Jennifer Matthews: It wasn’t always easy for Austin Armitage to focus like this, especially in school.
Austin Armitage: Even the tinier sounds like tapping a pencil on a desk on the other side of the room, I would hear it not just – I get really distracted and I couldn’t work.
Jennifer Matthews: But Austin’s mom was weary of starting her son on medication.
Melanie Armitage: I wanted to try some other things that were natural before we did that and look at the medication as a last resort.
Jennifer Matthews: She turned to naturopathic doctor Wendy Weber from Bastyr University in Seattle.
Wendy Weber: I find that a lot of parents just aren’t comfortable with the medications that are available and so they really want other options.
Jennifer Matthews: Weber says the top five foods that aggravate ADHD are wheat, dairy, citrus, eggs and corn. Eliminating one or more of these foods can make a big difference.
Wendy Weber: There are some foods that aggravate some kids. The hard part is that not the same food will aggravate every child.
Jennifer Matthews: Supplements can also help. Weber says when kids are deficient in essential fatty acids, they can appear to have ADHD.
Wendy Weber: So I am going to check your ears.
Jennifer Matthews: Weber says, about 85% of the kids she sees have at least some improvement. Austin is one of them.
Melanie Armitage: Within four weeks, he was noticing a difference, I was noticing a difference, his teacher was noticing a difference.
Jennifer Matthews: Those big changes came by adding Ginkgo and fish oil to Austin’s diet.
Melanie Armitage: The fact that he can take supplements and have a notable increase in his performance is just fantastic.
This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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