A History of Medicine with a Focus on Mental Illness – Part 5
20th Century still under construction…
20th Century and Beyond
20th Century
Early 20th Century
Talking Cure (Psychoanalysis) Introduced by Freud
Generally speaking, Freud introduced the idea that psychology could be used to help people recover from mental illness. For a limited number of people, this would and still does work to some extent, though the numbers remain low in terms of percentages recovering.
Earlier in the 2nd Century, Galen had a similar idea and wrote about the same psychological thoughts.
One unfortunate aspect of Freud’s particular model is that the mother of the psychotic person was often found to be the culprit behind the mental illness. Later in the century, Dr. Hoffer would often have to reassure Mom that she was not the reason for the illness as he tried to address the issue from a biochemical point of view(13).
Freud’s psychoanalysis consisted of three parts: id, ego, and superego. Conflict between these parts would need to be resolved before a “cure” was found. Generally speaking, Freud’s ideas of talking things out and resolving conflict on a psychological level were helpful to some, and as his ideas have been changed and further developed, psychology has helped more, even if practitioners of psychology no longer subscribe to Freud’s original model.
Part of the reason psychology can help some is that certain people can benefit greatly from talking out their problems. Some will experience a huge sense of relief and less stress. However, some people may actually respond by feeling more stress if they are forced to talk things out. The process of psychological healing is using the brain to heal the brain. Because of the complex nature of the brain, this can have a positive impact on some people.
Unfortunately, many cannot be helped with psychology, at least not at first, because many people need to correct biochemical brain imbalances first. If a person has a chemical imbalance too far off, even if they are the type of person who would benefit from talk therapy, many will need to address the issue from a chemical point of view first.
Researchers are learning more and more about brain biochemistry all the time in many recent and ongoing discoveries of health.
German Psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin Disagreed with Freud
Not everyone agreed with Freud in the early 20th century. Amen noted that German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, a contemporary of Freud’s, believed the primary cause of mental illness was by way of the brain and biology, with a strong genetic component. Kraepelin thought that medicine, not talk, was the answer. Amen concludes that
“[Kraepelin’s] theories were influential during the early 20th century and reemerged at the end of the 20th century when psychoanalysis fell out of favor. Viewing psychiatry as a branch of medicine, he began developing the modern classification system for mental disorders… He emerged as an advocate for the treatment, rather than the imprisonment, of the insane and rejected Freud’s psychoanalytical theories as unscientific, especially those suggesting that early sexual urges were the cause of mental illness”(3).
AD 1900 – 1950
Vitamin Revolution
| Vitamins overshadow minerals.
| Mineral deficiencies seen as subtle → under-researched.
| Toxic heavy metals are now mostly separated from beneficial minerals.
AD 1912
Vitamin A discovered. Vitamin B1 was discovered.
AD 1915
Vitamin H discovered. Originally it was called vitamin B.
AD 1917
Treatment of the Mentally Ill by Inducing Infection
The first of several 20th Century barbaric “medical” practices was introduced by Austrian physician Julius Wagner-Jauregg. The thinking of the day was that fever, comas, and convulsions would help alleviate symptoms of psychosis. In part, these ideas may have reduced symptoms temporarily, but the “cure” was truly temporary, if at all, and the side effects were devastating, often including death. Wagner-Jauregg, and his misguided ideas, would be performed into the 1940s.
“Austrian physician Julius Wagner-Jauregg experimented with curing psychosis by inducing fevers. Misguided, he infected his patients with a by-product of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. It was not successful. Undeterred, he began to use malaria parasites in 1917 to treat psychotic patients suffering from syphilis. Fifteen percent of them died, and the rest contracted malaria, but the fevers did temporarily decrease their symptoms. Wagner-Jauregg was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research in 1927”(3).
AD 1920s
The mineral copper is discovered.
AD 1920s to 1930s
The mineral magnesium is discovered.
AD 1922
Vitamin D was discovered. Later it would be shown that it wasn’t actually a vitamin.
Vitamin E was discovered.
AD 1925
Flexner report…
AD 1926
Vitamin B2 was discovered.
AD 1927
Supreme Court Upholds Sterilization of Mentally Ill
The Eugenics Movement, having begun with the madness of King George III, was in full swing. Now the Supreme Court of the U.S. would uphold the wrongheaded thinking of the day. This movement would later lead to supposedly “improving” society through creating a “superior” Aryan race in Nazi Germany, advocating for abortion on demand, and forcing sterilization of those deemed less fit to procreate. Yes, the U.S. Supreme Court, and many advocates of this type of thinking in general, unwittingly led to the advancement of Nazi Germany. Amen commented,
“…Asylum superintendents, legislators, and social reformers embarked on a deeply misguided eugenics movement to improve society by passing sterilization laws that were eventually supported by the US Supreme Court (1927 Buck vs. Bell case). They passed in 32 states and formed part of the rationale for Nazi Germany’s atrocities. This movement continued into the 1960s, with more than 60,000 Americans undergoing sterilization”(3).
AD 1927
The Seizer “Cure”
The “scientific” and “medical” community continued in the dark ages of medicine when it came to the mentally ill. If you didn’t get brain damage or die, you could possibly have some reduction in symptoms – temporarily. One has to wonder what the 1920’s community was thinking. According to Amen,
“In 1927, another Austrian psychiatrist, Manfred Sakel, administered large doses of insulin to purposely cause seizures in psychotic patients. Researchers discovered that if blood glucose levels went too low, people fell into a coma or experienced seizures, and this could temporarily alleviate symptoms. Unfortunately, the treatment was associated with negative side effects, such as obesity, and more severe consequences, including brain damage and even death”(3).
AD 1920s to 1939
Pellagra is Widespread in the U.S.
The milling of grains to produce white flour was introduced just prior to the turn of the century (1870) because it was discovered that the mice would not eat the flour produced. Hence, it was seen as a way of preserving food. Little did they know that the process also stripped almost all nutrients from the grains. By the way, this process is still used today. Whole wheat bread is not much better because it consists of very little whole wheat. The percentage of whole grain required to label it as whole wheat is minimal. Nutrients were first discovered in 1912, vitamin A, and the specific identity of niacin, B3, in 1939.
This eventually led to the development of niacin therapy in 1951 for schizophrenia. In the meantime, Niacin fortification became government-mandated for white flour and white rice.
“One of the symptoms of pellagra is psychosis like that of schizophrenia. During the 1920’s, there were pellagra epidemics in the United States when the milling of grains into white flour and white rice stripped these grains of niacin (vitamin B3). This led to widespread niacin deficiency, disease, and even the death of thousands of people”(1).
Pellagra was the 8th and 9th leading cause of death in the southern United States from 1928 to 1929. Pellagra symptoms may be thought of as the 4 Ds: Dermatitis, Dementia, Delusion, and then Death.
AD 1933
Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) discovered.
AD 1934
Vitamin B6 discovered.
AD 1935
Vitamin C discovered.
AD 1935
Frontal Lobotomies Earned the Nobel Prize
Long before zombie movies became popular, Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz came up with the idea of destroying the frontal lobes of the brains of the mentally ill. The result was that the formerly schizophrenic patient would now be zombie-like, with no joy, sorrow, or any emotion. But “symptoms” were reduced. Frontal lobotomies were performed into the 1950’s.
“In 1935, Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz drilled holes into the skulls of 20 mentally disturbed patients and used a wire in 13 of them to sever the connections in the brain’s frontal lobes. Moniz was hoping the procedure, called a lobotomy, would calm his patients, who suffered from anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. It worked! Patients became more compliant, spurring wide adoption of the procedure, which was subsequently used on thousands of patients. Over time, however, it became apparent that it destroyed personalities and turned people into zombie-like beings. Despite these alarming side effects, Moniz also received a Nobel Prize for his work”(3).
AD 1938
ECT (Shock Therapy) Introduced
Let’s see. In the early part of the 20th Century, doctors thought it was a good idea to give tuberculosis or malaria to patients, drive them to seizures through mega doses of insulin, drill holes in their heads and destroy their frontal lobes, and now they introduced electric shock therapy.
“In 1938, Italian neurologists Ugo Cerletti and Lucino Bini were the first to deliver electric shocks to patients to induce seizures. They found that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) had more lasting benefits than insulin-shock therapy with fewer side effects. ECT is still used today to treat severe cases of schizophrenia, depression, mania, and serious suicidal thoughts”(3).
ECT is still practiced today despite many superior alternatives and despite the temporary nature of the reduction in symptoms using this procedure.
AD 1937 or 1938
Niacin (B3) first discovered.
AD 1943?
Dr. Klenner Begins Curing with Vitamin C
Dr. Klenner begins using vitamin C to cure all kinds of infections. Over the next 40 or so years, He would wind up curing all kinds of infections, including viral infections, bacterial infections, and poisons of all sorts. He was largely ignored because you can’t patent vitamin C.
AD 1944
Shute Brothers Cure Heart Disease with Vitamin E
Dr. Wilfrid Shute and his brother Evan Shute would begin to use vitamin E to treat many heart-related conditions. Along the way, they would find many other uses of vitamin E.
The Shutes were ignored because vitamin E is not patentable. Countless lives, millions, have been lost, but still the work of the Shutes goes largely ignored.
AD 1945
“Fortification” of flour begins
Many manufacturers begin to fortify their white bread, flour, and rice with some B vitamins and maybe a few other nutrients. Vitamin E didn’t make the cut even though natural wheat and rice are very high in vitamin E. The government regulated the word “fortified” but did not require manufacturers to add back any nutrients until well into the 1990’s.
AD 1949
Lithium Introduced – Well Sort Of
The first treatment that made at least some sense biochemically in the history of the treatment of mental illness was written about and used in Australia by psychiatrist John Cade in 1949. Although Lithium was used in Denmark for the treatment of mental illness since the late 1800s, there was little published about it at the time(14).
Lithium was first discovered in 1817. This trace mineral is a naturally occurring element, so it can’t be patented. It is listed as number three on the periodic table chart. It is commonly found in most drinking water in very small amounts, and there is some debate over whether it is an essential nutrient for humans. In any event, it is usually found at varying levels in the human body. Reports have been published that low hair levels of lithium found in certain areas of the world where the drinking water contains less of this element have higher rates of certain conditions, including “heart disease, learning disabilities, and violent criminal tendencies(15). There have been reports published that Lithium helps with neuroplasticity, the growth of new brain cells(14).
Although much of the world began using Lithium after 1949, the FDA in the United States did not approve its use for the treatment of mental illness until 1970.
The levels commonly used for the treatment of mental illness range from 300mg to 1200mg a day(15). Although some people can benefit from lithium, at these levels, there are usually side effects of varying levels and types depending on the biochemistry of the person taking it and how much one is given. It has been estimated that 20 percent of the people on high doses of lithium develop a hypothyroid condition. “The high doses of lithium used in the treatment of manic-depressive disorder may cause side effects, however, including nausea, vomiting, tremors, kidney dysfunction, and thyroid enlargement”(16). Additionally, like drugs that act in a similar way to this natural element, there can sometimes be a dampening of mood to the point where over-dampening of emotions occurs(15). Lastly, lithium can negatively interact with many drugs, such as some “mental health related drugs, blood pressure medications, and some painkillers”(14). Lithium in large doses is controlled by the FDA in the U.S., and using it effectively requires qualified oversight by a doctor. Low doses of around 5mg are available to the general public.
We know now that Taurine is a safer amino acid and that Taurine often works way better than Lithium in treating bipolar condition. People who insist on using lithium may be better off looking into Lithanase®.
AD 1950 – 2000
Modern Thinking on Minerals
Ancient societies knew about some minerals for human health. The list of minerals the human body needs was thought to be complete. In reality, this list could likely be much longer.
| Focus narrows to “Big Five” minerals: Na, K, Ca, Fe, I.
| Trace minerals ignored.
| Greatest knowledge of toxic minerals was now known
| Orthomolecular doctors used HTMA to help their patients and clients.
| In 1984, Trace Elements Inc. (TEI) was founded and began to use the HTMA test for what would eventually become thousands of clients.
Doctors Data…
AD 1948
The mineral cobalt is discovered.
AD 1950s
The mineral strontium is discovered.
AD 1951
Alpha Lipoic Acid first isolated but largely ignored until 1977.
AD 1951
Niacin Therapy Introduced
Niacin therapy is superior to lithium therapy, but it never received the credit it deserves. There is no debate that niacin is an essential nutrient needed for human life. If you lack niacin long enough, you will die.
Twelve years after the discovery of niacin, Drs. Humphrey Osmond and Abram Hoffer were the first to try niacin therapy for schizophrenia treatment. Dr. Abram Hoffer had the insight that people who were niacin deficient exhibited signs and symptoms of schizophrenia (along with other symptoms). The condition of Pellagra is niacin deficiency. He also knew that those who had been niacin deficient for a long period of time needed higher doses of niacin permanently to maintain recovery from Pellagra. He asked the question: what if higher doses than normal were given to those with schizophrenia? In two years (1953), Drs. Humphrey Osmond and Abram Hoffer would test the hypothesis with great success.
Unlike with lithium, large doses of niacin have almost no side effects and many side benefits to the human body (like longer life expectancy, help in combating allergies, help lowering anxiety, aid in healing from acne, etc.)(17). Niacin is a cofactor in the body (inside the cell) making NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide). Having an abundant supply of NAD in the human body is very helpful for many reasons. One primary reason is that NAD can become depleted during excessive stress. “Once niacin is transformed to NAD inside the cell, it is used in more biochemical reactions than any other vitamin-derived cofactor (over 450)”(17).
It should be noted that one major issue with the use of niacin is the flushing effect it may have at large doses. To get around the flushing caused by large doses of niacin, many doctors have prescribed some forms that do not flush. Many of these other forms, when used long enough and at high enough doses, can damage the liver and can have much less benefit for psychosis. Using incorrect forms of niacin and publishing the results has been one source of the excuse to ignore the real story of niacin.
Another side effect of niacin therapy is the lowering of cholesterol. This may not be the great benefit many think it is. But this discussion and its details are beyond the scope of this timeline.
It is now known that Niacin is a better cure for most bipolar people than Lithium. We also know that Taurine may work better than niacin for most people who are just bipolar, but not as much for those who are racing and schizophrenic.
We also know how niacin alone may often greatly improve those who have Alzheimer’s disease.
AD 1952
Drug Therapy Begins
Chlorpromazine was discovered and first used in France, with many other antipsychotics to follow. Antipsychotic drugs have never “cured” schizophrenia, but rather were a way of controlling symptoms. Generally, these drugs have been successful at turning “hot” symptoms into “cold” symptoms, meaning the person with the symptoms is easier to take care of. Real healing and recovery under these drugs was, and still is, never a great possibility. Drug therapy had begun, but at what cost? Consider just some of the side effects:
“These drugs are poisoning huge numbers of unfortunate psychotic patients worldwide with the following side effects: diseases such as metabolic syndrome, (diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high blood triglycerides), increased complications from cardiovascular pathology, neurological diseases such as tardive dyskinesia, deterioration of brain function, tranquilizer psychosis, permanent social incapacity, suicide, homicide, serial killers, broken marriages and homes, homelessness, addiction to drugs and alcohol, more people in prison, more people on welfare, more postsurgical reactions of the aged on statins after surgery”(17).
DSM Introduced
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual was created to classify the different types of mental illness. It is generally used by American psychiatrists. Since its creation, the DSM has undergone several revisions. The first DSM listed 107 diagnoses, while the DSM-IV lists 340 conditions. Some say the newer additions of the manual attempt to “invent” illness. Regardless of inventing illnesses or not, none of the manuals effectively get to root cause issues. Additionally, even leading psychiatrists question its validity in actually describing conditions. In 2013, after the publication of the DSM-5, “Thomas Insel, one of the most powerful psychiatrists in the world at the time as director of the National Institutes of Mental Health…” said,
“The strength of each of the editions of DSM has been “reliability”—each edition has ensured that clinicians use the same terms in the same ways. The weakness is its lack of validity. Unlike our definitions of ischemic heart disease, lymphoma, or AIDS, the DSM diagnoses are [not] based on . . . any objective laboratory measure… Patients with mental disorders deserve better”(3).
AD 1953
Niacin Therapy Trials
The first double-blind therapeutic trials in the history of psychiatry were performed by Drs. Osmond and Hoffer.
“Their first two trials showed significant improvement giving at least 3g (3,000 mg) a day [of niacin], compared to placebos. They also found that chronic schizophrenics, not first time suffers but long-term inpatients, showed little improvement. The results of six double-blind controlled trials showed that the natural recovery rate was doubled. Later they found that even chronic patients, treated for several years with niacin in combination with other nutrients, showed a 60 percent recovery rate”(15).
Despite their hugely successful results, the medical community of the day largely ignored the results, and this trend, by and large, continues today.
AD 1955
Drug Therapy Introduced to the U.S.
Antipsychotic drugs became available for use in the U.S.
Hospitalization of the Mentally Ill Peaked
Those hospitalized with mental illness peaked in the U.S. at around 560,000 people(18). The race to empty the hospitals through drug therapy was about to begin. It would really take off later in the 1960s after the introduction of tranquilizers. “However, many mentally ill became homeless upon being released from institutions due to inadequate housing and follow-up care”(18).
AD 1957
The mineral selenium is discovered.
AD 1959
The mineral chromium is discovered.
AD 1961
Although the mineral zinc had been known since the 1860s, scientists now, in 1961, knew for the first time that this mineral was used in human health. Previously, it was thought that this mineral was only important for plant health.
AD 1970
The minerals vanadium, silicon, and germanium were discovered.
AD 1970
CoQ10 was isolated. Roughly around the mid-1970s, people started to use it.
AD 1970
Niacin Treatment Attacked
Articles were published repudiating Hoffer’s claim to success with niacin treatment. Later, the author of one of the articles would apologize and write a second article stating Hoffer was correct. But the damage was done, and no one listened to the second article from the mainstream powers that be in psychiatry(15).
Lithium Treatment Approved by the FDA
Although much of the world had been successfully using lithium treatment for mental illness for over 20 years, the FDA waited until 1970 to approve its use in the U.S.
AD 1977
Berkson Uses Alpha Lipoic Acid to Cure Extreme Poisoning
Dr. Burt Berkson first used Alpha Lipoic Acid in treatment to treat severe liver disease in a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. He was told to not use it and he was told to make both patients feel comfortable as they would both likely die. The man, who had mushroom poisoning, would certainly die, and the woman, with a less severe case of the same condition, would likely die. Dr. Berkson ignored the head doctor’s orders, and within a few days, both patients had recovered.
Despite publishing his findings, most doctors to this day continue to insist on liver transplants and largely ignore better advice(19).
AD 1980s
The mineral boron is discovered.
AD 1988
Prozac SSRI Antidepressant Approved by FDA
“Happy pills” are now commonly being prescribed since the first release of Prozac. In fact, “Since Prozac was introduced, antidepressant use in the United States has increased 400 percent, and more than one in 10 Americans now takes one. Only medications to lower cholesterol are prescribed more often than antidepressants in the United States(3).
The question still remains: do they make the user feel “happy” or nothing? A later study, in 2017, would reveal that joy, sorrow, happiness, and such are all dampened with the use of SSRIs(3).
One negative aspect of Prozac and other psychiatric medications has been the side effects. There are many. The side effects range from violent and suicidal behavior in some people who try them, to obesity and loss of libido for many who use them, just to name a few. This has resulted in,
“Thousands of lawsuits claim that Prozac and other psychiatric medications increase violent or suicidal behavior. Virtually all antidepressants and antipsychotic medications have black box warnings, which, in simple terms means the FDA cautions patients in the strongest terms to pay close attention to potentially extremely harmful or dangerous threats to their health(3).
AD 1989
FDA Ban Tryptophan (to Make Room For Prozac?)
The FDA banned the sale of the number one prescribed treatment for depression, tryptophan, because of a tainted batch made in Japan. Some have claimed up to 37 people died from this tainted batch of tryptophan. It took about a year and a half for government officials to identify the source of the issue with tryptophan, but the FDA did not allow the sale of tryptophan again until 2005.
The number of people who die each year from taking Prozac and other SSRIs is hard to determine; however, conservative estimates say that there is a 33% death rate among those taking them. With 1 in 10 Americans taking some form of antidepressant, and SSRIs being the number one form of antidepressant taken, the number of deaths caused each year from these drugs is staggering.
Yet there is no ban on these drugs as being unsafe. And the drugs are not tainted in any way. This is how they work, or perhaps one could say they don’t work.
Today, more than 100,000 people die every year from prescriptions properly prescribed and properly taken as the doctor ordered, and yet there is seldom a successful drug banned for causing 37 deaths. How many more die from misapplied prescriptions or people not following their doctor’s orders? Additionally, the number of deaths from vitamins, other nutrients, and herbs is regularly less than 9 per year, yet the public sees them as dangerous.
AD 1990
HGP (Human Genome Project) Launched (Finished in 2003)
Though we are discovering there is still a great deal to learn, a good first step was the launch of this project.
The effort to map the entire genetic structure of the human genome was launched in 1990 and finished in 2003. Today, testing and analysis are possible for variations and proclivities of individual genes. Knowing what SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) one has for a given gene can help with mental health treatment plans. Just consider how one SNP (in PKU) alone can affect health:
“Ferguson et al. (2016) offer several examples of nutrigenetics, one of these being phenylketonuria (PKU)…People born with this mutation must avoid foods that contain the amino acid phenylalanine. If they do not modify their diet in this way, they will suffer mild to severe symptoms of phenylketonuria, which may include skin rashes and/or neurological problems such as psychiatric and behavioral disorders or seizures”(1).
Even just one SNP variation, as the PKU SNP mentioned above, may wreak havoc on our health, but usually there is more than one involved. Often, more than one SNP and more than one gene are factors contributing to illness. For example,
“The Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 36,989 schizophrenia cases with 113,075 controls. Upon the conclusion of this study of approximately 9.5 million variants, 108 schizophrenia genetic loci were discovered, and 75% of these included protein-coding genes. Often, there was more the one allele found per individual, suggesting a polygenic risk for this mental illness(1).
Note: genetics do not tell the whole story, as genetic expression can vary for two people with identical genes (i.e., identical twins) because of environmental factors affecting individuals. Perhaps one would be exposed to a heavy dose of toxicity or infection or another environmental factor; these could affect the expression of genes. One person may develop schizophrenia, and one may not even if they have identical genes. That said, knowing the genes one is born with and their specific variations which may give one a proclivity toward illness, can still help concentrate treatment and make for more effective protocols.
AD 1991
SPECT Imaging First Used by Dr. Amen.
Heart doctors use all kinds of imaging and testing to diagnose and treat heart disease. The same could be said for almost every other specialist in medicine. However, how many psychiatrists even run a simple blood test? For example, folate deficiency has been linked to an increased chance of adverse, even violent, reactions to SSRIs. Dr. Walsh of Walsh Research Institute said, “Persons with the low-folate biotype of depression are especially prone to these adverse side effects, presumably because they are intrinsically high-serotonin persons who react badly to medications that increase serotonin neurotransmission”(20). How about checking folate levels before prescribing an SSRI? One has to wonder how many doctors even know about this?
Psychiatry today is usually about trial and error. Try this. How did you feel? Oh, not so good. Try this. And so on. Dr. Amen has shown since 1991 that effective imaging of the brain is possible and that brain treatments can be tailored based on the results found.
AD 1998
Yearlong Study on Gluten
In 1998, a yearlong study was conducted involving 270 patients having either schizophrenia or autism. Dialysis was used, and gluten-free and casein-free diets were consumed by the subjects. The tests showed all the patients who followed the gluten-free and casein-free diets improved in several key areas including these three: lower peptides in blood and urine; lower concentration of peptides in the brain; improved symptoms of autism and schizophrenia(21).
The study backed up what had already been published by doctor’s Philpott and Kalita in 1980 in their book on brain allergies.
“My own practice as a psychiatrist has shown that for 250 consecutive, unselected emotionally disturbed patients, there is convincing evidence that the majority developed major symptoms on exposure to their commonly consumed foods and frequently encountered chemicals. The highest percentage of symptom formation occurred in those classified as psychotic. Ninety-two percent of those classified as schizophrenic developed symptoms as maladaptive reactions to foods and chemicals; 64 percent manifested symptom formation on exposure to wheat; 51 percent manifested symptom formation on exposure to corn products…”(22).
Hoffer and other orthomolecular doctors had been advocating a similar diet specific for those with psychotic symptoms for a long time prior to this. Going back even further, in 1850, John Conolly had advocated good food as part of his plan to treat mental illness. Contrast this approach with one written about by Dr. Hoffer: “By 1900 in the northeastern United States the food budget of mental hospitals had become abysmally small. One superintendent prided himself on the fact that he could feed patients on 19 cents a day”(17).
The food supply in the hospital setting (and in general) today is getting worse and worse. “In 1950 in Canada, 15 percent of the food was processed. In 2007 it is closer to 85 percent”(17).
The 21st century
AD 2000s
Tens of Thousands of Mental Health Patients Have Recovered Through Orthomolecular Means
By the early 2000s, tens of thousands of patients, who would have had little hope for recovery through drug therapy and talk therapy, have recovered from schizophrenia through the use of orthomolecular treatments, properly prescribed by qualified practitioners, that were first introduced by Osmond and Hoffer. Hoffer alone documented treating 10,000-plus successfully. Other centers and doctors, over the years, have had higher or similar numbers. Despite this, the powers that be in psychiatry and health care continue to largely ignore the results and methods used.
Drug Therapy Continues as the Dominate Treatment
Drug therapy masks symptoms but doesn’t help many recover. For example, “At a hearing, in King County, Washington, in 2000, a psychiatrist testified that of the 10,000 patients he had treated, none had recovered”(13).
Cuts to Funding by State Governments
State Governments continue to cut funding to mental-health services. According to the National Review, “The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) published a 2011 report detailing states’ funding cuts to mental-health services. Between 2009 and 2011, states cumulatively cut more than $1.8 billion from their budgets for these services”(23). Many mentally ill, having symptoms reduced by drug therapy, are still often at the mercy of the state. Often, they can’t work, at least not effectively, and have limited resources to live and get along in the world. This leads many to get in trouble with the law and wind up in the new modern place to house the mentally ill – state, federal, and local jails. The police unfairly take the blame, but the real culprit is the system of medicine currently practiced for the mentally ill. The National Review cited,
“One in five people killed by police have some form of mental illness, and many of those people are black and/or poor.
The Department of Justice found in 2006 that about 15 percent of state prisoners and a quarter of jail inmates report symptoms that meet the criteria for a psychotic disorder. The same year, the Bureau of Justice estimated that the mentally troubled constituted about half of all prisoners in state, federal, and local jail.
In 2012, there were ten times more mentally ill persons in jail than in hospitals(23).
AD 2000 – Present
True Biochemistry Is Being Rediscovered but Is Still Largely Ignored
We have discovered a few things like:
| Chromium → insulin signaling
| Selenium → thyroid conversion
| Zinc → DNA repair
| Magnesium → 300+ enzymes
| Copper, boron, molybdenum, vanadium, lithium, silicon, and many more become known and updated.
| HTMA reintroduces a broader mineral worldview, but is still mostly ignored by the medical establishment.
There are 103 elements in the Periodic Table Chart, and there are 78 good minerals in the human bones alone. It is also known that the human body stores many more unwanted heavy metals in bone tissues as well. Are now up to 88 elements in the human bone, including the 78 good minerals and ten or so heavy metals? Does this list include the radioactivity you receive from the sun every day, perhaps giving you higher levels of uranium and plutonium in ever so small amounts? We are making new discoveries all the time. God made man from the dust of the earth; are we now discovering how true this is? How many of the 103 elements do we have in our bodies? What would our health be like if all these were in their proper order?
AD 2017
Body Biology Comes Before Symptoms In The Brain
Dr. Mark Hyman’s book The UltraMind Solution is first published. In the book, Hyman challenges the notion that mental illness is ultimately caused by the brain. He argues that the body must first suffer an assault of some sort for the brain to react negatively. If your biology is messed up, then your brain may also suffer, and thus you will feel depression, anxiety, and other mood issues. If you fix the body, the mind then will often be fixed as well.
AD 2017
SSRIs Found to Reduce All Emotion
What many have been claiming for years was verified by a study done in 2017 at Oxford University. The study found,
“…most SSRIs—such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and Lexapro—do not just decrease negative emotions; they reduce all emotions, including love, happiness, and joy. Participants felt separated from their surroundings and cared less about important things in their daily lives. They felt like their personalities had changed”(3).
What Would the Ideal Future Look Like?
Based on 2020 Hindsight of What has Worked Prior to 2020:
The Ideal Future would be:
One where natural means are better utilized and applied, and the number of people who suffer from mental illness dwindles to till very little or none.
Society would save a great deal of money in the process. Additionally, the saving of human suffering would be incalculable.
References
1. Brocato, Mary. etc.
2. Mental Floss [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2026 Aug 25]. A Brief History of Trepanation, One of the World’s Oldest Surgeries. Available from: https://www.mentalfloss.com/science/medicine/trepanation-history-one-worlds-oldest-surgeries
3. Amen DG. The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience Is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders, and More. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition; n.d.
4. Cartwright M. Ancient Greek Medicine. World History Encyclopedia [Internet]. 2018 Apr 11 [cited 2026 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Medicine/
5. The Odyssey Online [Internet]. 2016 [cited 2026 Aug 25]. Mental Illness: A History. Available from: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/mental-illness-history
6. Schmidt, Alvin J. How Christianity Changed the World. Kindle Edition. Grand Rapids Michigan: Zondervan; 2004.
7. Tierney, B., & Painter, S. Middle Ages 300-1475: Fourth edition. New York: Alfred A Knopf; 1983.
8. Hospital, Medieval and Renaissance History of the | Encyclopedia.com [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 25]. Available from: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hospital-medieval-and-renaissance-history
9. Christian History Institute [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 25]. Christian History Timeline: Healthcare and Hospitals in the Mission of the Church | Christian History Magazine. Available from: https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/timeline-healthcare-and-hospitals
10. Knowles R. the Christian contribution to healthcare.
11. Bulletproof Washington – Amazing Facts [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 26]. Available from: https://www.amazingfacts.org/study/daily-devotional/bulletproof-washington/
12. Farrow, Lynne. 1 The Iodine Crisis: What You Don’t know About Iodine Can Wreck Your Life. USA: Devon Press; 2013.
13. Hoffer A. Psychiatry Yesterday (1950) and Today (2007), From Despair to Hope with Orthomolecular Psychiatry. Victoria, BC, Canada: Trafford Publishing; 2008.
14. Verywell Mind [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 25]. Why You Need Regular Blood Tests While Taking Lithium. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/lithium-the-first-mood-stabilizer-p2-380280
15. Holford P. New Optimum Nutrition for the Mind (Expanded, Updated). US: Basic Health Publications; 2009.
16. Blach B.F, & Blach, P.A. Prescription for nutritional healing, second edition: A practical a-z reference to drug-free remedies using vitamins, minerals, herbs,& food supplements. Garden City Park, NY: Avery; 1997.
17. Hoffer A. Niacin the Real Story. Basic Health Publications; 2015.
18. The History of Mental Illness | HealthyPlace [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 26]. Available from: https://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/mental-illness-overview/the-history-of-mental-illness
19. Berkson, Burt. The Alpha Lipoic Acid Breakthrough: The Superb Antioxidant That May Slow Aging, Repair Liver Damage, and Reduce the Risk of Cancer, Heart Disease, and Diabetes. Kindle Edition. New York: Three Rivers Press.
20. Walsh WJ. Nutrient Power: Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing; 2014. 1 p.
21. Cade R, Privette M, Fregly M, Rowland N, Sun Z, Zele V, et al. Autism and Schizophrenia: Intestinal Disorders. Nutritional Neuroscience. 2000 Jan 1;3(1):57–72. doi:10.1080/1028415X.2000.11747303 PubMed PMID: 27416160.
22. Philpott WH, Kalita DK. Brain Allergies: The Psychonutrient and Magnetic Connections. Los Angeles: Keats Publishing; 2000.
23. Black Lives Matter Policies Conservatives Can Support | National Review [Internet]. [cited 2026 Aug 26]. Available from: https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/07/black-lives-matter-policies-conservatives-can-support/
