Food, Thought, and Behavior

[Guest guest]

Here is a free book. Either as a download or paper and

ink. The guy is giving them away to try and help

people. Please don't be a cheapskate, if you get the

book donate what you can. F.

 

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_imbalance.html

 

Food, Thought, and Behavior

 

Introduction to Ronald C. Dishinger’s book

 

Bad Behavior and Illness are caused by Biochemical

Imbalances

 

Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, FRCP

 

Studies of human behavior are divided into many

compartments, each one occupying the attention of

scientists such as psychologists, sociologists,

behaviorists, criminologists, psychoanalysts and so

on. Psychiatry, one of the sub sets, is emerging from

a chronic flirtation with psychoanalysis from which it

is slowly freeing itself, but in doing so it has

embraced an almost total adherence to tranquilizer and

other drug medication, as if the psychology and other

aspects of behavior mattered little. It seems

impossible for psychiatry to find a middle ground

where all these important aspects of behavior are

recognized and dealt with. The long flirtation with

psychoanalysis prevented a proper examination of the

role of biochemistry and physiology for many decades.

 

More recently clinical ecologists are studying the

connection between human health and the environment,

especially the impact of chemicals, natural or

synthetic, upon the body and the psyche. The impact of

nutrition on behavior, for centuries the subject of

medical study and the only successful medical

treatment, was forgotten beginning in 1950 when

physicians turned this subject over to nutritionists,

who could not study human behavior and did not ever

see the impact of abnormal nutrition in producing

abnormal behavior. After a deep sleep, medicine is

slowly re-awakening its interest in nutrition, a

movement

that was started with the discovery that mega doses of

vitamins had a marked

effect in alleviating disease.

 

The connection between food and thought and behavior

has been known since antiquity, but generally modern

medicine ignored the role played by food allergies and

by defective nutrition. One of the first physicians to

show a relationship was Walter Alvarez, the great

gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic,who published a

paper about 60 years ago. He reported that if he ate

fowl on Sunday he was mentally confused the following

Monday. That report nearly got him fired from the Mayo

Clinic. The effect of alcohol, a pseudo food, is well

known, and the effect of sugar stoutly denied by the

industries who sell sugar in various forms is still

vigorously denied.

 

The use of vitamins in small doses began about 70

years ago and was accelerated before the last war,

after which its use declined. Using mega doses of

certain vitamins including vitamin E, vitamin B-3 and

vitamin C, started in the 1940's. These studies were

ignored, but when my colleagues and I found that

niacin lowered cholesterol levels in 1955 there was a

sudden surge of interest. This finding is credited

with the beginning of the new paradigm, the vitamin as

treatment paradigm. We also completed the first six

double blind controlled experiments in psychiatry

starting in 1952 until 1960, where we showed that

adding vitamin B-3 to the treatment for schizophrenics

doubles their two year recovery rate. Since then many

other studies confirmed these conclusions. Every

physician following the original protocols has

reported similar recovery rates. This led to the

concepts enunciated by Linus Pauling which he called

Orthomolecular Medicine.

 

Orthomolecular medicine emphasizes the use of

nutrition and nutrients in optimum doses for the

treatment of all diseases. It is used in combination

with drugs when needed, much as one would use a crutch

while the leg is being healed and would discard it

when the healing is completed. Schizophrenics who

recover require continued treatment with nutrients,

much as do diabetics with insulin and diet.

 

Very few writers cover all of these areas of human

behavior. They are written for their own disciplines

and usually ignore the fundamental importance of

nutrition and nutrients. This book by Mr. Dishinger is

unique in that he reports recoveries that he has seen

using all the techniques of modern medicine, including

nutrition and nutrients and also support and

counseling. Thus in contrast to early psychiatry of

the 1950's which totally ignored nutrition in treating

patients, and in contrast to modern psychiatry which

totally avoids nutrition and the psychosocial aspect

of the disease. His recoveries are achieved by paying

proper attention to all of the important aspects of

human behavior. It is his thesis that most if not all

of bad human behavior can be explained on the basis of

all these factors, and that recovery will not occur

until they have all been given proper attention.

 

The book is written with a good deal of detail. I

think this is important since it provides the reader

with the information needed to follow these treatment

procedures and to discuss them with their physicians

or other therapists.

 

The best way to convince physicians of the merits of

any treatment is to show them how patients, preferably

their own, recovered. The next best is to provide the

information in books and in the other public media.

The difficulty is in getting their attention to read

the books and listen to the other information. The

best way to achieve this is to have patients become

knowledgeable and to pass this information to their

doctors. If they persist in doing so some of their

doctors will eventually become interested.

 

I recommend this book as one of the vehicles for

stimulating interest in the orthomolecular treatment

of the schizophrenias: the most effective method known

so far. It is much more effective than using

tranquilizers alone because with these drugs it is

impossible to become normal even though they are

helpful.

 

A. Hoffer MD PhD FRCP

June 22, 1998

 

(Ronald C. Dishinger’s Bad Behavior and Illness are

Caused by Biochemical Imbalances is available, free of

charge either on cassettes or as a printed book, from

the author. Telephone (502) 684 9233. You can also

read the entire book at his website,

http://www.biochemimbal-behavior.com

 

Published by Medici Music Press, Inc., 5017 Veach

Road, Owensboro, KY 42303

 

Reprinted with permission of the author.