Mental Illness Can be Reversed or Significantly Improved with Orthomolecular (Nutritional) Medicine

How many thousands of families, just like mine, have been devastated by a loved one’s mental illness that could have so easily have been corrected, or even prevented?

Over the past several decades thousands all over the world have recovered from serious mental illnesses using orthomolecular medicine which is specific nutrients given in high doses.

You can find their stories in books, magazines and online.

Don’t believe anyone who says mental illness is incurable such as conventional psychiatrists.  They are not taught nutrition and do not know the signs of nutritional deficiencies.  Sadly, their only tools are talk therapy and drugs.  Search for a Naturopathic doctor or other biological/functional medicine focused practitioner who has an interest in mental illness and knows the most appropriate lab tests and treatment plan.

Obviously, humans don’t develop health conditions because of a drug deficiency.  Physical and mental illness are often caused by deficiencies in specific nutrients required for specific processes in the body.  Different nutrients are needed to make the intricate chemical pathways and systems in the body work.  The lack of specific nutrients disrupts our cellular physiology causing the body’s processes to fail.  Normal hormone production, detoxification, immune function, tissue regeneration, muscle building, join repair, wound healing, cellular energy production, digestion, oxygenation and neurotransmitter (chemical messengers in the brain) function are then compromised.  Our food and water are supposed to supply these necessary nutrients, this “fuel”, however, they no longer do.  Minerals are missing from our non-composted, non-crop rotated soils and from our chlorinated water.

Sub-clinical Pellagra is a common cause of ADHD, schizophrenia, hyperactive learning disorder in children, Hunntingtons / Senile Psychosis, alcoholism and depression.  This is a vitamin B3 (niacin) and amino acid (unit of protein) deficiency.  Sub-clinical means a slight deficiency but enough to cause symptoms which continue worsen if the deficiency is not corrected through supplementation.

Pellagra was first discovered in the early 1900s, a time when schizophrenia was rampant, especially in the southern US.  Millions of these unfortunate people were committed to mental institutions and many of them died there. Scientists then made a remarkable discovery: they found if they gave these patients Niacin (vitamin B3), many got well and could be sent home.  The scientists found that if they increased the dose, many more recovered and went home.  They decided that those who responded to niacin didn’t really have schizophrenia; they had pellagra.  Those who didn’t respond were considered to have “true” schizophrenia.  We now know that if the scientists had increased the dose, many more would have recovered. 

Sub-clinical Symptoms of pellagra:  dementia or any form of mental disorder, dermatitis (eczema or other skin problems) on sun exposed areas of the skin, diarrhea or soft stool and eventual death when Niacin deficiency goes untreated and full-blown pellagra develops.

The reason so many in the southern states had a Niacin deficiency is they ate a diet primarily of corn which depletes the body of niacin unless it is eaten with vitamin C (lime or lemon juice) or unless it is treated with lye as in South America.

Also, a tryptophan deficiency, is present in pellagra.  Tryptophan can be supplemented as 5-HTP (5-hydroxy-tryptophan), available in health stores.

Mental issues, skin issues and diarrhea resolve once the niacin and tryptophan go to work.

Today, how many people suffering with irritability and tension turn to marijuana, alcohol and other drugs and how many substance-abusers, inmates, homeless and/or jobless are really suffering from undiagnosed pellagra (niacin and tryptophan deficiency) while the medical establishment continues to claim Pellagra doesn’t exist?

When a person with these symptoms sees a conventional doctor or psychiatrist they are given an antipsychotic drug for their mental issues, a cortisone cream for their dermatitis, and another drug to stop the diarrhea.  North American psychiatrists are not taught to look for pellagra nor how to treat it as they are educated by the pharmaceutical industry and not taught nutrition.  I am convinced conventional doctors have forgotten their physiology, specifically the nutrients required for chemical pathways to function.  The College of Physicians and Surgeons and Psychiatry Associations do not allow doctors to prescribe nutrients as this would treat the cause and eliminate the need for more drug sales.

WHY ARE WE DEFICIENT?

Let’s see… where do we get Niacin?  Niacin is found in the husks of whole grains (except for corn), legumes, beans, milk and avocados. 

What is the general population eating?  White bread, white pasta, sugar, pop, burgers, fries, pizza, fancy sugar-laden drinks, all forms of processed food, etc….What types of foods did our ancestors eat?  Produce grown in their gardens, berries,  fruit from their orchards and meat and eggs they raised on their farms.  Our genes are the same as our ancestors and our bodies require the same levels of nutrients that our ancestors consumed.  The problem is our (fast) food has morphed into a high calorie, low/ no nutrient, chemically-laden waste material.

“Enriched” flour does not contain enough niacin for people who require higher amounts depending on their unique biochemical needs.  Enriched means all the nutrition is stripped from the flour because that is what goes rancid first, then a minute amount of niacin and other nutrients are added back in.

Many North Americans subsist mostly on junk food devoid of niacin and other nutrients, or they have an adequate diet but their body is unable to extract niacin (or other B vitamins) from their food due to allergies, Candida overgrowth, genetics and other factors.

As mental symptoms progress due to worsening nutrient deficiencies, the child (or adult) moves ever closer to being diagnosed as “bipolar with psychosis” or “schizophrenic” when it may be their pellagra progressing from sub-clinical to full-blown pellagra.

Sub-clinical people with Pellagra (Pellagrins) may also show signs of Neurasthenia: easy fatigability, lack of motivation, feelings of inadequacy, insomnia, vertigo, burning sensation in various parts of the body, numbness, palpitation, nervousness, feeling of unrest, anxiety, headaches, forgetfulness, apprehension, distractibility, incapable of physical or mental effort. 

In studies, the majority of pellagrins have:  dizziness, irritability, stomach upsets, flight of ideas, inability to get along with others in school or at home, all of which promptly disappear by supplementing niacin.

A deficiency of B vitamins (chiefly B3 and B6) activates a basic animal reflex for increased activity when hungry.  Hyperactive children are literally constantly running, looking for more (B vitamins) in food.  In adults, this reflex may lead to increased food intake and some adults cannot tolerate inactivity, are constantly on the move, restless and tense unless under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

Often the teen with ADHD becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol by trying to self-medicate their underlying pellagra.  They may also have pyrroles in their urine – a marker of oxidative stress causing mental effects, histamine imbalance, copper overload, adrenal hormone (adrenochrome) overload or something else.

When pellagra occurs in the elderly it is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s.  If it occurs in mid-life it is misdiagnosed as “early onset Alzheimer’s”

Food Allergies can cause mental illness.  Symptoms of food allergies are:  dark circles, bags or wrinkles under eyes, runny nose, post-nasal drip, cough, red ears and bed wetting (in children).  Dairy and wheat are common allergens. “Cerebral allergies” as in ADHD are allergic reactions in the brain caused by food allergies.

To test food allergies, take your pulse rate after eating a suspected food allergen. If allergic, the pulse rises above 80 beats per minute.  If it is always high, you are reacting to something in your environment.  It’s important to determine the cause and treat it.

Panic attack-like symptoms of a racing heart after eating something is a food allergy.  We are often addicted to the foods we are allergic/sensitive to, and we usually eat them daily.  Food addictions have the same characteristics of relief on exposure and the emergence of delayed reactions as addiction to tobacco, narcotics, or alcohol.  Addictions can be converted to allergic reactions by a four-day break from the problem food.  Avoid dairy first for four days, then have a small amount and notice if you have any allergic symptoms.  If someone eats wheat every day, they may not be aware they are allergic to it.  But, by avoiding it for four days and then reintroducing it, they will find out if it is in fact an allergen.  If it is, it needs to be avoided and/ or treated.

Studies show that 5-10% of schizophrenics or psychotics are due to an intolerance of wheat gluten.  Symptoms of this allergy may be ringing in the ears, crankiness and/ or fatigue.  After a 4-day wheat-free diet, the skin will look better, dark circles under the eyes disappear and crankiness improves if this is the culprit.  If wheat is eaten again, the symptoms will return.  Besides wheat and dairy, other common allergens are: eggs, nuts, red food dye, soy, and corn.

Dr. Hoffer in his more than 50 years in treating schizophrenia, found there is a high correlation between dairy allergies and mental health issues since milk and cheese prevent zinc absorption leading to elevated copper.  High copper levels cause a mental imbalance. A hair analysis will determine copper and other toxic levels as well as mineral deficiencies.  Many children with ADD love milk and cheese and consume it often.  If a child is “spacey”, unable to focus except on something exciting like video games or has other typical ADD or ADHD symptoms, they may be having an allergic brain reaction to something they are eating on a regular basis.

If a child has many allergies, they may be deficient in vitamin B6. Fatigue, constant whining and fits of anger can be signs of an allergy.  B6 works well to treat food and environmental allergies and asthma. 

Dairy, wheat, apples and eggs are foods we tend to eat regularly that may be causing an allergic reaction leading to these mental effects.  For children with ADD, parents should determine which foods are problematic and avoid and/or treat the allergies and avoid exposing their child to preservatives including “benzoic acid” in potato chips and other junk food as these are brain-altering, aggravating chemicals.

If a person has a brain/ mental reaction caused by allergies, their histamine will be high.

5-HTP is a precursor, meaning it makes serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that allows us to feel good, happy, relaxed and satiated.  5-HTP can calm a person within 10 minutes if a deficiency in tryptophan is the issue.  A Naturopathic doctor or other practitioner trained in such therapy can help to get the dose right for all required nutrients including 5-HTP.