Naturally Improve ADHD Symptoms in Children with This Single Herb

BY CHRISTINA SARICH
According to the CDC, ADHD, the ‘disease’ that causes children to have difficulty focusing and to act hyper is rising every year. Millions of parents put their children on medications to try to help them do better in school and to tame their unruly behavior, but a what everyone should know is that dietary adjustments is often the only solution necessary. In some cases, a single herb – Ginkgo biloba – can help to lessen ADHD symptoms in very little time.

The CDC states that:
About 11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011.
The percentage of children with an ADHD diagnosis has increased, from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 and to 11.0% in 2011.
Rates of ADHD diagnosis increase an average of 3% per year from 1997 to 2006 and now approximately 5% per year.
Ginkgo biloba is a natural herb that can replace many medications that leave children in a fog, causing them to feel unlike their true selves. It has been used for centuries as a neurological supporter, with both children and adults having enjoyed its brain boosting power in years past.

Now, there is clinical proof from the University of Tübingen’s Center for Medicine, Society and Prevention in Germany, that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can rely on Ginkgo for better cognitive functioning and a more focused mind. Ginkgo biloba extract was used on 20 children diagnosed with ADHD in the trial:

“The children were given the Ginkgo extract for three to five weeks at a dosage of up to 240 milligrams. This maximum dosage was given to those children who did not have immediate effective responses to a lower dose over the initial period of three weeks.

The researchers utilized clinical assessments to rate the improvement in symptoms along with the Continuous Performance Test (Cue-CNV in the CPT) that tested the brain’s electrical activity among the children. The researchers also assessed the children with quality of life testing and the Side Effect Rating Scale.”
Read: 3 Powerful, Natural Remedies for ADHD

The researchers found that every single child’s ADHD symptoms improved with the use of Ginkgo biloba.

“Overall, the results from both objective, standardized, neuropsychological tests and a subjective, follow-up self-report questionnaire provided complementary evidence of the potential efficacy of Ginkgo biloba EGb 761 in enhancing certain neuropsychological/memory processes of cognitively intact older adults, 60 years of age and over.”

The study abstract concludes:

“This preliminary evidence suggests that EGb 761® at a maximal dosage of 240 mg daily might be a clinically useful alternative treatment for children with ADHD, but further evidence is required before firm conclusions can be made.”
These findings echo earlier studies conducted more than a decade ago at the Virginia’s Liberty University, only on the elderly instead of ADHD children. Utilizing just 180 milligrams of Ginkgo biloba daily, the participants in the non-placebo group experienced improvement in memory response and visual recognition.

http://naturalsociety.com/naturally-improve-adhd-symptoms-children-single-herb/#ixzz3O62ht4zv

Wheat Threatens All Humans, New Research Shows

Bread lovers beware! Gluten-free diets may not just be a trendy choice but something everyone should follow. New research reveals that proteins in wheat may be detrimental to all humans.
“Gluten-free” seems to be appearing just about everywhere these days, from restaurant menus to grocery store shelves and even on cosmetics labels. And with good reason. The gluten-free market is exploding. Packaged Facts, a market research company estimated that the gluten-free market in the United States was $4.2 billion last year and predicts an expansion to $6.6 billion by 2017.

In a recent Time Magazine article entitled: “Why We’re Wasting Billions on Gluten-Free Foods,” business writer Martha C. White puzzled over this seemingly baseless trend, stating: “As food fads go, though, this one’s not only enormous: It’s enormously expensive—and many of us paying a premium to avoid gluten are doing so without any legitimate medical reason.”

The article goes on to describe how less than 1% of Americans suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten consumption and how as many as 1 in 16 Americans may have a significant sensitivity to gluten, a disease for which the term “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” was recently developed by an expert panel of gluten researchers and clinicians.

No doubt it is in the best interest of these two groups to avoid consuming gluten, a protein found in wheat as well as barley, rye, and spelt products. But is the statistic that as many as 29% of Americans admit to trying to maintain a gluten-free diet simply an indication of their desire to remain trendy? If in fact only a small fraction of Americans actually have a medical condition exacerbated by gluten consumption, what could explain the overwhelming traction of the gluten-free movement?

A Google search for gluten-free websites produces over 7.5 million returns with many of these sites populated by incredible testimonials of miraculous improvements following the adoption of a gluten-free diet in a wide range of medical issues including headaches, joint pain, skin disorders, epilepsy, depression, insomnia, and ADHD, to name a few. If we are to believe that only a small number of us should avoid gluten, does that relegate these personal triumphs from a dietary change to simply a placebo effect?

Good science would mandate that we should consider the possibility that something else may happen when a person chooses to eliminate wheat that may have nothing to do with reactivity to gluten.

While gluten makes up the lion’s share of protein in wheat, research reveals that modern wheat is capable of producing more than 23,000 different proteins, any one of which could trigger a potentially damaging inflammatory response. One protein in particular is wheat germ agglutinin (WGA). WGA is classified as a lectin—a term for a protein produced by an organism to protect itself from predation.

All grains produce lectins, which selectively bind to unique proteins on the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, and insects. These proteins are found throughout the animal kingdom. One protein in particular for which WGA has an extremely high affinity is N-Acetylglucosamine. N-Acetylglucosamine richly adorns the casing of insects and plays an important role in the structure of the cellular walls of bacteria. More importantly, it is a key structural component in humans in a variety of tissues, including tendons, joint surfaces, cartilage, the lining of the entire digestive tract, and even the lining of the hundreds of miles of blood vessels found within each of us.

Scientific research is now giving us yet another reason to reconsider the merits of our daily bread.
It is precisely the ability of WGA to bind to proteins lining the gut that raises concern amongst medical researchers. When WGA binds to these proteins, it may leave these cells less well protected against the harmful effects of the gut contents.

WGA may also have direct toxic effects on the heart, endocrine, and immune systems, and even the brain. In fact, so readily does WGA make its way into the brain that scientists are actually testing it as a possible means of delivering medicines in an attempt to treat Alzheimer’s disease.

And again, the concern here is not just for a small segment of the population who happened to inherit susceptibility for sensitivity to gluten. This is a concern as it relates to all humans. As medical researcher Sayer Ji stated, “What is unique about WGA is that it can do direct damage to the majority of tissues in the human body without requiring a specific set of genetic susceptibilities and/or immune-mediated articulations. This may explain why chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions are endemic to wheat-consuming populations even when overt allergies or intolerances to wheat gluten appear exceedingly rare.”

The gluten issue is indeed very real and threatening. But it now seems clear that lectin proteins found in wheat may harbor the potential for even more detrimental effects on human health. It is particularly alarming to consider the fact that there is a move to actually genetically modify wheat to enhance its WGA content.

Scientific research is now giving us yet another reason to reconsider the merits of our daily bread. The story of WGA’s potential destructive effects on human health is just beginning to be told. We should embrace the notion that low levels of exposure to any toxin over an extended period can lead to serious health issues. And this may well characterize the under-recognized threat of wheat consumption for all humans.

Exercise Is ADHD Medication

Physical movement improves mental focus, memory, and cognitive flexibility; new research shows just how critical it is to academic performance.
JAMES HAMBLIN
Electrophysiological plots representing brain processing
capacity and mental workload (P3 amplitude) during
cognitive tasks that require executive control in children
in the experiment and control groups. Red represents
the greatest amplitude, and blue the lowest.
(Hillman et al, Pediatrics/The Atlantic)

Mental exercises to build (or rebuild) attention span have shown promise recently as adjuncts or alternatives to amphetamines in addressing symptoms common to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Building cognitive control, to be better able to focus on just one thing, or single-task, might involve regular practice with a specialized video game that reinforces "top-down" cognitive modulation, as was the case in a popular paper in Nature last year. Cool but still notional. More insipid but also more clearly critical to addressing what's being called the ADHD epidemic is plain old physical activity.

This morning the medical journal Pediatrics published research that found kids who took part in a regular physical activity program showed important enhancement of cognitive performance and brain function. The findings, according to University of Illinois professor Charles Hillman and colleagues, "demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity for improving childhood cognition and brain health." If it seems odd that this is something that still needs support, that's because it is odd, yes. Physical activity is clearly a high, high-yield investment for all kids, but especially those attentive or hyperactive. This brand of research is still published and written about as though it were a novel finding, in part because exercise programs for kids remain underfunded and underprioritized in many school curricula, even though exercise is clearly integral to maximizing the utility of time spent in class.

The improvements in this case came in executive control, which consists of inhibition (resisting distraction, maintaining focus), working memory, and cognitive flexibility (switching between tasks). The images above show the brain activity in the group of kids who did the program as opposed to the group that didn't. It's the kind of difference that's so dramatic it's a little unsettling. The study only lasted nine months, but when you're only seven years old, nine months is a long time to be sitting in class with a blue head.

It may potentially be advisable to consider possibly implementing more exercise opportunities for kids.
Earlier this month, another study found that a 12-week exercise program improved math and reading test scores in all kids, but especially in those with signs of ADHD. (Executive functioning is impaired in ADHD, and tied to performance in math and reading.) Lead researcher Alan Smith, chair of the department of kinesiology at Michigan State, went out on no limb at all in a press statement at the time, saying, "Early studies suggest that physical activity can have a positive effect on children who suffer from ADHD."

Last year a very similar study in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that just 26 minutes of daily physical activity for eight weeks significantly allayed ADHD symptoms in grade-school kids. The modest conclusion of the study was that "physical activity shows promise for addressing ADHD symptoms in young children." The researchers went on to write that this finding should be "carefully explored with further studies."
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/exercise-seems-to-be-beneficial-to-children/380844/

7 Simple Scientifically Proven Methods To Make You A Happier Person

Ever noticed you’re in a slump that’s lasting weeks, months or even years? Moodiness is common to the 20-something’s life. With all the life changes, long work hours, lack of sleep, poor eating habits and stress, it’s pretty easy to feel out of whack.

If you find yourself struggling with non-clinical moody slumps, it’s important to pinpoint an action plan so that you can turn your mood around.

The key is to remember that you are in active control over your life: It is up to you to make positive changes that will make you happier in your daily life. Here are seven ways to do it:

Smile

Try this: Smile in the mirror, first thing in the morning, then a couple more times during the day. Does your mood change? As it turns out, moving facial muscles in such a way that mimics smiling has been scientifically proven to boost your mood.

When you smile, there is a physiological response that influences areas of your brain that coincide with feeling happier sensations. So, certain facial expressions literally pinpoint specific portions of your brain. Get smiling, people.

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Herbal Supplements

There is much wisdom in eastern medicine, including its focus on treating the whole human body instead of targeting specific parts. The wonderful thing about herbal remedies is that they help your body function at its best so that it can naturally heal itself.

Try maca root or St. John’s wort. Maca root is wonderful for combating high stress levels known to throw our bodies out of whack and St. John’s wort has been shown to be just as effective as anti-depressants for mild and moderate levels of clinical depression.

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Drink Green Tea

Green tea, well known for its soothing and relaxing qualities, has also been shown to improve mood. 

A study conducted at Swinburne University investigated brain activity in relation to moods found that participants who consumed green tea showed greater relaxation, attention and higher mood levels.

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H20

As you heard from your high school sports coach, dehydration can compromise athletic performances. Not only that, but new studies now show that hydration — or lack thereof — also influences the mood.

In a study, a hydrated group was compared with a dehydrated group and athletes who were dehydrated not only performed worse on athletic activities, but also reported more negative moods.

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Exercise And Meditation

There is nothing quite like a runner’s high. Athletes have long noted the amazing benefits associated with working out, such as increased energy, relaxation and higher moods.

Recently, researchers began to investigate the correlation between exercise and mood; however, they are now finding that such a relation exists. Researchers have found that you can begin to feel a “mood-enhancement effect” after as few as five minutes of physical activity.

Similarly, meditation has also been shown to influence mood — studies have shown that meditation lowers cortisol levels, which is a primary instigator of anxiety. Whatever your method of choice may be, either option can be a fantastic tool to improve your mood.

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Eat Those Veggies

Take if from Popeye, who is famously known for chugging a can of spinach prior to exerting his physical strength: Eat those greens! Recent research suggests that diets high in fruits and vegetables make people calmer, more energetic and happier.

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Try Some Positive Thinking

Whether or not you agree with the positive thinking phenomenon, there is a lot of wisdom to be gained from focusing on your thoughts. As Henry Ford so wisely said,

The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right. Which one are you?

If you focus all of your energy on negativity or what you can’t do, you won’t do it. But, if you instead focus on what you can do, you will find a way to do it.

http://elitedaily.com/life/scientifically-proven-ways-to-instantly-improve-your-mood/

Science Proves Hugging Trees Is Good for Health

It has now been confirmed by science that hugging trees can beneficially affect human health by altering vibrational frequency.

Hugging a tree may have gained popularity as a maligned hippy practice, but it has now been validated by science to be incredibly beneficial for both people and the planet. Contrary to popular belief, hugging – or even just being in the vicinity of – a tree can boost one’s health in several ways.

In a recently published book by author Matthew Silverstone, Blinded by Science, evidence confirming trees and their healthful benefits includes their effect on mental illnesses, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), concentration levels, reaction times, depression, and the ability to alleviate headaches.

According to countless studies cited within the book, children show extreme psychological and physiological effects in term of improved health and well-being when they interact with plants. It was recorded that children function better cognitively and emotionally in green environments and have more creative play in green areas.

A large public health report studying the association between green spaces and mental health also noted that “access to nature can significantly contribute to our mental capability and well being.”

What is it about nature that can cause significant alleviation of symptoms? Many might think it’s open green spaces that contribute to this effect, but Silverstone shows that it’s more than this theory; instead, he explains how it’s the vibrational properties of trees and plants that offer the health benefits – not just open spaces.

Because everything vibrates, different vibrations undoubtedly affect biological behaviors. According to Natural News, it has been proven that that if one were to drink a glass of water that has been treated with a 10Hz vibration, one’s blood coagulation rates will change immediately upon ingesting the treated water.

Similarly, trees affect human beings (and all other creatures) in the same way. When one touches a tree, its different vibrational pattern will affect various biological behaviors within the body.

Within Blinded by Science, such theory is backed up by hundreds of scientifically validated studies, providing overwhelming proof that tree hugging is not just for hippies, it’s for everyone.

Not only is clutching a giant, sturdy oak therapeutic and free, it could offer a plethora of benefits and save the populace a large amount in healthcare costs.

A similar report documenting the effects of nature and improving health reported that “safe, green spaces may be as effective as prescription drugs in treating some forms of mental illnesses.”

Human beings can only live outside of the laws of nature for so long before symptoms of disconnect be made manifest. With the increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases, it’s clear more attention deserves to be given to holistic practices such as this one, so that the cause of imbalance be alleviated and lifestyle-related illnesses dissipate.
http://earthweareone.com/science-proves-hugging-trees-is-good-for-health/