FORGET RITALIN!!!!! GIVE YOUR CHILDREN COFFEE!!!!!

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Coffee being used to calm kids
April 25,2006
Jennifer C. Smith
Monitor Staff Writer

McALLEN — Forget the apple-a-day cliché. A daily cup of coffee or tea — even for kids — could be just what the doctor ordered to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.

“I suggest drinking iced tea, black tea for improving the effects of medications,” said McAllen pediatric neurologist Dr. Leonardo Garcia.

“I prescribe it in very small amounts, specific amounts for each child, and that’s the same thing with medicines.”

But the idea of using caffeinated products for youth to calm the disorder’s symptoms such as physical restlessness, poor concentration and impulsive behavior is a controversial idea in medical circles. The limited studies available have not definitively linked caffeine consumption to abetting or worsening the disorder, so while some physicians suggest a latté, others warn against prescribing a substance that can interfere with sleep.

But there is no denying with Starbucks percolating on street corners and green tea riding the antioxidant frenzy, caffeine is the preferred beverage for many American adults and youth.

Still, several therapists and physicians remain unconvinced caffeine and kids mix.

“At one time, it was believed the coffee would decrease the activity in the brain,” said McAllen family physician Dr. Benjamin Bujanda. “Now we have proved caffeine makes you hyper so it is not indicated for people having these disorders.”

Not so, responds Dr. Joel Young, a Detroit child psychiatrist and a member of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association. The Pennsylvania-based nonprofit is a national advocacy group for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder research.

“Caffeine in the brain enhances transmissions of (the chemical) dopamine and that has an effect of increasing concentration and focus, probably for everybody to some degree,” he said.

So a cup of joe is not the best treatment, but it can mitigate the disorder’s symptoms, he said.

“For a successful treatment of (the disorder), you would need a really high level of caffeine … 8 to 10 cups day and most people would get too agitated on that.”

Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder begins in childhood and sometimes last into adult life. There is still not much understood about it, but several factors play a role, including brain changes, heredity, and childhood exposure to environmental toxins.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 4.4 million youth ages 4 to17 have been diagnosed with the disorder by a healthcare professional. As of 2003, 2.5 million youth ages 4 to 17 received medication treatment.

Typical treatment usually involves prescription drugs such as Ritalin, a nervous system stimulant that produces a calming effect on attention-deficit and hyperactive patients, and at times, support groups and parental training. Improving nutrition, getting adequate rest and daily exercise can also be beneficial.

Behavior therapy, such as lifting or pushing heavy objects to increases a child’s focus and attention, is preferred to caffeine, said occupational therapist Melissa Finley of Building Blocks Rehab and Autism Center in McAllen.

“Modifying a classroom environment also helps them to focus,” she added.

But Mission resident Consuelo Gonzalez, 48, and her two children swear by coffee-flavored mints and an occasional caffeinated beverage to soothe their nerves.

“Once in a while I like to have a cappuccino with milk,” she said. “It helps me to concentrate on whatever I’m doing.”

Since caffeine is a mild stimulant, it may work in the same way as more conventional drug therapies, several doctors said.

Experimental diets advocate the elimination of foods thought to increase hyperactivity, such as sugar and caffeine, according to the Mayo Clinic’s Web site.

Still, “studies haven’t found a consistent link between diet and improved symptoms of (the disorder),” the site states.

But don’t tell that to Dr. Leonardo Garcia’s patient, Martha Muñoz of Pharr, who gives her 2-year-old hyperactive son, Vitale, black tea flavored with kiwi and strawberry flavors.

“He calms down a lot with that,” she said, as Vitale examined play blocks in Garcia’s office. “I like it better than taking medications.”
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Jennifer C. Smith covers health, environment and science issues at The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.