Nutrition and Mental Health: Orthomolecular Approach to Balance Body Chemistry - Improve Mood & Cognitive Function Naturally

The author of this book, Carl Curt Pfeiffer, MD, PhD, was the Chair of the Pharmacology Department at the Emory University, which is known for its superb psychiatric research. At some point in his career, the State of New Jersey tasked him with investigating the causes of the more serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Not only do these illnesses cause huge disruptions to the lives of those so afflicted, but also are a significant burden to the taxpayer.After doing all sorts of tests - examining patients' blood and urine for unusual substances and characteristics, looking at hair mineral contents and much, much, more Dr. Pfeiffer, (and some coworkers) announced that they had made a number of breakthroughs. 30 some percent of this patient population, they announced, had a previously unknown form of Wilson's disease, a disease in which toxic copper accumulates in the brain. Another 30 some percent had a disorder in their body's ability to synthesize hemoglobin, which caused the depletion of vitamins crucial to a well-tempered brain. Another 10 or so percent had very unusual blood chemistries, yet another 10 percent or so suffered under food allergies that went undiagnosed because they only affected the brain. Dr. Pfeiffer attributed the last 10 percent to various rare or unknown causes. Even more dramatically, Pfeiffer found that all of the conditions he had discovered could be treated with nutritional supplements instead of expensive and side-effect laden medications. Interestingly enough, Ashley Bush, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, is reporting that some forms of Alzheimer's most likely are caused by the same tendency to accumulate copper that Dr. Pfeiffer identified.At the time that Pfeiffer published all this, psychiatric treatment in the United States, even for bipolar disorder, consisted of long (and costly) sessions of psychoanalysis of questionable efficacy, and strong medications. If there is a very real biological problem at the root of the illness, no amount of talking about one's early childhood or supposed repressed sexual frustrations will do the patient any good from a medical or financial point of view. Dr. Pfeiffer's findings that these illnesses had clear biological causes, and could quickly be cured by the use of nutritional supplements - that is without patented medications - and by general practitioners - was not completely welcome.The American Psychiatric Association convened a panel to investigate Dr. Pfeiffer's findings. To this day it is unclear if they got a fair hearing; one member of the panel went into it saying that even if every other psychiatrist in the United States would adopt Dr. Pfeiffer's therapies, he would refuse to believe that they worked. In any event, the panel found that there was no evidence that Dr. Pfeiffer's diagnostic or therapeutic guidelines had any validity. This is not to dispute that good intent was to be found on the panel; one of the experts, Loren Mosher, once responsible for such research at the NIH, had his own non-mainstream views on the causes of such disorders, and sacrificed his career to advance them.Curiously enough, there is a clinic in the outskirts of Chicago devoted to treating patients according to Dr. Pfeiffer's diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. Among its thousands and thousands of patients, it has managed to successfully treat 65% of its patients without medications; in another 25% they see marked improvements. Either they have some of the best placebos known to mankind, or else Dr. Pfeiffer and his co-workers were wonderful doctors whose ideas smaller-minded doctors couldn't accept.I personally suspect that some further discoveries have been made in the years since Dr. Pfeiffer and his co-workers investigated all this. Specifically, there is evidence to suggest that heavy metals can cause the unusual substances found in the urine and the unusual blood counts of which Dr. Pfeiffer wrote. All the same, his therapies appear to be incomparably better than what most doctors in the United States have to offer. If I, or one of my loved ones, labored under the illnesses Dr. Pfeiffer sought to treat, I would be sure to acquaint myself with his work, and see what relief could be obtained. This book is the perfect introduction to his findings for lay readers.This little book would be a life saver for many if they knew about it. The doctor/researcher that wrote it was well ahead of his time. When he was coming up through psychiatry, methods of treating mental illness were pretty barbaric and did not 'fix' anyone afflicted--they usually made them worse off. The author had a feeling there was something all of the psych docs and researchers were missing. His research and RESULTS from administering a nutrition-based treatment program were proof of a broken, failed mental health system. It is amazing how much we Americans are vitamin and mineral deficient. Millions here suffer unnecessarily. Our corporate-style agriculture has stripped our once fertile lands of life-sustaining vitamins and minerals. Many of us are walking around feeling like crap and our doctors just blow us off or prescribe a litany of pills. And to no avail. Few of these so-called 'medical practitioners' (yes, it is a practice, not a science) know how nutrition and mental health are so inextricably linked. Any of you with even the slightest issues with depression, anxiety, or mental health issues will tremendously benefit from owning this life-changing book. Recently, a simple mix of B-6, zinc and methionine recommended in this simple, yet sage book saved my life. And to think, allllll these years I pointlessly suffered due to doctors' ignorance, lousy agricultural practices and a lack of a vitamin, a minerals and one enzyme. Go science!!!!!!!!!Sincerely,Sir Feeling GreatEasy read just too many client storiesI know it is hard to believe for many that the right nutrition can improve your mental health. I learned this first hand through my daughter. She was able to get out of her depression state, "bipolar disorder" panic attacks and anxiety by applying nutrition principles and lifestyle changes. This book was one of multiple ones I read for guidance.This wonderful book confirms there are better measuring yardstick is than those from western medicine. You are never going to be pharmaceutical deficient- but you could be nutritionally deficient!Carl Pfeiffer is great and has a strong message about using nutrition to help or hurt us. Most people want a quick fix and no one seems to realize how helpful or harmful our diets have become, mostly because we trust what's being sold. Everyone has to be in charge of their own lives and read label, do elimination diets and find out what works best. It definitely matters if you have mental health issues what you put in your mouth. Example:, someone who is ADD, NEEDS to have fish oil tablets (with the correct dosage); and we all need to stay away from SUGAR (enemy #1) and additives, preservatives, dyes, coloring, and all the nasty chemicals they put into our foods. Shop on the outside isles.This book is VERY helpful. It is an excellent resource for practitioners who work with clients or patients who have psychiatric disorders. It gives clear treatment plans that are supported by both clinical evidence and studies. The writing flows well and is accessible. I have used the information I've learned to help several patients with psychiatric imbalances gain more peace and stability through dietary changes and nutritional supplementation, which is especially helpful when working with people who are not interested in medication.A very informative book! The author provides valuable insight on the subject. It's very refreshing to read that there is something beyond the toxic pharmaceutical crap being pushed upon society by the medical industry that has transformed already ill people into mass murderers and forced others into seclusion or an early death. Everyone should read this book whether affected by mental illness of not.It is well worth a read for anyone that suffers with their mental health, or has friends/relatives that do. It was written in 1987 but I imagine majority of content still very helpful. I would hope that mental health workers read this type of book and find out about Orthomolecular Medicine!This was a very informative book and I wonder why an Orthomolecular approach isn't tried more often for patients who are are in need.Absolutely brilliant, it has helped a friend of mine and it really does explain about diet and how it affects your mental health.Very good introduction into orthomolecular nutritionTesto basato su opinioni ed esperienze dell'autore non validate scientificamente che pretende di curare disturbi mentali con integratori che oggi sappiamo grazie alla ricerca essere per la maggior parte inefficaci e costosi.Evitate il fai da te e rivolgetevi ad un bravo specialista!Se devi salire su un aereo per un viaggio sicuro ti affidi a dei bravi ingegneri e tecnici del settore per la progettazione e lo sviluppo del velivolo, non te lo fai da solo mancando delle dovute conoscenze.Questo vale in tutti i settori.Non si capisce perché in medicina ognuno si improvvisa medico senza aver fatto alcun percorso universitario.Buona vita!