Schizophrenia: Nutrient Therapy to Balance Brain Chemistry
Natural healing for schizophrenia is possible when the patient’s biochemistry reveals underlying conditions producing the disorder.
What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a breakdown in a person’s ability to think, feel, and behave with reason, and can be caused by genetic or epigenetic factors. Patients with schizophrenia may suffer from hallucinations, delusions, and faulty perceptions. They tend to have inappropriate thoughts, behaviors, and will often withdraw from reality and relationships with others into an isolated fantasy world full of delusion and mental fragmentation.
A significant number of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia have low histamine levels in the blood. Schizophrenia is treated by careful evaluation of symptoms and biochemical lab testing. As biochemistry stabilizes and normalizes, symptoms improve. Patients with schizophrenia often have high copper levels, known as paranoid schizophrenia. Excess copper is known to cause psychosis.
This type of mental illness usually appears in late adolescence or early adulthood, but it can strike at any time in life. The signs and symptoms vary from person to person, but many people with the disorder report experiencing delusions or hallucinations. They report hearing voices, as well as seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling things that are not there. Many also have very inappropriate or strange behaviors, disorganized speech, decreased motivation or interest, and can appear emotionless.
Chemical Biotype Key To Natural Healing for Schizophrenia
In mainstream psychiatry, schizophrenia is an umbrella term given to several different mental disorders. It’s considered a devastating diagnosis and natural healing for schizophrenia is often considered impossible. In his research, William J. Walsh, PhD, of the Walsh Research Institute, discovered that persons diagnosed with schizophrenia fall into five different biotypes:
- Overmethylation schizophrenia (was previously the most common)
- Pyrrole disorder schizophrenia
- Undermethylated schizophrenia
- Copper toxicity schizophrenia
- Gluten, dairy and other food intolerances can cause schizophrenia in some cases (due to massive gut inflammation)
These biotypes represent very different disorders, each with unique neurotransmitter imbalances and symptoms. The Walsh Theory of Schizophrenia proves that most cases of schizophrenia involve abnormal methylation or oxidative overload. Natural healing for schizophrenia is possible when body chemistry is stabilized and normalized through targeted advanced nutrient therapy.
Since psychiatric medications are quite powerful and often come with unpleasant or even permanent side effects, it is important for families of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia to consider Targeted Advanced Nutrient Therapy. Unlike psychiatric medicine which treats the symptoms of the condition, individualized and targeted advanced nutrient therapy works toward healing by correcting the imbalance that is often at the root cause of the disorder. Many recovered patients with schizophrenia live normal productive lives while continuing nutrient therapy. Some may still require a minimal dose of traditional medication in addition to nutrient therapy. This allows them to function with fewer side effects.
Also, ensuring the diet is also inline with a patients chemistry is vital to their recovery. I often find that they are eating the opposite of what their chemistry calls for, thus exacerbating symptoms.
If you know of someone who struggles with schizophrenia, please share this post. It is through sharing your story that we create community, eliminate guilt and shame, and bring about healing.
Hi, Sami! My daughter is highly undermethylated and, for a time while she was 12 years old, had what I would call “gluten-induced schizophrenia.” She had various food allergies as well, and it seemed she had horrible candida because we figured out she had an “auto-brewery.” We put her on an autoimmune paleo diet for a few months, and had her avoid sugar, and she was able to add many foods back into her diet. She stayed away from gluten, however, for much longer. She is now 16, free of schizophrenic symptoms, and a real go-getter. (Of course, that’s not unusual for an undermethylator.) She still suffers with inflammation, and seems to be HLA-B27 positive, like my brother and me, but she is generally quite athletic, active, and healthy. I’m so grateful that we never put her on any medication, or anti-psychotic drug, which is what had been suggested by her doctor. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it when I find someone like you, who knows what they’re talking about! I am looking forward to learning more from you. Thank you for sharing your insights!
Hi Peg, hopefully you get this. What were the signs and symptoms that your daughter was developing schizophrenia? As a father, when I read stuff like this, I’m always super curious to know what to look out for.
Hi Elaine,
Yes, I get what you are saying. It made me think of a documentary I saw a few years ago on the effects of differing levels of testosterone on two sisters, who were a few years apart in age. The younger one had very low testosterone and displayed characteristics of a very caring, but possibly overly fearful mother, in the way that she tended regularly to her dolls and their comfort and wellbeing, and had no interest whatsoever in running around and playing outdoors with her sibling or the other kids.
Her sister had very high testosterone – and, you guessed it, was a bit of a tomboy, and was very athletic and sporty, with zero interest in dolls or dresses. There were more differences, in the way they dressed, and behaved etc. but they were the two most obvious differences that I remember.
I also know someone who has experienced an element of gender confusion for a long time – although not to the point of needing to polarise to one particular gender. This person, because of other symptoms, had the above testing, and was found to have a number of the above mentioned biochemical conditions.
I agree, it would be really interesting to hear what the experts have to say.
Shelley, thank you so much for sharing your insight. As a leader of a youth group, my fellow leaders and I are trying to better understand the health issues we see in our kids – autism, anxiety, depression and to us the very puzzling issue of gender and identity confusion/fluidity. One of our leaders, a nurse, has suggested there may be an underlying biochemical imbalance or deficiency that is yet to be discovered. She gave us the example of stomach ulcers which for years were written off to stress but eventually turned out to be due in many cases to a bacteria. Dr. Walsh’ s
research appears to be showing there is a biochemical/nutritional “root cause” for many health problems. Hope Sami can share her insights and perhaps direct us to some reliable resources.
My fellow leaders and I can find little on the subject. Thanks again for sharing.
(Many of our kids are on prescription drugs for their problems. We know of no one who has tried a more natural method.)
Hi Elaine,
These are my thoughts on your questions:
1. Dysbiosis is one of the symptoms of a number of the above listed biochemical conditions, and, if present, could be a contributing or exacerbating factor in symptoms of schizophrenia but not the cause on it’s own. The above underlying biochemical condition/s would have to be treated, and the dysbiosis treated along with it.
2. What I have gleaned from my limited awareness about gender identity confusion is that the person with the gender confusion feels much better once they have the acceptance and loving guidance, from parents and their community, to embrace the gender they feel most identified with. This makes me think that it is not actually schizophrenia, or a mental health disorder in and of itself, but the ongoing stress (which I imagine could be quite high, often concurrent with the stress of puberty) could manifest as such. If they had one of the above underlying biochemical conditions, then it would very much exacerbate any stress they were already experiencing. If someone with gender identity confusion was experiencing depression, anxiety, OCD, dysbiosis, or other mental or behavioural disorders then I would suspect the possibility of an underlying biochemical disorder, and think it would be a good idea for them to be tested. This would be beneficial to them in more ways than one, including helping them to make any transition they need to, with a healthy mental outlook and a healthy body. It would also help them to get the most out of any therapy they may choose.
Dear Sami,
1. Would dysbiosis be one of the factors, genetic or epigenetic, that might be an underlying or contributing cause of schizophrenia? There is much written today about the health of the gut and the health of the mind.
2. Is the ever increasing occurrence of gender/identity confusion a manifestation of schizophrenia or a separate disorder?
Wish more parents and doctors would think to look at biochemistry and nutrition to help their children suffering from schizophrenia.
Thank you.