When we think of possible ADHD natural treatments for children, tonsil removal is hardly the first thing that comes to mind. After all, ADHD is caused by the interaction between genetics and the environment. What does removing tonsils have to do with reducing hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention?  The answer is more surprising than you think.

Tonsils (two clumps of tissue on both sides of the throat) and adenoids (a single clump of tissue behind the nose) are made up of lymphoid tissue, the same kind of tissue found in the gastrointestinal tract and the tongue’s base. This lymphoid tissue is made up of lymphocytes, which works with the immune system to produce antibodies – a type of protein that fight against germs and bacteria.  Antibody production is normally considered a good thing, but tonsils and adenoids are not designed to handle the sheer amount of viral infections children are exposed to.    And kids get exposed to at least five kinds of germs once school starts.

Normally, tonsils and adenoids swell when they prepare to neutralize germs. Once they’ve done their job, the tissue should shrink back to their normal size. In many cases, however, tonsils and/or the adenoids fail to do so and become large enough to impede breathing. The tissue blockage can be especially problematic at bedtime, when they block the air passages during sleep and cause snoring and overall poor sleep as a result. This interruption of the air flow during sleep is called sleep apnea, which literally means “without breathing”.  This is because the trachea’s entrance is completely blocked, cutting off the air flow to the lungs.

Lack of restful sleep produces daytime sleepiness in adults, but not in children – they become more hyperactive and inattentive as a result.  A study of the sleep habits of 5- and 7-year olds discovered that children with mild ADHD are more likely to snore than the general population. They also discovered that children who snore have lower scores on tests of attention, overall intelligence, and language ability than children without.

Hyperactive and aggressive children with enlarged tonsils seemed to benefit from getting their tonsils and/or adenoids removed via surgery (also called an adenotonsillectomy). After the procedure, they became noticeably more calm and behaved, especially when other treatment options failed to achieve these results.  Researchers from the University of Michigan observed that children who had their tonsils and adenoids removed had behavioral problems and sleep problems before their surgery. When their behavioral test scores were compared to another group of children with unrelated surgery, the researchers noted very little difference between the two groups.  Of the twenty-two children with ADHD from the adenotonsillectomy group, 11 no longer met the diagnostic criteria of the disorder one year after surgery.

This is why a comprehensive physical exam is an important component of the ADHD evaluation process. Detecting enlarged tonsils and adenoids at this stage can immediately narrow down your treatment options and get to the root of your child’s hyperactive symptoms.  If you notice that your hyperactive child snores during sleep or keeps getting up in the middle of the night, this is also a good time to get him or her checked for enlarged tonsils.

If you’ve viewed the video we posted of Dr. Doris Rapp on ADHD and allergies, you’d be surprised to find that your child’s problematic behavior originates from the dinner plate. Many children with ADHD suffer from undiagnosed digestive problems that influence their cognitive function and autoimmune condition. There are many reasons behind why certain foods trigger unwanted behaviors, and one of this is a deficiency in digestive enzymes.

Enzymes and the body

The saying “you are what you eat” is only partially true. The fact of the matter is that you are what you digest. While ADHD may be caused by nutritional deficiencies due to poor eating habits, these deficiencies are often called by a problem in digestive enzymes, the key to a healthy digestive system. Without enzymes, the food we eat would be nothing more than inert chemical substances – proteins, vitamins, mineral, and water.

Enzymes are the “labor force” of the body – they’re responsible to carry out various chemical reactions like:

1) Food digestion
2) Breaking down toxins
3) Cleansing the blood
4) Building protein into muscle
5) Strengthening the immune system
6) Reducing stress on the pancreas and other organs

Every child is born with a limited number of digestive enzymes, which has to last a lifetime. The faster a person uses up his enzyme supply, the more he experiences health problem. A great deal of our digestive enzymes gets wasted through eating food processed with chemicals, the use of junk food, and the consumption of alcohol and drugs. The average child may have lower enzyme stores because of unhealthy eating habits. Studies also show that children who have ADHD also have a gene variation that makes their enzymes more “lazy” – that is, enzymes that cannot process food as efficiently. Without enough healthy digestive enzymes, the digestion process gets interrupted and leads to a whole set of complications – nutritional deficiencies, leaky gut, and food allergies. Going on a nutritious ADHD diet isn’t enough if the gastro-intestinal tract can’t absorb the vitamins properly due to an enzyme deficiency.

Supplementing with digestive enzymes

Nature placed enzymes in raw food to help the body digest everything it eats – protein, fat, starch, fiber, sugar, and dairy – instead of making the bodily enzymes do all the work. There are seven different kinds of digestive enzymes:

1) Lipase – breaks down fat
2) Protease – breaks down protein
3) Cellulase – breaks down fibers
4) Anylase – breaks down starch
5) Lactase – breaks down dairy
6) Sucrase – breaks down sugar
7) Maltase – breaks down grains

Eating raw food can replenish your enzyme stores, but your child can also take enzyme supplements if needed. Autism specialist Dr. Joan Fallon was awarded a patent for a system that makes use of digestive and pancreatic enzymes to help children with ADHD and other learning disorders. The need for these enzymes is evaluated based on the low levels of the enzyme chymotrypsin in the stool. Chymotrypsin is an inactive enzyme produced by the pancreas, which becomes active once it meets the proteins in the small intestine. Poor protein digestion affects the formation of amino acids, which are the building blocks of new proteins and neurotransmitters. Dr. Fallon found that problems with protein synthesis causes neurological problems in the child and affects attention span, learning, and motor control. After handling hundreds of children with ADHD and autism, she discovered that using digestive and pancreatic enzymes reduces symptoms and restores their cognitive function. For more information on treating ADHD with enzyme therapy, visit http://www.curemark.com/.

It’s quite shocking to see how eating the wrong food has such a profound effect on a child’s personality, outlook, and behavior. It’s just as amazing to know that getting rid of the allergenic substance was enough to turn a screaming, flailing child into a calm, peaceful one.

There are two ways to find out if your child’s ADHD symptoms are caused by allergies. The first is through a specialized allergy testing, which is only available among alternative medical practitioners. However, these tests have a serious limitation – although they can confirm any brain-based allergic reactions, they cannot identify exactly what food or substance your child is allergic to. The best way to go about doing this is to go on the allergy diet proposed by Dr. Rapp, also known as the rotation diet. It might be difficult to get used to the rhythm of a rotation diet at first, but you can stop it as soon as you have identified the food your child is allergic to. Start by rotating wheat products and dairy products as these contain gluten and casein, two proteins that are notorious for their impact on behavior and brain activity.

If your child is anything like the children you’ve seen in the video, and if nothing you have done made a difference in your child’s behavior, try to pick up a copy of Dr. Rapp’s book “Is This Your Child?”. This 600-page book is one of the comprehensive resources on allergies, ADHD, and other realistic solutions that will get rid of your child’s problematic behavior.