The Brain Bio Centre in London provides anyone who visits its website with free information on how one can be easily screened and treated for a number of nutrient/vitamin deficiencies and other physical conditions often diagnosed (without even consideration of physical screening) as mental illness.

The website is easy to navigate.  Just scroll down a bit and look in the right sidebar and click on any of the 8 common "disorders" that usually prompt a prescription for psychotropic drugs and find, for each, a number of conditions to screen for, as well as suggestions for treatment.

Under Schizophrenia, for example, conditions known as Pellagra and Pyroluria can be misdiagnosed as schizophrenia.  Pellegra is simply a niacin deficiency or personal need for extra niacin and people with pyroluria need extra B6 and Zinc to avoid symptoms.

As Dr. Gualtieri, a Chapel Hill, NC doctor explains in his book about brain damage, it is common for people presenting with psychiatric symptoms to suffer from B12 and/or Folic Acid deficiency.  He adds, in his book, that vitamins are protective of some of the harmful effects of neuroleptics (tardive dyskinesia, for example), and that in some cases these drugs are ineffective unless the patient also takes vitamins.  It is indeed well-known that vitamin deficiencies are often the cause of psychiatric symptoms.  Gualtieri adds, in his book, that since screening for B12 is quite expensive, he sees no reason not to go ahead and prescribe B12 and folic acid and other vitamins as well.

Back to the Brain Bio Centre:  Though we do not have such a center in the U.S., we do have a few doctors who promote Orthomolecular therapies, and there is a wealth of information available on the Orthomolecular website.

Though all suggest a person see a professional who can test for deficiencies, it is generally understood that increasing B vitamin intake , along with C,  extra B12 and Folic Acid, Omega 3, and gradually increased doses of niacin (to 500 mg or so) can be very effective in at least improving, if not curing psychiatric symptoms, with little or no adverse effects. The main caution is to start with very low doses of niacin to avoid flushing.   (No-flush niacin can be used but NOT time-released).

Below is a main website for Orthomolecular Treatment info and see more on this website under: ORTHOMOLECULAR

http://www.orthomed.org/

Below are links to comments on Dr. Abram Hoffer's orthomolecular treatment:

http://www.amazon.com/Orthomolecular-Treatment-Schizophrenia-Abram-Hoffer/dp/0879839104/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

** Please note that neither I nor  MentalHealthRightsYes.org endorse any one treatment or product as the ultimate answer to mental health.  We are NOT affiliated in any way nor do we receive funding from the products mentioned on this site.