Orthomolecular psychiatry (OMP) aims to cure mental illness by means of concentrated administration of vitamins, zinc and other substances that occur naturally in the human body. In this way, it aims to create or maintain optimal molecular conditions for a healthy spirit and mind. However, orthomolecular psychiatry has not been able to establish itself in medical practice as hoped. To date, it has not been able to provide sufficient proof of its effectiveness.
What is orthomolecular psychiatry?
The Canadian Abram Hoffer and the Briton Humphry Osmond are considered the founders of this controversial theory. Both doctors prescribed high doses of niacin (vitamin B3) to patients suffering from schizophrenia. The amount reached up to 17 grams per day. In the 1950s, Hoffer and Osmond theorized that schizophrenic people could produce an adrenaline-derived bodily substance (adrenochrome) that had hallucinogenic effects like known drugs. Their thinking was based on the finding that the vitamin deficiency disease pellagra can be successfully treated with the supply of niacin. The US-American Carl C. Pfeiffer built on this concept and produced a system of “biotypes of schizophrenia“. It was based on the assumption that various manifestations of mental illness may be related to deficiencies of histamine, zinc, and vitamin B6, as well as gluten allergy and general malnutrition. When Pfeiffer died in 1988, OMP research largely came to a halt. Since then, on the contrary, it has become clear that high-dose vitamin supplements can actually endanger the general health of patients. Today, only a few vitamin preparations are approved as medicines in Germany, for example. They are usually sold as dietary supplements and are not allowed to make any promises of healing. In high doses, they are not permitted because of possible toxic effects on body and mind.
Function, effect and goals
Orthomolecular medicine has been coined by the definition of the U.S. biochemist and Nobel laureate Linus Pauling (1901-1994). The word orthomolecular, which comes from the Greek, means, mutatis mutandis, the use of the right nutrients (molecules) in the right amounts. Pauling specified the term and spoke of maintaining good health and treating disease by altering the concentration of substances normally present in the human body and necessary for health. In 1968, Pauling had introduced his concept of orthomolecular psychiatry. With the right concentration of the body’s own active substances, human nutrition should be designed in such a way that it helps preventively and therapeutically against acute and chronic diseases. Nutrition should have the goal, Pauling postulated, of no longer merely preventing nutrient deficiencies, but of ensuring an individual supply of vital substances in line with requirements. Continuing the work of Hoffer and Osmond, Pauling discovered the effectiveness of vitamin B1 against depression and B12 against psychosis. In modern general medicine, vitamin preparations effective on an orthomolecular basis are used, for example, against xerophthalmia (drying of the eyes), pernicious anemia (anemia), osteoporosis and rickets. Nicotinic acid is effective against high cholesterol levels, and fluorine is a recognized agent for caries prophylaxis. Orthomolecular medicine is also concerned with the health relevance of minerals, trace elements, essential fatty and amino acids. In this respect, it has been recognized that for the metabolism and immune defense of humans, it is not the minimum, but the optimum quantity of a nutrient that is best. This quality should enable the organism to produce the optimal composition of the body’s own substances by itself. For example, various optimization tests brought up the possible use of omega-3 fatty acids in alleviating heart diseases. The principle of orthomolecular medicine is as follows: First and foremost, substances present in the human body should eliminate the cause of a disease before artificially produced drugs merely suppress the symptoms. Ideally, these orthomolecular substances stimulate the self-healing powers of the human being to such an extent that drugs with more or fewer undesirable side effects become as superfluous as possible.Its use should only take place in cases of real need. Important in orthomolecular medicine is the transition metal zinc. As an essential substance in the body, it is mainly responsible for the immune system. Many colds and infections are causally related to zinc deficiency, but are often hastily combated with antibiotics alone. According to the theory of orthomolecular medicine, however, a better supply of zinc is considerably more effective.
Risks, side effects and dangers
Based on these principles, orthomolecular psychiatry assumes that comparable deficiencies of endogenous substances can also increase mental disorders. If these substances are available in sufficient quantities, they can mitigate the effects of such disorders. Major deficiencies of various micronutrients and amino acids may be responsible for impairments in brain function. The current concentration of the individual substances is also decisive here. It can deviate significantly from the concentration that is available through the diet and the genetic makeup of a specific person, Linus Pauling noted. Psychological symptoms as a result of these vital substance deficiencies may show up earlier than physical ones, OMP specialists believe. This could be due to metabolic abnormalities, such as weakened permeability of the so-called blood–brain barrier. In this case, the presence of endogenous substances is within the normal range, but they arrive in the central nervous system at lower levels. In children, this can manifest itself in lack of concentration and learning disorders, but also in hyperactivity.
