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 Naturopathic Solutions to America's Epidemics of Violence and Neurobehavioral Disorders, Part Two
By Alex Vasquez, ND, DC, Editor, Naturopathy Digest One of the first and most thorough reports supporting the link between diet and behavior was published by Weston Price in his famous 1945 masterpiece, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration,1 in which he documented the steep decline in neurobehavioral function and physical health when societies adopted the foods and lifestyles associated with industrialized societies. Within a single generation, societies that had recently been infiltrated by corporate lifestyles and processed foods began a rapid process of health deterioration and disease accumulation.At the time, many of these diseases (such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension) were so rare that they literally had been statistically nonexistent among peoples who lived naturally. They received frequent doses of sunshine (i.e., vitamin D3) and lived from the land and sea, with its abundance of fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These are optimal sources of balanced fatty acids, fiber, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory phytonutrients, alkalinization and high-quality protein. When societies transitioned (often by force) from their natural lifestyles to "modern" lifestyles, they quickly acquired pandemic levels of dental carries, diabetes, hypertension, myopia and neuromusculoskeletal problems. These diseases were previously grouped under the title of "diseases of affluence" or "diseases of Western civilization," but are so common nowadays that we have come to see them as a normal part of living, even to the point that they can be expected as the rule, rather than the exception, to our natural birthright of health. Nutritional psychology, or what we might refer to as naturoneuropsychology, could be defined as the use of nutrition to optimize neuron-emotional function, and the study and implementation of natural living and naturopathic therapeutics to optimize neuron-emotional function. This extends beyond the narrow focus of nutritional biochemistry into benefits that can be derived from a holistic and inclusive paradigm that emphasizes the manifold benefits of a cohesive society, sufficient sleep and exercise, and minimization of exposure to neurotoxic and psychotoxic xenobiotics. Chronologically, we can categorize these effects and interventions into 1) developmental; 2) preventive; and 3) therapeutic. Developmental Neuropsychobiology The nervous system arises early in fetal development, such that by the time a woman knows she is pregnant, the primordia of her child's brain already has formed and irreversible, nutritionally preventable damage might have already occurred, such as neural tube defects caused by folate deficiency. This is caused by the mother's insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables. Insufficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids in mothers lead to insufficiencies of these critical neuro-nutrients in the developing fetus and in the breast milk upon which the infant survives for the first months of life. The outcome is a higher likelihood of birth complications such as eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, and a wide range of neurobehavioral problems in the child. This includes dyslexia, attention disorders, and bipolar and schizophrenic syndromes. Mothers who are deficient in vitamin D have a higher likelihood of birth complications and having children who go on to develop schizophrenia or type 1 "insulin-dependent" diabetes. An alarming and unacceptable 8 percent of American women of childbearing age have such high levels of mercury in their blood that it puts their children at increased risk for neurobehavioral disorders;2 the neurotoxic effect of mercury has been irrefutably established.3 Beyond these biochemical considerations, poor maternal nutrition, as pointed out by Price,1 results in reductions in the volume of the infant's cranial vault, and thus limits brain size and intellectual potential. This effect is analogous to the spinal stenosis caused by infant malnutrition.4 Thus, maternal and infant malnutrition, defined by more rigorous naturopathic standards, as compared to inadequate allopathic standards, clearly is a contributor to society's burden of neurobehavioral problems, as well as the prevalence of low-back pain resulting from spinal stenosis. Preventive and Interventional Naturoneuropsychology Prevention and treatment often go hand in hand, and often are indistinguishable. However, in many situations, damage and functional sequelae that could have been prevented nutritionally or naturopathically are not completely reversible once established. Two of the best examples of this phenomenon are schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. We should all be aware of the benefits of fatty acid supplementation in neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, just to name a few. Vitamin, mineral and fatty acid supplementation have been shown to reduce rage, mood instability and antisocial behavior in patients, and to likewise reduce violent behavior among prison inmates. Urinary alkalinization, which can be accomplished with the Paleo-Mediterranean diet that I have outlined,5 has been reported to reduce addictive behavior, such as tobacco smoking.6 Health care workers generally underappreciate the role of psychotoxic xenobiotics, such as the insecticides that are applied to the classrooms in which our children live for 12 of their first 18 years of life. It is bad enough that 93 percent of Americans have accumulated tissue levels of the insecticide chlorpyrifos (trade name Dursban),7 but the psycho-emotional implications of this finding become more relevant and alarming when we note that the neurobehavioral manifestations of chlorpyrifos poisoning are virtually identical to the diagnostic criteria for ADHD. This has been demonstrated in animal experiments, as well as human studies. How ironic that we send children to school so they can learn and manifest their full potential, and then we poison their learning environment with a known neurotoxin that impairs learning and promotes the development of neurobehavioral dysfunction.8 The allopathic approach to this problem is to mask the effects of xenobiotic neurotoxicity with the prescription of additional xenobiotics, in the form of prescription drugs such as Depakote, lithium, Neurontin, Ritalin and Adderall. Conclusion Many of the neurobehavioral problems that are epidemic in industrialized societies were nonexistent or rare before the adoption of processed foods and widespread exposure to neurotoxic xenobiotics, such as insecticides and mercury. The nutritional deficiencies and imbalances that are pandemic in America today were virtually nonexistent in hunter-gatherer societies.9 These same nutritional disturbances lead directly to disorders of intellectual function and behavior. These are, as dictated by the allopathic paradigm, to be treated by xenobiotic drugs rather than by addressing the underlying diet and lifestyle cause(s) of these problems. An empowered and active naturopathic profession could take a leadership role in the treatment and prevention of neurobehavioral problems. Until then, drugs will be the only widespread solution offered, and all too many children will grow up to be disturbed, underpotentiated, sociopathic and heavily medicated adults. References
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Date Last Modified - Friday, 17-Oct-2008 12:11:10 PDT
The Basics of Naturoneuropsychology
