Whole-Body Psychiatry: Nutrition for Mental Health

Nutrition for Schizophrenia

What follows is a series of nutrition-based strategies integrative psychiatrists use to treat schizophrenia, one of the most perplexing of mental diagnoses.

Fatty Acids

Our brains are 60 percent fat and require a diet rich in fatty acids to maintain the integrity of cell walls. “Fats embed themselves within the brain and ensure that the nerves and other circuitry function at a better level,” says Jonathan Prousky, ND, MSc. Chronic schizophrenics show higher levels of oxidative stress and cell-membrane breakdown in the frontal cortex and other parts of the brain, as well as lower levels of fatty acids in those areas. That observation, along with evidence that omega-3 supplementation can reduce the incidence and severity of psychosis, leads many clinicians to prescribe fish oil or other sources of omega-3s.

Niacin

Everyone requires a certain level of niacin, or vitamin B3, in his or her diet, but people with schizophrenia may not only be niacin deficient, they may be niacin dependent, meaning that they require a high dose — up to 3 grams or more daily — to function normally. Andrew Saul, PhD, editor in chief of the peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, says that Canadian physician and medical researcher Abram Hoffer recommended pairing high doses of B3 with up to 10,000 milligrams of vitamin C, divided into smaller doses throughout the day to increase absorption. “Vitamin C is the body’s most important antioxidant,” Saul says. “Dr. Hoffer believed that, in addition to many other important properties, vitamin C prevented the oxidation of adrenaline to adrenochrome [which Hoffer believed could cause psychotic behavior].”
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