ADHD, Immunity and Gut: Picky Eaters Revisited

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Picky Eaters, Like ADHD Folks, Are Not Character Disorders!
If you think you have it bad with ADHD, just throw picky eating into the problem. Then it can become almost untreatable. Those with picky eating problems often [not always!] have significant problems with the North of the GI tract. With the picky eating comes problems with nutrition and immunity that really gums up the works. Immunity creates cytokine problems, and the cytokines then boggle the brain. So let's do think about picky eating.

We've Regularly Visited The South, Let's Take a Summer Look at the North
I've been writing a good deal about immunity and the bowels way down there in the GI South: #2, Transit Time, IBS, Crohn's – all familiar topics to readers here. Since the bowel is the largest organ dealing with immunity in the body… larger than the respiratory tract and the skin, it's time we looked at the North as well as the South, and the ubiquitous presentation of picky eating with ADHD presentations. Think immunity! Now, think stomach!

Take a look at this very interesting post on gluten and thyroid, and we can start our deeper conversations about ADHD and immunity. You can't concentrate… perhaps we need to think a bit more comprehensively. With these new TH-1 and TH-2 understandings we can begin to see that there is far more at stake than just-not-eating-breakfast.

Check out these details on measuring immunity – just a bit away from picky eating: Dr Kharazzian from San Diego on immunity  – from his book Why do I still have thyroid symptoms?

TH-1 is higher than TH-2

A TH-1 dominance may be another reason for negative antibodies. As I explain in the book, we can roughly divide the immune system into two sides. TH-1 is the side that reacts immediately to an invader whereas TH-2 is the delayed response that produces antibodies. In a healthy immune system TH-1 and TH-2 are balanced, however in Hashimoto’s one of these becomes overly dominant. When TH-1 soars too high this suppresses TH-2 and hence antibody production. As a result antibody counts on a lab panel may show as low or negative. When you bring these two systems into balance, however, antibody counts on a panel may temporarily increase before balancing out.

This also explains why the use of iodine can produce a negative antibody panel in Hashimoto’s. Iodine has been shown to stimulate the autoimmune attack against the thyroid, which increases inflammation, a TH-1 response. In a TH-1 dominant person—statistically most people with Hashimoto’s—this further stimulates TH-1 while suppressing TH-2, again producing negative antibody results and giving many the impression the Hashimoto’s has been “cured.” Also, high doses of iodine can stimulate the production of TPO, the enzyme that is the target of autoimmune attack, to the point that it becomes inactive and the autoimmune attack ceases. However TPO is necessary for thyroid function and this is not a desirable approach when we have other methods that work better.

If either of these factors is a possibility, I tell people to check for inflammatory cytokine levels (the compounds that make up the TH-1 system), such as IL-2, IL-12, TNFa, and interferon. They should also check the CD4/CD8 ratio, which is the ratio between T-suppressor and T-helper immune cells. If inflammatory cytokines are high and the CD4/CD8 ratio is out of balance, this indicates an inflammatory condition that is suppressing TH-2 and perhaps artificially producing a negative result for Hashimoto’s. This is especially important to check in those using iodine to address Hashimoto’s.

Why the emphasis on these matters? They all relate back to brain function, for adults and for those with gluten sensitivity as children.
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7 Comments

  1. Kelly P. says:
    July 21, 2014 at 8:13 AM

    Dear Dr. Parker,

    I have learned so much from your videos and articles, and feel like I am finally gaining some valuable insight into the struggles I have had over the years…Thank you! I have had good success with Adderall in the past, but always had to stop taking it due to side effects (rash on skin, constipation, etc.). I have also tried SSRIs, which helped somewhat, but always left me feeling zoned out and as though something was missing. After watching your videos, I know I need to fix my gut and possibly hormones. Once I do that, I’m hoping to find a doctor that will help me try a safe SSRI/stimulant combination. The reason I am writing is this: I have a terrible, embarrassing eating disorder. I chew and spit sugary foods throughout the day. I am an educated, professional person, but I can’t seem to figure out how to stop this terrible habit! When I do this, I feel calmer, happier, and less stressed. It has gotten to the point where my life revolves around it and I feel like I couldn’t possibly survive without doing this. Do you have any idea what this issue might be related to (serotonin, dopamine, gaba, etc.)?

    P.S. Reading about the “Thinking but not Acting” ADHD type sounded exactly like me!

    Thank you,

    Kelly

    • Dr Charles Parker says:
      July 21, 2014 at 4:24 PM

      Kelly,
      Re Neurotransmitter Contribution: My guess is that it’s serotonin related, but know that GABA could likely help, – and it may also arise related to a variety of additional etiologies including trace elements and glucose metabolism. TMA and IgG are the first line rule outs in a presentation such as this – see the links on this pdf for videos and references: http://corepsych.com/tests14 on the 2nd page.
      Thanks for your kind remarks!
      cp

  2. Shawn says:
    August 24, 2010 at 3:18 PM

    My daughter is 13 years old, and has been on various medications since she was 3 for ADHD (emphasis on the “hyper”). She started with Ritalin, has taken Risperdone, straterra, abilify, . The stimulants worked, to an extent, in that they helped him focus but then she would become irritable and overly deffiant. They didn’t work for her oppositional behavior or impulsiveness, in fact some of them seemed to exacerbate. Strattera didn’t work at all.
    In May, her psychiatrist prescribed Intuniv. She ramped up to 4mg over the span of a month. 1mg and 2mg had minimal benefits. 3mg seemed to help his demeanor, but not his focus. 4mg she seemed to have irritated her more. We went back to 3mg and found that she ended up getting constipated. For the last two months she has been on Miralax and seemed so agitated and controlled by her bowel movements, gassiness and very bloated in the abdomen.There was a period of time when the intuniv seemed like a dream come true and she did well it subdued her and she was very appropriate not having loud outbursts and able to sit and do appropriate things with family and friends not attention seeking as before. Once the constipation set in it really is a rollercoaster battle that we are seeing and now with the behaviors kicking in we are back at square one where the side effects are a concern and there is no benefit seen. It is like she is back to square one. I must say she takes clonazepam in the evening for seizures and she is diagnosed with a translocation of chromosome 22 on the long arm of her x which makes up 2/3 of her cells and the other 1/3 is turner’s syndrome. We seem to go through these cycles of medications working for a couple of weeks to couple of months and then it is like the bottom falls out and we see lots of behaviors, defiance, and aggression. Do you have any ideas or is there something we are missing as I hate to give up on another medicine. Please advise. We feel like we are out of options and have tried so many medications and I feel like we are loosing hope. There is this little girl who I get glimpses of who is loving, caring and fun when the meds seem to be working and bothers me so much to see her so uncomfortable and not the little girl I know who is in there full of love.

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