Insomnia & Sleep Drugs in Children
A study found that among children visiting child psychologists for mental health issues, 20% of preschoolers, and a third of school-aged children and adolescents, suffer from insomnia.
Researchers also discovered many of these young patients receive drugs to promote sleep. This is a substantial percentage to have sleep problems.
The psychologists prescribed drugs to alleviate the impact late-onset sleep and disturbed sleep have on daytime functioning; also, medications prescribed for psychological issues may have a negative effect on sleep.
Despite prescribing a wide array of sleep medications, the psychologists expressed concerns about the use of sleep medications – including sedatives, antihistamines and antidepressants – by children with many pointing out that little data exist on the effectiveness and safety of these drugs in children and adolescents.
The researchers concluded there is need for further study on appropriate treatment choices for children with sleep problems. They also reported that past studies found behavioral treatments such as relaxation techniques, sleep restriction and cognitive behavioral therapy to be effective for childhood insomnia.
This study will appear in the August 2010 
print issue of the journal, Sleep Medicine. Further details can be read online now at: http://bit.ly/aYBILR.
Produce Pesticides Linked to ADHD
CHICAGO—Children exposed to common pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have an increased risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an article by Bridget M. Kuehn, published in the Journal of American Medical Association (2010;304(1):27-28). In the review titled “Increased Risk of ADHD Associated With Early Exposure to Pesticides, PCBs,” Kuehn said individuals who are exposed early in life to organophosphates or organochlorine compounds, widely used as pesticides or for industrial applications, are at greater risk of ADHD, according to recent studies.
She noted previous studies linked ADHD with very high levels of childhood exposure to organophosphate pesticides, such as levels experienced by children living in farming. However, more recent research has found children who experience more typical levels of pesticide exposure, such as from eating pesticide-treated fruits and vegetables, have a higher risk of developing the disorder.
She said researchers found pregnant women exposed to low-level organochlorine exposure increased the chances of their children developing ADHD-like behavior. In particular, they found ADHD was associated with higher levels of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p’-dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (a metabolite of the pesticide DDT). She noted both have been banned from production in the United States for decades, but persist in the environment.
One specific study she mentioned, conduced by Canadian and Boston researchers, found a 10-percent risk of ADHD in children with the lowest organophosphate exposure compared to a 20-percent risk in those in the highest exposure levels. The lead author of that study said organophosphates are known to cause toxicity by interfering with neurotransmitters, which could cause ADHD.
A separate study noted by Kuehn found children born to mothers who lived near a PCB-contaminated harbor in New Bedford, MA, had significant increases in ADHD-like behavior, especially at higher exposure levels. The risk of ADHD-like behavior increased 26 percent to 92 percent, depending on the particular organochlorines to which they were exposed.
SAFE PRODUCE LIST
The Environmental Working Group has just posted their new shoppers guide to produce to help you choose between produce that MUST be purchased organic, vs. produce that you can buy that is grown conventionally. Download the list and keep it with your reusable shopping bags to make the right choice next time you shop for your family, click here to download the safe produce list: http://tinyurl.com/2f5wpyz.
Could Potential Help a Successful Child Too?
Kids Potential is a chewable wafer that brings a welcome difference in quality, nutritional value and purpose to the kids vitamin market. No, it is not a gummy candy masquerading as something good for your child. Kids Potential offers well-rounded nutrition from full spectrum vitamins, natural vitamin E (not synthetic) and the natural antioxidant power from deep-colored fruit & berry concentrates especially produced for this children’s vitamin. Potential contains no sugar, artificial colors, artificial flavors or preservatives.
Potential is the only chewable kids vitamin dispensed by a school district to thousands of children now for 7 years that is supported by real results. PBS filmed a documentary called “How to Turn Around a Failing School” and FOX News filmed a news segment following up to its years of success in the public school system. Potential has made a meaningful difference in the lives of at-risk children.
But can Potential help an already successful child?
We just received a link to the Mamawize blog in which an educator/parent discusses how Potential has benefited her academically successful son. Have a read and let us know what you think:
To watch the short FOX News segment, click on the play arrow in the black box from this link: Potential.
Why Advantig Products Don’t Contain Artificial Colors & Preservatives
Filed under: A Message from the Doctor, Caring for Your Children
Artificial Colors in Kids' Food
Additives like artificial colors & pre
servatives negatively impact brain function
The Lancet 2007, Nov. 3:370(9598) 1560-7. “Food Additives & Hyperactive Behavior in 3 Year old and 8/9 Year Old Children in the Community: A Randomized, Double-Blinded Placebo Controlled Trial.” McCann D., Barrett A., Cooper A., Crumpler D., Dalen L., Grimshaw K., Kitchin E., Lok K., Porteous L., Prince E., Sonuga-Barke E., Warner JO., Stevenson J. School of Psychology, Dept. of Heatlth, University of Southampton, UK. 300 Children Studied.
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From Dr. Schlesser:
Kids are conditioned to select brightly colored products. This extends beyond toys — to foods, which results in consumption of non-nutritive food additives like artificial colors, artificial flavors and preservatives. Published research now confirms that many of these non-nutritive molecules can alter brain function in kids.
This 2007 Lancet Study is a very well-designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that finally settles the controversy over the impact of non-nutritive food additives on behavior and learning in kids. This trial took place in Great Britain and studied 300 children. The conclusion was that food additives adversely impacted behavior, directly contributing to hyperactive behavior. The findings were so profound that Britain’s Food Standards Agency issued an advisory to parents immediately.
It has been nearly two years since this study’s findings were published and yet there has been no response by the US Government.
For many years, pediatricians have downplayed the impact of artificial colors & preservatives on behavior – even though many parents have been convinced of the link.
American Academy of Pediatrics – Grand Rounds
ADHD & Food Additives Revisited – Alison Schonwold, MD, FAAP, Developmental Medicine Center, Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, American Academy of Pediatrics, Grand Rounds 2008; 19:17.
ADHD & Non-Nutritive Additives
“The overall findings of the study are clear and require that even we skeptics,
who have long doubted parental claims of the effects of various foods on the
behavior of their children, admit that we might have been wrong.”
From Dr. Schlesser:
Just last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics weighed in on the issue of Artificial Colors and Non-Nutritive Food Additives and after a thorough evaluation of the available scientific literature, including the landmark 2007 study in The Lancet. Their conclusion: “the overall findings of the study are clear and require that even we skeptics who have long doubted parental claims of the effects of various foods on the behavior of their children, admit that we might have been wrong.”
This is an official position statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Do artificial colors have a scientifically justifiable place in our children’s food supply?
We would love to hear your comments.
All About Kids Potential
Why Kids Potential Was Developed
Seven years ago Dr. Jerry Schlesser was approached by experts in criminology and education, seeking his expertise in formulating evidence-based nutritional supplements to address specific health concerns. When Dr. Schlesser graduated from medical school with his degree in Naturopathic Medicine and Chiropractic, he quickly realized that there were no natural or nutritional clinical products available to treat his patients. His quest to formulate and produce natural, nutritional supplements to fill a clinical need led to his creation of NF Formulas, the oldest supplement company to serve medical practitioners. Advantig supplements are based on over 30 years of nutritional expertise.
These criminology/education experts wanted to pursue an untested and novel approach to education reform that focused on the child’s needs, but more specifically on the child’s nutritional needs. They asked Dr. Schlesser to design a clinical, dietary supplement for academic performance and social behavior to address rampant problems at Anthony Elementary that many other schools face today.
The Challenge
Anthony Elementary School was selected as the “study school” because this Pre-K to 5th grade school of approximately 335 students scored at the bottom of the district on standardized Math & English tests, perennially. Anthony was on the verge of closure for poor academic performance and exceptionally high rates of violence and antisocial behavior. Adults in this elementary school called police to manage out of control students an average of once a week. Anthony’s violence statistics were a frightening 6+ times the state average at 9.3% vs. 1.45% for the state. When educators tried to teach, young children would throw chairs or take a swing at a teacher. These were kids who never experienced academic success.
The Program
Educators designed the Eat Exercise Excel Program which included:
- Structured Activity During Recess
- Increased PE Time
- Lunch in Classroom with Teacher
- Nutrition Education
- Kids Potential Multi-Vitamin Supplement – dispensed to kids at Breakfast & Lunch
The Results
Reduction in Anti-Social Behavior
- 95% Reduction in Referrals for anti-social behavior
- 80% Reduction in Out of School suspensions
- 97% Reduction in Suspension for Violence
- Teachers report less difficulty managing classroom
Improvement in Academic Performance
- Rose to #1 in school district in Math, meeting benchmark for 10 years in advance
- Rose to #2 in school district for English, meeting benchmark for 10 years in advance
Additional Benefits
- 80% Reduction in teacher attrition
- Reduced absenteeism for teachers & students
- Volunteers & community partnerships increased
- Parent-Teacher Organization reactivated for the 1st time in 10 years
- 13 fold improvement in physical fitness (40 kids met Presidential Physical Fitness standards vs. 3 in previous year)
- School changed from chaotic & out of control to a quiet learning environment
- Attendance at Parent-Teacher conferences increased from 69% to 85%
- Awarded Recognition for Becoming a Top School by the Confidence in Education Task Force
- Moved from the Bottom to the Top 6% of Schools in the District
- Featured in a PBS Documentary as a Model For School Turnaround
Results were so amazing that PBS filmed a documentary on the program called “How to Turn Around a Failing School.” This 28 minute documentary can be viewed here: http://www.advantig.net/products/potential.
FOX News followed up on the program’s success two years later and reported that the results were profound and lasting. The 6 minute segment can be viewed here: http://www.advantig.net/products/potential.
Year 2 – School Lost All Funding for Eat, Exercise, Excel
So What Happened?
Because we believe that kids should be rewarded for their success, Advantig Health & Sport continued to provide Kids Potential to schools at no charge while the district sought financial support for the program.
Kids Potential became the only remaining component of the Eat, Exercise, Excel program.
How Did Kids Do with Potential by Itself?
Kids continued to excel, behavior stayed in control and the school district decided to offer Potential to every school child in the city. School principals are convinced that a well-designed phytonutrient multi-vitamin that delivers 100% of the US RDA for Vitamins and Minerals is the key component to kids’ academic and social success.
It’s Just the Vitamins, Right?
If simply providing 100% of the US RDA were the key, then a bowl of Total breakfast cereal or any number of fortified breakfast cereals would be enough to ensure academic success. But kids were already eating these breakfast cereals and it wasn’t enough.
No, it’s Just the Right Vitamins
Kids Potential is based on over 30 years of nutritional research, clinical experience and understanding of human biochemistry. Potential relies heavily on specially-processed, high antioxidant fruit concentrates that the brain needs for antioxidant support for optimal function. Potential contains NO artificial colors or artificial flavors which have finally been confirmed to negatively impact brain function in a landmark study published the British Medical Journal, The Lancet in November 2007 (“Food Additives & Hyperactive Behavior in 3 Year Old and 8/9 Year Old Children in the Community: a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo Controlled Trial.”) Potential is a synergistic combination of full spectrum vitamins, minerals and special antioxidants found in balanced, nutritious whole foods. Moms everywhere say “you are what you eat” – now 7 years of objective test scores and behavioral statistics finally confirm what Mom told us long ago.
Mind & Body
It’s not all about test scores. Education is much more than learning how to pass a test. For us, it is about providing the right nutritional environment in which a child’s mind and body can function at optimal efficiency to flourish. When this happens you get kids who perform better under academic stress and whose rational thought process helps them to consider the consequences of impulsive behavior. Seven years of research has confirmed this theory.
Why Kids Potential is Better for Kids
Kids Potential
Potential is based on National Academy of Sciences & Institutes of Medicine Guidelines and US Department of Agriculture studies that show the benefits of High ORAC* Antioxidants. (ORAC = Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity means how well a food functions as an antioxidant)
Beneficial Antioxidants from High ORAC Fruit Concentrates
Not only do fruit & berry concentrates provide delicious natural flavor and color, they provide essential antioxidant supplementation from natural, whole food sources. High ORAC antioxidants from fruits and berries have been shown to be beneficial for healthy brain and nerve function and behavior. Potential contains a proprietary blend of fruit & berry extracts from wild bilberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, elderberry, raspberry, rose hips, orange, strawberry and red concord grapeskin which are NOT found in commercially available, mass market multi-vitamins for kids.
Neuro Biol Aging, August 28, 2007: 8:1187-94, Beneficial Effects of Fruit Extracts on Neuronal Function & Behavior in Rodent Model of Accelerated Aging. Shukitt-Hale, B., Carey, AN., Jenkins, D., Rabin, BM., Joseph, JA. USDA-ARS, Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Tufts University, Boston, MA.
Full Spectrum Vitamins/Minerals, Active & Natural Forms = Complete Supplementation
Potential contains multi-source forms of ingredients to ensure full spectrum nutrition. For example, mass market kids vitamins may contain beta carotene, but not all the other carotenoids. In a perfect world with balanced diets, kids would consume full spectrum vitamin supplementation. Since we know that kids do not always eat a balanced diet, Potential provides full spectrum, supplemental nutrition from whole foods.
Minerals are generally not palatable and are difficult to absorb. Potential provides a broad range of multi-source minerals which are designed for palatability and provide a diversity of nutritional sources, similar to an omnivorous diet. Each chewable wafer provides a broad spectrum of minerals, including Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese, Chromium and Molybdenum. Potential also provides Selenium, an important antioxidant for the brain not often found in mass market kids vitamins.
Potential contains the “Active Form” of key vitamins so that a child’s body doesn’t need to make a conversion. Genetic differences in the population make it difficult for some individuals to make these conversions. “Active Forms” do it for you. Even though the “Active Forms” are more expensive, we use them in Potential for the kids’ benefit.
Potential contains all natural Vitamin E with full spectrum mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols because they all play slightly different but important roles as antioxidants in the body. Because Potential relies on food source nutrients, the Vitamin E in Potential is the very same full spectrum Vitamin E that you would find in fresh, wholesome foods which is important because the bio potency of natural Vitamin E is twice that of synthetic Vitamin E.
Did you know that the body only uses the natural form of Vitamin E? There is really no definitive research to clarify what happens to the synthetic form of Vitamin E in the body. Synthetic Vitamin E (the L-form) is used in most commercial kids multi-vitamins, but NOT in Kids Potential.
What you Won’t Find in Kids Potential
Informed parents need to know what to look for, as well as what to avoid. Kids Potential does not contain any of these nutritionally unnecessary additives found in mass market children’s vitamins:
- Aspartame
- Sucrose (white sugar)
- Sorbitol
- Fructose (implicated in childhood obesity & dyslipidemia)
- Hydrogentated oil (trans fat)
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene (preservative)
- Wheat (FDA allergen)
- Soybeans (FDA allergen)
- Starch
- FD&C Blue #2 Lake
- FD&C Red #40 Aluminum Lake
- FD&C Yellow #6 Aluminum Lake
- FD&C Yellow #5
- Artificial Flavors
- Sodium Benzoate
- Synthetic Vitamin E
Nutritionally Unnecessary Additives in Common Mass Market Vitamins for Kids
Flinstones Complete
- Aspartame
- Sucrose (white sugar)
- Hydrogenated Oil (trans fat)
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene
- FD&C Blue #2 Lake
- FD&C Red #40 Aluminum Lake
- FD&C Yellow #6 Aluminum Lake
- Artificial Flavors
Centrum Kids (Dora)
- Aspartame
- Sucrose (white sugar)
- Wheat (FDA allergen)
- Soybeans (FDA allergen)
- FD&C Blue 2 Aluminum Lake
- FD&C Red 40 Aluminum Lake
- FD&C Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake
- Artificial Flavors
- Sodium Benzoate (preservative)
One a Day Scooby Doo Multi-Vitamins
- Aspartame
- Sorbitol
- Starch
- FD&C Red 40 Lake
- FD&C Yellow 6 Lake
- FD&C Blue 2 Lake
- Artificial Flavors
Only 13% of Daily Value of Biotin (Kids Potential = 100%)
Only 15% of the Vitamin C in Kids Potential
Kids Potential=2 1/2 times the Magnesium in multiple forms
Disney Winnie the Pooh Complete
- Fructose (Implicated in childhood obesity & dyslipidemia)
- Blue 2 Lake
- Yellow 6 Lake
- Red 40 Lake
- Synthetic Vitamin E
- Artificial Flavors
Only 13% of Daily Value of Biotin (Kids Potential = 100%)
Only 15% of the Vitamin C in Kids Potential
Kids Potential=2 1/2 times the Magnesium in multiple forms
Rite Aid Multi-Vitamin + Iron
- Fructose (Implicated in childhood obesity & dyslipidemia)
- Hydrogenated Oil (trans fat)
- FD&C Yellow 5
- FD&C Blue 2
- FD&C Red 40
- Artificial Flavors
20% Less Iron than Kids Potential