On this week’s edition of Soaring Child, we’re joined by Aaron Hartman, a functional medicine doctor and founder of the Virginia Research Center, currently serving as an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at the VC School of Medicine. 

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD and is taking one or more medications for it, you might want to take a second look at what’s going on. ADHD is a syndrome, not a disease, which means that many different factors could be the cause of the condition, and if you take away the causes, the symptoms may go away.

What’s called ADHD may actually be caused by nutrient deficiencies, mold, hypermobility, brain inflammation, and poor gut health. Kids are eating a lot more processed foods and sugar these days, and they may be exposed to mold at school. They’re also given laptops to take home from their schools, exposing them to a lot of blue light. All these things are neuro-inflammatory and can contribute to the symptoms associated with ADHD. 

For starters, changing the diet, not sitting in front of a computer for hours, and getting physical exercise can help to alleviate the symptoms. Taking a closer look at these key areas of your children’s lifestyle and health is the first step, so you can harness their bodies’ remarkable power to heal and help them to begin living the vibrant life they deserve.

 

Key Takeaways:

[6:56] What can cause brain inflammation

[7:52] Mold issues in schools

[10:21] What you can do to counteract mold nutritionally

[11:15] Best detoxifiers for mold

[11:26] The danger of low cholesterol in kids

[12:18] What hypermobility is

[15:44] How to get the nutrients found in organ meat

[16:41] Role of gut health and brain health in ADHD

[19:30] Potential harmful effect of laptops in schools

[23:21] Difference between a syndrome and a diagnosis

 

How To Connect With Aaron:

https://www.richmondfunctionalmedicine.com

https://www.facebook.com/RVAintegrative/

https://www.instagram.com/rvaintegrative/?hl=en

Aaron Hartman MD (@aaronhartmanMD) / Twitter

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-hartman 

https://www.youtube.com/c/AaronHartmanMD

 

Memorable Quotes:

 “There are a whole host of things that can cause brain inflammation. One of the biggest ones is gut issues.” 

“Even just being at school, forget technology, forget all the crazy stuff, just the environment of having increased particles in the air like dirty air, mold, all these things can make these kids more brain inflamed that can lead to some of these symptoms.” 

“Gut health, getting the right mix of bacteria in your GI tract, enough fiber, having regular bowel movements, having a really healthy diet can actually affect the neurotransmitter function in your brain.”

“If you have leaky gut, by definition you have leaky brain. 80% of the communication between the gut and the brain comes from the gut.” 

“Parents have to realize they have options. They might find alternative educational opportunities for the kids. It might mean they put them in different schools. It might mean they homeschool. There are a whole host of opportunities now.”

“When you see a kid with ADHD, screen them for depression. Sometimes depressed kids can look like they have ADHD.”

 

Dana Kay Resources:  

Website - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/adhdthriveinstitute 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/adhdthriveinstitute/ 

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ADHDThriveInstitute 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/74302454/ 

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/adhdthriveinstitute/

Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@adhd_thriveinstitute  

 

International Best Selling Book, Thriving with ADHD - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/book/ 

 

Free Reduce ADHD Symptoms Naturally Masterclass – https://bit.ly/3GAbFQl  

 

ADHD Parenting Course – https://info.adhdthriveinstitute.com/parentingadhd

 

ADHD Thrive Method 4 Kids Program - https://adhdthriveinstitute.com/packages/