317 Nutritional Psychiatry [4 May 2015]

Nutritional psychiatry (NP) is a branch of science that uses nutrients to treat psychiatric symptoms and mood and anxiety disorders. Bonnie Kaplan is a professor at the U. of Calgary and a researcher in nutritional psychiatry. A recent interview with Kaplan for the Economic Times was published online March 20, 2015, as “Nutritional psychiatry can be an effective treatment”.

In the interview, Kaplan made these six points:

1. NP is a new science, less than 15 years old. Kaplan is researching the use of a broad spectrum nutrient formula to treat psychiatric symptoms and mental disorders.

2. NP is effective because normal brain function requires micronutrients. Mental illness can result if any nutrients are in insufficient supply. In one case study a young boy with bipolar disorder who was regressing (getting worse) during six years of conventional treatment, was completely cured after 14 months with nutritional treatment.

3. Many psychiatrists are opposed to nutritional psychiatry. They are trained in drug therapy and are uninterested in normal brain metabolism. Government funding is difficult to obtain because of the lack of support by conventional medicine.

4. Pharmaceutical companies are not interested in NP because it is less profitable. In another case study, a young boy suffering from severe psychosis had been treated conventionally with no improvement, then successfully treated with nutritional therapy at less than 1% of the cost.

5. NP cannot always totally replace drugs; in some cases it complements drug therapy. Kaplan believes the ideal situation would be for nutrition to be the primary therapy and medication play a supportive role when needed.

6. NP is not just about supplementation but includes a diet of high quality nutritious food for its vitamin, mineral and phytonutrient content.

To learn more about nutritional psychiatry and the broad spectrum nutrient formula visit www.truehope.com or phone 888-878-3467.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner. See this article on my website for links to sources and further reading.