Whilst I have no qualifications in medicine or related disciplines, I do know that my life has gotten better every year since diagnosis. I am able to hold down a highly paid software engineering position.
I am writing this as I understand that people with mental illness are often preyed upon by unscientific alternative practitioners, who make their recovery and reintegration into society even more difficult

I can identify with your situation having spent about £150 propping up the Holford franchise. Eventually I just threw all my pills in the bin. If you were to consult your GP I think you would find her more sympathetic than the alternative lobby would have you believe. The receptionist can often be a good source of advice about which doctor to see. If your doctor does not seem to be helping you then you have the right to change your doctor.

DVN – re public speaking I wish I could tell you a slightly amusing story about something that happened to me last month, though a public forum like this is probably not the best place for it. I did email it to the blog if you are interested.

Although in some aspects of mental health I assume a placebo effect may be of great benefit.

That’s crazy, man. Real crazy.

Perhaps he hasn’t adopted modern usage or didn’t read the memo on stigmatising language and mental health issues.

Perhaps it is (unwittingly) an attempt to stir people from their “anger without enthusiasm” sufficiently to say,

Facile. Trite. Do these words mean anything to you?

Or, maybe it indicates that he really shouldn’t be pronouncing on mental health issues.

One of the authors is Shaheen Lakhan – aside from anything else, and this may be my genuine ignorance on this matter, but I don’t understand what MD (c) means. In his bio – he lists MD (c) as MD, Doctor of Medicine, Candidate. Does this mean he has an MD? Or, that he has an MD from one of those medical schools where you follow the curriculum but nobody accepts you onto an intern programme, so you could never actually practise medicine? (I’ve read about this in the US.) Or, does it mean that you are applying to various medical schools?

As an example of infiltration of the peer-reviewed publication system, this paper is fascinating. It will, of course, give both authors a publication in a peer-reviewed journal – the fact that it is ludicrous is neither here nor there. This ‘peer-reviewed’ and indexed journal will self-avowedly take almost any paper (do I hear the sounds of JPandS and Medical Hypotheses as the backing singers?).

In deciding whether to accept or reject a manuscript, a reviewer asks him/herself whether the scientific community is better served by publishing or not publishing the manuscript. In the absence of compelling reasons to reject, Nutrition Journal advises that reviewers recommend acceptance, as ultimately the quality of an article will be judged by the scientific community after its publication.

Anyway, the paper is: Nutritional therapies for mental health disorders (pdf).

OK – so the supporting references aren’t quite on the level of that McKeith classic Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet – but one despairs when Medical Hypotheses and 1 pg letters to the Lancet are your sources for claims such as:

Since the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish and other sources has declined in most populations, the incidence of major depression has increased. ..[pg 6]

…the results of several case studies where patients were treated with 125 to 300mg of magnesium…with each meal and at bedtime led to rapid recovery from major depression in less than seven days for most of the patients. [pg 7]

The most consistent correlation found in one study…of schizophrenia and diet concluded that increased consumption of refined sugar results in an overall decreased state of mind for schizophrenic patients. [pg. 10]

On pg 12 – they really let themselves rip. Dolphins good. Evil pharma conspiracy very bad. Then:

There is tremendous resistance to using supplements as treatments from clinicians, mostly due to their lack of knowledge on the subject. Others rather use prescription drugs that the drug companies and the FDA researches, monitors and recalls if necessary. However, for some patients, prescription drugs do not have the efficacy of nutritional supplements and they sometimes have far more dangerous side effects. So for clinicians to avoid these supplement therapies because of a lack of knowledge and unwillingness to use treatments not backed by drug companies and the FDA, they are compromising their patients’ recovery due to their own laziness or selfishness. [Emphasis added.]

Anyway, Lee, that paper will give you the inside scoop on the suppression of nutritional treatments. [/eye roll.] The disturbing thing is that the ideas and language in this paper are not that far removed from certain articles and books that are familiar to some of us.

Loth as I am to publicise it, I would be interested to know what others make of this paper.

If you remember, how many supplements were you taking, as a matter of interest? And, were you following a particular diet (e.g., no wheat, cashew nuts or whatever).

Please ignore anything that is intrusive or inappropriate.