Advances in Therapeutic Nutrition

Man is a food-dependent creature. If you don't feed him, he will die. If you feed him improperly, part of him will die.
Emanuel Cheraskin, M.D., D.M.D.

The physician is Nature's assistant.
Claudius Galen (c. AD 129 - AD 216)

Introduction

A wide variety of diseases have nutritional components including irritable bowel syndrome (1). Irritable bowel syndrome appears to be caused by an error in tryptophan metabolism (1). Serotonin is a metabolite of tryptophan, and serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the bowel. Some serotonin is also found in the brain.

Psychiatric symptoms can be seen in this gastrointestinal disease (2). Since tryptophan is found in the diet, it may be possible to treat the disease by restricting tryptophan in the diet (3, 4). Ref. 5 suspects cytokines.

Nutrition and Behavior

There are many theories linking nutrition and behavior. A good source on this is the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. A good article appeared in 1995 and was entitled "Nutritional Influences on Aggressive Behavior". It was written by Melvyn R. Werbach, M.D. (Journal Of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 7, No. 1, 1995). Dr. Werbach discussed the aggressive behavioral syndrome, which is "marked by restlessness, irritability, impulsivity and a proneness to violence". It is similar to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder).

Werbach felt that nutritional factors have been neglected in these diseases.

Antidepressants

Information about antidepressants is given in Ref. 6.

Autism

Autism is discussed in Ref. 7.

Orthomolecular Medicine

Ref. 8 discusses orthomolecular medicine. If you are in Canada, the following resource may be useful:

The Canadian Schizophrenia Foundation, 16 Florence Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2N 1E9 Fax 416 733 2117, Telephone 416 733 2352 E Mail Center@Orthomed.org

If you are not in Canada, consult their website, which is www.orthomed.org.

Cholesterol

Ref. 9 reports a nutritional solution to high cholesterol. The vegan diet has no cholesterol and little saturated fat.

The Fruits of Good Nutrition

Fruit is good for losing weight because most fruits, including berries, are around 90% water, which has no calories. Fruit also is high in fiber, which also has no calories. An example is the strawberry. The strawberry is low in sodium and moderate in potassium. This makes it heart healthy.

Vitamin C: A Miracle Worker?

Vitamin C is thought to fight against cancer as well as to fight against cardiovascular diseases. It fights against the common cold. More information on vitamins is given in Ref. 10. There are also other vitamins that fight against cancer including beta-carotene, vitamin D, folic acid, etc. See www.healthy.net, which is the Health World website. Quercetin, a flavonoid, is considered to fight against cancer. Flavonoids are only found in plant foods. The skin of apples is rich in quercetin.

Vitamin C helps heal wounds. It is good for teeth, gums, bones, etc. According to Ref. 11, it fights against the conversion of nitrates into carcinogenic substances. Unfortunately this conversion can take place in the body. Nitrates are found in tobacco smoke, smog, bacon, lunch meats, & some vegetables (11).

Conclusions

Many claims have been made for miraculous cures. These cures involve nutrition including supplements. Some of these claims are discussed on my website, which is www.CraigOlson.bizhosting.com. Many of the claims involve vitamin C. There is not enough space to discuss them all here, so I will discuss them in installments. They will be in future articles.

References

1. Tryptophan degradation in irritable bowel syndrome: evidence of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase activation in a male cohort. Clarke G, Fitzgerald P, Cryan JF, Cassidy EM, Quigley EM, Dinan TG. BMC Gastroenterol. 2009 Jan 20;9:6.

2. Forbes ALHJ. Irritable bowel syndrome. Medicine. 2007;5:267-271.

3. Drossman DA, Camilleri M, Mayer EA, Whitehead WE. AGA technical review on irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterology. 2002;123(6):2108-2131.

4. Shufflebotham J, Hood S, Hendry J, Hince DA, Morris K, Nutt D, Probert C, Potokar J. Acute tryptophan depletion alters gastrointestinal and anxiety symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006;101(11):2582-2587.

5. Dinan TG, Quigley EM, Ahmed SM, Scully P, O'Brien S, O'Mahony L, O'Mahony S, Shanahan F, Keeling PW. Hypothalamic-pituitary-gut axis dysregulation in irritable bowel syndrome: plasma cytokines as a potential biomarker? Gastroenterology. 2006;130(2):304-311.

6. http://www.healthy.net/scr/News.aspx?Id=10309.

7. Jill James S, Cutler P, Melnyk S, Jernigan S, Janak L, Gaylor DW and Neubrander JA: Metabolic Biomarkers of Increased Oxidative Stress and Impaired Methylation Capacity in Children With Autism. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1611-1617.

8. Hoffer A: Chronic schizophrenic patients treated ten years or more. J.Orthomolecular Medicine, 9:7-37,1994.

9. Altschul R, Hoffer A & Stephen JD: Influence of nicotinic acid on serum cholesterol in man. Arch Biochem Biophys 1955;54:558-559.

10. http://www.orthomolecularvitamincentre.com/index.php.

11. www.orthomolecular.org.