Jun 26, 2019
My guest this week is Dr.
Sanford Newmark, a clinical professor in the Department of
Pediatrics at the University of California and Director of Clinical
Services at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Newmark
also serves as the Head of the Pediatric Integrative
Neurodevelopmental Program at the Osher Center, specializing in the
treatment of Autism, ADHD and other developmental or chronic
childhood conditions. With a long-standing interest and expertise
in nutrition and its impact on childhood development and health,
Dr. Newmark combines conventional medicine with nutrition, behavior
management, and various complementary modalities.
He has lectured widely on both
autism and ADHD and has authored 3 chapters in Integrative Medicine
textbooks, as well as, writing his own book “ADHD
Without Drugs, a Guide to the Natural Care of Children with
ADHD”. In addition,
his
UCTV talk on ADHD has had over 4.6 million
views.
In this episode, Dr. Newmark and
I discuss the importance of a proper ADHD diagnosis, the rising
cause of misdiagnosis and non-pharmaceutical alternatives for ADHD
medication. Environmental toxins, prenatal exposure, and diet can
affect children's brain development. Learn more about Dr.
Newmark
here.
Episode Highlights
Pre-Natal Exposure, Toxins, and
Diet Links to ADHD
- In a
study of infant cord blood, an average of 200 chemicals known to
cause brain issues were present
- High
pesticide levels are associated with higher levels of
ADHD
-
- A
study of 8-year-olds shows that those with higher than average
pesticide levels had twice the amount of ADHD than those under the
median
Hesitations in Prescribing ADHD
Medication
- ADHD
Medication does not work well for every child
-
- Medication provides short-term effects for
about 70% of children
- For
nearly 30% or more of children who take them, it does not work at
all
- Side
effects are very common
-
- Children do not feel themselves, experience
trouble sleeping, personality changes, eating
difficulties
- We do
not really understand the long-term effects of this
medicine
-
- How
it may or may not alter the brain over time is unknown
Misdiagnosis of ADHD
- ADHD
is very commonly misdiagnosed for a variety of reasons
-
- In
children who are struggling with specific learning disabilities, in
children who experienced trauma, struggle with sleep apnea, or
anxiety, etc…
- The
general questionnaire used to diagnose ADHD is very minimal and can
easily result in pediatricians giving a misdiagnosis
Non-Pharmaceutical
Alternatives
- Addressing nutrition first
-
- No
food additives such as artificial coloring
- Avoiding too much sugar and artificial
sweeteners
- Keeping a low intake of processed
carbohydrates
- Gluten and dairy sensitivities are commonly
found in children with ADHD
- Nutritional Supplements
-
The Issue With
Electronics
- The
common use of electronics and smartphones at a young age have
increased damaging effects on children
-
- Causing a lack of quality sleep, resulting in a
decline in performance at school
- Children with ADHD can have heightened and
severe negative effects to electronics
- All
children and teenagers need
monitoring and limits put on these devices for their well-being.
Where to learn more about Dr.
Newmark...
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