Natural Alternatives: Vitamin B Complex and Magnesium for ADHD

Parents share stories of how Vitamin B complex and Magnesium work to help their children's ADHD symptoms.

Natural Alternatives for ADHD

Alice from Montreal,Canada writes.......

"I went into the site on natural ADHD remedies, and after reading everything I thought that it might interest people on what I have recently discovered on my son that will soon be 7 years old. I've read alot about the possibility of toxic heavy metals. Well, I've done about 1 years worth of research for my son. He has come a tremendous way including attention and behavior in school.

He is taking B complex 25mg. a day (not more for that age) which nourishes the nervous system. He is also taking calcium magnesium 125mg. twice a day breakfast and supper time. Magnesium is extremely important for neurotransmitter function. He is also taking grape seed extract (just as good as pycnogenol) and also Efalex (now on the maintenance dose) which is the fish oils. I did an elimination diet on him. He is off all refined flour, sugar, preservatives, and additives, and of course #1 OFF All food colorings!!!

I buy cookies at a natural health food store and many other products, I either buy there, or check labels. Juices MUST be 100% Natural, and MUST say that on the label. Oh yea, Dairy products is a big one on hyperactivity kids. Orange juice and apple juice have alot of acidity and it is known that orange juice causes hyperactivity. I remember when my friend was pregnant and couldn't feel the baby for a few hours, the doctor told her to drink some orange juice and it worked! One should dilute all juices!

With dairy products one can switch to Soy. Vanilla Soy is easier to drink taste wise. After I did all this, and had great results, but not perfect yet, I went one step further. I had a hair analysis done on my son, at an extremely reputable place. His results showed High levels of Aluminum and Zinc toxicity. Interestingly, I have read in the past that people with add/adhd very often have high levels of Aluminum and zinc. Aluminum deals with focusing and memory, and zinc deals with behavior. Another type of test that I had done while waiting for the hair analysis results to come back in the mail, was to test for assimulation of different metals in the body. Guess what, Aluminum and zinc were the only 2 that showed that the cells were not absorbing it properly.

My son is now on an excellent homeopathic detoxification (drops put in water) and there is a definite improvement , and we are only into it 2 weeks. I've really gone all the way on research!!! If someone says food is not the problem, they're right. It's most probably food and many other problems such as was my son's. You've got to do it all!

I forgot to mention asidophilus for build up of yeast (from taking antibiotics.) Always purchase only top well known supplements from health food stores.

When I got the results from the hair analysis recently, I wasn't able to discuss it with the doctor that sent it, because she went on vacation the following day. I had then on my own went to the health food store that I go to all the time, and showed the results to the naturopath. As I told you, I started my son last week for detoxifying mainly for Aluminum. Anyways, yesterday I called up the lab which is in Chicago, (I'm in Montreal) and asked what happens now. They told me that my doctor that took the hair clippings can call this real #1top doctor there, and make a phone appointment to discuss treatment of what to take. So, that is the latest. Also, I should mention that besides from aluminum and zinc were also copper, boron, and one or 2 others.

I decided to go into the internet and searched for boron and ADD/ADHD. You won't beleive it! It says how boron increases copper in the body. High coppper levels cause reductions in thiamine (vitamin B1). Lack of thiamine causes many problems associated with ADD. A lack of this vitamin reduces oxygen supply to the brain. Lack of thiamine may indirectly lower the neurotransmitter dopamine. There are below normal dopamine levels in hyperactive children.

Boron interferes with the metabolism of phenols. Phenylaline (a phenol) is able to reduce seratonin level. Serotonin levels are reduced in children with ADD. Boron reduces pyridoxine (vitamin B6) levels in the body. Boron has the ability to cause an excess of vital substances. This causes a spin off in alteration of other nurtients. Boron has an indirect effect of reducing zinc levels in the body. Calcium reduces zinc. Boron plays a role in excreting pyridoxine (vitamin B6) from the body. Vitamin B6 is necessary for zinc absorption. Vitamin B6 and zinc play major roles in neurotransmitter function.

Don't you find this EXTREMELY interesting!!!! Look how this matches up to my son's results! It's no wonder why when you give B vitamins, antixodants, etc. one can start to see some differences in their kids. But the key lies in totally balancing and getting rid of toxins etc. As I see, this must be put in the hand of a real professional for this. And that doesn't mean a regular ordinary doctor.

Last of all, a #1 book is "Ritalin Is Not the Answer" by David B Stein, Ph.D. and was just pubished this year. Fantastic, Fantastic book!!!!!"

Amazing Results from Vitamin B and Magnesium

Pauline from the Netherlands, writes.......

"Hello Simon

On your natural remedies for ADHD site I found magnesium and vitamin B. I decided to give them a try and here are the results I got. I live in the Netherlands and have a 12 year old son with adhd.

When I was searching the net for natural remedies for my son's adhd, I found adders.org. My son is 12 years old and diagnosed adhd when he was 10 years old. He has been taking ritalin since.

Last October, his psychiatrist told me he was thinking of changing my son's ADHD medication when he had taken it for two years, as he was not quite sure about the long-term effects. That was the moment when I decided to look for natural ADHD remedies. It was not because my son responded poorly to Ritalin -he really benefited from Ritalin - but becuase of his doctor's hesitation to prescribe it over an extended period of time.

After I read the positive results of vitamin B and magnesium, I decided to give it a try. I thought that if it did not work it would certainly not harm him.

In November last year I started to give him 50 mgs of vitamin B complex and 90 mgs of B6 and a tablet containing 330 mgs of calcium, 113mgs of magnesium and. The result were quite amazing. Within a week, I began to see a difference in him. he was far more relaxed. more in control and more cheerful.

By Christmas this effect also was noticed at school. A few weeks ago, I decided to double his magnesium intake as I read an article that explained the vital function of magnesium in our bodies. It is an active ingredient oin over 600 bio chemical proceses in our bodies. Among others it helps decrease the aluminum levels in the brain. But the article warned that magnesium had largely disappeared from the normal diet. Vegetables contain far less magnesium these days because of the new kinds of fertilizer that are used these days and it has disappeared from the water we drink as water is no longer pumped up from subsoil strata but taken from surface waters.

My son also is in a therapy program which is based on Penta Balancing. From this I learned that in ADHD children, instinct is always working overtime. They are always in a state of red alert. That is why they are always so jumpy and quick to get angry. The vitamin B complex and B6 restored his nervous system.

Now, four months later my son is still more relaxed, more focused and in control. A few weeks ago, he managed to reorganise his clothes and toys cupboard all by himself. In all his almost 13 years, he had never been able to do that. I was so proud of him. At school he is working vary hard to improve his social relationships, which were very bad, and it is working!. Before we would notice immediately if he did not take his ritalin on time, but nowadays I can only tell that he has forgotten a dosage because I see it lying around, and not because of the ay he acts.

Last week, I talked to my son's psychatrist and we have decided to lower his Ritalin dosage in the hope that we can leave it altogether. It is wonderful to see the child taking control of his life in a constructive manner.

Thank you for publicizing the natural remedies for ADHD because they have been of great benefit to my son.

Love Pauline"

Catherine, writes.......

"I've done a great deal of research on natural remedies. My son is a gifted kid with ADHD, 9 years old.

B-6 B-6 isn't for everyone, I started him on a a supplement with 50mg of B6 (SAF for Kids), and he got in trouble for pacing in front of the class. My son gets a moderate amount of B6 in a multivitamin, but I'd recommend caution with this one.

Magnesium: Once I started him on the magnesium, he started sleeping better and was generally calmer and could deal with everyday problems and frustrations better. You need to work up to 5x the child's weight in Mg, and double the amount of calcium for absorption. You'll know if you've reached the limit as too much Mg will cause diarrhea. The first day I put him on it, I had to awaken him for school the next day. Seemed to me that his body was really telling me that heneeded the extra Mg. He had always been a poor sleeper, often awakening a few times a night and waking at the crack of dawn. My son takes 300Mg/600Ca at bedtime. Put my husband on it, he was calmer. Put me on it, and I stopped getting menses migraines."

We have recently been advised of some concerns regarding Vitamin B6 and adverse effects at high doses. We have taken some extracts about this from Biological Psychiatry and also from cspinet.org

"The B-vitamins—like other water-soluble nutrients—are usually safe at high doses. B-6 is the exception. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) was set at 100 mg because higher daily doses can cause a (reversible) nerve toxicity that leads to difficulty walking, clumsiness, numbness, or burning, shooting, or tingling pains. The Daily Value for B-6 is only 2 mg."

Biological Psychiatry, Vol 14, No 5. 1979

"Vitamin B6 can cause the failure of muscular coordination and functional disturbances and/or pathological changes in the sensory system. It is clear that some vitamin and mineral supplements can pose risks at excessive doses"

"Zinc can impair the immune system at daily doses as low as 50 mg (in addition to the 15 mg in a typical diet). Vitamin A can cause liver damage and possibly birth defects at daily doses of 10,000 IU or more. Vitamin B-6 can cause (reversible) nerve damage at doses of 200 mg or more." cspinet.org

Ed. Note:Please remember, we do not endorse any treatments and strongly advise you to check with your doctor before using, stopping or changing any treatment. Also, please be aware there is very limited scientific evidence that natural treatments are effective for treating the symptoms of ADHD.

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