Vitamin D Could Make Your Kids Eyeglass Free

Vitamin D Could Make Your Kids Eyeglass Free

From Alternatives Newsletter Spring 2010

It’s not uncommon to see young children wearing eyeglasses and it’s not what professionals would consider a serious medical condition.  It’s certainly no fun, though, for kids who value their freedom.  Nearsightedness, which is mostly due to myopia, is to blame for this.  But what if you could prevent myopia by adding vitamin D to a child’s health plan?

Vitamin D Could Make Your Kids Eyeglass Free

It’s not uncommon to see young children wearing eyeglasses and it’s not what professionals would consider a serious medical condition.  It’s certainly no fun, though, for kids who value their freedom.  Nearsightedness, which is mostly due to myopia, is to blame for this.  But what if you could prevent myopia by adding vitamin D to a child’s health plan?

Those with myopia see near objects clearly, but objects in the distance appear blurred.  When myopia occurs, the eyeball is too long, or the cornea is too steep, so images are focused in the vitreous inside the eye rather than on the retina at the back of the eye. 

Mainstream eye care professionals most commonly correct myopia through the use of corrective lenses, such as glasses or contact lenses.  The condition may also be corrected by refractive surgery, but that does come with risks and side effects.

As far back as the 1930s and 40s, Dr. Arthur Alexander Knapp demonstrated that a lack of calcium and vitamin D caused that same type of eye condition.  His pioneering research also revealed that nutrients would stabilize and even reverse myopia in adults.  (His research, however, did not determine how these results would affect young children.)

“Since then, nutritional experts have surmised that vitamin D could have these same healing effects on children’s eyes,” said Dr. Patricia Ryan, Alternatives’ founder.  “Some nutritionists even go so far as to say that calcium and magnesium, along with vitamin D, taken during pregnancy could actually prevent myopia in children.  There are also theories that this same trio of vitamins and minerals could even halt and reverse that eye damage,” she noted.

Sunlight has always been one important source of vitamin D.  “But I have found that vitamin D levels in my patients are low even in the summer,” Dr. Ryan said.  “The problem is not one of lack of sunshine, but the fact that the liver cannot convert vitamin D to an active state that can provide these patients with the nutrients they need to keep their eyes as well as their bodies healthy.”

Vitamin D supplementation already has shown positive results preventing other diseases, according to Dr. Ryan.  “Research among 12,000 new mothers in Scandinavia revealed that newborns given 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily for their first year of life had 80 percent less incidence of Type I diabetes 18 years later.*  That’s why the value of this vitamin shouldn’t be underestimated not only to maintain healthy eyesight but for overall health and well-being,” Dr. Ryan said.

To learn more about the effects of vitamin D, contact Alternatives at 827-9450. 

*Hypponen E., Laara E, et. al. “Intake of vitamin D and risk of type 1 diabetes: A birth-cohort study.” Lancet 2001; 358: 1,500-1,503

Spring-Summer Neurofeedback Regimen Will Help Kids Manage ADHD All School Year Long

A Spring-Summer Program with Lasting Results

 From Alternatives Newsletter Spring 2010

About 5 percent of all children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (they might act without thinking about what the result will be), and in some cases, are overly active.

Many Omaha parents are well-acquainted with this troubling disorder.  They are living with the kind of turmoil that makes home and school life challenging for their kids.  While several drugs have been developed for ADHD, they come with side effects ranging from nervousness to insomnia to stomach problems.  That’s what makes Neurofeedback a program worth investigating.  For months now, Alternatives’ Neurofeedback program has been generating impressive results for children with ADHD and other behavioral disorders.  The spring-summer season is a great time to sign up your kids for this innovative technology to better prepare them for the next school year.

Spring-Summer Neurofeedback Regimen Will Help Kids Manage ADHD All School Year Long

About 5 percent of all children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20080723/cdc-about-5-percent-of-kids-have-adhd.

Children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (they might act without thinking about what the result will be), and in some cases, are overly active http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html.

Many Omaha parents are well-acquainted with this troubling disorder.  They are living with the kind of turmoil that makes home and school life challenging for their kids.  While several drugs have been developed for ADHD, they come with side effects ranging from nervousness to insomnia to stomach problems http://www.adhdnews.com/adhd-drug-side-effects.htm.

That’s what makes Alternatives’ NeuroIntegration System worth investigating.  For months now, this program has been generating impressive results for children with ADHD and other behavioral disorders.   The regimen has improved both classroom grades and behavior for several dozen patients since the technology became available at Alternatives last year. 

Here’s how: the NeuroIntegration System strives to normalize and manage the complex and varied waves in an individual’s brain.  A brain produces four distinct types of brain waves.  People usually have a mixture of frequencies at any given time, but the dominant frequency varies depending on the state of consciousness and on individual differences, according to the Clear Mind Center www.clearmindcenter.com. 

Someone with brain irregularities may have too much frontal theta or delta waves being produced when their beta waves are supposed to keep them awake, alert and focused.  By re-training these abnormal patterns in the affected areas, symptoms and disorders are often improved or eliminated.

The process is simple:  first, sensors are placed on the head of a patient and connected to a computer system, which recreates that individual’s brain patterns for a technician to monitor and read.

The patient then wears glasses that display different colors of lights in various patterns.  These “photic” cues, which are transmitted through the glasses, can guide the brain to the frequency it needs to learn.  Patients watch a video or listen to music and the brain will learn what it needs to do to keep the video going.  The system works by incorporating photic stimulation and music to help normalize brain activity.   The theory is that praising and rewarding a child when he steps up production of beta waves by concentrating on the game or movie should therefore teach him how to focus at will in other settings, such as doing homework assignments or cleaning his room

  

“Like any successful program, results don’t occur overnight,” said Dr. Patricia Ryan, Alternatives’ founder.  “Ten to 20 45-minute sessions may be needed to achieve optimal results.  That’s what makes spring and summer the perfect times to enroll your child in Alternatives’ Neurofeedback program.  By the time the new school year rolls around, they could have made significant headway into the issues that could be inhibiting their learning.”

Youthful patients at the clinic have seen a decrease in ADHD medication, a lessening of anxiety, improvement in insomnia and even better grades, according to Jamie Moore, RN, Alternatives’ trained Neurofeedback professional.  At least 60 different programs address various conditions from overeating to insomnia to ADHD.   

Scientific research has confirmed these promising results as well.  A German study published last year found that Neurofeedback improved attention and reduced impulsivity and hyperactivity http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19712709.  By research standards, the study was fairly large (94 children ages 8 to 12) and included a control group.  Fifty-nine of the children received 36 sessions of Neurofeedback over three to four weeks, while the other 35 children were trained in a different technique designed to improve attention.   Observations by the children's parents and teachers indicated that most kinds of ADHD-related behavior improved much more in the Neurofeedback group than in the control group.

“Neurofeedback is a process worth considering for a number of conditions, but ADHD response has a proven track record of success,” Dr. Ryan said.

For more information about the NeuroIntegration System, contact Alternatives at 827-9450.

Are Your Children at Risk of Over-Vaccination?

Vaccines:  Too Much for Our Kids?

From Alternatives Newsletter Fall 2009

Since 1983, the number of vaccines the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends for children has increased 260 percent – from 10 to 36.  “Although the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics disputes this, more and more experts have linked this practice to the prevalence of such neurological disorders as autism and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder),” said Kathi Bratberg, RN, MS Holistic Nutrition at Alternatives.  Learn more . . . .