Ningdong: Non-Drug ADHD Treatment

Ningdong a Non-drug ADHD Treatment

I have been compiling a book of ADHD treatments that are not drugs.  This, for me, has been a monumental effort.  I tend to want to spend 45 minutes formatting a paragraph for every 10 minutes that I spend writing.  I am certain that you know what I am talking about... 

I am making headway and there are now about 6 chapters under my belt and I am writing the chapter that I am calling Herbal Preparations for ADHD.

Prior to starting the writing, I did some research (and a lot of paragraph formatting) and discovered this interesting review article that reported that a traditional Chinese Medicine, known as Ningdong (NDG) granules had been found, in a case control study (a study with both subjects and a control group that did not receive the treatment), to be as effective as Ritalin in treating the symptoms of ADHD.  The authors concluded that this treatment was effective and safe.  This same traditional medicine had been found in animal and human studies to help Tourette's syndrome, a disorder that causes tics.

NDG granules are a Chinese medicine but it is not made up of one herb. Like many traditional medicines, Ningdong is made with 4 different plant species, 3 animal substances, and human placenta.   I searched high and low for the 4 plant species and the name of the three animal species but my trail ran cold.

The Chinese have been using the human placenta as a tonic for thousands of years but it is considered unsafe and potentially toxic by the United States so you will not be buying Ningdong granules here anytime soon. Canada and Great Britain also have regulations that bar the sale of products containing human placenta because of safety concerns.

The Chinese have used dried human placenta, known as "Ziheche" to treat illnesses such as infertility and impotence for thousands of years. Some people in China make a soup of the placenta after childbirth and use it to ward off post-partum depression.  I have included the recipe for placenta soup below.

The review article that brought the Ningdong to my attention confirmed what I have written about before.  There is good evidence that zinc, iron, Omega-3 fatty acids and Pycnogenol help reduce the symptoms of ADHD.  You can find more information on any of these topics by going to the search bar in the top left hand column and typing in a search word such as "zinc".

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving; please visit the Amazon store, (also in the left hand column of this webpage), and thank you for your comments and support!!

Placenta Soup Recipe

1. Wash the placenta with water, just as if you would wash a chicken before cooking. You may
use some wheat flour to rub it for further cleansing.
2. Drain out all excess water from the placenta.
3. Put the placenta in an oven at low heat, until it's completely dried but not turning brown
(around 180F, depending on your oven). You want to dry it, not cook it.  You may need to
turn the placenta over a few times.
4. Grind the placenta into powder, and then load the placenta powder into capsules for usage.
Soup
Please Note:  The person who prepares the placenta will usually lose the desire to eat the soup
due to the smell.  Therefore, someone else shoul d clean and cook the placenta.  The soup itself
does not have an unpleasant odor or taste.
1. Lightly wash the placenta under running water. It's not necessary to wash off all the blood
inside the placenta, as the nutrition content may be lost by over washi ng.
2. Cut the placenta into pieces that are approximately the  size of 1/2 egg. Place the placenta
pieces in a cooking pot with other ingredients you like, typically chicken or black bone
chicken.
3. To enhance the flavor and add nutritional value to the sou p, you may add some herbs, such as
Huang Qi, Dang Gui, Dang Shen, Da Zao, Go Qi Zi, & etc.  Ask your herbalist for specific
dosages of each herb.
4. Add water and a few slices of ginger to the pot. You may also add some salt, but salt is not
recommended for postpartum patients. Cook for 1 to 1.5 hours.
5. Consume all of the soup within one or two weeks. Eat a few pieces of placenta each
time. The soup does not smell unpleasant. You can add more chicken and herbs to re -cook


Complementary medicines (herbal and nutritional products) in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A systematic review of the evidence
Jerome Sarris, James Kean, Isaac Schweitzer, James Lake

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Mar 18. [Epub ahead of print]
Ningdong granule: a complementary and alternative therapy in the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Li JJ, Li ZW, Wang SZ, Qi FH, Zhao L, Lv H, Li AY.

J Int Med Res. 2010 Jan-Feb;38(1):169-75.
Traditional Chinese medicine Ningdong granule: the beneficial effects in Tourette's disorder.
Zhao L, Li AY, Lv H, Liu FY, Qi FH.