“A twenty-two-year-old unmarried woman volunteered as a research patient in a study of the effects of nutritional biochemical treatment in mental illness.…The young woman frankly stated that she had no confidence whatever in the general physical approach we were taking to her kind of problem, but was convinced, rather, that she ‘needed psychoanalysis.’…..She gave the following information about herself in initial interview:
She lived in her family alone with her father. Her mother, a heart patient for many years, had died two years previously of a heart attack….Her father was an excessively ambitious physician who had spent almost no time at all at home with his wife and children….Her recollections of childhood and early youth consisted mainly of painful memories of family arguments, of her mother having fainting spells and heart attacks as a consequence of such arguments. She felt her father had indirectly caused her mother’s early death by his indifference, neglect, and cruelty.”
She reported the following symptoms: severe depression with frequent suicidal urges; often she would stay in her room for days, afraid to see anyone; she developed an extreme revulsion for her father to the point of feeling like running and screaming at his sight…She brooded over her mother’s death constantly, and could not separate this event from her revulsion for her father. On the other hand, she would occasionally be overcome with remorse about her hatred for him and would admit to herself that she also loved and admired him.
Although she was convinced that the suggested biochemical treatment was “silly,” she agreed to give it a fair trial. During the first month her worst symptoms began to disappear. Her depressed days became less and less frequent until they did not recur. And within three months’ time she stated she was well. Her attitude toward her father became normal. Six months after the start of her treatment she became engaged, and she was married the following year.”
This was a passage from the 1972 book, “Nutrition and Your Mind” by Dr. George Watson, Ph.D. This was one of the most influential books I have ever read in my entire life. I had always thought that problems with the mind were purely of psychological origin. They were to be solved with therapy sessions, where the art of understanding and analysis would help lift the cloud of distress from the patient. But as Dr. Watson illustrated through personal accounts, the solution was nearly always very simple: customized nutrition. Suddenly, patients who were told to just be “crazy, depressed, or psychologically unstable,” underwent magical transformation—sometimes overnight, with their previous personality becoming an unrecognizable shadow to their new self.
So how does this happen? One must first acknowledge that we need energy to do anything in life—plan, move, talk and laugh, contemplate, and cry. Second, that this outward energy is merely a reflection of the energy within our cells. The biochemical name for this energy is called ATP.
Our cells are 24-7 factories that work relentlessly day and night to form ATP. Because glucose is the main source of ATP, it becomes their best friend. However, this is no easy task. Glucose has to go through 18 steps before all of its ATP is created, and also, enough fat has to be available for this to occur properly. And herein, lays the problem.
People vary in their rate of how they burn or “oxidize” their glucose. There are 3 types:
Fast Oxidizers burn glucose too fast, Slow Oxidizers burn glucose too slow, and Mixed Oxidizers are a combination of the two. Does this mean that Fast Oxidizers have more energy than Slow Oxidizers? On the surface, yes, but internally, they are not efficient. Like a wood stove with a fire that is burning too fast, they are overheating the room and are in danger of running out of fuel.
So what Dr. Watson was able to do through specific diet and vitamin/mineral supplementation was to speed up a Slow Oxidizer, and slow down a Fast Oxidizer. This allowed the person to burn glucose at a balanced rate, and thus, a dramatic turnaround would happen in their personality. So what are some personality traits associated with Fast and Slow Oxidizers? Based on degree of their imbalance, they can have one or more of the following symptoms:
Mild Fast Oxidizer
1. Energetic
2. Forward- looking
3. Positive
Extreme Fast Oxidizer
1. Nervousness
2. Fearfulness
3. Aggressiveness
4. High-strung
Mild Slow Oxidizer
1. Quieter
2. Gentler
3. Patient
Extreme Slow Oxidizer
1. Spacey
2. Apathetic
3. Pessimistic
4. Depressed
5. Over analytical
6. Nervousness
7. Defensiveness
8. Rigidity
Based on Hair Mineral Analysis, at least 85% of people today are Slow Oxidizers. This can have a tremendous affect on many different aspects of your life such as the friends you make, the partner you choose, your profession, and the hobbies you partake in.
As Dr. Paul Eck, who enhanced the work of Dr. Watson, and created the nutritional balancing method based on Hair Mineral Analysis, explains:
“Many people have tremendous amounts of love and passion on the ‘inside.’ However, due to inadequate energy levels, they are relatively incapable of fully expressing their deep love and affection.
The reason some people appear to be cold, unloving, and lacking in feeling is not because they want to be this way. They are this way because they have no choice.
Don’t you remember what is was like when you were ill in bed, and you barely had enough energy to even sit up? Were you vivacious and enthusiastic and so radiating with energy that everyone wanted to be around you?
Were you an exciting person to be around? Were you loving and warm and sensitive to the feelings of everyone around you?
I believe that most people could be many times more loving and passionate if they just had more energy.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that were true! If all we needed were a couple of supplements with a diet to balance our chemistry, and then we could tap into our ‘best’ personality. The reality is: this is true. However, the only difference is unlike Dr. Watson’s case of the 22-year old woman who dramatically changed after 6 months, it will take most people much longer.
This is because now, especially in the 21st century, we are faced with an unprecedented challenge that greatly delays the process of restoring balance to a person’s chemistry……..
Stay tuned for Part 3 to find out.
