What is Orthomolecular Psychiatry?

Linus Pauling introduced "orthomolecular psychiatry" in 1968 with a brilliant paper in Science. Soon he expanded the orthomolecular concept to cancer, atheroscerosis, and other diseases. The orthomolecular website favors "therapeutic nutrition based upon biochemical individuality". The term "biochemical individuality" was used by the late Roger Williams. Since everybody has a different biochemistry, it is difficult to set RDAs. The RDAs may not apply in disease. The RDAs are designed for healthy people.

Nutrients

The orthomolecular website has a URL of www.orthomolecular.org. Alanine is an amino acid found in the following foods:

Beans, brewer's yeast, brown rice bran, caseinate, corn, dairy products, eggs, fish, gelatin, lactalbumin, legumes, meat, nuts, seafood, seeds, soy, whey, whole grains.

Methionine is a sulfur-containing amino acid in the following foods:

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

Phenylalanine is in the following foods:

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

Phenylalanine must be strictly avoided in the disease PKU.

Amino Acids

Tryptophan is in the following foods:

Bananas, beans, brewer's yeast, brown rice bran, caseinate, cottage cheese, dairy products, dates, eggs, fish, lactalbumin, legumes, meat, milk, nuts, peanuts, protein (hydrolysis), seafood, seeds, soy, turkey, whey, whole grains.

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.

Vitamin P (Bioflavonoids)

Bioflavonoids are in the following foods:

Apricots, bark, black currants, blue and red berries, buckwheat, cherries, elderberry, fruits, grapes, grapefruit, garlic, green tea, green vegetables, hawthorne berry, horsetail, lemons, nuts, oil, oranges, onions, peppers, prunes, rose hips, soy beans, the peels of citrus fruits, and shepherd's purse.

All of these are plant foods. Bioflavonoids are plant pigments.

Pauling

Linus Pauling invented the term "orthomolecular" to designate the right amounts of the right molecules.

"Varying the concentrations of substances normally present in the human body may control mental disease." - Linus Pauling
My view is that Pauling was largely correct. However, he was obsessed with vitamins and paid less attention to amino acids. My theory is that the amino acid tryptophan is flooding the brain cells in mental illness and needs to be restricted in the diet.

Conclusions

I have invented a diet that is low in amino acids, low in cholesterol, low in saturated fats, low in sodium, modest in carbohydrates, low in fat, avoids red meat, and is high in fiber and water. Fruits, vegetables, and grains are allowed. My claim is that this diet is good for mental illness, hypertension, obesity, cancer prevention, etc. It is a vegan diet. It is good for your heart. It is good for hypercholesterolemia (cholesterol too high in the blood).