Brain food

In the July, 2008 issue of the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience, UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science Fernando Gómez-Pinilla summarizes the latest findings concerning the effects of various foods on the brain, noting that some foods have a drug-like effect. "Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain," Dr Gómez-Pinilla stated.
"Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function. This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of aging."
In an analysis of over 160 studies, omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA, and ALA) emerged as significant dietary compounds to enhance learning and memory, and prevent mental disorders. "Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal brain function,” Dr Gómez-Pinilla observed. “Dietary deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in humans has been associated with increased risk of several mental disorders, including attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids in rodents results in impaired learning and memory." Continue Reading

Nutrition and Your Mental Health

Nutrition and Your Mental Health

What does nutrition have to do with mental health? You might be surprised to find out the truth behind what happens when a person has a nutritional deficiency.

Nutritional deficiencies can cause all sorts of psychiatric symptoms including apathy, low energy, irritability, insomnia, low energy, agitation, fatigue, concentration problems, aches and pains, weight changes, including weight loss or weight gain. Sound a lot like the symptoms of depression? The truth is the average American diet of fast food is low in vital nutrition that you need for your body to function correctly.

This isn't to say that all depression is caused by bad nutrition but it's certainly a contributing factor in many cases and poor nutrition will always make depression worse. Antidepressant drugs also do not correct nutritional problems. So if your depressed because of nutritional problems an antidepressant will only partially cover up the problem and you body still won't function correctly.




Please visit Natalie's website at

http://www.nutritionbynatalie.com

To find out more about orthomolecular psychiatry visit,

http://orthomolecular.org/index.shtml

This video was produced by Psychetruth

http://www.myspace.com/psychtruth
http://www.youtube.com/psychetruth
http://www.livevideo.com/psychetruth

© Copyright 2007 Zoe Sofia. All Rights Reserved.

DEPRESSION, MENTAL ILLNESS CURED WITH NUTRITION

Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 7, 2005

Mental Health Treatment That Works
(OMNS) Doctors report that mental health problems including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, anti-social and learning disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders often have a common cause: insufficient nutrients in the brain. Nutritionally-oriented physicians assert that the cure for these problems is to give the body the extra nutrients it needs, especially when under abnormal stress.

Orthomolecular medical researchers say the future of psychiatry is in nutrition because nutrition has such a long, safe and effective history of correcting many mental problems. Nutrients such as the B-vitamins are most successful when taken regularly, taken in relatively high doses, and taken in conjunction with vitamin C, the essential fatty acids (EFA’s), and the minerals magnesium and selenium.

A summary of what has worked for many people follows below. The safety of vitamins and minerals is extraordinary, and the expense of trying them is much less than the cost of hazardous pharmaceutical drugs. These nutrients can be purchased in a discount or heath store.

Taking 1,000 mg of vitamin B-3 three times a day often cures mild to moderate depression. Dramatic results are often achieved within one week of beginning this nutritional program, especially in alcoholics. (1)

Sometimes a simple deficiency of vitamin D causes depression. 3,000 I.U./day from all sources can alleviate the problem. (2)

3,000 mg/day or more of niacin (vitamin B-3), along with the same quantity of vitamin C, taken in divided doses throughout the day can successfully treat both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. (3)

Vitamins B-3, B-6, C and the minerals magnesium and zinc frequently produce a good response in ADHD and autistic children. (4)

Vitamins B-6, folate, and B-12 taken together lower elevated homocysteine levels in the elderly while improving mental function. (5)

As pointed out by chemistry professor and vitamin discoverer Roger J. Williams, PhD (6), each individual has different nutritional needs and responds differently to nutrients. Are you tired of being depressed, suffering from anxiety, paying huge prescription drug bills for unsafe prescriptions that don’t solve the problem or produce undesirable side effects? Are you tired of the piece-meal trial and error approach to finding a solution to your mental or emotional problems? If so, adults should consider the following nutritional protocol, which will bathe your brain and nerves in natural nutrients and may well produce dramatic results. The cost of trying the program below is less than the cost of a typical doctor’s office visit. It is safe and convenient. All of these nutrients can be purchased at large discount stores. Continue reading >>

Treatment Protocol for Alcoholism

A Message from Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.:

"Ever since I met Bill W, the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous and we became close friends, I have had a personal interest in the treatment of alcoholism.

Bill taught that there were three components to the treatment of alcoholism: spiritual, mental and medical. AA provided a spiritual home for alcoholics that many could not find anywhere else and helped them sustain abstinence. But for many AA alone was not enough; not everyone in AA had achieved a comfortable sobriety. Bill recognized that the other two components were important. When he heard of our use of niacin for treating alcoholics, he became very enthusiastic about it because niacin gave these unfortunate patients immense relief from their chronic depression and other physical and mental complaints.

"Niacin is the most important single treatment for alcoholism, and it is one of the most reliable treatments. And it is safe, much safer than any of the modern psychiatric drugs. Niacin does not work as well when alcoholics are still drinking but in a few cases it has decreased the intake of alcohol until they were abstinent. This conclusion is based on the work my colleagues and I have done since 1953.

"I know of many alcoholics who did not want to stop drinking, but did agree to take niacin. Over the years, they gradually were able to reduce their intake until they brought it under control. Some alcoholics can even become social drinkers on a very small scale. I have not found many who could. But I think that if started on the program very early, many more could achieve normalcy. I suspect that treatment centers using those ideas will be made available one day, and will be much more successful than the standard treatment today. This all too often still consists of dumping them into hospitals and letting them dry out, with severe pain and suffering. When they are discharged, most go right back to the alcohol, the most dangerous and widely used street drug available without a prescription. Continue reading >>

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND SEVEN OTHER GIANTS OF MEDICINE INDUCTED INTO THE ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE HALL OF FAME

(Toronto, May 14, 2005) Eight giants in the field of medicine, who were advocates of the use of nutrition in the treatment of cancer, were inducted in the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame on May 14, 2005 at a special reception held at the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa, Canada.

The annual induction ceremony is one of the highlights at The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM) 34th Annual International Conference, Nutritional Medicine Today, which this year met in Canada's capital and at which leading physicians and scientists from around the world gather to discuss ground-breaking studies in nutritional medicine, cardiovascular disease, oncology and mental health.

All inductees, whose seminal work has been influential in the medical and scientific worlds, are pioneers in their respective fields and include the Nobel Prize winner who discovered vitamin C, and numerous advocates of Vitamin C Therapy especially with respect to cancer treatment. The 2005 inductees are: Emanuel Cheraskin, MD, DMD; Max Gerson, MD; David Horrobin, MD, PhD; Josef Issels, MD; Frederick Klenner, MD; Cornelius Moerman, MD; Hugh Desaix Riordan, MD and Nobel Prize Winner Albert Szent-Gyorgi, PhD.

Although they have now passed away, their contributions to the betterment of mankind have been significant and will live long after them. Members of their families and colleagues were on hand to join in the acknowledgment and celebration of their life's work.

Dr. Cheraskin, who, for decades, headed the Department of Oral Medicine at the School of Dentistry at the University of Alabama was among the very first to recognize and demonstrate that oral health indicates total body health.

Dr. Horrobin was Medical Adviser and President of the Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain and his study of human physiology lead him to investigate the role of fatty acids and their derivatives in human disease and to investigate the therapeutic potential of lipids in medicine.

Dr. Max Gerson, began observing that cancer could be cured with nutrition in tandem with systemic detoxification. Albert Schweitzer stated that Dr. Gerson was one of the most eminent geniuses in medical history, while Prince Charles who knew of a terminally ill patient who had undergone Gerson Therapy and is alive and well remarked that "rather than dismissing such experiences, we should further investigate the beneficial nature of these treatments."

Dr. Issels also believed that good nutrition and a clean environment were central to his cancer therapy and felt that cancer was the ultimate symptom of a lifetime of immune system damage which had created an environment for a tumor to grow while conventional therapy just looked at the tumor without recognizing this longtime preconditioning period.

Dr. Klenner asserted that vitamin C is the safest substance available to the physician and was the first doctor to emphasize that small amounts of ascorbic acid do not work and that only adequate uses and huge doses of vitamin C will provide results.

Dr. Moerman's name remains symbolic in the Netherlands as a leader in nutritional therapy for the treatment of cancer as he also believed that strengthening the immune system by proper nutrition was the answer to this disease.

Dr. Hugh Riordan was the first to demonstrate how large doses of vitamin C are chemotherapeutic for cancer patients and his vitamin C intravenous chemotherapy studies are being continued at the University of Kansas and at McGill University in Montreal.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, PhD, won the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of vitamin C. In fact, it was he who named the vitamin ascorbic acid and first predicted its use in cancer treatment.

Last year, the first inductees to the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame included double Nobel Prize laureate LINUS PAULING, PhD; WILLIAM KAUFMAN, MD, PhD; WILLIAM J. McCORMICK, MD; EVAN SHUTE MD and WILFRID SHUTE, MD; ALAN COTT, MD; HUMPHRY OSMOND, MD; CARL PFEIFFER, MD, PhD; IRWIN STONE and ROGER J. WILLIAMS, PhD. Continue Reading >>

Vitamin C and dairy linked to less abdominal weight

An increased intake of vitamin C and dairy could reduce the accumulation of weight around the abdomen, reported to increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease, suggests a new study.

Over 900 Iranian women aged between 40 and 60 years were found to have more central fat accumulation if their intakes of vitamin C, calcium, and dairy are low.

Indeed, low vitamin C intake was associated with a 131 per cent increase in probability of central fat accumulation, while low calcium increased the probability by 30 per cent.

The study, published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, looks set to continue the debate about whether dairy foods can promote weight loss, and what the mechanism behind such an effect could be.

Leila Azadbakht and Ahmad Esmaillzadeh from Isfahan University of Medical Sciences used a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to evaluate dietary intakes.

They report that the possibility of being centrally obese was increased in women with low vitamin C intakes (less than 56 milligrams), low calcium intakes (less than 398 mg), and low dairy consumption.

Others factors found to adversely affect weight around the waist were depression, smoking and menopausal state.

In terms of the mechanism or mechanisms behind the apparent benefits of the nutrients, the researchers state that both the vitamin and calcium have been reported to reduce fat absorption and may reduce abdominal adiposity.

"The mechanism by which milk consumption affects obesity indices is not accurately known. Most studies have cited calcium as a responsible factor. So, an inverse relationship has been suggested between calcium intake and body weight and body fat mass in various ways. Its simple effect is the inhibition of fat and fatty acid absorption," they stated.


"However, this is not the major cause; it seems that the major effect of calcium on body weight is mediated by its effects on controlling intracellular calcium," they added.

A previous study from Purdue University claimed that young women could burn more calories if they ate three or four dairy servings per day. However another report, also from Purdue, reported that increased dairy consumption had no effect on weight gain or loss.

On the other hand, Dr. Michael Zemel from the University of Tennessee told attendees at last year's Paris Anti-Obesity Therapies 2006 conference that dairy can help reduce body fat and that calcium only accounts for about 40 per cent of the effect.

Dairy industries in Europe and the US have been promoting milk-based products for consumers who want to slim for some time but the new findings underline that further work needs to be done to support such claims.

A diet low in dairy foods has been linked to an increased risk of accumulating fat

Indeed, the results have been welcomed by the UK-based Dairy Council. The council's director Dr. Judith Bryans said: "These results are exciting, as a number of other scientific studies have also suggested a possible link between regular consumption of low fat dairy foods and weight loss, particularly from the waist area.

"This study simply highlights the importance of a healthy lifestyle including plenty of physical and mental activity, and a diet that incorporates a good balance of all food groups, including dairy," she said.

Source: Public Health Nutrition
Doi: 10.1017/S1368980007000882
"Dietary and non-dietary determinants of central adiposity among Tehrani women"
Authors: L. Azadbakht and A. Esmaillzadeh

Treatment Protocol for Alcoholism

A Message from Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.:

"Ever since I met Bill W, the cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous and we became close friends, I have had a personal interest in the treatment of alcoholism. Bill taught that there were three components to the treatment of alcoholism: spiritual, mental and medical. AA provided a spiritual home for alcoholics that many could not find anywhere else and helped them sustain abstinence.

But for many AA alone was not enough; not everyone in AA had achieved a comfortable sobriety. Bill recognized that the other two components were important. When he heard of our use of niacin for treating alcoholics, he became very enthusiastic about it because niacin gave these unfortunate patients immense relief from their chronic depression and other physical and mental complaints.

"Niacin is the most important single treatment for alcoholism, and it is one of the most reliable treatments. And it is safe, much safer than any of the modern psychiatric drugs. Niacin does not work as well when alcoholics are still drinking but in a few cases it has decreased the intake of alcohol until they were abstinent. This conclusion is based on the work my colleagues and I have done since 1953.

"I know of many alcoholics who did not want to stop drinking, but did agree to take niacin. Over the years, they gradually were able to reduce their intake until they brought it under control. Some alcoholics can even become social drinkers on a very small scale. I have not found many who could. But I think that if started on the program very early, many more could achieve normalcy. I suspect that treatment centers using those ideas will be made available one day, and will be much more successful than the standard treatment today. This all too often still consists of dumping them into hospitals and letting them dry out, with severe pain and suffering. When they are discharged, most go right back to the alcohol, the most dangerous and widely used street drug available without a prescription.

"Orthomolecular treatment is the treatment of choice. The following protocol for alcoholism outlines the importance of the nutritional factors that have been shown to be very successful on treating this condition. The treatment can be used alone but is best combined with dietary advice and additional nutrients."

The late Dr. Roger Williams, a chemistry professor at the University of Texas and former president of the American Chemical Society, also wrote extensively on the alcoholism.[1] Dr. Williams recommended large doses of vitamins and an amino acid called L-glutamine.
What should the alcoholic do to help stop drinking and return his or her body to normal functioning? Supply the following nutrients to the body:

* Vitamin C to saturation (on the order of 10,000 to 20,000 mg per day and more). High doses of vitamin C chemically neutralize the toxic breakdown products of alcohol metabolism. Vitamin C also increases the liver's ability to reverse the fatty build-up so common in alcoholics.

* To titrate to saturation, take 1000 mg of vitamin C every hour. When saturation is reached, there will be a single episode of diarrhea; then reduce the dosage to 1000 mg every four hours.
* A B50-complex tablet (comprising 50 mg of each of the major B-vitamins, 6 times daily).

* L-Glutamine (2000 or 3000 mg). L-Glutamine is an amino acid that decreases physiological cravings for alcohol. It is one the two primary energy providers that burn glycogen to provide fuel to the brain and stimulates many neurofunctions. L- Glutamine is naturally produced in the liver and kidneys. Alcohol harms the kidneys and liver, thus supplementation is vital (concurrently reducing cravings for sugar and alcohol).

* Lecithin (2 to 4 tablespoons daily). Provides inositol and choline, related to the B-complex. Lecithin also helps mobilize fats out of the liver.

* Chromium (at least 200 to perhaps 400 mcg chromium polynicotinate daily). Chromium greatly reduces carbohydrate mis-metabolism, and greatly helps control blood sugar levels. Many, if not most, alcoholics are hypoglycemic.

* A good high-potency multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplement as well, containing magnesium (400 mg) and the antioxidants carotene and d-alpha tocopherol.

In summary, the alcoholic’s body needs the proper nutrients in adequate quantities to return to normal metabolic functioning. The above nutrients are safe, effective, inexpensive and available from discount stores or health food stores without prescription. There is not even one death per year from vitamins. Pharmaceutical drugs, properly prescribed and taken as directed, kill over 100,000 Americans annually. Hospital errors kill still more. Most illness is due fundamentally to malnutrition. This not only includes the chronic diseases, but also viral and bacterial acute illness, which are greatly aggravated by inadequate nutrition. Supplements are not the problem; they are the solution. Malnutrition is the problem.

Editorial Review Board:
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D. Harold D. Foster, Ph.D. Bradford Weeks, M.D. Carolyn Dean, M.D. N.D. Eric Patterson, M.D.Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D.

References;
1, Williams, RJ, Roach, MK, "Impaired and inadequate glucose metabolism in the brain as an underlying cause of alcoholism--an hypothesis.", Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 August; 56(2): 566-571.

ACT FOR HEALTH FREEDOM NOW: Go to http://www.friendsoffreedominternational.org/ and purchase "Death by Modern Medicine" and view and purchase the new movie on Codex and Free Trade called "We Become Silent" by Kevin Miller. Proceeds from the sale of these products are crucial to help fund our health freedom action. For state action go to:

http://www.nationalhealthfreedom.org/ . To support HR 4282, the new Health Freedom Protection Act bill that we talked about in our November 7, 2005 article in News With Views “A Call to Action to Protect Free Speech” go to: www.stopfdacensorship.org and send a letter to Congress.

Mental Disorders as Molecular Disease, Linus Pauling

Mental Disorders as Molecular Disease, Linus Pauling

Schizophrenia and Orthomolecular Medicine

For 30 years the Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation has provided vital information, support and hope for effectively treating schizophrenia and related disorders.

What is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is not a split personality. It refers to a group of biochemical diseases which can affect a person physically, mentally and emotionally.

Schizophrenia can change the way a person hears, sees, tastes, think
and feels. Some studies have shown that the predisposition to schizophrenia is inherited. It affects one to three percent of the population and strikes mainly young people in all walks of life.

What Causes Schizophrenia? Some professionals blame fathers, mothers, society or environment. However, scientific evidence indicates that schizophrenia is caused by errors in body chemistry.

What are the Danger Signals? Schizophrenia can have symptoms which are similar to other illnesses and disorders. It is therefore necessary to see a competent physician if schizophrenia is suspected. The following are some of the most common complaints that persons with schizophrenia have:

• Extreme fatigue and feeling of weakness
• Dffficulty in concentrating and getting organized
• Loss of interest, withdrawal
• Depression unrelated to life circumstances
• Vague fears and anxieties
• Changes in sight, hearing, touch, taste or smell
• Change in character or behaviour
• Headaches
• Insomnia

How is it Diagnosed?

There is a great difference of opinion as to what constitutes schizophrenia and considerable variety in its diagnosis. Persons with schizophrenia or their relatives are often told the patient is emotionally disturbed, has had a nervous breakdown, has an immature personality, or is retarded. Unfortunately, no matter what terms are used, the majority do not get well on conventional treatments.

The principal method "used in diagnosing is clinical observation by the doctor. Avery useful psychological test, the Hoffer Osmond Diagnostic Tbst, which can be administered easily and quickly, has been developed to help in diagnosis.

How in Schizophrenia Treated? If left untreated, there is a natural recovery rate of about 35%. The usual forms of treatment are tranquilizers, psychotherapy or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). There are many schools of thought and many opinions regarding the treatment of schizophrenia. It has been shown, however, that psychotherapy alone is not an effective treatment. ECT and tranquilizers may be useful as part of a good treatment program but cannot produce lasting benefits alone.

Orthomolecular treatment is reported to be effective in 80% or more of the cases and is the best treatment developed so far. This treatment usually includes a special diet, vitamins and minerals in accordance with the individual needs of the patient, and other therapeutic aids such as tranquilizers, supportive psychotherapy, and other treatments which the doctor thinks will be useful. Many persons with schizophrenia have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) and allergies which are treated.

How Does Schizophrenia Affect Society? Schizophrenia is a frightening disease which can bring about a great deal of suffering to the patients and the family and severe problems to society. Schizophrenia is an important factor in social aid and welfare costs, health care costs, employment inefficiency, impaired learning ability, alcoholism, broken homes and suicide. The average person with schizophrenia will cost one to two million dollars to society, directly and indirectly, in his/her lifetime.

What Can be Done to Control Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia will only be conquered with effective diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation is to conquer schizophrenia by:

• Informing the public about schizophrenia, its danger signals and what can be done about it.
• Helping the person with schizophrenia and the family to learn how to deal with this illness.
• Ensuring that effective diagnostic and treatment methods are instituted, and that people with schizophrenia are given a better chance of getting well than they have at present.
• Promoting research.
• Improving mental hospitals and treatment centres.

Orthomolecular Treatment
What is it? Orthomolecular treatment is defined as providing the brain and the body with the best possible biochemical environment, especially with those substances normally found in the body such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other essential molecules.

What are the Principal Components of the Treatment? Vitamins and minerals are administered according to the individual needs of patients. A good diet is considered to be an important part of the therapy. Treatment for such disorders as low blood sugar, allergies, and thyroid problems are included when necessary. Sometimes tranquilizers are used for brief periods, and other treatments and supportive therapy are included.

For Which Disorders is it Used? The orthomolecular treatment can be used for a wide variety of disorders such as schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, behaviour and learning disorders in children, problems of aging, alcoholism and addiction, arthritis, heart and circulatory problems and many other diseases.

How Can a Person Receive Orthomolecular Therapy? A physician sh6uld be consulted for all medical problems. The vitamin dosages and diet and other therapies should be regulated to suit the needs of the individual patient. If the physician is not familiar with the therapy, he can consult other physicians who are. In addition, the CSF can provide literature. Manuals for physicians are available, as well as a wealth of publications.

Are there anyAdverse Effects? The orthomolecular treatment is generally a very safe one. A small percentage of people experience some discomfort when taking vitamins, but the doctor can prescribe other forms ofthese vitamins or adjust the dose.

How Effective is Orthomolecular Treatment? In the treatment of schizophrenia, the American Schizophrenia Association Committee on Therapy reported 80% recoveries based on a follow up of 1,500 patients. Other physicians report a recovery rate of more than 75% and considerably higher in children. The orthomolecular treatment has been found to be highly effective in treating many other disorders including depression, behaviour and learning problems in children, alcoholism and problems associated with aging.

For additional information: http://www.orthomed.org/