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It has
long been known that consumption of certain foods and beverages can
have a noticeable and particularly bad effect on children, causing
severe problems. For example, children with sensitivities may become extremely
hyperactive after having coloured cordials or fruit syrup drinks, hot dogs, various
junk foods and cola drinks. ADD, ADHD and related conditions are ones for which
conventional medicine offers mainly drug treatments; stimulants which suppress
symptoms but do not remove causes. Other management techniques - such as psychological intervention,
educational and behavioural management programmes - often do not produce
the desired results. Hertha Hafer's research explains why this is so.
Hafer's background as a researcher has made it possible to make a connection between
the food we eat and the symptoms which manifest themselves as ADD/ADHD. While it has long been known that some foods
can make the condition worse, why was not known. Hafer's genius lies in her close analytical investigation
of the chemical components of the foods we consume. She discovered
that there is a common component in the foods that affect ADD children.
That component is phosphate. Hertha wrote down her findings and published them in a book The Hidden Drug - Dietary
Phosphate (Cause of Behaviour Problems, Learning Difficulties and Juvenile
Delinquency).
From the time of Feingold onwards there has been much research conducted
into the connection between ADD/ADHD and certain foods. Some studies
have suggested remarkable results for a certain diet; others have proved
inconclusive. Generally the results obtained from attempts at dietary
management of ADD/ADHD have been so muddled and conflicting that
many parents have understandably given up on this approach. Why then
would the Hafer-diet work where other dietary management attempts
have failed to produce consistent results?
Hafer argues
that other diets have failed to provide consistent results because the problem constituent - phosphate -
was not recognised in earlier studies.
Many experimental diets eliminated some of the sources of excess phosphate
but permitted other problem foods to continue to be consumed. Thus such diets and experiments yielded very
variable and conflicting results. Hafer's approach lies
in the identification of added phosphates in modern, processed
diets and avoiding them. The experience of thousands of families in Germany, Switzerland
and elsewhere in Europe provides strong support for her claim.
Phosphate is a very common ingredient in modern diets.
It is a highly versatile food-additive which food manufacturers use in abundance.
It is used in the form of preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners; it is added to the flour aerators in self-raising flours; it is put into soda and cola drinks in the form of phosphoric acid and the list continues.
Industrial phosphates are produced each day in most countries by the tonne. There are also a number of natural foods that have elevated phosphate levels. Naturally occurring phosphates are designed to nourish fast growing animals and plants. Whilst they do not present as big a problem as the manufactured foods, it nevertheless is important to be aware of their presence.
In this context, it is important to mention that ADD/ADHD is not a condition with a long history,
unlike a wide range of other health problems which have been recorded
regularly for thousands of years. ADD/ADHD is not reported
in countries where people continue to eat a traditional diet of unprocessed
foods. However, in countries in which there has been progressively a
shift to processed and convenience foods and
in which natural foods high in phosphate have become more readily available throughout
the year, ADD has become a major problem.
These two
developments have proceeded in parallel: the greater the intake of phosphate-rich food, the higher the incidence
of ADD. This alone does not prove a cause and effect connection between
the high consumption of phosphate-rich food and the high incidence of ADD/ADHD but it does suggest the possibility of a relationship
between the two.
Furthermore, it is
important to note that phosphate is an essential mineral, an essential
nutrient that is vital for many life processes in our bodies. Traditional,
pre-industrial diets provided the exact quantities needed for the correct
functioning of all cellular activities. Modern diets, however, provide very much more phosphate
than what the body needs. But because this element is needed for the healthy development of bones, skin and teeth and because it
is such a useful and versatile food additive, food chemists and manufacturers have
assumed that added phosphate is totally harmless and beneficial
to the human diet.
Accordingly, the Hafer-diet is not a phosphate-free diet. To eliminate all phosphate completely from the diet would ultimately be dangerous:
the body cannot function properly without phosphate. There
are, however, few if any known records of health problems caused by
insufficient phosphorous in the diet. The phosphates exist in abundance and
are consequently found in a wide range of foods.
Hafer argues that if excess phosphate is removed from the diet, children with ADD/ADHD
will benefit enormously. For these reasons, she proposes a phosphate-reduced diet.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that the acceptable daily intake
of phosphorous is 70 mg/kg body weight. Not everyone's metabolism is identical,
so it is possible that the precise amount optimal to our bodies varies from
individual to individual. However, the aim is not to exceed the recommended daily intake. And yet, one German study (c.f. The Hidden Drug - Dietary Phosphate) has revealed
that on average people were consuming between two and three times the
recommended maximum amount of phosphate.
In summary, Hafer's research shows that there are some people
who are sensitive to the high intake of phosphate minerals. The result is
an upset in the delicate mineral balance, leading to other mineral deficiencies affecting the nervous system and resulting in all the symptoms, which are typical of the problem behaviour of the
ADD child. People who do not suffer from this sensitivity can consume
relatively high amounts of phosphate in their diet without observable
adverse effects. The tendency to the sensitivity is hereditary; for
this reason it is strongly recommended that in families with an ADD
child the whole family should go onto the phosphate-reduced diet, since
it is highly probable that other family members will also benefit.
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