Why ADHD Is Not A Psychiatric Disorder Or Brain Disease with Dr. George Papanicolaou
Why ADHD Is Not A Psychiatric Disorder Or Brain Disease | This episode is brought to you by Paleovalley and Farmacy
The rates of attention deficit disorder (ADD), today referred to as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), have skyrocketed in recent years. But what is ADHD? ADHD is just a name we give to people who share a collection of symptoms: They can’t focus or pay attention, they’re inattentive, and they are hyperactive. These are symptoms. So, what are the causes?
In this episode, Dr. Hyman sits down with Dr. George Papaicolaou to discuss the common drivers of ADHD, and why it is so important to identify and treat its causes, rather than its symptoms. They also share specific cases in which they have treated patients for ADHD.
George Papanicolaou is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Abington Memorial Hospital. He is also an Institute for Functional Medicine Practitioner. Upon graduation from his residency he joined the Indian Health Service. He worked on the Navajo reservation for 4 years at the Chinle Comprehensive Medical Facility where he served as the Outpatient Department Coordinator. In 2000, he founded Cornerstone Family Practice in Rowley, MA. He practiced with a philosophy centered on personal relationships and treating the whole person, not just not the disease. He called that philosophy “Whole Life Wellness”. Over time as the healthcare system made it harder for patients to receive this kind of personal care Dr. Papanicolaou decided a change was needed. He began training in Functional Medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine. In 2015, he established Cornerstone Personal Health – a practice dedicated entirely to Functional Medicine. Dr. Papanicolaou to join The UltraWellness Center in 2017.
This episode is sponsored by Paleovalley and Farmacy.
Right now, Paleovalley is offering my listener's 15% off your entire first order. Just go to paleovalley.com/hyman to check out all their clean Paleo products and take advantage of this deal.
The Pegan Shake features a combination of collagen, pumpkin, and pea protein with healthy fats from my two favorites: MCT oil which is great for fat burning and brain power as well as avocado oil. I’ve also included acacia fiber to help with gut motility and digestion. Check it out at getfarmacy.com
In this conversation, Dr. Hyman and Dr. Papanicolaou discuss:
- The prevalence of ADHD in our society
- Understanding ADHD as a cluster of symptoms, rather than a psychiatric disorder
- The most common drivers of ADHD, including genetics, environmental influences, diet and lifestyle
- How improving gut health, and addressing food sensitivities can improve ADHD
- Testing for toxins and heavy metals in the body, including lead, mercury, and arsenic
- Patients with ADHD that Dr. Hyman and Dr. Papanicolaou have treated
- The effectiveness of meditation for treating ADHD
Additional Resources
Getting to the Root: A Functional Medicine Approach to ADHD
https://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/2019/05/17/getting-to-the-root-a-functional-approach-to-adhd/
ADHD and Negative Self-Talk
https://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/2019/05/06/adhd-and-negative-self-talk/
Here’s How I Treat ADHD: A Functional Medicine Doctor Explains
https://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/2017/09/06/heres-how-i-treat-adhd-a-functional-doctor-explains/
7 Strategies to Address ADHD
https://drhyman.com/blog/2015/10/21/7-strategies-adhd/
How To Improve Your Handwriting Simply By Changing What You Eat
https://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/09/how-to-improve-your-handwriting-simply-by-changing-what-you-eat/
The Myth of Diagnosis
https://drhyman.com/blog/2018/05/04/the-myth-of-diagnosis/
Available Results
Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.
Choose Template
Pick the result you want. You can review provider and model before generating.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
A comprehensive extraction focused on health practices, protocols, claims, and safety caveats.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.
Repeatable methods, frameworks, mental models, processes, and systems.
Technologies, AI models, technical methods, capabilities, limitations, and adoption implications.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.
A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.
A comprehensive extraction focused on health practices, protocols, claims, and safety caveats.
A comprehensive extraction focused on opportunities, strategy, markets, and company building.
Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.
A dedicated inventory of concrete resources named in the episode.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.
A concise first-pass summary for understanding the episode quickly.
A detailed readable summary organized by chapter or topic.
A navigable map of subjects, topic flow, and suggested chapters.
A comprehensive, source-grounded extraction of the reusable knowledge in an episode.
Reusable atomic knowledge units extracted from the episode.
A comprehensive extraction focused on health practices, protocols, claims, and safety caveats.
A comprehensive extraction focused on opportunities, strategy, markets, and company building.
Scientific findings, mechanisms, studies, hypotheses, and the limits of the evidence discussed.
Technologies, AI models, technical methods, capabilities, limitations, and adoption implications.
Investment theses, assets, catalysts, valuation reasoning, time horizons, and risks.
Chronologies, actors, causes, consequences, turning points, and competing historical interpretations.
Policies, proposals, stakeholders, arguments, implementation constraints, and predicted effects.
Career paths, skills, hiring signals, workplace decisions, transitions, and limitations of the advice.
Behavioral mechanisms, biases, motivation, habits, emotions, interventions, and evidence limitations.
Economic mechanisms, incentives, indicators, market structure, forecasts, and uncertainty.
Leadership principles, team systems, organizational design, culture, feedback, and failure modes.
Audience, positioning, messaging, acquisition, retention, experiments, metrics, and failed approaches.
Teaching methods, learning strategies, practice, feedback, assessment, and effectiveness evidence.
Theses, premises, arguments, objections, values, thought experiments, and unresolved questions.
Communication patterns, conflict, boundaries, expectations, repair methods, and contextual limitations.
Books, papers, authors, courses, and other learning resources mentioned in the episode.
Repeatable methods, frameworks, mental models, processes, and systems.
Explicit actions, next steps, habits, recommendations, and things to avoid.
Memorable statements and important claims with attribution and source context.
A dedicated inventory of concrete resources named in the episode.
A dedicated analysis of warnings, limitations, trade-offs, weak evidence, and uncertainty.