

GNC- 30 day supply
Women's Ultramega: $39.99 X 1
Triple strength fish oil: $38.99 x 1
Ultra probiotic: $39.99 X 1
Total: $118.97


Shaklee
Vitalizer 1 box/30-day supply
Total:  $85 Member price ($76.50 on AutoShip)
Give Vitalizer a try!   Vitalizer Video:
A FREE Shaklee Membership with your first Vitalizer order.  Now you can use the highest quality nutrients, prevent and reverse disease, and if you refer new people to the Vitalizer program your Vitalizer can be free.   If you have an interest in a career as a Shaklee distributor we can show you how to do that too.
Unequaled quality (nobody comes close,) 90 years of research, 1000 tests on every batch, 90 peer-reviewed scientific articles, plus  better price and guaranteed results!
The Shaklee Difference, Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-3StLcArg

Those who take prescription medications need to be aware of the additional risk of drug induced nutritional deficiencies.  

MEDICATION ROBS YOUR BODY OF NECESSARY NUTRIENTS :


Changing Brands Can Change Your Life (and your wallet!)

Live better with Shaklee ... helping people live since 1915!

For more info, contact: http://www.bestself.myshaklee.com/   

Ask us to explain the Shaklee Member Referral Program
If you prefer personalized service call us:  239-591-4565 
We do free nutritional counseling.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Nationwide Counseling Available in the Privacy of Your Own Home

Nationwide Counseling Available
in the Privacy of Your Own Home
Best Self USA is a full spectrum counseling and life skills training facility offering NATIONWIDE distance counseling services in the privacy of your own home by use of voice, video, online and other media.
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Phone: 239-591-4565
Media Interview: 1-800-850-1987
(Naples, FL) Best Self USA is an innovative Counseling and Life Skills Clinic.  They have been helping people for more than 40 years, and are applying the latest research and technology.

Responding to the needs of their clients is what motivates Best Self USA to develop new services and techniques.  Best Self USA is unique in offering long distance services as well as helping their local clients in Naples, Florida.  The long distance counseling services grew out of the need to remain in contact with clients who live in Naples seasonally and elsewhere off-season. 

Recently Best Self USA has launched a new web site http://www.bestselfusa.com/, added new staff members, and expanded their services to include full spectrum counseling and life skills training to a nationwide clientele. They are now serving clients across the country.

Other groundbreaking services provided by Best Self USA include:


The staff at the Best Self Clinic can help you to become the best you can be!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Mental Illness costing Americans $300 billion annually

Keep in mind that many mental illness problems are preventable and reversible.  There are even ways to help with natural molecules rather than drugs.  Distance counseling in the privacy of your own home is available at www.BestSelfUSA.com


CDC: Mental Illness costing Americans $300 billion annually

 

Nearly half of all Americans experience mental illness at time point in life.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about half of all Americans will experience some form of mental health problems during their lifespan. THE CDC defined mental health problems as ranging from depression to post-traumatic stress disorder to suicide, noting that often these mental health problems are not addressed.

The new CDC report, “Mental Illness Surveillance Among Adults in the United States,” describes the extent of mental illness among U.S. adults and recommends increased efforts to monitor mental illness and anxiety disorders.

Most shocking from the report is the cost associated with treatment and loss of productivity.

There are “unacceptably high levels of mental illness in the United States,” said Ileana Arias, principal deputy director of the CDC. “Essentially, about 25 percent of adult Americans reported having a mental illness in the previous year. In addition to the high level, we were surprised by the cost associated with that — we estimated about $300 billion in 2002.”

It still remains unclear as to why there is a high rate of mental illness in the U.S. or what factors are influencing mental health.

It has been shown that mental disorders have a link to chronic illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. Additionally, psychiatric illness and other mental health issues are surrounded by stigma, which adds to the burden.

A 200 survey performed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that about 11 million people experienced serious mental health illnesses during the past year. This represents about five percent of the population. Additionally, about 84 million Americans reported having suicidal thoughts and 2.2 million Americans made plans to kill themselves, over the past year. Unfortunately, about one million American attempted suicide last year, according to the report.

These numbers may seem alarming, but more importantly, it brings attention to an overlooked issue. Mental health illnesses are increasing in the U.S. and understanding for how to help people deal with them is important. Thus more programs should be made available to help people and their families.