I have seen over the years many comments from people who didn’t respond to their Walsh targeted nutrient therapy protocols much, or at all. This can be disconcerting to one such as myself who did improve so dramatically so fast. What I have observed is that one needs to address as many other underlying diet and lifestyle issues as possible to avoid the effect of ‘swimming against the tide’.

I believe I was fortunate enough that many of these issues were being addressed before I started the prescribed supplement protocols, continuing to this day. Some improvements in symptoms had been seen, but not enough to enable ceasing fully the medications which had been impacting my new relationship with their side-effects.

One of these strategies I was using for a year before supplements, was a ketogenic lifestyle. I refuse to call it a ‘diet’ as this seems too trite a word for such a radical transformation in the approach to eating. The general improvements I have seen from this still-ongoing approach transcend the weight-loss aspect, which may be expanded upon later.

Pyrrole Disorder was my main problem, involving issues with B6 synthesis to PLP which is also known as P5P. This has knock-on effects with GABA, which is thought to somewhat explain the associated anxiety symptoms. References are provided in the bottom of the shared article. Synergy, indeed!

Acetoacetate (another ketone body) has also been shown to modulate GABA signaling in the brain. We are still figuring out how, but the effect is absolutely there.

One proposed mechanism for acetoacetate’s effect on GABA signaling is that it may increase the availability of GABA by enhancing the activity of the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD).

GAD (enzyme) requires the cofactor pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) for its activity, and acetoacetate (a ketone body) has been shown to increase the availability of PLP in the brain. This may result in increased GABA synthesis and release, leading to enhanced GABA signaling. For those that don’t know, PLP is the active form of B6. Vitamin B6 is involved in the metabolism of amino acids, the synthesis of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, and the regulation of gene expression.

Note: This is why I like to combine ketogenic diets with increased nutrient intake during healing. There are synergistic effects!

Abram Hoffer PhD, MD.

When Canadian psychiatrist Dr Abram Hoffer began formulating his ideas about the possible biochemical causes of mental illness in the early 1950s the main treatments available were Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) and tranquilizers. Through clinical practice and his pioneering of double blind trials in Psychiatry he developed theories which led to treatments which he found so effective that his Hippocratic Oath precluded him eventually from giving the placebo required for double blind trials, leading him to focus on clinical research. Interest mounted in this intricate treatment method which was dubbed ‘Megavitamin Therapy’ but which fitted into what double Nobel laureate Dr Linus Pauling termed ‘Orthomolecular Psychiatry‘ which later was expanded to ‘Orthomolecular Medicine’.

Things came to a head in 1973 with the release of the report by the American Psychiatric Association task force on vitamin therapy in Psychiatry which roundly excoriated the approach due to the fact that the studies they had commissioned into the matter had failed to replicate Hoffer’s results, and there was even evidence that patients had been worse off on the treatment. This led to the abandonment of all independent research into the matter and the disgrace of the approach, leading to the rise and dominance of  psychopharmatherapy as it exists today.

Three years after the damning report Hoffer eventually came out with his response in which he cast serious doubt on the impartiality of the task force committee, pointed out their apparent conflicts of interest, and criticized their ignorance of the subject matter. He explained the lack of replication of results on the fact that the studies relied upon had never actually replicated his methods. The most troubling accusation of all was that the results of the study which found a worsening of the illness were obtained by deliberately adding methionine in a dosage which according to his theory was guaranteed to achieve this effect.

In essence there was no reason to add this extra component except if the designers of the experiments were aware of its effect. It seems unlikely any patient would have volunteered for trials which they had been made aware were aimed at worsening their symptoms. This means in the absence of properly informed consent those involved in designing and running the trials would have broken any applicable Hippocratic Oaths and violated the spirit of the Declaration of Helsinki which was aimed at preventing a reoccurrence of the horrors of forced Medical experimentation perpetrated by the Nazis only a few decades previously. While this is contentious and could not be laid directly at the door of the APA it does raise questions as to the ethical standards of the Medical experimentation used in this report.

Last updated 16/05/2017.