Patrick Holford argues that therapists can help people handle their problems even more effectively if they understand how to boost brain function with vital nutrients.

HOW sharp is your mind? How balanced is your mood? How consistent is your energy? How happy are you? And what, if anything, do these qualities have to do with what you eat? I believe, a lot.

There has been a massive worldwide rise in the incidence of mental health problems, especially among young people. Suicide, violence and depress-
ion are on the increase, according to the World Health Organisation. Mental health problems, it says, are fast becoming the number one health issue this century, with one in ten people suffering at any point in time, and one in four people suffering at some point in their life.[1] Having worked with thousands of people with these problems, and researched the underlying causes, I've come to the conclusion that our mind and our diet are inextricably linked.

The proof is the brain. More than any other organ in the body, it is totally dependent on a second by second supply of nutrients. It is constructed out of nutrients, communicates via neurotransmitters which are made out of nutrients and its energy source is nutrients. When you consider that the brain is entirely constructed from molecules derived from food, air and water, and that simple molecules like alcohol can fundamentally affect the brain, isn't it exceedingly unlikely that changes in diet and the environment are not affecting our mental health?

I believe that most of us are not achieving our full potential for mental health, happiness, alertness and clarity because we are not achieving optimum nutrition for the mind. I also believe that, for a significant proportion of mentally unwell people, their problems are exacerbated or even caused by a chemical imbalance brought on by years of inadequate nutrition and overexposure to pollutants and environmental toxins.

Of course, improving our mental health isn't only about nutrition. But, sadly, most psychotherapists ignore the impact of nutrition and the brain's chemistry on how we think and feel. I am convinced that the solution for the mental health problems that plague our society lies in the combination of optimum nutrition and good psychological support — which includes a place you can call home, being treated with respect, and effective counselling.

One of the most limiting concepts in the human sciences is the idea that the mind and the body are separate. But it isn't just scientists who may live by this false distinction. It's us — even when we think we don't. When you are having difficulty concentrating, when your mood is low, when you struggle to find a memory, do you consider that you may be poorly nourished? Probably not, yet I wonder why. Every one of these states — thinking, feeling, mental energy and focus — happens across a network of interconnecting brain cells, each one of which depends on an optimal supply of nutrients to work efficiently. Many experiments have demonstrated this. For instance:

• Psychologist Dr David Benton and schoolmaster Gwillym Roberts, from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, measured the IQ scores of 90 schoolchildren and then gave 30 of them a high-dose multivitamin, 30 a dummy pill and 30 nothing at all. After eight months they re-evaluated their IQ. The children on the vitamins had a staggering increase of over 10 points in their non-verbal IQ![2] Since their study, published more than a decade ago, 15 other studies have confirmed that supplements boost children's IQ. The effect is real.

• Dr Thomas Crook from the Memory Assessment Clinic in Maryland, USA, gave 149 people with age-related memory impairment a daily 300mg dose of a nutrient called phosphatidyl serine. When they were tested after 12 weeks, their memory had improved to the level of those 12 years younger.[3]

• Dr Bernard Rimland from California compared changes in the behavioural symptoms of 1591 hyperactive children treated with drugs with those of 191 hyperactive children given nutritional supplements. The nutritional approach was 18 times more effective.[4] Yet, despite this, drug prescriptions for children almost double every year.

• Dr Carl Birmingham from the Eating Disorders Clinic in Vancouver, Canada, gave people with anorexia a zinc supplement or a placebo. Those taking zinc increased their body weight twice as rapidly as those given the dummy pills.[5]

• Dr Abram Hoffer from Canada has treated 5000 people diagnosed with schizophrenia with high-dose multinutrients, especially large doses of vitamin B3 and vitamin C. His published 40 year follow-up reports show a 90 per cent cure rate — defined as free of symptoms, able to socialise with family and friends, and paying income tax.[6] Despite this lifetime of research and results, Hoffer's approach to schizophrenia has been largely sidelined.

• Dr Poldinger and colleagues from Basle University in Switzerland gave depressed patients either a state-of-the-art SSRI antidepressant or a nutrient called 5-HTP. The nutrient outperformed the drug on every measure, resulting in greater improvements in their depression, anxiety and insomnia, and no side effects.[7] This is in sharp contrast to the estimated daily suicide caused directly by adverse reactions to this class of anti-
depressant drug.

• Bernard Gesch, director of the charity Natural Justice, gave prison inmates supplements of vitamins, minerals and essential fats, or placebos, and demonstrated a dramatic 35 per cent decrease in aggressive acts in those taking the supplements.[8]

Clearly, we can change how we think and feel by changing what we put into our mouths.

Mind and body: a self-organising jungle

As Einstein said, "The problems we have created cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." We need a new way of thinking about mental health that includes the role of nutrition and the chemical environment as well as psychology, and the ways these interact to affect the way we think and feel.

Instead of the concept of trying to fix the part that doesn't work, be it the physical brain or the abstract psyche, I prefer to conceive of human beings as 'complex adaptive systems', more like a self organising jungle than a complicated computer. Of course, this adaptive capacity is not the same for all. We have different strengths and weaknesses. So, in this model, in keeping with the human givens approach, our health is a result of the interaction between our inherited adaptive capacity and our circumstances. For example, on a physical/chemical level, that would be between our genes and our environment. If our environment is sufficiently hostile (poor diet, pollution, allergens and so on), we exceed our ability to adapt and become unwell.

Our psychological 'environment' is literally everything we see, hear, smell, touch and taste — the sum total of all our sense inputs. Our psychological 'genes' are our mental constructs, our mind frame, through which we interpret whatever comes in through the senses in order to make sense of our world. We don't perceive reality as it actually is. The mental constructs are the result of our reactions to past similar experiences (pattern matching), which form the basis of our childhood conditioning. In this way we form likes and dislikes, attractions and aversions and so on.

In this model of health, there are four aspects to mental health, and four contributors to mental illness: environment (including all the nutrients
and anti-nutrients we take in; genes; sense input (commonly, mental health problems develop in times of high stress, when there is more going on than a person can cope with); and mind frame.

While nutrition would seem to have little to do with our mind frame, the two are indeed related. When we cannot cope with our interpretation of reality we have to 'let off steam', to dissipate the fear, anxiety or pain; we sometimes do it by eating too much, or by consuming toxic substances such as sugar, alcohol, cigarettes or even more harmful drugs, such as heroin or cocaine. These compensating behaviours leave us drained of both energy and nutrients, making matters worse. To cope with the tiredness we may then use stimulants, which further deplete us, leading to more and more addiction, and worsening mental health. It is a vicious downward spiral.

The holistic approach

Sometimes, the nutritional problems precede the psychological ones. Peter has blood sugar problems, is lacking B vitamins and has 'reward deficiency syndrome' — a genetic predisposition to under-producing dopamine, the 'motivating' neurotransmitter. All of these factors make him tired and unmotivated. He therefore craves stimulation and stimulants, such as sugar and caffeine, to make him feel good. Unfortunately, these make him more mentally hyperactive, and he can't switch off his thoughts. So he starts drinking alcohol every day. This makes him more depressed. His doctor pre-
scribes antidepressants. Nothing gets better. His wife leaves him and he loses his job. He feels useless, worthless and hopelessly inadequate. He can't cope with what is happening in his life and escapes into his own world. He has a breakdown. He is prescribed major tranquillisers, which make him seem more stable, but he is still mentally ill.

Peter's problems show the complex interplay between genes, environment, sense input and mind frame. Drugs alone will not restore Peter's health. He needs to rebalance his brain's chemistry with optimum nutrition, and rebalance his psyche with good psychological guidance and support. Most of all, he needs the willingness to change his diet, his lifestyle and his mind frame. This total approach is likely to be much more effective than just drugs, psychotherapy or nutritional therapy alone.

Depression: another way of looking

I now plan to look in detail at the impact of good nutrition on depression. Most people taking antidepressants really need to deal with something that isn't working in their life. However, one of the greatest unrecognised truths is that ensuring optimum nutrition for the mind not only improves mood but gives a person the energy and motivation to make those changes. Few psychotherapists recognise how much better their results might be if they helped their clients tune up their brain biochemistry through improved nutrition

These are the common imbalances connected to nutrition that can worsen mood and motivation:

• blood sugar imbalances (often associated
with excessive sugar and stimulant intake)

• deficiencies of nutrients (vitamin B3, B6,
folate, B12, C, zinc, magnesium, essential
fatty acids)

• deficiencies of tryptophan and tyrosine
(precursors of neurotransmitters)

• allergies and sensitivities.

One factor that underlies most depression is poor control of blood glucose levels. Keeping blood sugar levels more even can be achieved by eating small regular meals of natural, unprocessed foods, including protein and fibre, and taking a combination of B vitamins and chromium.

The most promising nutrients for improving mood are vitamins B3, B12 and folic acid, then vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and essential fatty acids (EFAs). The first three are involved in the vital biochemical process known as

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© Human Givens Publishing Limited and Patrick Holford (2003)

References

This article first appeared in Volume 9, No, 4 (2003) of the Human Givens journal.

PATRICK HOLFORD is founder of the Institute of Optimum Nutrition, the largest UK training school for nutrition consultants. He trains doctors and health practitioners in nutrition and is author of 20 books. His latest, Optimum Nutrition for the Mind (Piatkus, £16.99) is published in January.
Patrick will be touring Britain from March 3 to March 22, giving four seminars in 18 cities. The seminars are 'Kid life crisis', 'Schizophrenia can be cured', 'Beat fatigue, anxiety and depression' and 'Prevent and reverse memory decline'.
For further details about these seminars in Northampton, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Hereford, Bristol, Exeter, Bournemouth, Southampton, Brighton, Southend, Oxford and London, visit www.patrickholford.com or call 020 8871 2949.

> A helpful CD which helps with relaxation is:

RELAX... using your own innate resources to let go of pent-up stress and negative emotion

> You can find out more on the issues raised in this article on the following related pages:

Schizophrenia

Depression

Return to top

> A helpful CD which helps with relaxation is:

RELAX... using your own innate resources to let go of pent-up stress and negative emotion

> You can find out more on the issues raised in this article on the following related pages:

Schizophrenia

Depression

Return to top