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Nutrition and It's Role in Hyperactivity

By Philippa Levinson, Nutritional Therapist

"Joe B", who is 8 years old, came to see me because Mrs. B was at her wits-end in trying to control and understand Joe's behaviour.

Joe was displaying many of the typical symptoms of hyperactivity in that he had a short temper, was very clumsy - always bumping into or dropping things and also had sleep problems. He was very excitable and often behaved very impulsively - once he had decided to do something he just got up and did it without any thought to any danger involved or the effect on other people. One of Joe's escapades involved getting up in the middle of the night, getting the paint recently bought to paint his sister's bedroom from the garden shed and proceeding to paint his curtains, carpet and the pet Labrador.

Sounds amusing, but living with someone behaving in this type of way can have a devastating effect on the whole family. In addition Joe's school work was suffering. Hyperactive children often have normal or high IQ but fail at school. This has been put down to their low tolerance towards failure together with their frustration at not being able to "think straight" - hence they often give up trying.

The possible causes of hyperactivity fall into four main categories:

1. Food or Chemical Sensitivities
   Allergies to certain foods may trigger the symptoms of hyperactivity. High sugar has been found to be a common culprit. The sugar content of many soft drinks is exceptionally high with some containing the equivalent of 7 teaspoons of sugar together with some caffeine! Other common foods which have been found to affect children are milk, wheat, chocolate, eggs and citrus fruit. Preservatives, additives and artificial colourings have also been shown to have adverse effects. There is also a group of foods called salicylates, which include many common fruits and vegetables, that Dr. Feingold identified some very susceptible children being sensitive to (hence the Feingold diet which has helped some children).
2. Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency
   These fats play a key role in the proper functioning of the brain but are often deficient in children with hyperactivity. It is not properly understood why this is but adding the family of fats called omega 3 or fish oils to the diet has proven to be very beneficial.
3. Heavy Metal Toxicity
   In this day and age we are too often exposed to chemicals and pollutants such as lead, cadmium (from cigarette smoke), copper (from copper water pipes), aluminium (from saucepans) and mercury which interfere with the way our nerves work making them "fire" too much causing hyperactivity.
4. Hypoglycaemia
   This is the term used for low blood sugar which may be caused by a diet high in sugars, refined carbohydrates (such as white bread, white pasta, white rice, biscuits and cakes) and junk foods. High quantities of these foods raise the blood sugar very rapidly and to too high a level. Our bodies respond by lowering the blood sugar as quickly as possible and it often goes too low resulting in many symptoms including mood swings and poor sleep patterns.

To identify the underlying causes in Joe's case I initially advised having a hair mineral analysis test in order to identify if there was any heavy metal toxicity. I discussed his diet in great detail with his mother and decided that priority should be given to reducing the sugar and chemical content, balancing Joe's blood sugar and increasing his essential fats. I decided to investigate any food intolerances at a later stage once we had seen how Joe responded to the initial plan. Food intolerances, including those to salicylates, are best identified through an elimination diet and this needs to be carefully managed with the guidance of a nutritionist to ensure that no key food types are excluded from the diet.

The initial dietary recommendations were based on:

1. Eating a natural wholefood diet, high in fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, avoiding processed and refined foods such as white flour and rice as much as possible
2. Removing all additives especially colours and preservatives (this meant lots of home-cooking and no ready-made meals from supermarkets!)
3. Reducing sugar (removing sugar totally from a child's diet may be very difficult) especially reducing fizzy drinks and sweets
4. Eating 3 main meals and 2 snacks per day to maintain even blood sugar levels
5. Increasing oily fish for their essential fats - tuna, salmon, herring and mackerel
6. Ensuring the diet contains good quality protein in addition to the fish such as chicken, eggs, nuts, seeds and beans.
7. Reducing wheat and dairy. Useful alternatives to the wheat include oatcakes, ryvita and rice cakes and to the cow's dairy soya or rice milks.

The required changes can be very daunting and require new shopping and cooking habits, but once established are actually quite easy to maintain. There is also often a great deal of peer pressure at school relating to the food eaten and this was also taken account of.

In addition I decided to give Joe some supplements in order to help improve his status more rapidly. I used supplements designed for children and included:

• A high quality multivitamin and mineral, which contains good quantities of calcium, magnesium , zinc and the B vitamins. This helped with overall good health as well as providing some of the key minerals and vitamins involved with supporting and regulating the nervous system. Zinc and the Bs are also involved in blood sugar balance.
• An essential fatty acid supplement containing the fish oils EPA/DHA for nerve transmission
• Chromium for blood sugar balance

I am delighted to say that within 6 weeks Joe had shown marked improvement with his behaviour being more modified and his schoolwork also showing early signs of advancement. Over the next 6 months we investigated food intolerances in detail and found that Joe was very sensitive not just to sugar and colourings but also to dairy. Although Joe initially was reluctant to make some of the changes to his diet he is now quite happy snacking on fruit and nuts instead of chocolate and drinking soy milk instead of fizzy drinks!

Philippa Levinson is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist and is available for consultations at both of our clinics in Edinburgh. For further information or to make an appointment with Philippa, please contact the Hamilton Place or Bristo Place clinics. To find out about Nutritional Therapy in other areas, please contact your nearest branch of Napiers.

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