A Canadian psychiatrist Abram Hoffer, pioneered nutrient therapy with schizophrenics in 1951. Hoffer started to experiment with high doses of niacin (B6 vitamin) and documented major reductions in his patients hallucinations and auditory schizophrenic symptoms. Hoffers research lead to treatment using Vitamin B12, C, Folic Acid changes in diet with great results.
Further, to offering this treatment his research lead to the discovery that 20% of schizophrenic were identified with deficiencies in zinc and B6. Hoffer’s theories have drawn attention to controversy and have never been adopted by the mainstream medicine but doctors around the world continue to use this method.
A second doctor carried forward the Hoffer treatment plan and continued developing treatments for mental heath. Dr Pfeiffer believed that histamine deficiency and copper overload were responsible for classic schizophrenic auditory hallucinations. Nutrient therapy was conducted using calcium, antihistamines, B6 and zinc. Pfeiffer was nominated for a Nobel Prize his work but he did not win and his nonprofit clinic closed in the 1990’s. The work in nutrient therapies for mental health continues throughout the world by many talented physicians.
Studies throughout the past 30 years have indicated that a person’s biochemical tendencies persist throughout life, which suggest genetic or epigenetic in origin. The impact on a person’s life depends on the severity of the chemical imbalance and on exposure to environmental factors. A mild genetic tendency for depression may be overcome by factors such as a good environment, exercise and counselling, whereas a severe tendency may require aggressive biochemical intervention. Both of these client with different depressive presentations are good candidates for individualized nutrient therapy.
Nutrient power, Heal your biochemistry and heal your brain, William J. Walsh, PhD
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