The Food-Mood-Body Connection: Nutrition-Based and Environmental Approaches to Mental Health (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "At the start of the 21st century, the mental health of the nation and the world is in a state of crisis..." (more)
Key Phrases: autistic symptoms, fluoxetine treatment, biloba extract, New York, American Journal of Psychiatry, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The host of the syndicated daily health radio program Natural Living with Gary Null here takes on the current epidemic of mental-health problems in the U.S. and shows that many of these disorders can be remedied more effectively, faster and much less expensively with natural means than with traditional approaches. Null (Gary Null's Ultimate Anti-Aging Program), a longtime champion of alternative health care, makes a good case for looking at the nutritional and environmental factors that may be causing such chronic conditions as depression, alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and eating disorders. Tapping more than 50 physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists and holistic doctors, Null presents research, case studies and opinions that support his claim that most mental and emotional conditions can be helped, and often cured, by treating biochemical imbalances. For those who have had lifelong battles with depression, eating disorders and schizophrenia and been given little hope for recovery, the news that, for example, administration of liquid zinc has cured people of anorexia within a few months will be most welcome. Null reports that more than 500,000 children are on antidepressants and that rates of schizophrenia are rising; his book is sure to find a big audience among those (including families) affected by these conditions.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Many conditions that are generally believed to be purely mental disorders are actually caused by vitamin deficiencies, food allergies, hormonal imbalances, and environmental factors. In this book, the best-selling health and fitness expert who has been called "Mr. Natural" by Time magazine presents nutrition-based treatments for the underlying biochemical imbalances that cause many of today's mental problems.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 485 pages
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583220313
• ISBN-13: 978-1583220313
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #415,410 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very garbled, April 1, 2001

By	"kangarex" (Keokuk, IA United States) - See all my reviews

There is a lot of interesting information in this book, and it's in a field that could use some more interest than it generally gets. Unfortunately the information appears in the middle of a huge mish-mash of every kind of alternative therapies. Reflexology occurs right beside various vitamin therapies, lithium treatment of manic-depression, food allergies and sensitivities, and heavy metal poisoning.

The various causes, and therapies discussed have little or no evaluation of their effectiveness, or history discussed. A fair number of individual cases are discussed, but nothing that would allow a reader to distinguish the obviously helpful from the promising from the complete hookum.

Another problem is that while good nutrition is discussed, and various ways in which supplements (vitamin & other) can help people achieve better health, there is no way given to try to sort out what kinds of supplements might do you some good. There is an exception for a couple of disorders (like alcoholism), where there is a more general discussion of what supplements a heavy drinker should take, particularly if s/he is trying to quit, but in general, no.

Last but not least, the discussion of toxic environments goes beyond unhelpful and into downright alarmist. While maintaining a healthy environment is admitably difficult in this day and age (if not impossible), it does no one any good to be looking at everything they eat, breathe, or touch as a potential toxin. So doing only raises stress levels - which as this book points out, is an environmental/lifestyle problem all its own.

In short - there's some interesting information in here, but it's not worth the effort, and the resultant paranoia from reading the book, to extract it.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Valuable info in utter disarray, June 26, 2001

By	Gautam Srikanth (Stamford, CT) - See all my reviews

Although "The Food-Mood-Body Connection" teems with interesting information, its format robs it of instructive value. It takes the form of a long series of interviews with alternative-health practitioners, with occasional (and I mean occasional: more than half the book is paragraphs quoted verbatim) comments from the "author," Gary Null. If such a style appeals to you, you'll love this book; if you prefer knowledge in a usable context, however, turn elsewhere.

With real editing, this may become a valuable resource. Until then, most would be better served with Elizabeth Somer's "Food & Mood," a truly useful guide to this important subject.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Advice On An Important Subject, October 29, 2000

By A Customer

Too often, health problems are treated with magic pills, and this is especially true of mental health problems. Now here is a book that pays proper attention to both the causes of much mental illness and helpful things people can do in place of or in addition to drugs to improve their mood and mental health. The authors are a nutritionist, Gary Null, and a respected writer, Louise Bernikow. I was really surprised by the some of the information here-and troubled that I hadn't heard about it already. For example, it turns out the drugs that are used to treat kids diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit) disorders are associated with risk of violent or suicidal behavoir, and that the diagnosis itself is very blurry. So kids are being treated with dangerous drugs for a condition they often don't even have! And there are alternatives, nontoxic nutritional approaches, that usually aren't even considered. As usual, a big part of the problem is that doctors aren't adequately informed about exciting nutritional approaches, and doctors can only employ treatments they know how to prescribe, so it's a bit of a catch 22-with patients the worse off. But this book can help. I hope people read it, and, especially, that doctors and other mental health practitioners read it.