Book Reviews

Dr. Newbold's Nutrition For Your Nerves by H. L. Newbold, Keats Publishing Inc., New Canaan, Conn. Paperback, 383 pages, 1993. US $14.95.

Dr. Newbold is one of the original pioneers in Orthomolecular psychiatry, and is equally skillful in writing novels as he is in writing books on psychiatry and clinical nutrition. This book provides a comprehensive discussion of the role of nutrition and supplements for maintenance of health and treatment of disease. The basic principle of nutrition is to provide for each person, recognizing that we are different, the kind of food to which we have been adapted over the years, until farming and herding was developed about 10,000 years ago. Dr. Newbold describes how this can be achieved, briefly by avoiding junk and by avoiding foods to which we are allergic or intolerant. He emphasizes that there is nothing inherently wrong with a high meat diet, provided that is the kind of diet to which we are best adapted to, also making the point that allergies to the grains, the basis of many vegetarian diets, are much more apt to cause allergic reactions in many people. A high meat diet will not raise cholesterol; even more, he points out, there is no significant connection between the cholesterol content of the diet and heart disease. More villainous are the simple sugars.

Dr. Newbold recognizes the fact that many people will also need to have their diets supplemented with nutrients, vitamins, minerals and more. He describes the properties of these nutrients and how one can determine the optimum health program for themselves. His program is good, not only for nerves, but for the whole body. It is a recipe for good health, present and future.

Beating Cancer With Nutrition by Dr.

Patrick Quillin with Noreen Quillin, The Nutrition Times Press, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma, 74170-0512, Paperback, 254 pages, 1994.

This is a good, helpful, brief book which describes the new Orthomolecular treatment

for the cancers. Books such as this must be written for the simplest reason of all; in Quillin's own words "it is blatantly obvious that our current cancer treatment methods are inadequate and incomplete and that we need to examine some options — like nutrition." He quotes Arthur Janov Ph.D. in his preface, "Research is necessary for scientists, but a luxury for suffering humanity who cannot wait for final statistical proof. For them, waiting may be a fatal disease."

Dr. Quillin is hoping to shorten the wide gap between discovery and its general application which for most major discoveries in medicine has been forty years or more. This is very expensive. After Sir James Lind proved that oranges and lemons would cure and prevent scurvy the British Admiralty waited 40 years before issuing limes to their sailors. One hundred thousand sailors died from scurvy while they were waiting. More recently medicine waited 11 years before advising pregnant women to take folic acid. This is 11 years after the first experiments in Scotland established its value. Over the past ten years 250,000 babies were born in the United States alone with spina bifida and its complications. Only a third or less would have been so afflicted had folic acid been recommended immediately the first observations were made. Folic acid is safe and there was absolutely no risk whatever in making these preventive recommendations. Janov was right. Easily preventable diseases were made fatal by this remarkable conservatism of the medical profession and its suspicion and fear of vitamins.

It is highly improbable that cancer is due to the lack of a single synthetic molecule never present in the body. It is less improbable that it is due to the failure of the body to have one important nutrient. If the cancers responded to one nutrient only this would have been observed by now. It is highly likely that cancer is caused by multiple dependencies which become more obvious with age. In the same way that coenzyme Q10 becomes a vitamin only as we get older, when the body is not longer able to make as much, there may be other nutrient factors which are made in our youth but which the body finds more and

Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No. 1, 1994

more difficult to make as we grow older. This then makes sense of the observations made by increasing numbers of therapists that the use of multiple nutrients is more effective than the use of only one. Perhaps one day we will discover what these multiple dependencies are. It would also account for the therapeutic properties of some of the chemicals present in herbs which may increase the production of these nutrients, make them more effective, or decrease their loss.

Dr. Quillin organized the Tulsa Symposium, "Adjuvant Nutrition in Cancer Treatment" co-sponsored by the American College of Nutrition, and the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, November 6-7, 1992 and the second symposium in San Diego, March 17-19, 1994. He introduced the conference with his address entitled "Overview: The Link Between Nutrition and Cancer". The proceedings are in press. In this book he outlines where we are at today in the treatment of cancer when we depend only upon the big three, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. We are where we were over 20 years ago when President Richard Nixon introduced his war against cancer. Surely after spending 35 billion dollars on cancer research and not making any significant progress, it is time to conclude that the big three of the cancer establishment have failed. He discusses these treatments, describes how the body tries to defend itself against cancer, and then reviews the literature and refers to his own studies which show that the results of adding nutrition and supplements individually tailored for patients and combined with standard therapy is much more effective. He also reviews the studies which establish that the toxicity of the standard big three treatments is greatly diminished by the use of nutrition in combination. He concludes, as have many of us, that nutrition therapy is no longer an alternative treatment. It is an essential component of all treatment for cancer. The omission of the nutritional component deprives cancer patients of their best chance for recovery and survival. The book also has a good section on the practical things about nutrition that are so helpful, including recipes and advice on how to cook and prepare the foods. The treatment section explains the many nutrients that have been found to have anti-cancer properties. Surely some combination of these nutrients

may finally give us the most important answers.

I am convinced that every cancer patient and everyone with a history of cancer in their family must learn about this nutritional adjunct, that it will surely save many lives today not salvageable and will markedly decrease pain and suffering. I will advise every one of my cancer patients that they should read this fine book.

Healing Children Naturally by M. A.

Weiner, Ph.D., Quantum Books, Box 2056, San Rafael, Ca. 94912-2056, Paperback, 325 pages, 1993. US $12.95.

This is a good book to give as a gift to prospective parents. It provides excellent advice to follow before pregnancy begins, and follows through with information about nutrition useful into adulthood. It might be compared to the Spock book for parents which came out over fifty years ago. Book One lays the nutritional groundwork until weaning. In Book Two the diet for older children is discussed. Book Three deals with the common ailments facing parents and children from A (acne) to Whooping Cough. Each condition is described briefly, the diet recommendations are then given, followed by advice on the use of herbs. Vitamin supplements are discussed where it is appropriate to do so.

Healing Children Naturally is not an easy book to review in detail, in the same way that an encyclopedia can not be reviewed briefly. But it is an easy read and does contain the basic information parents should have. It is a valuable reference book which should be kept at hand for ready access when any of the diseases described strike.

Free Radicals and Disease Prevention -What You Must Know by David J. Lin. Keats Publishing, Inc., PO Box 876, New Canaan, CT 06840, Paperback, 92 pages, 1993. US $9.95.

This is a very good little book which outlines in a simple way what the modern free radical hypotheses are all about, and what to do about the diseases generated by their excessive production in the body. Free radicals are incomplete molecules which are hungry for electrons. The electrons are not paired and this makes them very avid to extract electrons

Book Reviews

from whatever is handiest in order to complete the pair. With paired electrons their craving is met and the new molecules are quieter and less active. The process of adding electrons is called reduction and the process of giving up electrons is called oxidation. Thus both oxidation and reduction are involved in the same reaction. These are called redox reactions.

Because they are so reactive and steal electrons from everywhere, free radicals can either be used to advantage by the body - for example in fighting infection, or they can do much damage by injuring cell membranes and reactions within the cells. In stealing electrons they can set up chain reactions which carry on until they are terminated or quenched. It is hypothesized that free radical damage is involved in a number of chronic deteriorating diseases including arteriosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, AIDS, cataract formation, joint inflammation and aging.

Life in an oxidizing atmosphere could not have evolved without a mechanisms for preventing damage from excess free radical formation. These are reducing compounds which like to give up electrons. They include vitamins such as vitamin E, beta carotene, ascorbic acid, minerals such as selenium, and other compounds in the body such as uric acid. These molecules sacrifice themselves in order to destroy the free radical molecules. When a free radical contacts one of these antioxidants they interact and the free radical is destroyed. The antioxidant may also be, but there are other mechanisms for ensuring their revival. It follows that the prevention and treatment of free radical diseases must include the use of optimum quantities of these antioxidants. The idea is so sound, I wonder why it took so long for the medical scientists to come to this conclusion only within the past ten years.

In 1952 when Dr. H. Osmond and I developed our adrenochrome theory of schizophrenia (a free radical idea), we used the antioxidant ascorbic acid as one of the nutrients which was therapeutic for these schizophrenias. The other, vitamin B₃, is a major respiratory vitamin which each cell requires for an orderly production of energy from our food.

This book describes these ideas in a simple accurate way, and is well illustrated with diagrams to show what these reactions are all about. Get it.

The Healing Benefits of Garlic by J.

Heinerman, Ph.D., Paperback, 196 pages, 1994. US $14.95.

Garlic is one of the first vegetables used as food and for medicinal purposes. According to Heinerman, it was already well established for these purposes in 2300 B.C. in Sumeria. Today it has been replaced by xenobiotic medicines which probably are more rapid in their activity but are certainly more toxic and therefore much less useful for the chronic diseases which are rampant today, and which is why these compounds are patentable and have to be supervised by doctors. Their toxicity demands medical supervision, not their efficacy. But garlic is still very interesting and important to thousands of people. Its safety is not in question, it can not be patented so that it remains easily available, and it may be very effective for a large number of chronic diseases. In 1992 the author attended an "Arizona's Own Garlic Special" convention attended by 5,000 people. In Chapter 7 in four pages he lists some of the international garlic festivals. I have never heard of a tranquilizer or antidepressant festival, or even a penicillin or insulin festival.

Garlic was one of the mainstays of early medicine among the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and in the Mid East. I do not subscribe to the modern school which maintains that any findings more than ten years old are of no value, or if they are not in the various medical abstracts. I believe that our ancestors were every bit as good observers, if not better than we are, for they had fewer distractions and more leisure time in which to think. After all, they discovered almost all of the vegetables which comprise our modern diet out of the thousands of plant species on earth, most of them toxic. They used various garlic preparations for almost everything. I consider the epitome of luxury the physician who was the Guardian of the Royal Bowel Movement in Ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh controlled the state while his physician controlled his movements, using garlic as well as other medicinal foods. I was especially intrigued by the potential modern benefit of a mixture of raw opium mixed with garlic juice. This was used to control pain before surgery and applied to skin as poultices would ease pain. I have never heard of anyone becoming addicted to

Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 9, No. 1, 1994

poppy juice applied to the skin.

I was also very interested in "Four Thieves Vinegar". This was an invention of four thieves who robbed the bodies of wealthy plague victims without becoming sick. These four soaked peeled and macerated garlic cloves in old wine (time not specified), then strained it into stone jugs. This they would apply to their necks, faces, hands and arms as well as gargle and swallow sufficient quantities. When they were caught they were not executed. They were given clemency after they released their formula. Apparently the remaining citizens in Marseilles were thereafter able to resist the plague. These early experimental pharmacists were given their lives for their secret remedy. I guess patents were not then in common use.

Garlic is regaining some of its ancient popularity. It contains over 100 sulfur containing products. Sulfur is one of the essential elements which is not much thought about. But sulfur-containing amino acids are very important, and in the absence of sulfur-containing foods it would be difficult for the body to generate enough. Garlic, onions, and in several other foods are rich in sulfur. Remember the molasses and sulfur spring tonic that was so popular many years ago.

Dr. Heinerman describes the many uses for garlic, but he also refers to the modern research on garlic and its constituents. It can be taken in a amazing variety of ways including baths, compresses, extracts, decoctions, douches, lectuaries, enemas, essences, fomentations, gelatin capsules, juices, infu-

sions, liniment, liquor, oils, poultices and plasters, powder, salves, smoking, suppository, tablets, teas, tinctures, and in vinegar, wine and beer.

Some may be put off by the large number of therapeutic indications which will remind them of the placebo effect, the response to faith and hope. I was going to compare it to snake oil but can not anymore since Dr. R. Kunin showed that snake oil is full of therapeutic essential fatty acids. They will be only partially correct. For the best medicine of all is a judicious mixture of a compound which is safe, has some therapeutic effect combined with faith and hope. These are the stock in trade of every good healer. Furthermore the placebo effect has been grossly overrated and used by itself is totally undependable. The main argument against compounds with these multiple efficacies is the belief that so many complicated illnesses could not be healed by so simple a preparation. This is untrue. If everyone were to be deprived of all their vitamin B₃ they would soon break down into a large number of diseases including, skin, gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea, and any one of the mental diseases from simple anxiety to schizophrenia. Physicians unaware of the cause of these patients' disease would never know why this was happening and would not believe that one vitamin, B₃, could cure them all. Only drugs are specific i.e. have a narrow range of activity. Almost all natural products have wide ranges of activity.

A. Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.

2nd Annual Symposium

"Multiple Modalities in

Orthomolecular and Nutritional Medicine '94"

August 25-28,1994

Sorrento Palace Hotel Sorrento, Italy

For further information contact:

Brigitte Byrd

Klaire Laboratories, Inc.

Phone: (619) 744-9680 / Fax: (619) 744-9364