What’s new on the disease that people dread the most as they grow older? First of all, unfortunately, it’s on the rise — and it’s a steady increase. Some numbers come from a Danish pharmaceutical company who, not surprisingly, given the drug industry mentality, look upon populations as “markets.” The seven major pharmaceutical markets are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S., where approximately 16 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. 

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been in the news recently. (It used to be called just ADD, but the hyperactive H has moved in to stay.) The National Institute of Mental Health says that two million children in the United States have this condition. New Scientist reports that nearly 4 million Americans, most of them children and young adults, are being prescribed drugs to treat ADHD. And up to a million more may be taking the drugs illegally.

To understand how nutrition can be used to help in the prevention and treatment of brain injury, we must understand some basic facts. Much like the engine of your car, all cells of the body begin to "misfire" when deprived of oxygen or sugar (glucose), or a combination of both. Without sufficient fuel, your car will sputter and smoke, slow down, then quit. This is what happens to your brain cells when they are deprived of the energy they need in the form of oxygen and glucose. The lack of fuel and/or oxygen produces "biological sputtering and smoke."

Winston Churchill, King George VI, Carly Simon, Mel Tillis, James Earl Jones and many other famous people stuttered for part of, or throughout their lives. All are an inspiration to those who struggle with this difficulty every time they open their mouths to speak.  

Only a few people knew that off-stage, Marilyn Monroe stuttered. But that’s the strangest thing about this disorder, when people who stutter assume another voice than their own, sing, read in unisson or whisper, their speech impediment completely disappears.

After my father left us, he moved frenetically from town to town, changing jobs and addresses in his attempt to escape the clutches of the mysterious “they” who were after him. He was seeking always to find a place of safety, somewhere he could live in peace, somewhere “they” could not find him.