Your World and You: Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health – Issue 6 (Premium)

Environmental and Nutritional Tips to Improve Your Family’s Health

This feature highlights reports, studies, and feedback from families on efforts that can make a positive impact in our quest for health. We invite you to share material with us that you think would be of interest to our readers.

Topics featured in this article:

1. The role of diet in the treatment of ADHD
2. Are you dealing with tics? Read this mother’s trigger observation
3. Drinking well water? You’d better read this!
4. Is antibiotic use leading to allergic airway inflammation?
5. Handheld cell phones just as dangerous as regular cells when driving

1) The role of diet in the treatment of ADHD

Reserch in February of this year looked at previous studies of three dietary approaches for ADHD: Restricted elimination diets, artificial food color elimination, and supplementation with free fatty acids.

Value was seen for all three approaches. But the studies were not large, and since they don’t know who will benefit most from which approach, the authors say “more studies are needed.” Sound familiar?

It will be many years, if ever, when large enough studies are done to satisfy researchers and they are able to pinpoint which child will respond best to which therapy. Our suggestion is, if your child has ADHD, look into these dietary approaches online or with a practitioner and give them a try to see if they help. 

Abstract

2) Are you dealing with tics? Read this mother’s trigger observation

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My son has chronic vocal tic disorder. We have seen a definite decrease in tics by greatly decreasing television and eliminating video games.

When he recently played video games on my iPad, his tics escalated within an hour of playing and persisted at an increased level for several days. It doesn’t matter in what system the video games are in (ipad, computer, console, etc.), they result in tic escalation.  I find this very interesting. I appreciate your work and public information.

3) Drinking well water? You’d better read this!

A study in Maine shows a link between very low levels of arsenic in drinking water and lower intelligence. Research involved hundreds of Maine children. It is hoped that publication of the results and a press conference later this spring  will persuade more people to test their well water and have any problems resolved.

See this article. Arsenic has previously been linked to cancer.

4) Is antibiotic use leading to allergic airway inflammation?

A research article in Cell Host & Microbe explains that use of antibiotics causes gut fungal overgrowth, which can then promote inflammation in the airway. See a summary of the article here.

5) Handheld cell phones just as dangerous as regular cells when driving

We know it’s not good to hold a phone while driving. So, many have switched to a handsfree set. But new research says “Not so fast.”   It may not be any safer. Read the article and share it with your loved ones. Here.

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