One of my most important quests in my life has been to find methods to help people relieve their mental problems without using medication. I have been thrilled to discover scientist William Walsh who has been doing much research for over 35 years on how nutrition can reduce mental problems.
Walsh is an expert in nutrient-based psychiatry and nutritional medicine. He is the author of Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain. Walsh has discovered striking blood/urine chemistry differences between people with mental problems and people who don’t have mental problems.
Walsh and the doctors he train use specific nutritional supplements to correct imbalances in brain chemistry he believes are responsible for the mental problems . He did one study in 2004 of 207 teens who had behavioral disorders where he identified what nutrients he believed would correct the problems in the bio chemistry of these teens. He writes that at the end of the study, of the teens who complied with taking the nutritional supplements, 58 percent were symptom free, 33 percent had partial improvement and 9 percent had no change.
Although Walsh provides some information on what nutrients are used to help the different imbalances, he writes “The nutrient therapies in this book require supervision by an experienced medical professional. Nutrient overloads or deficiencies can have a powerful effect on brain functioning and improper treatment can cause harm.”
Walsh states his conclusions are from laboratory tests of 30,000 mental health patients and controls of more than 3 million chemical tests results (blood and urine) combined with more than 2 million medical history factors of these populations. He has studied 10,000 people with behavior problems (mostly impulse control/anger/violence), 5,600 people with ADHD, 1600 people with BiPolar Disorder, 1900 people with schizophrenia, 3200 people with depression and 6500 people with autism.
I was led to William Walsh when I was doing internet searches on what could help people with bi-polar disorder other than taking medication. It was my understanding that this mental condition was so serious that only strong medications (often with negative side effects such as weight gain and fatigue ) could help reduce the symptoms. I was pleased to hear Walsh say that of the 1600 people he worked with who had bi-polar disorder, 74 percent experienced significant improvement from the nutrients he recommended based on each person’s bio chemistry.
Walsh did not ask the people with bi-polar to stop taking their medications for bi-polar disorder. He had them take the nutrients in addition to the medication. He said several hundred eventually did not need medication when they took the nutrients recommended consistently while most of the others in the group were able to reduce the dosages of their medications taking the nutrients. Some had no benefit from the nutrients.
Walsh has discovered 6-7 nutrients that dominate mental functioning of mental problems out of over 300 nutrients. One of these is folic acid, a B vitamin, that for some people greatly affects what happens in brain synapses. He learned there are 3 fatty acids in the body (out of over 500 fatty acids) that are important of brain functioning and when they are corrected, most of his patients dramatically improved.
Walsh states that many times medical doctors call to ask what is the treatment that he uses. He tells them his “weapons” are vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. They are puzzled and want to know how could nutrients possibly affect serious mental illness like bi polar and schizophrenia. He explains that nutrients are vital for neuro transmitters to work and have vital roles in gene regulation.
Walsh states our brains are chemical factories. The raw materials for these factories are nutrients. When there are wrong levels of nutrients, there will be problems with brain function.
He gives examples: 1) many people with low serotonin have low vitamin B6. 2) many people can’t regulate their copper levels due to genetic defects. This causes post partum depression and other kinds of depression. 3) 70 percent of persons with mental illness have serious problems with methylation. He details this in a youtube video titled “The Role of methylation and Epigentics in Brain Disorders” given in 2014 where he stated had learned more about this subject in the last 5 years than the last 20 years.
I will be writing another blog post about William Walsh’s findings but if you want to learn more, the talk that is the over view of his research can be found at: Advanced Nutrient Therapy
If you want to learn even more, his institute has 49 talks on at:William Walsh playlist, including one with impressive testimonies.
One of my clients told me how her chiropractor suggested she take 2 1/2 times the regular standard dose of Vitamin B complex in a whole food supplement to reduce her anxiety. She said she it does reduce her anxiety. She also takes a vegetable based Lithium called L-Zyme Forte when she feels a panic attack coming on, stating “It mellows me out”.
I am not saying these supplements would help everyone but I am encouraged to know there is something more natural people can take other than medication that may help reduce their symptoms. I had no idea there was a form of lithium that is not a medication. People review it on amazon as helping reduce their mood swings. My client’s friend called the company that makes this product to ask what vegetables it was made from. The company told her “sprouted pea and lentils”. Who knew?
Although Walsh’s methods can be very helpful, he writes that they are only part of the answer to help with mental problems. He writes that effective counseling can also “promote development of new synapses and neuronal minicolumns, thereby permanently improving the microstructure of the brain. Correcting brain chemistry often is not enough, and counseling can enhance the benefits patients enjoy”
So if you are interested in developing new synapses and neuronal minicolums using counseling, please call me at 586-799-2399 or email me at suzanneenergy@gmail.com for a free 15 minute consultation.