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The
ALTERNATIVE MENTAL HEALTH News
A
monthly newsletter brought to you by AlternativeMentalHealth.comand
Safe Harbor, a nonprofit corporation.
Issue
61, November 2006
about
safe harbor
about alternative
mentalhealth.com
Editor's
note
Articles
LANDMARK
MENTAL HEALTH REPORT PUBLISHED
ARTICLE: JULIA ROSS AMINO ACID TRAINING, LOS ANGELES AREA, DECEMBER
2-3
ASSOCIATION FOR INTEGRATIVE PSYCHIATRY IS F0RMED
NORWEGIAN STUDY LINKS SUGARY SOFT DRINKS TO MENTAL PROBLEMS
JOURNAL DEVOTES ENTIRE ISSUE TO USE OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS IN
PSYCHIATRY
BIPOLAR DISORDER ASSOCIATED WITH BLOOD SUGAR IRREGULARITIES
TIPS FOR A GREAT NIGHT’S
SLEEP
The
Editors
Dan
Stradford, Editor
Alan Graham and Gloria McTaggart, Contributing Editors
SafeHarborProj@aol.com
AlternativeMentalHealth.com
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About
Safe Harbor
Safe
Harbor
was founded in 1998 in the wake of growing public dissatisfaction with
the unwanted effects of orthodox psychiatric treatments such as
medication and shock therapy.
Seeking to satisfy the desire for safer, more effective treatments,
Safe Harbor is dedicated to educating the public, the medical
profession, and government officials on research and treatments that,
minimally, do no harm and, optimally, cure the causes of severe mental
symptoms. Our primary thrust is education on the medical causes of
severe mental symptoms and the use of nutritional and other natural
treatments.
About
Alternative Mental Health.com
ALTERNATIVEMENTALHEALTH.COM
is the
world's largest website devoted exclusively to alternative mental
health treatments. It includes a directory of over 350 physicians,
nutritionists, experts, organizations, and facilities around the U.S.
that offer or promote safe, alternative treatments for severe mental
symptoms. Many of the physicians listed do in-depth examinations to
find the physical causes behind mental problems.
Also included on the site is an array of articles on topics ranging
from the medical causes of schizophrenia to the effects of toxic
metals on mental health.
Special AlternativeMentalHealth.com T-shirts and bumper stickers are
available at our online store.
A bookstore page lists top books that cover many areas of alternative
treatments with titles like Natural Healing for Schizophrenia and
Other Common Mental Disorders and No More Ritalin.
AlternativeMentalHealth.com has been created to educate the public,
practitioners, and government officials on the medical conditions that
create “mental
illness" and the many safe resources available for addressing and
often curing severe mental symptoms.
Contact
Us
Safe
Harbor Oklahoma
Sandra
Lykins, President
8177 S. Harvard # 826
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74137
Email: Okalternativementalhealth@
yahoo.com
phone: 918-271-2327
Editor's note
Safe
Harbor has been fortunate over the years to work with some of the
world’s brilliant innovators in the field of alternative mental
health treatment. One of those people is Dr. Jeffrey Sager, a
naturopath working at a psychiatric hospital in New England.
When Dr. Sager sought a research grant to develop a system for
replicating his natural healing methods in other psychiatric
facilities, the foundation he applied to told him they wanted a
recommendation from an authority in the field he was working in.
We are proud to say that Dr. Sager asked Safe Harbor for the
authorization and we were pleased to give the foundation a
much-deserved glowing account of Dr. Sager’s work. The grant was
approved and Dr. Sager’s study was done.
The report on his study has just been released and is described below.
Dr. Sager deserves great credit for not only creating a niche for
himself in the mental health facility he works in but also for
thinking big and working to expand naturopathic treatments beyond his
own sphere.
LANDMARK
MENTAL HEALTH REPORT PUBLISHED
A
number of years ago Jeffrey Sager, ND, managed to set up a
naturopathic treatment center within the Mental Health Center of
Greater Manchester (New Hampshire). Clients seeking a non-drug
or "natural treatment" route would be directed to Jeff and
he would, essentially, direct the case as the primary physician.
More recently Dr. Sager procured a grant from the Ittleson Foundation
of New York State to establish a "module" for how
naturopathic treatment could be implemented in psychiatric hospitals
across the nation.
Jeff and his team have completed the work and have released a concise
but thorough (actual text is 17 pages) report called "Integration
of Naturopathic Medicine in a Traditional Behavioral Health
System." It includes legal issues, insurance, marketing,
how to dovetail with standard treatment practices, etc.
An excellent case history follows a woman who had a history of suicide
attempts, six hospitalizations, ECT, and a host of other problems.
Twenty-one months later she was doing far better and was free of psych
meds, had lost 60 pounds, and had quit her smoking habit of 30
years.
There is no mention in the report of how to get reprints but Safe
Harbor was e-mailed a pdf file of the document so we suggest
contacting Dr. Sager’s office for that at (603) 623-1916. His e-mail
address is Sagerjef@mhcgm.org.
JULIA
ROSS AMINO ACID TRAINING, LOS ANGELES AREA, DECEMBER 2-3
Julia
Ross, author of The Mood Cure and The Diet Cure and a pioneer in
nutritional psychology, presents professional training in her
remarkable amino acid therapies for mood problems. Full information is
as follows:
Professional Training and Continuing Education* opportunity:
"Amino Acid Therapy: Eliminating Negative Emotions and False
Appetites That Block Healing"
Including Proven Alternatives to Antidepressants
Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3, 2006
Universal City, California
Learn to use targeted amino acids and other effective natural tools to
eliminate depression, anxiety, irritability, chronic sadness, apathy,
over-stress, insomnia, fibromyalgia, cravings for foods, alcohol and
drugs, and other symptoms of neurotransmitter deficiency.
This training will provide specific skills for identifying and
correcting key imbalances in the mood and appetite-regulating
chemistry of the brain and body using the holistic strategies that
have been developed during the last 19 years in the instructor's
successful California clinic.
*Continuing Education contact hours available for California
naturopathic doctors, acupuncturists, nurses, MFTs and LCSWs;
Nationally certified CE provider for nutritionists (NANP) and
acupuncturists (NCCAOM) from any state.
For training details and registration information, go towww.moodcure.com/training.html.
ASSOCIATION
FOR INTEGRATIVE PSYCHIATRY IS F0RMED
It
is with great pleasure that we relay the following information from
Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., integrative psychiatrist, the author of
Coyote Medicine and other books, and a member of Safe Harbor’s
listserv for professionals:
I want to announce the formation of a new membership organization
which I hope many professionals will join. Our first
international conference will be in Maui, Hawaii, in November 2007,
and we are interested in receiving proposals from anyone who wishes to
present. We are the Association for Integrative
Psychiatry, P.O. Box 250, Colven, NY 14033. We will have a web
site soon.
Dr. Mehl-Madrona’s email address is mehlmadrona@aol.com.
NORWEGIAN
STUDY LINKS SUGARY SOFT DRINKS TO MENTAL PROBLEMS
Oslo
teens who drank the most sugary soft drinks had the highest incidence
of “hyperactivity and distress” in a survey of more than 5,000 15-
and 16-year-olds concluded in late September by Dr. Lars Lien and
colleagues at the University of Oslo, Norway.
They surveyed the students, asking them how many sugared carbonated
soft drinks they consumed per day, followed by questions from a
standardized mental health questionnaire.
Not surprisingly, the teens who reported skipping breakfast and lunch
were among the heaviest soft drink consumers.
"There was a strong association between soft drink consumption
and mental health problems among Oslo 10th graders," said Dr.
Lien’s report, published in the American Journal of Public Health.
"This association remained significant after adjustment for
social, behavioral and food-related disorders."
Most of the students said they drank anywhere between one and six
servings of soft drinks per week. Whereas those who drank no soft
drinks at all were reportedly more likely than moderate consumers to
have mental health symptoms, the worst scores corresponded to the
heaviest consumption--more than six servings per week.
For hyperactivity, there was a direct linear relationship -- the more
sodas a teen drank, the most symptoms of hyperactivity he or she had.
The worst problems were seen in boys and girls who drank four or more
soft drinks a day. Ten percent of the boys and 2 percent of the girls
drank this much.
The researchers said it was possible that other substances in the soft
drinks, such as caffeine, were to blame for the symptoms, and they did
not check other possible sources of refined sugar in the children's
diets.
But they said many of the teens were clearly drinking too many sugary
drinks. Norway's recommended intake is 10 percent of the day's total
calories from sugar and the researchers said at least a quarter of the
boys were getting this much from soft drinks alone.
"One simple and effective measure to reduce soft drink
consumption in this age group would be to remove soft drink machines
from schools and other public places where adolescents gather,"
they wrote.
JOURNAL
DEVOTES ENTIRE ISSUE TO USE OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS IN PSYCHIATRY
The
October-November 2006 issue of ScienceDirect (Volume 75, Issues
4-5, Pages 221-350) is entirely devoted to "The Emerging Role of
Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Psychiatry." Editor Robert K. McNamara and
colleagues examine the subject from a variety of angles in the title
editorial and eleven scientific papers. Some highlights follow.
In the paper "Cultural symbolism of fish and the psychotropic
properties of omega-3 fatty acids," L.C. Reis and J.R. Hibbeln
speculate that cultures have revered fish for thousands of years
because of the positive effects of omega-3 fatty acids on mental
well-being. They suggest using this perception of fish as a
"symbolically healing or purifying food" in public health
awareness campaigns.
Another article outlines a "potential molecular mechanism by
which omega-3 fatty acids could contribute to the pathophysiology and
treatment of recurrent neuropsychiatric illness." (R. McNamara,
M. Ostrander, W. Abplanalp, N. Richtand, S. Benoit and D. Clegg,
"Modulation of phosphoinositide-protein kinase C signal
transduction by omega-3 fatty acids: Implications for the
pathophysiology and treatment of recurrent neuropsychiatric
illness.")
"Omega-3 fatty acids and monoamine neurotransmission" by S.
Chalon reports on a study of rats chronically diet-deficient in alpha-linolenic
acid, with resulting alteration of several neurotransmission systems
and possible implications for humans.
"Omega-3 fatty acids and perinatal depression: A review of the
literature and recommendations for future research" (M.P.
Freeman), tells us: "Two pilot studies suggest good tolerability
and potential efficacy in the acute treatment of perinatal [occurring
in the period shortly before or after birth] depression."
"Omega-3 fatty acid status in attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder" notes: "Lower levels of long-chain polyunsaturated
fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, in blood have
repeatedly been associated with a variety of behavioral disorders
including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." The
authors explore dietary pattern differences in a sample of the Purdue
student population that might help account for this. (Antalis,
Stevens, Campbell, Pazdro, Ericson and Burgess)
"Several lines of evidence suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may
be important in the pathophysiology, treatment or prevention of
bipolar disorder," begins the abstract of "Omega-3 fatty
acids in bipolar disorder: Clinical and research considerations"
(Marangell, Suppes, et al.) "Electronic and manual searches were
conducted in order to review the literature relevant to the etiology
and treatment of BDs with omega-3 fatty acids."
Evidence implicating omega-3 fatty acid levels in a number of physical
conditions associated with schizophrenia is presented in "The
metabolic syndrome, omega-3 fatty acids and inflammatory processes in
relation to schizophrenia (M. Peet).
Omega-3 fatty acids were twice as prevalent in the American diet in
1940 as today, when they have been displaced by the soya, corn, and
sunflower oils prevalent in food processing. All authors were in
agreement in encouraging further research into the mental benefits of
this key nutrient.
BIPOLAR
DISORDER ASSOCIATED WITH BLOOD SUGAR IRREGULARITIES
[Editor’s
Note: Five years ago, in our discussions with Patrick Holford,
England’s leading nutritionist, he informed us that 80% of his
bipolar patients have blood sugar imbalances such as hypoglycemia—so
the following “discovery” is not a surprise to many
forward-thinking practitioners.]
Canadian researchers reporting in the July issue of the Journal of
Clinical Psychiatry have found that people manifesting bipolar
symptoms tend to develop a metabolic syndrome that includes blood
sugar dysregulation, specifically after they have started on
medication.
"My interest was stimulated when I was a resident and had to
admit a patient with bipolar disorder as an inpatient,"
co-investigator Dr. Valerie Taylor told Reuters Health. "There I
found that five of seven patients with bipolar disorder on the
inpatient unit were on insulin because they had diabetes. That had to
be more than a coincidence."
Prior to being medicated, bipolars have the same rate of blood sugar
imbalances as the general population. However, Dr. Taylor adds,
"Once they begin treatment for their mood disorder, they rapidly
develop metabolic syndrome."
Although evidence has shown conclusively in recent years that some
antipsychotic medication commonly used in treating bipolar disorder
dramatically increase the likelihood of developing diabetes, Dr.
Taylor and Dr. Glenda MacQueen conclude that other factors were also
involved.
Their analysis of 97 studies showed that lifestyle issues such as
smoking, high alcohol consumption, poor diet and reduced physical
activity were contributing factors.
Another contributor appears to be the effect of stress on activation
of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and immune function.
Interestingly, a conclusion not reached by the researchers—but which
appears evident from the data—is that a non-medication approach to
bipolar treatment could conceivably reduce the risk of this
“metabolic syndrome” and the physical detriment that follows.
TIPS
FOR A GREAT NIGHT’S
SLEEP
Australian
Nutritionist Blake Graham has long been a contributor to Safe
Harbor’s pool of informational resources with his outstanding web
site at http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/
and his frequent incisive contributions to our listserv for
professionals, Integrative Psychiatry.
We have referred to his web pages as, literally, encyclopedic sources
of information on natural treatments for those suffering symptoms of
bipolar, schizophrenia, and other mental unwellness.
Graham has created a great page for natural aids to sleep. It is
located at
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/articles-content.php?heading=Thirteen%20tips%20for%20a%20great%20nights%20sleep
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