Repairing Biochemical Error and Reaching Organic Equilibrium

Depression-Free, Naturally
by Joan Mathews Larson, Ph.D.

(Page 4 of 5)

Once in a great while, a researcher with a doctorate in chemistry decides to become a medical doctor as well — a lucky break for mankind! Carl Pfeiffer, Ph.D., M.D., was such a scientist. In the sixties, Dr. Pfeiffer discovered that blood histamine levels were elevated in the lab tests of obsessive-compulsive individuals. As these patients improved, their histamine levels dropped and their depression lifted. In patients with very low levels of brain histamine, Pfeiffer found that they were likely to be paranoid and have hallucinations. Thus, individuals with either high or low levels of histamine showed some degree of thought disorder and overarousal. True to his chemistry background, Pfeiffer then began the search to determine which natural substances could make or block histamine in the brain. (Chapter 7 applies his valuable discoveries to your own needs.)

So, thirty years later, are psychiatrists systematically testing the histamine levels of their patients? Not yet! (You will see the array of abnormal histamine symptoms when you do the written screening tests for low/high histamine levels on page 219. You'll also learn what lab tests to take to confirm what you suspect, and last, how to repair this biochemical error.)

It makes much more sense to restore the natural levels of biochemicals, to re-create optimum balance. This organic equilibrium is called homeostasis. From that state you have the best shot at reaching your potential in life! And this is what we will try to achieve in Seven Weeks to Emotional Healing. The role of drugs in your emotional health should be short-term — a bridge until proper natural balance has been achieved.

In the seventies, Carl Pfeiffer confirmed the presence of what he called the "mauve factor." Sometimes the urine of normal individuals under stress or individuals suffering from mental illness changes to a mauve color after lab tests. He named this kind of anxiety disorder "pyroluria." A cluster of psychological and physical symptoms are identifiable in these people, not the least of which is a high level of inner tension and anxiety that steadily worsens with age. Pyroluria appears genetic, as it seems to run in families. Here is a description of an extremely pyroluric client:

Ted brought his mother with him to our appointment. His shyness was almost painful to behold as he let her answer my questions. This man was a computer whiz and a gifted writer. Still unmarried in his mid-fifties, he had never had a sexual experience because he was just too fearful to date women. He had worked at the same job all his life and kept a low profile. He still lived at home.

Ted had been separated from his family as a toddler, and blamed his deep-seated fears on that circumstance. But my thoughts went immediately to pyroluria. Judging by Ted's pale complexion and his answers to a list of symptoms, I was sure of it. He seemed so miserable that it was hard not to blurt out right then and there that there was probably a biochemical answer to his anxiousness.

Two weeks later his lab results confirmed my suspicions. (You'll find out more about pyroluria and how to treat it in Chapter 5.)

If doctors looked for such biochemical mistakes before writing prescriptions for benzodiazepine tranquilizers, treatment centers across this nation would not be full of miserable patients powerfully addicted to Librium, Ativan, Valium, and Xanax and struggling to endure the painful and long-lasting symptoms of withdrawal.

The Fats Our Brains Depend On

In the 1970s, another door opened to our understanding of the substances that are vital to our sanity and health: prostaglandins, which are made in the brain from omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids (EFAs) and which regulate the neurocircuits throughout the brain and body.

According to researcher David Horrobin, M.D., "the level of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is of crucial importance to the body. A fall in the level of PGE1 will lead to a potentially catastrophic series of untoward consequences including increased vascular reactivity, elevated cholesterol production, diabeticlike changes in insulin release, enhanced risk of auto-immune disease, enhanced risk of inflammatory disorders, and susceptibility to depression." At Health Recovery Center, we have consistently seen suicidal depression completely lift in only one week by normalizing PGE1 levels in the brain! (I'll explain how in Chapter 6.)

Hyperactive children have long been involved in studies with the EFAs. Richard Passwater, Ph.D., describes one such study by Dr. Horrobin, at the Institute for Innovative Medicine in Montreal:

About 20 children were treated with substantial benefit in about two-thirds of them. Some responses were dramatic! In one case a boy who had been threatened with expulsion from school because of his impossible behavior was put on primrose oil (gamma-linolenic acid) without the knowledge of the school authorities. After two weeks on GLA, the teacher, who was unaware of the treatment, contacted the parents and said that in thirty years' experience she had never seen such a dramatic and abrupt change for the better in a child's behavior [emphasis added]. Some children do equally well no matter whether the oil is given by mouth or by rubbing into the skin. In others, there is the distinct impression that skin absorption, which will bypass malabsorption problems, may have a better effect.

In the last decade, we have seen an avalanche of exciting studies on essential fatty acids. During that time I heard molecular biologist Donald Rudin, M.D., present his research at a Huxley Institute training session in New York City. He spoke passionately about the connection between omega-3 fatty acid deficiency and mental illness. omega 3 is vital because it provides the base from which the powerful prostaglandin hormones are created. These hormones regulate every neurocircuit throughout the entire brain and body.

Rudin particularly urged using omega-3 fatty acid in the form of linseed oil to treat schizophrenia. Immediately he had my attention, as I was then attempting to stabilize a middle-aged man who was an alcoholic schizophrenic.

Carl had been referred to our clinic by our county's chemical and mental health unit, and was busy terrorizing my staff to the point where we were ready to part company with him. As soon as I returned from the New York conference I began giving him large doses of omega-3 fatty acid in the form of linseed oil (as per Rudin), along with megadoses of certain other nutrients.

What emerged was a soft-spoken, brilliant minister, who told me that, as a young man, his bishop had chosen him to study advanced theology in Switzerland because of his exceptional gifts. I could not believe the personality change! At this point in time he lived on welfare, but said he was going to approach his bishop to ask for support to reenter his chosen profession.

To make a long story short, the bishop knew Carl had had schizophrenia for many years, and turned him away. With his spirit crushed, and having no money or support, Carl stopped taking the omega-3 fatty acid replacement therapy. A year later he had regressed into his schizophrenic world.

Since that time we at the Health Recovery Center have pondered on much of the omega-3 and -6 essential fatty acids research, and we have applied it to those clients who showed marked deficiencies. The results have been rewarding, as you will see.

Excerpted from Depression-Free, Naturally by Joan Mathews Larson, Ph.D.. Excerpted by permission of Wellspring/Ballantine, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Dr. Joan Mathews Larson is the author of the national bestseller Seven Weeks to Sobriety. She holds a doctorate in nutrition and is the founder and executive director of the highly esteemed Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis. It was the loss of her seventeen-year-old son to suicide that fueled her search for more effective solutions to emotional healing. Her clinic has now successfully treated several thousand people over a twenty-year period. She lives in Minneapolis.