Alternative Mental Health News #62

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Sun, 3 Dec 2006 21:27:21 -0500 (EST)

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Alternative Mental Health News #62

 

 

The ALTERNATIVE MENTAL HEALTH News

 

A monthly newsletter brought to you by AlternativeMentalHealth.com and

Safe Harbor, a nonprofit corporation.

 

 

Issue 62, December 2006

 

Editor's note

 

Recently two of my associates surprised me and themselves by testing

positive for pyroluria. It was enough of a jolt that I thought I

should make mention of this potent, yet easy-to-treat, affliction.

 

Back in the 1960s research was done on volunteers who had taken LSD.

When their urine samples were tested with chemically-treated paper, an

odd purple spot showed up. The researchers were perplexed.

 

It turned out that the spot was from excess pyrroles in the urine.

Pyrroles are a byproduct of hemoglobin metabolism and some people, by

genetic defect, create too many of them. As these excess pyrroles are

cycled out of the body into the urine, they bond to zinc and vitamin

B6 molecules, thus stripping these vital nutrients out of the blood.

Since zinc and B6 are essential to normal brain function, these

created deficiencies cause a broad range of mental symptoms.

 

Further research has found that this condition—known as pyroluria—is

very common in people with symptoms of schizophrenia, depression,

bipolar, ADHD, addiction, criminality, and anxiety. A common symptom

is low stress threshold, but many other symptoms can be present. An

excellent source of information on pyroluria, including labs that test

for it (at reasonable cost) can be found at

http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/articles-content.php?heading=Pyrol\

uria.

 

Julia Ross, author of the The Mood Cure, tells us that about 20% of

her clients test positive for this ailment.

 

For all the devastation it can cause—including suicide—pyroluria is

immensely treatable with zinc, B6, and a few other supporting

nutrients. Symptoms can start to disappear within days and full

remission can occur in one to six months.

 

Safe Harbor once received an email from a young man who has suffered

bipolar symptoms for years before being tested and treated

successfully for pyroluria. He told his former psychiatrist who said,

" Yeah, I heard of that in medical school. Sorry, I never thought to

look for it. " Indeed. Psychiatrists virtually never look for it. And a

great deal of preventable suffering results.

 

Consider this simple but powerful ailment when looking for any

underlying cause of mental turmoil.

DR. BERNARD RIMLAND PASSES—AUTISM PIONEER

 

It was with great sadness that Safe Harbor received the news on Nov.

21 of the passing of Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., earlier that day. Dr.

Rimland, the recipient of Safe Harbor's 2003 Lighthouse Award, was a

giant in the field of autism and his contributions are so many that

they may not be fully grasped by the public at large until the light

of history is shined on them.

 

Although he may be known best as the chief consultant on the movie

Rain Man, in which actor Dustin Hoffman patterned his character after

Dr. Rimland's high-functioning autistic son Mark, many thousands of

parents are grateful to him for other reasons.

 

Founder of the Autism Research Institute and known as Bernie to his

friends, who were many, Dr. Rimland stunned the autism world in 1964

with his radical book Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its

Implication for a Neural Theory of Behavior. Until then, autism was

considered a psychological disorder, not a physical one, blamed on

" refrigerator mothers " not showing enough affection. Research has

proven Rimland right ever since.

 

In our discussions with Dr. Rimland, he considered one of his greatest

achievements to be the creation of his DAN! Conferences—or " Defeat

Autism Now! " Beginning with a small group of like-minded professionals

trying to establish standard protocols for treating autism

nutritionally, DAN! Conferences grew and grew, and today they have

become a Mecca for professionals and parents seeking the most

cutting-edge solutions for autistic children.

 

The effects of Dr. Rimland's work will continue long after he is gone

and we extend our condolences to his family and friends for the loss

of this great man.

 

HERB CURCUMIN MAY HELP DEPRESSION

 

Curcumin, a yellow pigment of the spice turmeric, commonly found in

curry, has proven to be a cornucopia of health benefits. It has

already been found to be a potential cancer preventative and

rejuvenator of the liver, bones, and cartilage.

 

In 2004, UCLA researchers found it effective in preventing brain

deterioration that contributes to Alzheimer's Disease, thus possibly

explaining why inhabitants of India over age 65, where curcumin is

consumed regularly, have less than a 1% rate of Alzheimer's Disease.

 

A study done at Peking University in 2005 offers strong evidence that

curcumin may be helpful against depression. The herb is an active

component in Xiaoyao-san, the traditional Chinese medicinal formula

which has been used to effectively manage stress and

depression-related disorders in China.

 

The study used the force swim test in rats, a common method of testing

antidepressants that forces rats to swim in a tank to create stress

and depression symptoms. The study also used another test in rats

which causes depressive symptoms, the removal of the olfactory bulbs,

brain regions that contribute to the sense of smell.

 

In both instances, curcumin significantly reduced the symptoms of

depression. In the case of the surgically-altered rats, low levels of

brain chemicals such as serotonin " were completely reversed by

curcumin administration. "

 

The research is reported in the September 2005 issue of Pharmacology

Biochemistry and Behavior.

JULIA ROSS AMINO ACID TRAINING, LOS ANGELES AREA, DECEMBER 2-3

 

Julia Ross, author of The Mood Cure and The Diet Cure and a pioneer in

nutritional psychology, presents professional training in her

remarkable amino acid therapies for mood problems. Full information is

as follows:

 

Professional Training and Continuing Education* opportunity:

 

" Amino Acid Therapy: Eliminating Negative Emotions and False Appetites

That Block Healing "

 

Including Proven Alternatives to Antidepressants

 

Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3, 2006

 

Universal City, California

 

Learn to use targeted amino acids and other effective natural tools to

eliminate depression, anxiety, irritability, chronic sadness, apathy,

over-stress, insomnia, fibromyalgia, cravings for foods, alcohol and

drugs, and other symptoms of neurotransmitter deficiency.

 

This training will provide specific skills for identifying and

correcting key imbalances in the mood and appetite-regulating

chemistry of the brain and body using the holistic strategies that

have been developed during the last 19 years in the instructor's

successful California clinic.

 

*Continuing Education contact hours available for California

naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, nurses, MFTs and LCSWs;

Nationally certified CE provider for nutritionists (NANP) and

acupuncturists (NCCAOM) from any state.

 

For training details and registration information, go to

www.moodcure.com/training.html.

SCIENTISTS WORRY ABOUT TOXINS' EFFECTS ON BRAIN HEALTH

 

Researchers reporting in the November 8 issue of The Lancet claim that

toxic chemicals may be causing a broad array of brain disorders in

children—more than is realized by the medical field—due to inadequate

regulation and lack of knowledge of their full neurological effects.

 

The combined Danish and American research team identified more than

200 industrial chemicals, including metals, solvents and pesticides,

which have potential to damage the brain. Referring to them as the

" tip of a very large iceberg, " the team noted that some of them are

already known to cause neurobehavioral effects, even at low levels.

 

The scientists point out that exposure to chemicals such as lead,

methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], arsenic, and toluene

during early fetal development can cause brain injury at doses much

lower than those affecting adult brain function. It stands to reason

that the same may be true of others on the list that have not been as

fully investigated.

 

Additionally, while prevention programs, such as with lead, are highly

successful today, it was many years after the toxicity of these

substances was known for such social controls to be established. If

that delay is multiplied by the number of potential neurotoxins in our

modern world, the impact on developing brains could be considerable.

 

 

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About Safe Harbor

 

Safe Harbor was founded in 1998 in the wake of growing public

dissatisfaction with the unwanted effects of orthodox psychiatric

treatments such as medication and shock therapy.

 

Seeking to satisfy the desire for safer, more effective treatments,

Safe Harbor is dedicated to educating the public, the medical

profession, and government officials on research and treatments that,

minimally, do no harm and, optimally, cure the causes of severe mental

symptoms. Our primary thrust is education on the medical causes of

severe mental symptoms and the use of nutritional and other natural

treatments.

About AlternativeMental

Health.com

 

ALTERNATIVEMENTALHEALTH.COM

 

is the world's largest website devoted exclusively to alternative

mental health treatments. It includes a directory of over 350

physicians, nutritionists, experts, organizations, and facilities

around the U.S. that offer or promote safe, alternative treatments for

severe mental symptoms. Many of the physicians listed do in-depth

examinations to find the physical causes behind mental problems.

 

Also included on the site is an array of articles on topics ranging

from the medical causes of schizophrenia to the effects of toxic

metals on mental health.

 

Special AlternativeMentalHealth.com T-shirts and bumper stickers are

available at our online store.

 

A bookstore page lists top books that cover many areas of alternative

treatments with titles like Natural Healing for Schizophrenia and

Other Common Mental Disorders and No More Ritalin.

 

AlternativeMentalHealth.com has been created to educate the public,

practitioners, and government officials on the medical conditions that

create " mental illness " and the many safe resources available for

addressing and often curing severe mental symptoms.

Contact Us

 

Safe Harbor

 

787 W. Woodbury Rd., #2 Altadena, CA 91001

 

Phone: 626-791-7868

 

Fax: 626-791-7869

 

SafeHarborProj

 

AlternativeMentalHealth.com

 

 

 

Safe Harbor New Mexico

 

Louisa Putnam, President

 

505 988-4242

 

louisa_putnam

 

 

 

We welcome your donations. As a nonprofit organization, Safe Harbor is

supported solely through the generosity of the public. Donations can

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accept Visa/ MasterCard by phone. Thank you.