The Dr. Josh Axe Show - Why Everyone has ADHD and How to Improve Focus

Starting point is 00:00:00 When I made this change, I was 19 years old. And I went from a 2.3 GPA to a 3.1. And then later on, now that I have my diet dialed in and I love what I'm doing, 3.9 GPA and able to, I could sit and read for 10 hours straight. Like even right now, talking with you, this conversation we're having right now, I'm totally locked in. I'm not like looking off in the distance at like butterflies or other things because I love what I'm doing. I love teaching these principles because they transform my life.

Starting point is 00:00:29 and I believe they can transform your life. Welcome to the Growth Lab podcast. I am Dr. Josh Axe. I'm a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. I'm the founder of Dr.ax.com, ancient nutrition, and leaders.com. And each and every week on the podcast, I uncover the science behind how to grow yourself,

Starting point is 00:00:51 your health, your wealth, and take your career, your spirituality, and your relationships to the next level. And this week, I'm going to be deep diving into why everyone, has ADD and ADHD and how to heal it. So we're going to go through some of the mindset around it. We're going to go into the science. We're going to go into the nutrition as well about ADHD. But one of the first things I have to address is the misconceptions about what ADD and ADHD is.

Starting point is 00:01:23 Now, I want to start off with the diagnosis, though, and then we're going to dive into that. Well, not everyone has a diagnosable ADD or ADHD. many people today experience trouble focusing and short attention spans. Now, ADHD is a neurodevelopment disorder with a really specific diagnostic criteria. It's estimated that 5% of American adults have ADHD and even more children. Now, even among those who don't, there are some universal challenges and tendencies that people in modern society have that resemble these ADD, symptoms. Listen to this before, though, we get into more of the nutrition and some of those things. Listen to this quote by Jordan Peterson. I watched a recent interview with him, and Jordan Peterson

Starting point is 00:02:11 is a Harvard-trained psychologist and the author of books like 12 Rules for Life. Here's what he says. He says, except in rare cases, most of the time an ADD diagnosis is a rubbish diagnosis. He says it's an overblown diagnosis. And he said that, schools are not well adapted for boys. He said they are not, most boys are not built to sit still and be bored for eight hours a day. He said, boys with specific temperaments, specifically that are extroverted, disagreeable, or even creative tend to be those kids diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. And he said, here's the thing. If you are a boy, and he said, this happens to girls too, but many more boys, boys are meant to be playing outside to the point of exhaustion.

Starting point is 00:03:05 He said kids are hyperactive because they're meant to be active in an outdoor setting and then going and study. So an example of this would be, hey, you're in school for two hours, then you're outside, getting your energy out. And then you study for two hours and you get outside again. And so being able to do that, but schools aren't built that way today. Now here's a really powerful quote by Peterson. And he said, I bet your hyperactive son has no trouble paying attention when he's playing video games and doing the things he loves. Think about that. Okay, do you really have an attention deficit, an actual medical disorder, a problem with your brain?

Starting point is 00:03:46 Do you really have that if you have somebody who, if they want to and they like what they're doing, has the ability to completely focus on what they have doing in Excel in that area? focusing on whether that be video games or playing sports or doing a game they like or even learning something that they actually enjoy. So really a big part of what ADD is is the inability to focus on things that you don't enjoy. Now listen, some people have the ability to focus on things that they don't enjoy and learn and grow and maybe part of what their motivation is is that I don't want to get in trouble or I do care a lot about my grades in school. and you'll see that girls have more of that self-control,

Starting point is 00:04:32 especially when they're younger, than boys do. Now, we are going to get more into ADHD and how to fix this, but I want you to reshape and reframe the way that you think about ADD and ADHD. And I want to share this from a personal standpoint. I was diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. I remember going into the doctor, my mom bringing me in, and the doctor saying, your son has severe ADHD. And I remember them giving my mom Riddle in at the time when I was younger, and my mom decided not to give it to me.

Starting point is 00:05:03 Then I remember my first year of college, actually my senior year of high school when I was about to go into college, I got diagnosed Adderall. Okay, or I was diagnosed with ADHD and I was prescribed Adderall. And I got on it for three days. And I remember thinking, this is making me feel weird. Now, it was, I remember being able to actually focus in on anything, really almost anything at that time. when I took that medication, but realizing my mom even said, I feel like it's changing your personality. And we know it's an amphetamine similar to cocaine.

Starting point is 00:05:36 And so there are addictive traits. There are things that negative side effects of being on many negative side effects, of being on those types of medications. And so again, I just want to share, I was that kid my entire life who had a very, very difficult time focusing it on school. I got sent to the principal's office when I was in elementary school. all of the time. I got really bad grades. I graduated high school with a C-minus grade point average. I think it was maybe a two, three maximum when I graduated with, barely got into college. And so again, I had a really hard time.

Starting point is 00:06:07 Now, when I got an ADHD diagnosis, the way that I interpreted that when I was a kid was, I'm medically not smart. I thought, okay, I have a medical condition where I can't pay attention and I'm not smart. And that's what I thought throughout school. And that was sort of what I was labeled as. I think a lot of kids get this ADHD diagnosis and a lot of parents get in a difficult situation and feel like, okay, I've got to medicate my kids. But I want to go back to this to say, our system today, our educational system, is not ideal for kids who have an ADHD diagnosis. But here's the thing I want you to remember, ADHD is not a medical condition.

Starting point is 00:06:51 It's their personality traits. what Jordan Peterson said is he said it tends to be kids that are more extroverted, more creative, and more ambitious. They're the kids that are a little bit more. He used the word even aggressive, like aggressive in sports oftentimes. And so it's just these are personality traits. So again, I want you to just remember this. ADHD, it's not a medical condition. It's not like having diabetes.

Starting point is 00:07:21 It's not like having mental depression. or it's not like having, like, like, or having, actually, I think depression is actually another one that's actually more like ADHD, so I actually take that back. So it's not like diabetes or or having cancer, okay? ADHD is your personality. And I'm going to go through a list here in a minute of the people who are diagnosed with ADHD and you'll be blown away by some of the people and what they achieved and accomplished in their life. So again, it's a personality. So should we medicate somebody's personality? or should we try and get to the root cause or set up a situation where these kids can win?

Starting point is 00:07:58 So I want to talk about this article in the New York Times. And here's what they cover in this article. They said the American education model was actually copied from the 18th century Prussian model designed to create docile subjects and factory workers. In fact, John D. Rockefeller was a huge advocate of this model. And here's what he's quoted as saying, I don't want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers. Now, this is in direct opposition to the wisest people in the history of the world, including

Starting point is 00:08:36 philosophers, rabbis, theologians, doctors, and scientists like Albert Einstein, who believed that education, true education, isn't about learning facts. Albert Einstein said it's about training minds to think. And that's what we want to be able to do. Well, our educational system today is, I want you to sit in a classroom for eight hours and memorize a lot of facts. But I don't want you to think for yourself. And that's the real difference. And so right now, our educational system is not set up for people with ADHD to win.

Starting point is 00:09:10 Now, I'm going to talk about how to set it up for them to win and some things will also help. And I'm going to go through some solutions here. Listen to some of the famous people who have been diagnosed with ADHD. Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Mozart, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Michael Phelps, Richard Branson, John F. Kennedy, Justin Timberlake, Emma Watson, Simone Biles, Jim Cavazil, Zoe DeDuchel, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh. Now, one of the things you're going to see here is you're people here that are very, one of the words Peterson used was confrontational. You know, like

Starting point is 00:09:55 business entrepreneurs, those people that are entrepreneurial. They tend to have ADHD. He said people that are highly creative, like actors, musicians, and artists, they tend to have ADHD. And people that are generally extroverted and charismatic, like certain politicians like John F. Kennedy or, again, you'll see certain entertainers. And athletes was another big one, like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps. Those are the people that most commonly have ADHD. ADHD is not a medical, it's not a disease. It's a personality.

Starting point is 00:10:33 These are personality traits. All right. So I want to dive deeper into why ADHD is getting worse and then go over the exact vitamins and supplements and dietary science between how it works and some other things. but I want to say you may not be, you may say to yourself, well, I don't have diagnosable ADD. But the reality is, is that if you're not interested in something at all,

Starting point is 00:10:58 are you able to fully pay attention to it? Now, I want to ask it, kind of an interesting question here. And by the way, I think a lot of men, especially if you're married or guilty of this, I hope my wife doesn't, well, it's okay,

Starting point is 00:11:11 because she's just going to agree with this. But this has happened to me quite often. My wife will be telling, me something and we'll be in a conversation and she will ask me and it'll be something like you know did you get the internet set up and hey we got to do whatever they're kind of like the honey-do list and after she we will have had a conversation i'm not the worst at this but this does still happen to me but she will ask me she'll say what did i just say by the way how many of you if you're men i would love to see if you're watching on youtube in the comment section right now or women i'd

Starting point is 00:11:42 I'd love to hear your comments. How many of you have been in that situation where, hey, your spouse is talking to you and you realize, I don't remember a word that they just said. And how many of you have been in this conversation with your spouse or a boyfriend or whatever and you realize they didn't hear anything I just said? I just had an entire conversation. They didn't hear any of it. Is that ADD?

Starting point is 00:12:05 Attention, deficit disorder, where they weren't able to pay attention to the conversation you were having with them? It is. It's the same thing. It's this personality. It's this thing. So, and by the way, I think for men, oftentimes that we start tuning things out when we have something else. I hate to say it's what we're more interested in. Or oftentimes people and women more than men will start, they share a lot of things. And so what men might do is have selective hearing like, okay, I picked up this part. But then there's maybe some things that men might consider ramble. and then, oh, then they pick up on it again, right? And by the way, I'm not saying it's right or wrong. I think men should lock in when their wives are speaking and been fully engaged. But it's a very similar thing with ADD where these boys that are sitting in school when it's the worst, and the teacher is saying things, and then they zone out.

Starting point is 00:13:00 And what I would always do when I was a kid is I would start daydreaming and thinking about something. I would be thinking, I played a lot of soccer in sports. I'd be thinking about playing soccer, be dreaming about something. you know, a vacation we were going on in the future. My dad bringing me water skiing. I was thinking about something and then or using my imagination. And then it's like the teacher would ask me a question. I would snap back and she would say, Josh, what did I just say?

Starting point is 00:13:23 And I didn't hear any of it. And so you can see here how sometimes it's a personality. Sometimes it's the way men are wired more than women. I also do think I got better at this over time. So what I try and do now when my wife is talking with me, I try and shut my computer and then have the conversation with her. but also with my wife, what I ask her to do is, I say, if I'm in the middle of, because here's what happens, I'm in the middle of my computer, and I am working intensely.

Starting point is 00:13:49 And people with ADD are like this more. It's like, when I am doing something, I don't notice anything else going on in the room. There could be a giant pink elephant and a gorilla, you know, juggling, you know, fireballs. And I won't see it. So sometimes my wife will, Chelsea, come up to me and start having a conversation with me when I'm like writing something or doing something. And I don't even realize. And she's like, did you hear a word I said?

Starting point is 00:14:13 I'm like, no, I didn't. I didn't know you're talking. So now we kind of have this agreement where she might touch me on the shoulder and say, hey, can I ask you something? And then it's like full, we're both giving our full attention to each other. And so I think we both understand. This is important with ADD. We're starting to understand each other.

Starting point is 00:14:31 We're wired differently. And so when she's speaking, I need to fully hone in on what she's saying. she needs to come over me and make sure she has my attention before we dive into this. But again, I would love to hear how many of you have had this situation with maybe a spouse or a loved one or someone you know and you've had a whole conversation. And then you realize you didn't hear it or that person you were talking to wasn't listening because this happens all the time. And it's the same thing with kids.

Starting point is 00:14:57 This is the ADD that oftentimes people are diagnosed with. Jordan Peterson talked about it's a rubbish diagnosis. It's oftentimes we should say these kids, their personality is they have a lot of energy. They're very active. We need to have them get more energy out and be able to have them focus more on what they need to focus on. Now, listen, I understand with traditional school systems, this is more challenging. This is also why I think more kids are getting homeschooled or going to specialize schools where kids are able to focus more on what they're gifted at and learn more kinesthetically in that way.

Starting point is 00:15:34 But, you know, again, I was able to when I got to college because I realized when I improved my diet, and did certain changes we'll talk about in a minute, I was able to focus more even when I wasn't interested. I gained more emotional intelligence. I gained a higher level of awareness and those things happen. But I want to mention this across the board, ADD and ADHD is getting worse because we're training ourselves to act with. attention deficit disorder because of our social media devices. So right now, most people spend time on their phone and we do the scrolling, right? And this actually creates a dopamine-driven reward system in the brain to where the brain is rewarded and starts to like you, just flipping through things because it's constant information,

Starting point is 00:16:23 information, information, and it essentially keeps your brain entertained. But what happens then is people have a really hard time focusing in on one thing for a period of time. Like, you'll notice this in movies. I like movies now that I have a greater level of being able to focus properly. I like movies that move at a slower pace sometimes where I'm learning history and kind of versus today. Most movies, you'll see the screen interactions. I mean, you never have the same screen more than three seconds most of the time. And everything could just be all action all the time. And that's because people have become shallower. This is true. People become more shallow.

Starting point is 00:17:04 today. Many people have. In their relationships, they're more shallow because of social media, less personal connection, less shallow, more shallow in terms of their wisdom because we haven't learned from the sort of ancient wisdom from people like Aristotle and Socrates and Plato. And we haven't learned a lot of the sort of in-depth truth about the Bible. Now, some of you are different. Some of you have realized that you don't want to be an addict. You don't want to be one of those people that has this attention deficit problem that's been created by social media. So you might watch, like, this is what I do now. I'll watch hours of YouTube where I'll learn things.

Starting point is 00:17:41 I'll watch lectures by Jordan Peterson or people like, you know, Andrew Huberman, or I watch a lot of ancient breakdowns of history on people like Thomas Aquinas or Aristotle. And so I'll go through and I'll learn. and I spend most of my time now on YouTube where I can learn or listen to podcasts on iTunes or Spotify. So that's how I learn now. By the way, that is a great, great exercise, especially if you can do that and spend more time outside and moving.

Starting point is 00:18:13 That actually will all help you improve the symptoms of ADHD. But people not only have an ADD problem now, they also have an attention span problem. And the first thing people do, according to a study at Microsoft is 77% of the time when people are bored, they turn to their phones. That's the first thing they do, rather than a conversation. And the average American, about 50% of Americans spend six hours on their phones every single day. And we're living in this age of just information overload constantly happening. And so we just got to be careful of this

Starting point is 00:18:49 because it actually creates these ADD-like issues. Now, I want to talk about some of the lifestyle factors that are the most important when we consider what we can do to help ADHD. So first is lifestyle factors. Here is what has been shown medically to make ADHD symptoms worse, whether this is for you or a child,

Starting point is 00:19:12 lack of sleep. This is huge. Going to bed too late will cause that. And then if you're watching, watching TV up to the moment before you go to bed, it affects your sleep. So lack of sleep is one of the number one lifestyle factors that will exacerbate ADHD. The next is poor nutrition, okay? That sleep and that is really, really poorly.

Starting point is 00:19:34 And then minimal physical activity, if you're not getting a lot of physical activity or your kids are, it will cause ADHD. Also, it causes shorter attention spans and brain fog, trouble thinking, being creative. and even in problem solving. So experts believe that we can improve our attention spans and our ability to concentrate, be productive and overcome these ADD-like symptoms by designing work and living environments that reduce distractions. And so if you're in a room and you got your phone sitting by you, and you've got a TV on and all of the things,

Starting point is 00:20:12 it's very, very hard to concentrate versus getting everything else out in just being in a room with a computer where you're not searching. You just have the word doc up or whatever it is. You're able to learn that way or a pen and paper. But having work environments that are energizing. Like I love to just have a standing desk where I can both sit and stand, move back and forth, have a few plants in the room, have something like windows outdoors where I have natural light coming in.

Starting point is 00:20:40 And the way that I work best is I work in typically 60 to 90, minute chunks. And so I'll work for like 60 minutes and then I'll get up and move around for 10, 15 minutes going to walk. And I'll work for 60 minutes, get up, move around for 10 to 15 minutes going to walk. So your work should be combined with sitting and focusing or standing and focusing and then getting outside or moving for a little bit. And it should be these regular rhythms you create. And that's how you get into the zone where you have the greatest level of focus. What we're seeing with a lot of these schools today is kids are in there for eight hours. And they have recess one time and a lunch break, but really they should be getting a little bit more

Starting point is 00:21:22 of a break where they're going outside or getting activity, probably triple the amount that they are currently, at least especially as kids get older. Now, another thing you can do to improve your attention span is setting clear goals in prioritizing important tasks. And so if kids know, here's the goal, or you know this, or you prioritize what doing what's most important first, that can help practicing deep and focus work regularly, as we talked about. And there's a method for this called time boxing. And this is where you decide what are the most important things for you to do. You kind of have a one to two hour, like let's say a two hour block, two hour block where it's the only thing you do.

Starting point is 00:22:06 And you're not allowed to pick up your phone. You're not allowed to take phone calls. All of you do for that two hour time period is work on the one thing. And then you go take a break. And then cultivating mindfulness. and sort of a presence on our daily life, being aware that, you know what, I do get sucked into my phone. I have been on my phone six hours a day. And then what my wife has set on her phone, and I, I kind of naturally have a rhythm where I don't really have this issue anymore. But basically,

Starting point is 00:22:30 it's where I think she has a set on her phone where she can't be on more than more than like 90 minutes a day. And then after that, it locks her out, her apps. So she has this mindfulness knowing that she gets locked out of her app. She can't after a certain amount of time. And for myself, I look my average, social media time a week is seven hours. So I do about an hour a day. Now, it's almost all for work. And when I do follow people, it is for learning and growth. And so it's all about I'm following leadership, Instagram channels or that are for leadership or business or spirituality. That's probably the most I follow is things like Bible verses or quotes by famous people, you know, famous philosophers and psychologists. And then health channels. Like that's what I

Starting point is 00:23:16 I follow. But you've got to be aware that, you know what, I can get sucked in. I can't have this attention issue where I'm paying attention to the wrong things that I shouldn't and I do get sucked in. You got to be aware and create boundaries in your life to where you don't waste your time. And I want to go through a few other things here that can help ADHD. Another big one is establishing routines. The friend of mine I mentioned who is in his 30s and has major ADHD symptoms, basically the issue is, is that, like for myself, I go to bed. Now, again, this might seem early, but I'm in bed almost every night by 8.30 p.m. I listen to an audio book for about an hour, and then I'm asleep by 9.30 p.m.

Starting point is 00:24:00 And then I have my alarm set for 6 a.m. every single morning. And so I have it set up where I wake up and I go to bed, and then every morning I have the same habits. I wake up, and I spend time with God for 30 minutes. I pray. I have a gratitude practice and then I read and then I go and work out. And then I have my superfood smoothie. And then I will go and spend 30 minutes with my daughter and wife. So that's around 830 a.m. And then at 9 a.m., boom, I jump right into work. And so routines, those good routines for learning and growth and work and relationships. And that is key. That is so big for anyone that has ADHD or anybody who wants to improve their attention span, building great habits and routines is maybe the most important thing I

Starting point is 00:24:48 could talk about. I mentioned this, breaking things into chunks. And so you go for 60 minutes and then you have a 20 minute break. And then 60 minutes and a 20 minute break. When you have it, you are absolutely focused and no multitasking. That's the absolute worst there as well. So I want to jump into healthy diet now. And this is, of course, is critical. You know, I used to work with kids with ADHD. And I found this for myself as well. So when I got into college, I started working out a lot. Now, I did in high school, but it was a whole other level in college. And so I started eating really clean.

Starting point is 00:25:19 It was like meat and vegetables and sweet potatoes. It was just a very simple diet. But I noticed, wow, I can focus a lot better now. And then I started supplementing with omega-3 fats and B vitamins. And I noticed, wow, my brain's working even, I can concentrate even better. but the real key here with ADHD is balancing insulin. This is why sugary cereals are so bad. When I was in high school, I used to have cereal.

Starting point is 00:25:47 So I would have this sugary cereal with dairy. That's the single worst thing you could give a kid outside of maybe a donut. I mean, so because it's like you've got food coloring, which actually causes blood sugar insulin issues and brain issues, brain inflammation. You've got dairy, which surprisingly if it's pasteurized, it causes blood sugar spikes. Then you've got refined grains and sugar.

Starting point is 00:26:11 And so cereal is the single worst food or meal you could give a kid with ADHD. What you should give them instead is a meal that has lots of protein, fat, and fiber, and nutrients. So something like a bone broth or collagen powder, so you're getting protein. Some coconut milk, so you're getting those good fats. Some berries. So you're getting antioxidants and nutrients and fiber. That's a perfect meal for a kid with ADHD. and then supplementing with omega-3 fats and B vitamins are going to help them tremendously.

Starting point is 00:26:43 The other big thing is stay away from ultra-processed foods, added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and you'll see those kids can focus and their energy will go through the roof. You'll see great, great improvements with kids with ADHD, with those issues. And not just kids, by the way, adults. When I made this change, I was 19 years old. And I went from a 2.3 GPA to a 3.1. And then later on, now that I have my diet dialed in and I love what I'm doing, 3.9 GPA and able to, I could sit and read for 10 hours straight. Like even right now, talking with you, this conversation we're having right now, I'm totally locked in.

Starting point is 00:27:19 I'm not like looking off in the distance at like butterflies or other things because I love what I'm doing. I love teaching these principles because they transform my life and I believe they can transform your life. And this is an important principle as well is that you know what you're great at and you know what you're. your kids are great at. Being able to identify, okay, like, for instance, I've done this with my daughter Arwin. Our daughter's extremely athletic. She's a really great swimmer. In fact, kids are like, she, she's three years old and she can swim back and forth across the pool. She can dive, stand her water for about 20 seconds. I mean, it's really amazing. And so all that being said, okay, so we're going through, okay, what is Arwin good at? Okay, she's really good at swimming. She's good at soccer. She's good at,

Starting point is 00:27:59 okay, what, you know, she's creative in these different ways. And as she continues to get older, like, for instance, I really had an interest in science and writing like storytelling. Okay. So those are things I love. I was terrible at math. That was the thing I was so, so awful at growing up. And so I think if I had a daughter who is wired similar to how I am and she might be if she's just really not good at math, then I need to be aware of and even let her know, like when I'm working with her, It might be, you know what, honey, we need to do our best with math. We're going to do everything we can to support her and realize she may not get an A in there. But, you know, I'm going to then challenge her, though, if she's good at writing, to get A's.

Starting point is 00:28:41 And, hey, and do extra training in that area. So I think knowing your kid and how you can support them and that's one of the first things is being aware that ADD, ADHD is not a disease or a disorder. It's a personality. By the way, I keep saying that because it's so important that we actually know. what it is. And then we have a better idea of how to support your child or yourself who's having some of those issues. The other big thing, by the way, that caused ADHD is inflammation. Okay, if you've got excess inflammation and that sugar, refined grains, hydrogen and oils, that will absolutely make it worse. But remember insulin keeping blood sugar balance.

Starting point is 00:29:21 And how do you do that? Protein, fat, and fiber, and nutrients. Those four things. Protein, fat, fiber, lots of nutrients. What gets it off? Sugar and grains. Any carbohydrates, anything that causes those blood sugar spikes, that's going to cause ADHD symptoms to get worse. I want to go through a study here, and here's what they found. As many as 30% of people with ADHD may not benefit from ADHD medications due to

Starting point is 00:29:49 non-response or side effects such as decreased appetite, insomnia, stomach aches, headaches, or even weight loss, therefore natural treatments are a great option to try instead without medications. Listen, I'm going to give you my personal opinion on this. I believe that the number is anywhere between 90 to 100 percent of kids should not be on, or people in general should not be on ADHD medications. I believe it's overdiagnosed about 80 to 90 percent of the time. And so really, again, this goes down to it's just a personality, but a pharmaceutical company,

Starting point is 00:30:26 think about this, pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars off ADHD medications. I want to also talk about how ADHD drugs are abused. Did you know when I was in college? I remember this. Kids would get Adderall. And even if the college student that I was studying with, even if they didn't have ADHD, they would take Adderall during final exams so they could study. Now, there are, and of course, so they're abusing drugs.

Starting point is 00:30:56 that they shouldn't be. And of course, there are negative side effects of amphetamines for what it does to your brain, similar to cocaine, damaging effects on neurotransmitters, even things like dopamine, very, very destructive to your brain and body, deplete your body of nutrients like B vitamins.

Starting point is 00:31:14 So ADHD medications are very toxic to the body. So I don't believe that really any kids should be on them, hardly, or at all. Like, I think generally, here's what I would say. I would much rather we put a child, on something that helps stimulate blood flow to the brain and then calms their nerves,

Starting point is 00:31:32 which would act very similar to an ADHD medication. Here's an example. An herb that brings blood to the brain that supports concentration like ginkobaloba or Bacopa, those two in particular I would do, and then I would probably mix up with a lion's main mushroom. And then I would maybe calm the nerves with something like an altheonine.

Starting point is 00:31:56 or even a chamomile. So that's what you want to do is you want to increase heightened focus to the brain with certain herbs and mushrooms. And then you want to calm the nerves. There's a hyperactivity with it with things like altheonine or, again, a camomile or some sort of CBD. There's another one, something that sort of is calming to the nervous system. Hops is another one. But I would much rather have my daughter or child if they had that diagnosis. And I knew it was really severe, though, ADHD.

Starting point is 00:32:24 And I wanted them to be able to sit through school. I would do that first thing I would change their diet. Next, I would do everything I can to help them do what they're good at and help them understand my expectations for them, have them do a lot of time outside in activities, and then I would have them do certain supplements, right? So I think that that's sort of the ideal way to treat ADHD. I want to go through just a couple more studies here,

Starting point is 00:32:49 and there's one study on a gluten-free diet, and that has been shown to greatly improve ADHD symptoms. Another study in the frontiers and neuroscience found that low-sugar diets help with ADHD symptoms. There's a study done to the European child and adolescent psychiatry. Artificial food colorings when those are removed from the diet help improve hyperactivity. And also there's a great connection between the gut microbiome and the brain. So probiotic supplements might be able to be another supplement that actually helps that mind-brain connection, helping people with ADHD to better focus. Now, I want to go through some of the studies where the science shows the supplements that help most with ADHD.

Starting point is 00:33:39 Number one, the most effective supplement for ADHD, according to medical science, is omega-3 fatty acids, doing around for most people around 1,000 milligrams a day of EPA and DHA, so doing a fish oil supplement. number one for helping ADD symptoms. Number two is melatonin. If your kids are not sleeping well, now I want to mention this. I think melatonin is good. Clinical studies show it's good for ADHD.

Starting point is 00:34:09 But I think first and foremost, the issue is blue light before bed. I think, hey, maybe after dinner, if they want to watch a show for an hour, have them put on blue blocking sunglasses, but at least that hour before sleep, there should be no TV, no blue light. They can listen to an audio book.

Starting point is 00:34:26 They can read in bed with a light that's maybe that orange or yellowish color so they can read in bed. But at least an hour before bed, no blue light or even have your kids wear blue blocker sunglasses or yourself if you have ADHD. But getting better sleep is huge for ADD and for improving focus. Vitamin D. This is important in the winter months, especially when it comes to. production of dopamine, which is important for ADD. So vitamin D, by the way, studies have found that lower levels of vitamin D are found in

Starting point is 00:35:02 individuals with ADHD. There was a 2021 study in the British Medical Journal of Pediatrics, and they found that when they had children with ADHD supplement with vitamin D and magnesium for eight weeks, it greatly improved their emotional problems, their conduct problems, peer-related problems, it improved ADHD. So vitamin D and magnesium combo have been shown in clinical studies to improve there as well. So magnesium is another one. Iron, especially for girls later on in life also zinc.

Starting point is 00:35:40 So certain minerals like iron and zinc have been shown to improve ADHD according to studies. And I mentioned this herb, Ginko Biloba. A study published in the Brutical Medical Journal found that the antioxidant activity in Ginko was shown to reduce oxidative stress on the brain and help repair DNA damage in the brain, which then helped stabilize moots. So that's a really another unique one there that kids may do something like Ginkgo Biloba and Lions mane as a combination. And we call these supplements that I mentioned earlier, neutropics, because of how they can help specifically probably kids in high school and older focus in college students as well. And finally, B vitamins have also been shown to help clinically to help children with ADHD. So remember, the top supplements for ADHD are going to be an omega-3 fatty acid, a B-complex vitamin,

Starting point is 00:36:40 magnesium, vitamin D, and herbs and mushrooms like ginkobeloba and lions mane. Those are going to be the most effective for being able to focus in. You might even be able to find some of those in a combination, Neutropic formula, which could have loads of benefits. But remember going back to this. Again, you want to have a diet that's low glycemic, low sugar. Lots of meat, lots of vegetables, some berries, a lot of healthy fat like coconut and olives, olive oil and even nut butters are okay, okay? But lots of healthy fats, lots of protein,

Starting point is 00:37:14 lots of fiber, that's in vegetables and some fruit. That's what kids should be eating with ADHD. No cereal, no artificial food colorings, no sugar. In addition, remember, so much of this is about what your child is interested in. Help them discover where their passions and their potentials lie and have them spend time on those areas and have them. spend more time as well as we talked about playing outside. I think this is absolutely critical there as well. I want to go over a quote here by Dr. Andrew Huberman, who runs Huberman Labs, and he says this about ADHD medications. He says, I believe that ADHD medication can help some people, but be detrimental to others. He notes that response and sensitivity to ADHD

Starting point is 00:38:04 stimulants and meds vary widely. He says dosage should be individualized based on symptom relief and side effect consideration. The lowest dose that's effective should be used. Treatment for ADHD should always involve a comprehensive approach, including behavioral prescription for tools for learning, nutrition, supplementation, and getting better sleep. Treatment plans should be updated as children progress through different stages of development and then meds should be weaned slowly over time. And so just important to recognize here that doctors across the board,

Starting point is 00:38:42 whether it be a psychologist like Dr. Jordan Peterson, a neuroscientist and professor like Dr. Andrew Huberman, you know, an MD, a medical doctor like a good friend of mine, Dr. Daniel Amen, and myself, we all believe that ADHD is overdiagnosed. that ADHD is not a disease as much as it is a personality, and that ADHD should be treated primarily with diet, supplementation, spending more time with activity outdoors, and really focusing on catering school as much as you can

Starting point is 00:39:18 to helping the child focus and spend more time on what they're gifted at and then manage those other subjects, maybe get them tutoring on subjects like for myself math, that we're not great at. That's how I would think about ADHD here as well. And by the way, if you're a person with ADHD, I'd love to hear from you. If you're watching on YouTube, let us know what,

Starting point is 00:39:42 and by the way, if you're listening on Spotify or iTunes, run over to the YouTube channel. It's Josh Axe, Dr. Josh Axe on YouTube, the Growth Lab. Let me know if what your experience with, what your favorite part of this podcast was, let me know if you've taken any of these supplements and they've helped you focus. If you've ever been diagnosed with ADHD or someone you love,

Starting point is 00:40:02 I would love to hear from you. Let me know if there's something I've missed or something else. You'd like to hear me address when it comes to anything, specifically about ADHD or mental health or the ability to focus or attention spans. I'd love to cover more here in future episodes. Also, hey, more people need to have this information. I almost got put on a drug for a long period of time. Luckily, my mom was wise enough, and I was to not stay on it.

Starting point is 00:40:28 long term, but these medications have major side effects, especially these ADHD medications. And so more people need to know this truth. I also do want to mention, I think natural treatments like chiropractic care and acupuncture and hyperbaric chamber therapy and just grounding outside, walking outside, those also can help with ADHD symptoms. So hey, if you've enjoyed this episode, please comment, please share it. please subscribe as well if you're not subscribed make sure to subscribe i've got a lot more information

Starting point is 00:41:03 coming out about the science behind how we can grow our self our health our wealth just every area of our life hey thanks so much for listening to this week's episode of the growth lab podcast

The Dr. Josh Axe Show - Why Everyone has ADHD and How to Improve Focus

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