Anxiety: Orthmomolecular Diagnosis and Treatment
by Dr. Jonathan Prousky, ND, FRSH
Intro by Dr. Abram Hoffer, PhD, MD, FRCP(C)
2006 CCNM Press, Toronto
   

Review By Robert Sealey

Anxiety affects many people. The anxious brain may have a survival advantage due to its hypersensitive danger-detection capabilities but prolonged anxiety can cause such acute discomfort that anyone who has experienced years of anxiety will consider it a mixed blessing, life-saving at its best, the bane of his existence at its worst. Author Dr. Jonathan Prousky, ND, FRSH does not recommend drugging sensitive patients into sedation or oblivion, but instead he addresses the range of possible causes, while outlining how health practitioners can base medical care on scientific and medical research and the development of safe, proven and effective treatments. The commonly-used benzodiazepine anxiolytic medications receive due mention, however Prousky recommends a restorative approach, using nutritional supplements which do not lead to escalating doses, do not cause drug dependencies and do not trigger withdrawal symptoms, nor does the patient become overly-sedated, just restored to a normal mental state.

Readers seeking restorative care for anxiety will find this book interesting, insightful and helpful. Each chapter of this 125-page volume offers scientific and medical references for medical professionals and lay readers who wish to verify the author's information. Jonathan Prousky, ND an experienced health professional, offers his knowledge based on his careful study of the little-known field of restorative orthomolecular medicine and his years of patient care applying its principles and practices. For over 55-years a succession of scientific and medical professionals researched mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, psychosis, depression, attention deficit disorder and autism and cooperated to develop restorative orthomolecular medicine. Many books share their research, development, progress and success as does the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.

Even before their time, in the early 1900s, the then-common illness of pellagra caused hundreds of thousands of patients to suffer with dementia, dermatitis, diarrhea and death. Before dying, pellagra patients experienced psychosis and anxiety. Decades ago, Dr. Joseph Goldberger researched pellagra, determined that it resulted from a nutritional deficiency and recommended a recovery diet (later found to include niacin). Prousky and Hoffer believe that sub-clinical pellagra can still develop today if vulnerable patients live on processed foodstuffs which lack essential nutrients. Other problems, e.g. hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), can also disrupt brain chemistry and cause anxiety.

Fortunately, orthomolecular treatments can restore normal brain function by using nutritional supplements to refuel depleted brains, normalize enzyme biochemistries and calm over-activities, without the side attacks or toxic effects which often accompany high doses of prescription pills. Dr. Prousky has helped hundreds of anxious patients to recover and live well by applying the principles and practices of restorative orthomolecular and naturopathic medicine.

Not every patient recovers overnight. It can take time to diagnose the underlying problem and recommend suitable treatments. Prousky does not offer false hope, or suggest quick-fix short cuts. His book outlines the steps for proper diagnosis of the root cause(s) of each patient's symptoms and trials of restorative regimens to suit each patient's biochemical individuality. He explains how the right doses of the right vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzyme co-factors and even botanical medications, plant extracts long used by mankind for medicinal purposes, can heal anxiety.

Jonathan Prousky explains how restorative care can help anyone who suffers with anxiety to recover and live well. Let's notice the concept: restorative orthomolecular medicine was researched, tested and found safe and effective by biochemists, physicians and psychiatrists who cooperated for over 55 years to help thousands of patients cope with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychosis. Let's learn from this book how Dr. Prousky fine-tuned and applied the restorative treatments to heal anxiety.

review by R Sealey, BSc, CA
author of the Sear Series of layman’s guides:

Finding Care for Depression, Mental Episodes & Brain Disorders
90 Day Plan for Finding Quality Care
Depression Survivor's Kit

Finding Care for Depression has a chapter by Dr. Abram Hoffer called How Orthomolecular Medicine Can Help. Dr. Abram Hoffer is a PhD biochemist, a physician and a psychiatrist, the senior editor of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine (www.orthomed.org) and the author of:

Orthomolecular Treatment for Schizophrenia
Vitamin B-3 and Schizophrenia: Discovery, Recovery, Controversy
How To Live With Schizophrenia
Dr. Hoffer’s ABC of Natural Nutrition for Children
Hoffer’s Laws of Natural Nutrition
Putting it All Together: The New Orthomolecular Nutrition
Vitamin C and Cancer
Smart Nutrients
Orthomolecular Medicine for Physicians
The Hallucinogens

News

Site Map

Articles

Publications

Order Form

Consulting

Links

Home

Sear Publications Home Page