Can you treat ADHD without stimulants from the doctor?
A lot of adults with ADHD and parents of ADHD kids successfully administer caffeine to their kids instead of Ritalin or other stimulant drugs. Caffeine, after all, is a natural substance that’s found in plants and it causes the brain to release dopamine. Adults with ADHD can use caffeine to treat ADHD too, but the key to making caffeine work as a natural treatment for ADHD is to use it in tandem with amino acids or the herb Mucuna pruriens. Aminos or Mucuna pruriens (which is a bean that contains the most important natural amino acids, L-dopa, which is produced from the amino acid, L-tyrosine) PRODUCE dopamine which can then be released by caffeine. Caffeine essentially acts as a stimulant to provokes the release of dopamine, albeit in lesser quantities than Ritalin or other ADHD drugs. When used in tandem with amino acid-therapy for ADHD or Mucuna pruriens therapy for ADHD, caffeine can produce respectable results, particularly in the initial stages of treatment.
Why Caffeine Works to Treat ADHD Naturally?
Dopamine is released naturally from the neuron every time we make a decision, but natural substances like caffeine or unnatural, synthetically produced substances like prescription stimulants can force dopamine to be released from the brain at times when dopamine would not normally be released. And dopamine can only be released from the neuron if there's already dopamine in the neuron to begin with. If an ADHD patient doesn't have enough dopamine to begin with, there will be desperation for something that will produce a dopamine “hit”, be it an experience or a substance / drug. The ADHD patient may make poor decisions for themselves and have symptoms of impulsivity when dopamine levels are low. In children, this looks like hyperactivity, or chaotic, unfocused behavior. In adults, it looks like addiction or even sometimes the tendency to overcommit to doing too much work. Adults with disordered dopamine might become angry and even manifest signs of mental illness such as depression or anxiety or even psychosis. A lack of dopamine in neurons can make people feel jittery and wired, especially after exposure to a dopamine-releasing stimulant. If the patient has plenty of dopamine in their neurons though, an amphetamine that releases dopamine is less likely to create a wired or jittery after-feeling. Instead, the amphetamine becomes less noticeable in its effects overall. People with ADHD generally have too little dopamine in their neurons although other issues related to dopamine receptors may also cause ADHD symptoms. For example, we’ve discussed the problem of low-level pathogenic colonization of the body that can lead to dopamine receptor dysfunction. A pathogen such as Streptococcus pyogenes can do molecular mimicry in the brain and pretend to be a human dopamine receptor or other structures so as to hijack sources of energy to keep itself alive. If an underlying Streptococcus pyogenes infection (or another pathogen) is to blame for ADHD symptoms, you will have to treat this infection first using natural medicines like Cinchona officinalis and Artemisia annua. Antibiotics from a doctor won’t work on a low-level infection and may in fact be to blame for colonization of the body by pathogens. Nonetheless, this problem can be corrected.
In the story of Jason, a 14 year old foster child that my husband and I parented for several months, there was a very strong, distinctive odor that he often had. This odor had to do with liver-related issues, similar to fetor hepaticus (also known as “breath of the dead”) and it indicates that ammonia and other toxins have built up in the body to a point where the liver is no longer able to filter them out effectively. Fetor hepaticus is a serious problem, but for Jason, I believe the issue was more along the lines of hepatic encephalopathy. The smell would come and go. Some days it was intolerably strong. Other days, it was barely noticeable. When his liver was toxic, he had ammonia in his brain that was causing his mental health and ADHD symptoms to worsen.
Click here to schedule a health coaching call with us.
Jason was not the only foster child that we worked with who had this problem, in fact. The other child we worked with who had a persistent, musty, but sweet smell was named “Charlie”. Charlie was only 5 years old when he lived with us and like Jason, the smell would come and go. For both boys, we blamed the smell on poor hygiene, not knowing that it was actually a systemic issue caused by toxic buildup and possibly a low-level infection that was treatable using natural and at-home medicinal agents. We didn’t know that there was a connection between the smell and ADHD symptoms, nor did we realize that the smell was a clue as to an underlying cause of poor behavior.
There are several different underlying causes of ADHD, and then there are potentially other contributing factors that might worsen the problem of hyperactivity and impulsivity. I recommend that people start with a Cinchona officinalis protocol along with the Mucuna pruriens protocol as they complement each other. Kids or adults who struggle with a body or breath smell should be aware of the what’s going on. These ADHD patients likely have a liver infection, possibly an abscess, and toxins, particularly ammonia that’s contributing to their symptoms. Green coffee enemas and a general effort at supporting detoxification in the body using things like N-Acetylcysteine or glutathione IVs through boutique IV spa can be helpful.
ADHD patients are deficient in dopamine perhaps because of a nutrient deficiency or maybe because they eat a vegan diet. Maybe it’s because they have a low-level infection that needs to be treated followed by a period of detoxification as the infection leaves the body (if the liver is struggling, removal of pathogens can be slower than usual). An adult or a child who is eating fast food for every meal can develop liver-related issues that, in turn cause a buildup of toxins the body such that the brain is bathed in ammonia that produces inflammation and then, of course, poor behavior and even mental illness. Certain types of low-level infection causes ADHD symptoms, but not every child has ADHD as a result of low-level infection. Alexander, the other child we talk about here who was able to overcome ADHD quickly with nothing but Mucuna pruriens and supportive nutrients, clearly did not have an infection. His issues were caused by the fact that he’d been given prescription stimulants since he was only 3 years old and his dopamine receptors were wilted and “burnt out”.
It might be tempting to seek out diagnoses for low-level infection, but because most of the medicinal agents that we recommend are non-toxic, and broad-spectrum, there’s no need to waste time or money on diagnostics. Either the treatments will work or they won’t. If symptoms diminish in response to treatment with the Cinchona officinalis protocol, for example, then there’s likely an underlying infection. If not, infection may not be an issue in that case.
Nonetheless, a person (child or adult) with ADHD develops a deficiency of dopamine for one underlying reason or another which then causes them to have trouble making wise food choices for themselves or wise choices about friend-groups, or love-interests. A downward spiral typically ensues as a result. ADHD kids and adults consistently will choose foods or friends or situations that cause a RELEASE of dopamine but that contribute nothing to the PRODUCTION of dopamine in the first place.The result is a downward spiral of impulsivity and mental health issues.
Trauma is, of course, also relevant here because when dopamine receptors are not functioning properly for one reason or another, trauma builds up in the body. Dopamine is necessary in order for our body’s felt sense experience in the world, to pass through into the left, logical brain so that a person can analyze it and use that experience to make healthy decisions. We experience things with our 5 senses using the body to do that. We also experience emotions in the body. This is why we describe different emotions in terms that involve the body, for example: broken heartedness, gut-wrenching emotions, etc. But the body (we refer to the body also as the “right hemisphere of the brain”), doesn’t have logic or words. The body depends on the left-hemisphere of the brain and dopamine to put words to an experience. Dopamine helps the right-hemisphere of the brain / the body communicate with the left-hemisphere of the brain so that we can think about and analyze our personal experiences and make decisions on the basis of this personal experience. Without this type of analysis, we are dependent on other people to make decisions for us whether we agree with their decisions or not.
Click here to do a free trial of EMDR to Release Trauma.
Once trauma gets stored in the body, we have to release it somehow or else the trauma “dances” the body. The body must “dance” so as to communicate with the left, logical hemisphere of the brain that there’s a problem – trauma is stored in the body and it needs to be released. This “dancing” might be experienced as a physical discomfort like restlessness or it might be experienced as negative emotional content that’s out of place, such as depression or anxiety in situations when a person should be relatively happy and relaxed. This is where sacred medicines like psilocybin become essential as a medicine that connects the mind with the body. Psilocybin and Mucuna pruriens work fluently together to heal the brain and rewire neurological networks that have developed as a result of trauma exposure followed by an inability to release the trauma naturally through dreams and Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. So the problem is, how can you RELEASE dopamine if your brain has not PRODUCED dopamine that can be released naturally in the first place?The PRODUCTION of dopamine inside the neurons depends on having the raw materials (Mucuna pruriens and/or amino acids plus supportive nutrients that ensure that the body can process those raw materials. Once the dopamine is produced in the brain, it can be RELEASED by neurons whenever a person needs to make a decision or whenever that person receives a reward or a punishment (so that he/she can make wise decisions in the future about behaviors and experiences). But there are also natural substances like caffeine that cause the brain to release dopamine too. Many people use caffeine to help them be more effective at their work because caffeine does allow us to release dopamine on command, making us better at decision making at a specific time of the day of our choosing. But taking too much caffeine can lead to a feeling of being “wired” if we reduce our dopamine stores too much. This feeling (which resembles in some ways, Parkinson’s Disease) is the feeling of being deficient in dopamine. This “wired” feeling is what causes ADHD patients to act out, lose self-control, become unfocused and make poor decisions for themselves.
Click here to buy the book Cure ADHD Now.
Caffeine for ADHD
In order for caffeine to work properly to control ADHD naturally, (in either adults or children), there must be an adequate supply of dopamine in the brain. If the brain is fully stocked with dopamine (because you take amino acid supplements like L-tyrosine or L-phenylalanine or because you take Mucuna pruriens which contains the natural dopamine precursor L-dopa) each day, then caffeine will work smoothly most of the time to promote dopamine release without leading to the “wired” dopamine-deficient feeling and ADHD behaviors. Though many researchers believe that it’s the massive release of dopamine into the synapse that causes methamphetamine addiction, the more Lydi and I study dopamine scientifically and the results that scientists report from administration of Mucuna pruriens or L-tyrosine / L-phenylalanine (amino acids that convert to dopamine) for dopamine-related illness suggests that the most pressing problem underlying damage to the dopamine receptors is dopamine “drought”. The model that we use to work with dopamine-related health issues centers around the idea that dopamine “waters” the brain (specifically the dopamine neurons which work with other types of neurons as well). Dopamine receptors are like flowers that grow in the synapse between the neuron that stores the dopamine and the neurons that sends an impulse as a result of dopamine interacting with the receptors. The dopamine receptors, when there are plenty of them that are healthy and functioning properly, make it easier for a person to think and make wise decisions for themselves on the basis of their personal experience.
Click here to buy Caffeine Pills.
I think of the dopamine neurons on the releasing side of the synaptic gap like a watering can. The dopamine receptors on the other, receiving side of the synaptic gap, are like flowers. If the watering can gets low, you can still try to pour water out of the watering can but nothing will happen if there’s no dopamine/water in the can. You can still use energy trying to pour water into the synapse from the releasing neuron. When dopamine receptors on the receiving side of the synaptic gap are not exposed to dopamine regularly at the times when they need dopamine, they wither and dry up just like flowers in a garden.
On the other hand, if you regularly put dopamine / water into the watering can, the dopamine receptors are regularly “watered” with dopamine and they grow and thrive. A person who regularly waters their dopamine receptor flowers may find it easier to make wise decisions for themselves than a person who is low on dopamine from time to time. A natural dopamine releasing agent like caffeine could, theoretically be overapplied, causing an over-watering of the dopamine receptor flowers, of course. A person who, for example, drinks coffee to try to stay up all night every night will eventually have mental health issues if they don’t eventually fall sleep.
So caffeine and other natural dopamine-releasing agents have to be used in moderation, but they won’t be addictive if the watering can (dopamine neurons) stays fully charged with plenty of dopamine-water.
Click here to subscribe to the Living Database!
Unnatural, synthetic stimulants that release dopamine can cause damage and disorder in this process of dopamine production, release, and during the subsequent interaction of dopamine with the dopamine receptors on the other side of the synaptic gap. Synthetic molecules are not typically developed by Big Pharma because they work better than natural molecules that are found in nature, but rather because synthetic molecules can be patented and as such, they are more profitable than natural molecules. So these synthetic molecules in stimulants used to treat ADHD can cause damage that doesn’t become apparent until years after the first dose of the medicine. By this time, it is hard for patients to prove that it was the ADHD drug that caused damage to their brain.
So for people who are wise enough to think of using caffeine, particularly pure caffeine (not caffeine that is combined with sugar or artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or colors, for example) along with Mucuna pruriens (an herb that works the best to treat ADHD) or amino acids like L-tyrosine or L-phenylalanine instead of prescription stimulants for ADHD, I congratulate you. Be aware that amino acids take about 24 hours longer to begin working than Mucuna pruriens. Don’t begin taking caffeine until you’ve taken Mucuna pruriens or L-tyrosine or L-phenylalanine for at least a week to give your dopamine receptor “flowers” time to be fully hydrated. You may find that you don’t often need or want to take caffeine after you take Mucuna pruriens or amino acids for a few months.
The Mucuna pruriens Protocol: Overcome Dementia, Addiction, ADHD, Mood and Mental Health Disorders
Mucuna pruriens should be taken every 4 hours at a dose of 1500 mg. Take a total of 6000 mg per day if you suffer from ADHD. You’ll begin noticing the effect of Mucuna on your mood and focus within 4 hours after the first dose. Be sure to take Mucuna or amino acids with the other supporting nutrients that allow it to be converted into dopamine in the body.
L-tyrosine is the best choice for treating ADHD and should be taken every 4 hours at 1500 mg, but you won’t begin to notice the effects for up to 24 hours after you begin taking it because it must be converted into the natural dopamine precursor amino acid (L-dopa)that is already present in Mucuna. L-phenylalanine is another amino acid that also converts eventually into dopamine, but it takes even longer than L-tyrosine to be converted into dopamine in the brain. Be sure to take L-tyrosine or L-phenylalanine with other the other essential supporting nutrients that are necessary to convert the amino acids into dopamine in the brain. L-Tyrosine is the best choice for treating ADHD and should be taken every 4 hours at 1500 mg, but you won’t begin to notice the effects for up to 24 hours after you begin taking it because it must be converted into the natural dopamine precursor amino acid that is already present in Mucuna. L-Phenylalanine is another amino acid that also converts eventually into dopamine, but it takes even longer than L-Tyrosine to be converted into dopamine in the brain. Be sure to take L-Tyrosine or L-Phenylalanine with other the other essential supporting nutrients that are necessary to convert the amino acids into dopamine in the brain.
Use caffeine in moderation. Many coffee products contain mold that can cause a negative reaction in some people so it’s best to use a pure caffeine product at first to avoid this potential mold problem. And again, give yourself at least 1 week of Mucuna-therapy before you add caffeine into the mix if you or your child suffers from ADHD. A lot of people find that once they start taking Mucuna or L-tyrosine that they don’t even crave caffeine or other stimulants because they feel very normal. Some people worry that they’ll feel “wired” when taking Mucuna or L-tyrosine, but quite the opposite happens! These two supplements cause people to “feel like themselves”--neither wired, nor sluggish, which is a welcome relief to most people!
The Renegade Parent's Guide to Children's Health and Healing: Encyclopedia of Herbal Remedies
Resources
Vázquez, J. C. et al. (2022). Effects of Caffeine Consumption on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Treatment: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies. Retrieved February 13, 2026 from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8875377/
