Finally! 2 drug-free solutions for ADHD
By Kerry Bone
Nutrition & Healing

The first herb I want to tell you about has an expanding list of health benefits. Its primary claim to fame was treating chronic venous insufficiency. It’s also shown to alleviate asthma, migraines, reduce blood pressure and lower blood sugar levels. I’m talking about Pycnogenol, a proprietary, standardised extract of French maritime pine bark (Pinus pinaster).

A pilot study found that Pycnogenol significantly improved ADHD symptoms. This led to a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 61 children over four weeks. The children received 1mg/kg/day and were examined at the start of the trial, one month into the trial and one month after the end of it. Results showed that just one month of the pine bark extract caused a significant reduction of hyperactivity and improved the attention, coordination and concentration in children with ADHD. No positive effects were found in the placebo group. Pycnogenol can help control ADHD, yet it’s in no way a cure, as the symptoms relapsed one month after the children stopped taking it.

If you have a healthy, ADHD-free child in your family you could still consider Bacopa for its mind-boosting effects. In one trial, researchers looked at the effects of Mentat (a herbal formulation containing Bacopa as the main ingredient) versus a placebo in 60 children with ADHD. The children were assessed academically and psychologically before and after the trial. The Mentat group showed significant improvement in both areas compared to the placebo group.

The second study looked at the effects of Bacopa itself. 19 children were given 100mg/day for 12 weeks. The remaining 17 were given placebos. The herbal treatment was followed with 4 weeks of placebo treatment, making the trial 16 weeks in duration. The children were evaluated with all sorts of tests before, during and after the study. Behavioural results weren’t clear but there were striking improvements after 12 weeks in the children taking Bacopa in sentence repetition, logical memory and learning. The improvement was maintained for the entire 16 weeks, even after having been switched to a placebo. During the trial, Bacopa showed excellent tolerability and no adverse effects were reported.

Other studies support these learning-enhancement effects. In another trial, 300mg/day of Bacopa extract significantly improved learning and memory consolidation. With these results in mind, Bacopa may be worthwhile, even if your children or grandchildren don’t suffer from ADHD.

How to "shake off" shingles
Dr Jonathan Wright
Nutrition & Healing

Q: I have been suffering with shingles for 10 weeks now and am using conventional medicine without much luck. Can you help me find something natural that might bring a little relief?

Dr. Wright: Since your condition has been present for so many weeks, it is possible that you could be suffering from post-herpetic neuralgia, a continuing irritation of the nerves even after the active infection has subsided.

A study published in 2003 suggested that topical geranium oil might be a good option for immediate relief. The more highly concentrated, the better, with study participants reporting pain relief in direct proportion to the percentage of geranium oil present in their topical mixture. Capsaicin cream has also been shown to provide some relief, although it was outdone by the geranium oil in this study.

Even if the infection from the herpes virus that causes shingles has subsided, taking general "infection- prevention" steps would still be a good way to support your system overall. General recommendations include: Eliminating sugar, refined carbohydrates, and allergies (if any). Also, incorporating at least 25,000 IU of vitamin A, 25 milligrams of zinc, and 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C, twice daily can boost the protection even more.