Natural Brain Support for ADHD in Adults
Episode Summary
Colin Renaud, PA-C and Dr. Sasha Rose focus this episode on adult ADHD, a topic they say is often overlooked because most people associate attention issues only with children. They start by addressing the stigma that gets attached to ADHD early in life and reframe it as an issue of executive function, attention regulation, and neurotransmitter signaling (mostly dopamine and norepinephrine) rather than a lack of intelligence or willpower. From a functional medicine lens, they walk through the root-cause factors they see most often: blood sugar swings, nutrient deficiencies, gut health and the gut-brain axis, poor sleep, chronic stress, screen overstimulation, and hormone changes. They explain why eating protein and healthy fats at breakfast helps stabilize blood sugar, how leaky gut and inflammation can drive brain fog, and why sleep is foundational before other interventions can work. The providers also cover the estrogen-dopamine connection in women and the effect of low testosterone on motivation and mental clarity in men. They discuss supportive supplements such as L-theanine, magnesium, rhodiola, and phosphatidylserine, stress the importance of personalized dosing and drug-herb interaction safety, and close with breathwork and a rapid true-or-false myth-busting round.
Key Topics
- 1
Why ADHD persists into adulthood and often goes undiagnosed
- 2
Reducing the stigma and shame attached to an ADHD diagnosis
- 3
The role of dopamine and norepinephrine in attention and motivation
- 4
Blood sugar regulation, spikes and crashes, and their effect on focus
- 5
Eating protein and healthy fats to stabilize energy and mood
- 6
The gut-brain axis, leaky gut, and inflammation as root-cause factors
- 7
Sleep as a foundation for attention and neurotransmitter balance
- 8
Hormones and ADHD: the estrogen-dopamine link in women and low testosterone in men
- 9
Supportive supplements and the importance of personalized dosing
- 10
Breathwork and nervous system regulation techniques
Quotable Moments
“Ritalin deficiency is not a thing. Adderall deficiency is not a thing.”
“It's not inherent intelligence or lack of.”
“If somebody's going to get one thing from this podcast episode, ideally it would be eat a breakfast that has protein in it.”
“You can't out exercise a bad diet, but you can't really ignore or medicate good sleep.”
“ADHD is not a lack of potential. It's not a lack of intelligence. The brain needs the right things to function.”
Treatments Mentioned
FAQ
Brain Health FAQ
Yes. The providers explain that most adults dealing with ADHD were likely dealing with it as children, even if it was never formally diagnosed. In adults it often shows up as internal restlessness, brain fog, and feeling overwhelmed rather than the visible hyperactivity people associate with kids.
No. Colin Renaud, PA-C and Dr. Sasha Rose are clear that ADHD is not about intelligence, willpower, or discipline. It relates to executive function and the signaling of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine, and they spend time peeling away the stigma and shame that often gets attached to it.
Spikes and crashes in blood sugar make attention, executive function, and mood much harder to maintain. The providers recommend eating a breakfast with protein and adding healthy fats to carbohydrates, for example pairing an apple with a little cheese or nut butter, to slow glucose absorption and keep energy more sustained.
Most serotonin is produced in the gut, and the makeup of the gut microbiome influences neurotransmitter production and inflammation. Issues like leaky gut, infections, or bacterial overgrowth can trigger inflammation that signals back and forth between the gut and brain, contributing to brain fog and inattention.
Yes. Dr. Rose describes how estrogen supports dopamine sensitivity, so drops during puberty, the premenstrual phase, and perimenopause can worsen symptoms in women. Colin Renaud, PA-C notes that low or suboptimal testosterone in men is often tied to low motivation, mood changes, and slower mental sharpness.
The providers mention options like L-theanine, magnesium, rhodiola, phosphatidylserine, lion's mane, and passiflora, chosen based on how symptoms present for each person. They stress that dosing and timing must be personalized and that working with a clinician matters for safety, including watching for drug-herb interactions such as serotonin syndrome.
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