Advances in Orthomolecular Research

Orthomolecular medicine is considered to benefit Alzheimer's disease as well as schizophrenia and other diseases (see Ref. 1, 2, and 3). Unfortunately there have been many problems with drugs (Ref. 5).

Orthomolecular treatment also fights cancer. I have included many references on this because there are skeptics. Vitamin D has been found to fight cancer as well as vitamin C.

Schizophrenia: Cut the Cheese

There are good reasons to cut the cheese if you have mental illness. For one thing, certain antidepressants called MAO inhibitors interact with cheese, wine, and other fermented foods. This interaction can cause hypertensive crisis (blood pressure spike), which could be fatal. For another reason, cheese contains all the essental amino acids, and the various types of mental illness are errors in amino acid metabolism. Mental illness is a protein allergy.

Protein

Food allergies are very common, unfortunately. In PKU they can cause permanent brain damage. Protein is found in the highest concentrations in animal foods. However, there are plant proteins such as gluten. Some plant proteins are incomplete proteins, meaning that they are low in some amino acids.

Peanut butter is a source of plant protein. Whole grain bread, rice, beans, macaroni, soy products, etc. are also sources of plant protein. Cereal can be a problem in gluten allergy (celiac disease), which has psychiatric symptoms.

Strawberries are very low in amino acids. They are high in vitamin C and fiber. They have no cholesterol and very little fat. They are close to the perfect food for a protein allergy. Strawberry jam has more sugar, more calories, less vitamin C, and less amino acids. It also has less fiber. You do not want to eat strawberry jam for losing weight, but it is good for the PKU diet and the celiac disease diet.

Methionine

There is a strong methionine theory for schizophrenia. According to this theory, two methionines combine with dopamine to form a toxin called DMPEA, also called the infamous "pink spot". Methionine methylates dopamine. DMPEA is formed from a double methylation of dopamine.

Methionine, which contains sulphur, is in the following foods:

Brewer's yeast, caseinate, dairy products, eggs, fish, lactalbumin, meat, seafood, whey.

These foods should be avoided in schizophrenia.

Tyrosine

Tyrosine is a precursor of dopamine. Dopamine has been repeatedly implicated in schizophrenia. A toxic metabolite of dopamine causes schizophrenia. Tyrosine is in the following foods:

Almonds, avocados, bananas, beans, brewer's yeast, brown rice bran, caseinate, cheese, cottage cheese, dairy products, eggs, fish, lactalbumin, legumes, lima beans, meat, milk, nuts, peanuts, pickled herring, pumpkin seeds, seafood, seeds, sesame seeds, soy, whey, whole grains.

The Fruits of Good Nutrition

Apples, like most fruits, are mostly water. For this reason you will not gain weight by eating fruits. Fruits have fiber. Apples have a type of fiber called pectin. It is better to eat the apple unpeeled because thee are polyphenols in the skin. Also it is better to eat the apple uncooked because cooking can destroy nutrients such as vitamin C and flavonoids, both of which are found in apples.

Not counting the water, apples are almost all carbohydrates with very little protein and very little fat. What little fat it has is mostly beneficial (polyunsaturated). The apple has good potassium and almost no sodium. It has no cholesterol. The apple taste good, and it is economical. Thus it is close to being the perfect food, although someone with protein malnutrition, which is extremely rare in the US, would do better with meat. Protein malnutrition is more likely to be seen in Africa.

The apple, like many other fruits, has fructose, which is a type of sugar that causes only a slow rise in blood glucose. That is due to the fact that the body has to convert it to glucose. The apple has no lactose, so it is good for people with lactose intolerance.

Conclusions

The composition of various foods has been calculated by the USDA (Dept. of Agriculture). However, they do not make nutritional recommendations. The Food & Drug Administration does, but their RDAs have been criticized as being too low. The problem with their RDAs is that they are calculated for the normal, healthy person. In disease things are different. Also there are interactions between drugs and nutrients. Certain things such as stress can destroy vitamin C. Cooking can destroy vitamin C and flavonoids.

Also there are factors that are not completely understood such as caffeine and carotenoids. Apples have no caffeine, but chocolate, tea, coffee, and certain soft drinks do. Caffeine is considered bad by orthomolecular scientists, but carotenoids are considered very good. Apples do have carotenoids but no lycopene and no alpha-carotene. Some carotenoids are considered good for the eyes. Beta-carotene is thought to fight cancer.

Future articles will deal with the nutrient contents of other foods. Fruits and vegetables are thought to fight cancer, so I will concentrate on them. Unfortunately some vegetables are cooked, so this results in the loss of some nutrients. Some nutrients can also be lost in the water they are cooked in.

References

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