Posted by Deb_s on March 4, 2001, at 17:39:12
In reply to Re: U of Calgary study » dj, posted by Cam W. on March 4, 2001, at 15:17:24
Cam W.,
>Vitamins have been tried before in all kinds of mental disorders without any really convincing results; although I don't know what the "twist" is in this case.
there are two things i understand that this pig pill does (i may not be understanding it correctly, but i don't care, if it works!):the theory is that the depressed brain (or other central nervous system disorder) does not have the ingredients it needs to do its work, so if you give it what it needs (and it's apparently the broad COMBINATION, not just a few things) it can correct itself and function as it should.
the other theory is that the essential ingredients have become depleted from the soil through farming, and they don't all get replaced. (i think it likely that we don't even know what all the "essential" things are). that may explain why depression (etc.) seems to have become worse over the last century.
[btw, I'm NOT a vitamin freak, although i've been trying to learn about it. i just don't believe that mega of any one or a few vitamins/minerals can make a big difference in everybody.
i can believe, however, that people are different in how they metabolize food, and that some people might need more of some things, especially in times of stress (which could, for example, explain why hard times sometimes supposedly "trigger" clinical depression - maybe a system which is marginal becomes disfunctional when the needs are increased).]
>
> It's a wait a see thing. I'll let you know if I here anything. Media reports of unreleased and unproven research are annoying (remember the comet on a crash course with the earth; or cold fusion).they are indeed! i think what has me optimistic about this is that my husband and father-in-law are pig farmers, and know well the consequences of crowding pigs, and that nutrition can make huge differences. it makes sense to them.
a limitation of our traditional research approach is we start with a theory of one thing or another, then test just that one thing scientifically. while this approach has validity, the universe is made up of an incredible number of things, interacting with each other in all sorts of ways. it would take forever to test all combinations of all drugs/nutrients/elements in all types of humans against all types of diseases/disorders.
>
> BTW - I am having lunch with the head pdoc on Thursday, I'll ask him if he has heard any preliminary results.I have heard that Harvard is currently conducting a double-blind study - does the head pdoc perhaps know anything about it?
poster:Deb_s
thread:45874
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55564.html