Skip to main content

Niacin + Organics = No Depression?

Niacin from Amazon.com
Back in the 1950's three of my mother's younger sisters worked in a psychiatric hospital. The older of the three, my Aunt Pat, was a registered psychiatric nurse (R.P.N)and worked with Dr. Abram Hoffer. At the epoch of mental health "management" with pharmaceutical drugs, this famous (or infamous?)maverick psychiatrist believed, along with others like Dr. Linus Pauling ("the Vitamin C doctor")that mental illness was basically "an inborn error of metabolism."

Dr. Hoffer promoted the massive use of Vitamin B3 (Niacin) as relief for some forms of mental illness such as depression. Tryptophan (an amino acid found in dark turkey meat and nuts) was also one of Dr. Hoffer's favourite "medications".

Andrew Saul, Ph.D., worked with Dr. Hoffer in his later years (he died in 2009). Go here to listen an interview by Dr. Mercola of Dr. Saul talking about how organic food and vitamins, like Niacin, can be startlingly effective in dealing with depression today. It is certainly clear to me that I feel better when I eat good quality, nutritious fruits and veggies. I haven't tried Niacin for a long time (I DO remember that "niacin flush" though) but if we have a dark and dingy winter I just might give it another go.


Comments

-Popular This Month-

The Lemon-Garlic Mixture Recipe that Chris Wark (Chris Beat Cancer) Recommends

My husband and I are both over 70, and while we have the odd age-expected ache or pain or fallen hair or swollen ankles or whatever, we have avoided many of the BIG Diseases: Heart Disease, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, Cancer-- but we have had family with these diseases and there is a good chance that we will have something like this hit at some time.  That is the way of the world these days, is it not? So, to be proactive and preventative, we believe that "Food is Our Medicine" and we adhere to a Whole Food/Plant-Based way of eating. We also watch a lot of those health seminars that mesh with our way of thinking that plants/herbs are the answer-- or at least our first rule of order when we feel ill.  We loved the Chris Beat Cancer series because, well, who wouldn't?  Chris is a charming young man with a friendly, compassionate mission to help others learn about how they too can beat cancer without (or only as a sideline) chemo or radiation.  In his Square

Unveiling the Truth: A Critical Review of The Way - 2X2s and Church With No Name

  Recently I was struck by a newspaper article about a woman in her 40s, Lyndell Montgomery, who had been part of the religious sect called 2 X 2 s or "The Way" or even "The Church with No Name".  Montgomery had recently charged a leader/ministering member of the 2x2s with child sexual abuse that happened when she was 14. She lives on the Island that we live on (maybe even in our community). I am interested in the diversity of memoirs by people who were spiritually abused. And I have some scattered recollections of knowing people who were part of this particular sect.  I have a blog page listing more than 25 books that I have read about spiritual abuse .  In the eye-opening little book, shown above, we delve into the dark reality of spiritual abuse within "The Way," an enigmatic organization also known as 2X2s or Church Without A Name. Through research and firsthand accounts, the book exposes the damaging effects of spiritual manipulation within The Way. R

Soft Whole Wheat Bread Made In the Crockpot

  Quite a few years ago a friend told me about making a loaf of bread in her crockpot. It was all the rage where she lived. I didn't really engage. It didn't seem particularly interesting, to say the least. But over this time since the Pandemic and all the baking ventures that went with that, I have become more interested in making quick, tasty, healthy bread-- just a small loaf for my husband and I, made in one of our small appliances to save energy (and because my elderly oven is currently out of commission). YOUTUBE IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR TUTORIALS ON BREAD-MAKING After I had made some delicious bread in my small oven, I thought about my friend's description of making crockpot bread. I found that there are quite a few recipes and demos on YT. The one I chose to most closely emulate made the process look very easy, even using a blender (I think) to make the dough, and just feeding in 1/4 cup of flour (3 times) when the recipe didn't seem to work out as planned and