Remedies: Brain, memory, ADHD, autism, alzheimers and learning disorders

Introduction
I do not have and neither has anyone close to me (as far as I know) experienced ADHD, autism or significant learning disorders. The below information is based on testimonies given by friends, on the Internet, by alternate health doctors who have personally acheived healing in a number patients, by scientific studies, and other means not listed above. I am providing this information as-is, and not as an authoritative source on the subject. I do however consider personal testimonies to be more powerful proof of remedies than scientific studies that are often poorly conducted and/or interpreted based in the desired outcome of the study.

Remedies
Preservative and additive free diet
According to http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/newsletters/FAILsaf38.htm, a study was conducted on national TV in Britain that showed removal of preservatives and additives in food saw an improvement in up to 60% of children in a class of 6 year olds. Additives are quite obviously a big concern that is ignored by most food companies who have no problem adding them to their foods.

The http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ website contains many testimonials from parents who attest to the effectiveness of the failsafe diet. The failsafe diet can be tricky to follow however. According to the website if you make just one mistake then you may not see an improvement.

The website also contains a faq sheet at for more information. See http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factautism.htm for more details.

Note: The fail-safe diet is a low-chemical elimination diet recommended by the Australian Royal Prince Alfred Hospital - free of additives, low in salicylates, amines and flavour enhancers - for health, behaviour and learning problems.

Environmental causes of autism - Osteopathic Center
The website http://www.osteopathiccenter.org/autism.html states autism cases as rising 1000% in the last 10 years which is quite staggering. As the website states, the underlying causes of autism are possibly quite wide ranging. Some of the examples given are:

• Xenobiotics - which are chemicals that are foreign to the natural environment. These can include Polychlorinated Biphenels (PCB's), pesticides, insecticides, sodium lauryl sulfate, and heavy metals. These can be found in water supplies and the human body.
• Mercury and aluminium which can be found in vaccines. In 2001 the law firm of Waters & Kraus acquired a confidential report authored by the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC scientists investigated autism as a potential neurological injury caused by mercury in childhood vaccines.
  The confidential study demonstrated that an exposure to more than 62.5 micro grams of mercury within the first three months of life significantly increases a child's risk of developing autism. Children with the exposure were more than twice as likely to develop autism as children not exposed. Aluminium is also a known neurotoxin.
• Caesarian section deliveries and birth complications and birth trauma
• Diet
• Highly elevated arsenic levels

Environmental toxins

As stated previously, environmental toxins are considered as a major contributor to autism and ADHD. I don't pretend to have the answers for these and related symtomatic issues, however it can be reasonable to assume these toxins will worsen the symptoms somewhat.

Following is a list of issues that I think may potentially worsen symptoms: -

• EMF is produced by electricity and electrix equipment. This means you can be affected by EMF from power lines, wires running through your house, or your alarm clock. If you have symptoms from exposure to EMF, you may have EHS (Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity). See why your inner-spring mattress could be a strong source of EMF - http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/08/18/your-box-spring-mattress-could-be-acting-as-a-gigantic-cancercausing-radiation-antenna.aspx. Using a latex bed or even a wool or cotton bed with no metal is a good idea. Latex beds are probably the best for providing good support. An example is http://www.latexbeddingco.com.au who I am not affiliated with.
• Industrial pollutants which are discarded or find their way into our soils and water supplies, and end up in our food and water.
• Flouride in our water supplies which is often an industrial waste product rather than a naturally sourced flouride. Read about flouride at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoride. Very little flouride has to find its way into your system to cause sickness and even death. I have read testimonials of those who become sick from consuming too much flouridated water. Flouride is a toxin as far as I can tell and the combined sources of toothpaste, flouridated water, tea and others can cause advanced flourosis, especially in individuals who drink a lot of tea with high flouride levels. I am not sure if flouride is a contributing factor to autism all by itself; but flouride bonds easily with aluminium and carries it across the blood-brain barrier where aluminium acts as a potent neurotoxin. Adding flouride to the water supply is a dubious act at best and is essentially mass medication which I find to be quite unethical. I believe tea plants also draw both flouride and aluminium from the soil, and so can become a large source of both of these elements. So the recommendation with tea is to drink tea from younger leaves such as green and white tea.
• Drugs which people take whether knowingly or not. When people consume drugs, much of it leaves the system through the sewage systems and enters our oceans and water supplies. BPA has been found in significant concentrations in the environment sadly. It is also found at considerable levels in the human body Science has found recently that many of these toxins can make their way from the mother and into unborn babies.

Possible Solutions

Chelation

Where high levels of heavy metals have been detected in someone with autism or learning difficulties, going through chelation to bring down those levels has been able to reverse autism in a number of individuals, according to many testimonials I have read on the Internet including previously mentioned web links that have been given on this page.

An answer from one of my favourite doctors - Dr. Jonathan V. Wright
This is a short word on autism by an MD who has been healing people for many decades.

Q: My two-year-old grandson was just diagnosed with autism. I have no idea where to even begin looking for information on its cause and treatments -- would you point me in the right direction?

Dr. Wright: Something causes autism -- whether it's a genetic factor or environmental one, there must be an underlying reason for each case. But since those underlying causes are all unknown, the disease is virtually impossible to treat. However, more evidence is pointing to the link between autism and heavy metal toxicity -- particularly mercury.

In 2006, a group of researchers took urine samples from hundreds of children and discovered that the ones with autism had much higher levels of a family of proteins called porphyrins. Porphyrin metabolites bind to receptors in the brain and have been linked with both epilepsy and autism. Heavy metals, including mercury, cause the production of abnormally high levels of porphyrins.

If heavy metal toxicity is responsible for some of the cases of childhood autism, chelation therapy could be a worthwhile solution. This hasn't been tested or proven in a controlled study at this point, but there have been individuals who have tried it and have had good results.

I suggest contacting a physician skilled and knowledgeable in natural medicine to get your grandson tested for heavy metal toxicity. A blood test or a hair analysis won't be sufficient, so make sure the doctor does a chelation test. To find a doctor in your area, contact the American College for Advancement in Medicine at (800)532-3688 or www.acam.org.

ADHD and Krill Oil
A clinical study of boys who were aged from 7 to 11 and suffering from ADHD; revealed that krill oil may play a role in improving the symptoms of ADHD. The boys took a krill oil supplement every day for 90 days, and clinical symptoms /EEG readings all showed improvement

Alzheimers and Tumeric
Tumeric has been shown to prevent the onset of alzheimers as well as the ability to cure it. This as well as a number of other diseases such as osteoarthritis and cancer. See http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/special-turmeric-extract-benefits-osteoarthritis-patients-102967864.html for more details.

Memory Problems and Vitamin B
Research at Oxford University was recently performed that showed daily supplementation with high doses of certain B vitamins can cut the rate of brain shrinkage in half for older people who have mild memory problems.

Folic acid, B6 and B12. These are known to control levels of homocysteine, high levels of which are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's.

Over the course of the 2-year study, 168 volunteers over 70 years old took either a high-dose vitamin B complex or a placebo tablet every day. People with the highest levels of homocysteine showed the most benefit from the Bs. Overall, those taking the B vitamins showed a brain-shrinkage rate that was half that of people taking the placebo.

Researchers also conducted memory tests that confirmed stronger scores were related to slower brain shrinkage.

Supplementation
Supplementation with Vinpocetine has been shown to assist with "fixing" brain disorders. This can be purchased in supplement form (see
http://www.biovea-australia.com/(S(mf5nc2u5y45o3jvg3aeumcad))/product_detail.aspx?PID=1746) or tea form. Vinpocetine is found within the leaves of the common periwinkle plant.