Why nutrients should be considered the first line of defense

1. The brain is physically made of and runs on nutrients. So nutrients have a profound influence on its function.

2 Our soils are so depleted, the  environment so toxic, addiction and junk food so prevalent, and nature so devastated, that our brains can no longer get sufficient nourishment. Some of us are especially vulnerable.

3 Mental illness is generally less pronounced and ends sooner in regions where people eat indigenous foods and are not given psychiatric drugs.

4 Mental symptoms in certain vitamin deficiency diseases are medically established to respond to supplements.  (For instance, the depression, anxiety, and psychosis of  pellagra are healed by vitamin B3 and tryptophan; similar symptoms in scurvy are healed by vitamin C; alcoholic psychosis responds to vitamin B1.)

5 Orthomolecular (nutritional) research and practice, developed across the world over the past half century, shows 75-85% recovery or great improvement in schizophrenia when caught within the first few years of illness (recovery to the extent that people are able to go back to what they were doing before they became ill); and good improvement in people ill for a substantial time. Similar improvement is emerging with mood disorders, behavior disorders, hyperactivity, and others.

Disclaimer: The addition of nutrients does not mean medication should be stopped. In fact, stopping or reducing psychiatric drugs can be highly risky, even more so if done abruptly. Orthomolecular psychiatrists generally tie drug reductions to nutrient-based improvement, and proceed cautiously with any changes. Particular care is warranted for bipolars. If you contemplate such a course, please work with a knowledgeable physician.

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