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| Dietary supplements, such as the vitamin B supplement show above, are typically sold in pill form. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The major problem found to complicate recovery from addiction was the presence of perceptual
distortions - misinterpretations of sensory perceptions of taste, smell, hearing, seeing, perception
of body parts, and of space and time. These disperceptions were detected by a psychological
test, the Hoffer-Osmond diagnostic test, or HOD, first developed by Hoffer and Osmond as a
screening test for schizophrenia. A revised version of this test, called the Experimental World
Inventory (EWI), is now more commonly used. These perceptual distortions are alleviated by
treatment with niacin, B6, and other vitamins.
Another doctor who has successfully treated a great many alcoholics with nutrition is Nathan
Brody. Dr Brody specialized in the treatment of alcoholics for 23 years, at the Lakes Region
General Hospital in New Hampshire. He tried every approach but had little success until he
began using a nutritional approach. Then, he said, "even the so-called failures respond and do
better than the therapeutic successes of the past." He treated more than 500 cases a year and
was chairman of the State Advisory Council on Alcoholism. Dr Brody's treatment was based on
biochemical analysis and treatment with the specific nutrients required for each individual. It was
essentially the same treatment that we used at the Princeton Brain Bio Center, based on blood
tests for histamine level, vitamins and trace minerals.
Dr Brody treated many alcoholics as outpatients, but severe cases had to be admitted to the
hospital to begin treatment with detoxification. After drawing blood for sugar, alcohol level,
histamine, and vitamin and mineral levels, patients were started on intravenous vitamin B
complex and additional B6. In very sick patients the amounts were doubled. IV vitamins were
continued for at least 5 days, and vitamins by mouth were also given three times a day. When
lab tests were completed, additional vitamins such as B12 and folic acid were added if necessary.
Since 70% of Dr Brody's patients experienced hypoglycemic symptoms, all patients were given a
5 hour glucose tolerance test and put on a hypoglycemic diet.
In most cases, significant improvement was achieved within 24 hours. Librium or Thorazine were
briefly prescribed, if necessary, for withdrawal symptoms. Patients were strongly encouraged to
join AA, and AA meetings were held in the hospital. After discharge, patients were maintained on
vitamins and good diet. Outpatients received the same treatment, without the IV vitamins. Dr
Brody died in 1977, after successfully treating thousands of alcoholics. His effective nutritional
treatment drew alcoholics from all over the northeast.
The significance of blood histamine level and trace mineral imbalances in treatment of
schizophrenics was discovered by Dr Carl Pfeiffer.
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