| New research is appearing now that's showing the link | | | | magnesium and zinc. When the human body is |
| between the consumption of food additives by children | | | | deficient in these vitamins and minerals, it will, of course, |
| - especially food colorings - and attention deficit | | | | exhibit both mental and physical disorders. The problem |
| hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Well-informed parents | | | | in all of this is that rather than recognizing the true |
| have long realized that the consumption of food | | | | cause of these mental and physical disorders in our |
| additives causes hyperactivity in their children, but most | | | | children and in our adult population, conventional |
| conventional doctors have dismissed the idea as pure | | | | medicine labels it a disease. Therefore, the treatment |
| bunk. Of course, far too many doctors dismiss the idea | | | | becomes a drug rather than changing your diet, and |
| that food choice has any relationship to health in the | | | | that's where things get crazy, because now we're |
| first place, so the view from conventional medicine | | | | dosing up tens of millions of our children on Ritalin when |
| doesn't carry much weight. | | | | the true answer to their behavioral problems or lack of |
| The real story here, however, is not that food additives | | | | focus is to immediately remove soft drinks, cookies, |
| and artificial colorings cause ADHD, but that there are | | | | and sugary breakfast cereals from their diets. If you |
| several other dietary substances that heavily influence | | | | feed your children foods that enhance their health - |
| a child's mental state and day-to-day behavior. | | | | that is, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole |
| Let's face it: the human brain is a flesh and blood | | | | grains and superfoods - then they won't exhibit these |
| organ, and it is strongly influenced by blood chemistry, | | | | behavioral problems. |
| which is, in turn, dictated almost entirely by diet. What | | | | In fact, the solution to all this is surprisingly simple: we |
| you eat, in other words, determines what your blood | | | | need to change the diets of our children. We need to |
| composition looks like, and what your blood | | | | take vending machines out of our public school |
| composition looks like determines the way your brain | | | | systems. We need to reformulate school lunch |
| functions. Of course there are other factors, such as | | | | programs so that they are feeding our children foods |
| physical exercise and environmental influences, but the | | | | that promote learning and mental health. We also need |
| largest factor of all is dietary. | | | | to educate parents about how to feed their children |
| So when you eat processed foods containing | | | | right, so that they aren't so easily influenced by foods |
| additives and artificial colors, you are introducing toxic | | | | that their children want to eat. |
| chemicals into your bloodstream. Those chemicals find | | | | And finally, we need to ban all advertising and |
| their way into the brain and alter brain function, and in | | | | marketing of unhealthy products to children. It should be |
| the case of children who have been diagnosed with | | | | illegal, in a civilized society, for companies that |
| ADHD, it alters their behavior to make them restless or | | | | manufacture products that cause obesity and ADHD |
| to have a shortened attention span. It can also cause | | | | to promote those products to children, because it only |
| children and adults alike to display other problems | | | | creates a cycle of disease and chronic illness that |
| derived from their mental state. (We'll discuss the | | | | brings society down, and the long-term effect of all of |
| impact of nutritional deficiency on adult society next | | | | this is, of course, skyrocketing health care costs. |
| time.) | | | | Once again, the answer to all of this is simply to |
| But it isn't just food additives causing detrimental | | | | change the foods and drinks that we feed our nation's |
| effects - it's also refined carbohydrates. People who | | | | children. The answer is certainly not to be dosing our |
| eat large quantities of white bread (or food containing | | | | children with powerful narcotics such as Ritalin, |
| refined white flour) also suffer from mental disorders. | | | | because right now in this country we are raising a |
| These can include depression, aggression and violent | | | | generation of brain-numbed children through our public |
| behavior, and learning disabilities. Consuming refined | | | | school system and through the reckless, widespread |
| carbohydrates also causes people to have brain fog - | | | | pharmaceutical prescribing habits of many doctors and |
| that is, they can't concentrate for very long, and they | | | | psychiatrists. |
| don't feel like they have clarity of mind. | | | | Mike Adams, "The Health Ranger," is chief contributor |
| Drinking soft drinks also causes the same effect, | | | | and editor of the NewsTarget Network, a leading |
| because it is essentially the same macronutrient that's | | | | independent news source for natural health, nutrition, |
| poisoning your body: refined sugars. As it turns out, | | | | medicine and other wellness topics. NewsTarget and |
| these refined sugars also cause behavioral disorders | | | | are leading information resources for consumers |
| by depleting the body of nutrients that are critical for | | | | seeking independent information on natural health and |
| neurological health. These nutrients include the B | | | | nutrition. |
| vitamins and several notable minerals, including | | | | |