ADD Misdiagnosis

There are 900,000 cases of misdiagnosed attention-deficit disorder according to a study by Todd Elder.  Elder’s study, published in the Journal of Health Economics, looked at a child’s age in comparison to his peers to measure the likelihood of an attention-deficit disorder diagnosis.  Elder states, “If a child is behaving poorly, if he's inattentive, if he can't sit still, it may simply be because he's 5 and the other kids are 6". 

Elder used a sample of nearly 12,000 children to examine if age plays a role in the diagnosis and medication rates between the oldest and youngest children in each grade.  He determined a child’s age using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort where he compared the children’s birthdates with the school’s cut-off date for that grade level.  His research found that the youngest children were 60 percent more likely to receive an attention-deficit disorder diagnosis than the oldest children in that same grade level.  The youngest children were also twice as likely to be prescribed stimulants. 

Studies like this highlight that we still have a long way to go in identifying and treating attention-deficit disorder.  I am personally shocked that a teacher’s opinion on whether or a not a child has attention-deficit disorder plays such a big role in diagnosis.  I think this reminds us that even experts can make mistakes so it is important to remember to seek second opinions and consider environmental factors before prescribing drugs to children.   

Introduction to ADHD

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavior problem for children in America.  The advanced form of attention deficit disorder is attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).  Estimates suggest that 3 to 5 percent of all children suffer from signs of ADHD such as reduced attentiveness and concentration, excessive activity, distractibility, and impulsiveness.  That’s one child for every classroom in the country. 

Steven Kurtz, senior director of ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Center, believes it is best to think of ADHD in three sections.  The first section is the inability to pay attention, second section is for hyperactivity, and the third section is for impulsivity.  A child who lacks the ability to pay attention, but is not hyperactive or impulsive is defined as a child with ADD.  To clarify, ADD refers to the inability to pay attention during boring or repetitive tasks.  A child with ADD should have no trouble focusing on things that excite them such as a video game or movie. 

ADHD is a disorder of the brain.  Research has been able to identify differences in people with and without ADHD through brain scans, but scientists are still learning about the causes of ADHD.  Here are a few common ADHD misconceptions according to PBS.com:

ADHD is caused by poor parenting- There is no evidence to suggest ADHD is caused by poor parents, but inconsistent or overly harsh parenting can amplify symptoms. 

Quiet kids can’t have ADHD-

ADHD is primarily associated with loud, hyperactive, behavior but one type of ADHD is an inattentive type.  Children with this type of ADHD are often quiet and inattentive because they are too lost in their own world. This form of ADHD is more common with females.

ADHD is not a real disease; it’s just an excuse for kids’ bad behavior- ADHD has been studied for over 100 years.  ADHD is a legitimate brain disorder, which affects how people process and organizes information and manages impulses. 

Liquid Energy- Maintaining A Healthy Heart

Two thirds of Americans are overweight.  Research has shown that losing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can lead to better blood pressure, lower risk for diabetes, and improved cholesterol levels.  Liquid Energy suggests losing weight naturally through the process of thermogenesis by using Power Melt.  Click here to see what makesPower Melt so powerful and how it can help you!

Cut back on “bad” fats.  Small changes such as replacing fried chicken wings with grilled chicken strips and low fat dipping sauces can limit your LDL (bad cholesterol).  See the importance of limiting your bad cholesterol here.  A few other small tips that can be a big help include replacing butter with olive and canola oil (filled with good cholesterol), lean meats, poultry, fish, and beans instead of higher fat meats.  Pick non/low fat milk and yogurt and eat full fat  cheese sparingly.   Avoid trans-fat and saturated fat which increases LDL and make sure to avoid foods with hydrogenated oils in their ingredients.  Look out for this in snacks, crackers, baked goods, and margarine. 

A high fiber diet will lower the risk of heart disease; unfortunately, the average American diet only includes around 14 grams of fiber a day.  You can lower LDL by eating foods such as oats, beans, and citrus fruits.  For meals try to pick whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat pasta which boosts your total fiber intake and improves digestion while lowering triglycerides, another unhealthy fat in blood.

Research suggests that eating fish, high in omega-3 fats, can reduce heart disease by 30%.  Fish lowers triglycerides and blood pressures and helps prevent irregular heart rhythm.  Are you having trouble fitting fish in your diet?  Try a supplement!  Liquid Energysuggests BIOMEGA 3.  Here is a video about the creator of BIOMEGA 3 discussing its benefits compared to the leading fish oil pills.  In a 2009 study in sports help, the Pittsburg Steelers vastly improved their cholesterol profiles by taking a daily fish oil supplement. 

In 2009, the Journal of American Medical Association credited NFL player’s high level of physical activity with helping to reduce heart risks associated with being overweight.  You don’t need to be a professional athlete; you just need to do moderate exercises such as brisk walking to help keep your heart healthy. 

Liquid Energy- Embryonic Stem Cells

For the first time, an embryonic stem cell study was documented in a scientific study.  The study involved two women with untreatable eye diseases who were injected with embryonic stem cells.  Both women claimed to have noticed dramatic improvements in their vision after the injection.  Steven Schwartz, chief of UCLA’s Jules Stein Eye Institute’s retina division, said, “it’s nowhere near a treatment for vision loss, but it's a signal that embryonic stem-cell based strategies may work."  Schwartz said he is “thrilled and excited” by the results of this study, but admits the results are preliminary, the sample size is small, it is difficult to measure vision improvements for low-vision patients.  The study, published in, The Lancet, states the stem cells were derived from an embryo and injected into the retinal tissue.  The patients originally had to take anti-rejection drugs so the eyes would not reject the foreign tissue. 

This picture has nothing to do with the text above

Prior to her July surgery, Sue Freeman, age 78, could not walk, shop, or cook alone due to macular degeneration, a disease that affects millions of Americans and with no treatment currently available.  After the injection of embryos in one of her eyes, Sue can shop, cook, walk, and even read all on her own.

The books she read were slightly less computer generated

The second patient, a 51-year-old woman who wished to remain anonymous, claimed she first noticed a change a few weeks after the surgery.  She looked at an armoire across the bedroom and noticed, "It has a lot of detailed carvings and I thought wow, I was missing those before”.  This anonymous patient could not read the extra-large letters on the eye chart designed for people with vision problems prior to her surgery.  Her vision was so bad prior to the surgery the patient was unable to see how fingers an examiner held up in front of her face.  After the surgery, she can now identify the number of fingers being held up in front of her face and read five of the letters on the eye examine chart.  In the Lancet’s commentary section, Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Institute for Regenerative, cautioned that the report was preliminary, with a small sample size, and a short term follow up, but stated, “the results are impressive, especially considering the progressive nature of both diseases.” 

In her defense, Stacy had a different hairstyle

The stem cells came from an embryo created in a fertility clinic by a couple who chose not to use it to create a pregnancy.  Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell, said that the embryo was destroyed after deriving the stem cells but in the future doctors will have the ability to extract the embryo without destroying the stem cell.

While this is the first scientific study published about an embryonic stem cell trial, Geron was the first company to receive FDA approval for human trials using embryonic stem cells in 2009.  In 2011, they abandoned its research for financial reasons. 

There are many people who consider an embryo to be human life and object to embryonic stem cell research.  In the future, perhaps induced pluripotent stem cells may be the answer.  These can be made without destroying the embryo and are extracted from the skin of the patient making anti-rejection drugs unnecessary. 

Liquid Energy- Tyrosine

There are many amino acids that live in your body that work very hard behind the scenes.  The purpose of this blog article is to make “tyro seen”.  L-Tyrosine is an amino acid that spends his weekends in a factory helping to produce the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, thyroxin, and triiodothyronine.  Dopamine sends messages from the central nervous system to the brain and produces the reward sensation your body feels when something good happens unexpectedly like finding this blog!  Due to its dopamine production, research has been done to study tyrosine and use this amino acid to improve mood disorders such as depression.  Tyrosine is believed to help combat neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.  Tyrosine is also known as the stress amino acid because it helps your body to cope with stressful situations.   

Wow, what a great blog!

Have you been feeling stressed and depressed recently?  If you have, it probably means you are a fan of the Indianapolis Colts or you’re in need of additional tyrosine in your diet.  When a stressful event, such as losing future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, occurs, the body uses up its stores of tyrosine in an attempt to regulate your mood.  After depleting your body’s tyrosine stores, your body cannot produce the dopamine and norepinephrine which help to regulate your moods.

Is it time to become a Pacers fan?

 Tyrosine is also extremely effective in helping children with ADHD.  Tyrosine helps to regulate the transition between a child’s thoughts and behavior.  Studies have shown remarkable increases in mental performance and mood stability in children given dosages ranging from 200 to 500 mg a day. 

It's hard to read a blank page

 Tyrosine is extremely safe to take as a supplement and there are no known negative side effects.  For people suffering from mental problems, dosages up to 7 grams a day have been taken during studies with no problem.  Tyrosine can be found in protein, dairy products, wheat, and oats.  If you’re interested in supplementing tyrosine, we recommend you try Liquid Energy’s Get-Go-N Plus which contains 500mg of Tyrosine plus other essential B-vitamins which will promote enhanced energy and vitality.  It is one of the best sources of B vitamins, including tyrosine, due to the Biocellular Micellization process.

Lininger Jr, Schuyler W., D.C.; et. al. “L-Tyrosine.” The Natural Pharmacy: Complete Home Reference to Natural Medicine. 2^nd Edition.

- PDR Health. Online Physician’s Desk Refrence. “L-Tyrosine.” http://www.pdrhealth.com

Liquid Health- The Benefits of Selenium

When you’re a child, you cannot wait to grow up.  Unfortunately, what proceeds growing up is growing old.  Contrary to popular belief, senior living centers do not consist of attractive nurses giving sponge baths and hilarious denture related pranks.   The vast majority of senior living centers exist because muscular dystrophy has made it unsafe for seniors to live on their own.  As many parents know, and anyone who has lived with my old roommate Justin, living with people who cannot take care of themselves is no fun.  There are two primary ways you can avoid this fate.  The first is to beg Sean Connory for his method of never aging or you can follow Liquid Energy’s advice and try Selenium.

With selenium and a silly hat, anything is possible

What is Selenium?
Selenium is a trace mineral that is used in antioxidant enzymes that protects cells against free radicals produced during the normal oxygen metabolism process.  These free radicals, left alone, can damage cells and contribute to the development of chronic disease.  Selenium is also essential for the everyday functions of the immune system and can be found in almost every cell in the body.  The highest concentrations of selenium are in the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and spleen.

Don't let your cells look like this

Selenium Study:
There was a study done involving 891 men and women over the age of 65 who volunteered to have blood drawn to monitor selenium levels.  They were then tested on the strength of their hips, grips, and knees.  The government states the minimum level of selenium should be 1.25 micromoles per liter of blood, but the study’s averaged placed 0.95 micrometers per liter of blood.  Bad old seniors!  After analyzing the data, the study found that those with the lowest levels of selenium were 69 percent more likely to possess poor hip strength, 94 percent more likely to have poor knee strength, and 94 percent more likely to have poor grip strength.  This study requires additional research to conclusively prove selenium can reduce muscular dystrophy but there are hopes this study can encourage additional research that can conclusively link selenium to muscular dystrophy.

Where can I find Selenium?

You can find selenium in most meats, nuts, unrefined grains, brown rice, wheat germ, and oats.  The concentration of selenium depends on the richness of the soil in which the plants were grown.  The recommended dosage is 55 mcg for women and 70 mcg for men. If you are worried that your selenium intake is inadequate, you can always purchase dietary supplements at Liquid Energy online by taking BioFuel which provides 100mcg’s of selenium per day.

Daniells, Stephen. “Low Selenium Levels May Be Weakening Muscles – Study.” NutraIngredients USA. August 27, 2007. http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com

Supplement Watch. Supplement Library: “Selenium.” http://www.supplementwatch.com/

Whole Health MD. Reference Library: Supplements: “Selenium.” http://www.wholehealthmd.com

My Liquid Energy Experience #3- Exercise

When one thinks of exercising, the first image that comes to mind is that of a gym.  A gym is like any other place, except that it has been flooded with testosterone.  It’s a magical place that seamlessly combines the smell of sweat, the sounds of unnecessary grunts, and the feeling of male insecurity in a single building.  Gyms are so manly that females who exercise in the free weight section for more than three days in a row begin to grow facial hair.  This shocking study has inspired companies like Bosley to replace their hair regeneration products with gym memberships; however, I have spent months in a gym and I still cannot grow facial hair.  Life is unfair.  Anyway, now that this irrelevant tangent is complete, here is my experience with exercise! 

Some people have all the luck

After an on and off relationship with the gym, the obnoxious grunts of someone desperate to have everyone watch them bench 300 pounds one time became too much for me.  I started up P90X with Tony Horton.  The appeal of this workout for me was P90X consists primarily with exercises that use your body weight.  As I am in the same weight class as Kate Moss, this made the exercises much easier for me than everyone else.  Unfortunately, my break up with the gym had led to an explosion of comfort eating with my non-judgmental friend, fast food.  When I eventually began to exercise again, it did not go well.  After the first 20 minutes of working out, I spent the rest of the video exercising my eyeballs while lying on the ground groaning in pain until the video ended.  I was so sore I walked around like I was in a body cast for the next two days.  Part way through the video, Tony mentioned a p90x recovery drink. 

I apparently do P90x in a rural environment

This is where I learned the value of nutrition in workouts.  After exercising, I realized that I wouldn’t be as sore if I chugged chocolate milk and ate a peanut butter sandwich in addition to my protein shake.  With the power of science, I slowly became less of a pansy until I was able to complete every p90x workout (Note: This does not include yoga as a certain segment of yoga stretches consist of stances reserved only for Reed Richards of the fantastic four).  When my roommate (the owner of p90x) moved out, I had successfully completed p30, p30, and p24x.  That’s a total of p84x with a month’s worth of laziness in between.  I would like to use the sick card as an excuse, but I haven’t had a cold since I began taking Liquid Energy’s AM program!  My friend, who laughed at my bench press, now faced my ridicule as he could not complete a single pull up while I effortlessly completed 24.   Unfortunately, when my roommate left I was left without a workout plan for a post p90x world.   

Truthful and child friendly!

After mourning the loss of P90x with more fast food, I realized I would have to find a new way to exercise.  I talked to my roommate and we came up with a workout routine (by we, I mean he).  We decided to do compound movements that use low reps and high intensity to improve the major muscle groups.  At the apex of dedication, my roommate convinced me to go to the gym with him 3 days a week at 6:00 AM.   In addition to our workout routine, we also talked about eating healthy to maximize our gains.  I was going to eat healthy and provide my body with plenty or rest; however, instead I decided to take a lot of different Liquid Energy Supplements (AND IT WORKED, IN YOUR FACE DIETING).  After the first week, I was not sore at all!  After the first month, my squat went from 180 to 225 and my bench went from 135 to 175!  It is hard to say the reason for these improvements because I was too busy making awkward grunting sounds and looking at myself in the mirror. 

Ladies beware