Nature's Rx:ADD and herbs, restless leg and iron

By Jonathan Evans Herbal Information Specialist /Business Representative for the Herbarium Special to PRIME Dear Jonathan, My son has been diagnosed with ADD. He has been off his medication for most of the summer and seemed to be doing very well. Lately he has been going back to the way he was during school. Any thoughts? Diana Dear Diana, Have you talked to him about what might be troubling him? Is he starting to think about school again? That kind of anxiety can be very difficult and the stress of getting back to school, or maybe feeling different because he has this label is bugging him. Find out, if you can. Herbally and nutritionally, there are many products he can try. Make sure he is on a very good multivitamin(not a store brand, please!) extra B-complex, or a combination such as The Herbarium's Relax formula might help. When he is getting ready to go back to school, Grapeseed extract, Buried Treasure's Added Attention, Mind Trac, or essential oil blends will help. We have a whole bunch of articles and literature for dealing with ADD/ADHD using complimentary therapies at the Herbarium. Restless Leg Syndrome Some of you may have noticed a recent article in the newspaper about scientists finding a genetic link to Restless Leg Syndrome. I read it with great interest, especially when it came to the part about using phamaceuticals for the problem. Glaxo Smithkline makes Requip, an FDA- approved medication that earned Glaxo 500 million dollars just last year! Interestingly enough, there was a brief mention of a connection between RLS and low iron levels. The usual complimentary treatment for RLS is magnesium, then iron, vitamin E or Ginkgo. If you look back over the past several years, you may remember or have been told to stay away from "too much iron". Too much? I have dozens of customers coming in each week who have been told they are anemic. Not too long ago there was the ridiculous report on vitamin E causing problems, and of course, the weekly stories on your morning news programs that tell you to stay away from vitamin and mineral supplements and just eat a healthy diet. Hhmmmm, isn't that interesting... My suggestion is try using the aforementioned nutrients first. If they do not work for your twitchy legs, you can always get a prescription. Herbs and supplements are not as sexy or profitable as genetic research or pharmaceuticals. Really, who is going to get rich on a product that could fix the problem that only costs 10 or 15 dollars? Jonathan FDA Update on regulating herbal preparations: Right now things are very quiet at the FDA. The government has backed off on trying to get more regulations through on classifying herbs as drugs. The official line is that these were nothing more than ideas, with no real plan to implement them. This is not the kind of thing that puts my mind to rest. The good news is the congressional recess is almost upon us and not very much gets done during this period. We will keep an eye on any further developments, and report back either here in the magazine, or on our radio program. Please send your questions on botanical remedies to Natures Rx : Jonathan Evans via e-mail at info@theherbarium.com, or by regular mail at The Herbarium, 264 Exchange Street, Chicopee, MA 01013.