How to Quit with Feeling S**t with Patrick Holford at Baden Powell House

What were you doing on the evening of Thursday 09 October 2008? Watching Eastenders perhaps? Well, I travelled up to London to listen to and speak with Patrick Holford, founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and former visiting professor at the University of Teeside. Mr Holford was talking about his latest book – How to Quit Without Feeling S**t along with his co-author Dr David Miller.

The venue for the academic seminar was Baden Powell House. When I saw that in the email containing my ticket I imagined that I would be visiting the headquarters of the Scout Association. Not exactly as Baden Powell House is a youth hostel owned by the Scouts close to Gloucester Road underground station. The entrance foyer was crowded with German backpackers, but I was able to make my way around them to the large conference room at the side of the building. I would say more than 200 people were seated in the room each paying £15. Mr Holford had just started was doing a bit of name dropping in regard to Abram Hoffer. Apparently, at the age of 96 he was semi-retired and now only works four days a week. As Patrick Holford often points out he spends his time reading all the latest up-to-date research on nutrition and in the course of this research he discovered Dr David Miller.

Dr Miller is a recovered or recovering alcoholic. (I am not sure what the correct term is. It seems to change.) More than thirty years ago he was addicted to alcohol. He spoke rather movingly of his struggle to break free from the grip of alcohol. People think rather simplistically that once you stop taking a drug your problems are over. Nonetheless, addicts complain of symptoms such as mood swings and feelings of irritability. Dr Miller described these feelings as “chronic abstinence symptoms.” This does appear to a recognised medical condition. For example, see the following published research in respect of marijuana users.

A cartoon was shown of two doctors, one of whom was shaking whilst talking to his colleague. The caption read: “Doctor I seem to be addicted to prescribing drugs.” I remember that from Mr Holford’s Optimum for the Mind. Ho, ho, ho. Dr Miller then took us on a very short tour through the history of what the addiction treatment: (1) we had the moral model where the addiction arose from defects of character (2) there was the disease model where the problem was seen to be medical (3) the psychological model where the addict was perceived as having a mental disorder and finally (4) you have guessed it we have the integrative or holistic model. Addiction he declared is a “Bio psycho social spiritual disorder.” We were all given a hand out with the grand title “Scale of Abstinence Sympton Severity” and 26 possible symptoms. We were invited to rate ourselves on the scale of one to ten

There is a vicious cycle of stress and fatigue. In fact, there is a paradox in recovery in that in order to recover we need abstinence yet abstinence-based symptoms interfere with our ability to stay sober. Some of these symptoms last months or even years. “1 in 4 Britons are addicted” “13 million Britons have taken illegal drugs” According to The Observer newspaper “Many of us believe alcohol and tobacco pose greater health risks than ecstasy and cocaine.” Be scared. BE VERY SCARED. Before I go any further I would like to ask a few questions. It is a shame there was no opportunity to ask them at the time: (1) What are ¼ Britons addicted to and what is the nature of their addictions? From where does this statistic originate? (2) In what respect do ecstasy and cocaine pose a greater health risk than tobacco and alcohol? Presumably more people are taking the latter, though I would not imagine many muggings and burglaries are committed by people wanting to buy low cost Tesco lager. (3) How often do Britons take illegal drugs? I would imagine many simply take them when young or on just a few occasions.

In our seminar we then went to look at how our brains become addicted. Apparently, once again it is all to do with the neurons and neurotransmitters in our brains. If I had my way I would get rid of them all. Neurotransmitters in our brain are built from amino acids which our body of course obtains from proteins. Neurotransmitters will calm or excite us. Dopamine was given as an example. We were told that addictive substances mess with your brain. Here is a study I found on PubMed

Alcoholism is associated with shrinkage of brain tissue and reduction in the number of neurons

Addictive substances either mimic feel good chemicals or shut them down. The neurotransmitters in the brain that help motivate us become insensitive and dopamine is given as an example. Indeed on the Wikipedia, we read:

Dopamine has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behaviour and cognition. (…) A common hypothesis, though not uncontroversial is that dopamine has a function of transmitting reward prediction error.

For more information have a read of this fascinating article. Did you know that:

Although DA neurons account for less than 1% of the total neuronal population of the brain, they have a profound effect on brain function

So basically what Dr Miller and Mr Holford are telling us is that addictions mess up the biochemistry of our brain. I am sure most mainstream neuro-scientists would not disagree. So with all 200 members of the audience suitably scared what solution could be offered?

Well, we had another hand out listing six neurotransmitters. We were informed: (i) which amino acid it was made from (ii) what it does (iii) the symptoms of deficiency and (iv) the substances addicts use to compensate for deficiency. For example, Dopamine is made from L-tyrosine and gives rise to good feelings comfort and alertness. If you are deficient in it you feel empty, depressed and lack motivation which leads you to seeking alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, caffeine, sugar and tobacco. It all sounds a bit simplistic, but fortunately on the other side of the page is a solution to all your problems. There you will find a ready-made presciption for recovering alcoholics. Apparently, they need to take: (i) combination chill/sleep formula 4 pills a day (ii) Methyl-nutrient formula 2 pills a day (iii) Omega-3 EPA-rich capsule 2 pills a days and (iv) Vitamin C, 1000mg 2 pills. BUT DON’T FORGET ALWAYS TAKE THE BASIC SUPPLEMENTS which means that in addition you need: (i) an optimum multivitamin & mineral (ii) Additional Vitamin C: ideally with berry extracts (iii) Essential omega-3 and 6 fats (iv) Phospholipid complex. Fortunately, when Patrick took over he explained to us that we only have to take the amino acid supplements for a month or so. When the total abstinence symptoms were down you could just rely on the basics. Patrick was very pleased to note that Health Products for Life were able to make it that evening. Indeed, how fortunate they were not doing anything else. I wonder who asked them to come along? They were at the back of the hall selling lots of pills some of which, coincidentally, were recommended by Mr Holford himself.

By the time the break arrived I was extremely hungry. I reasoned that seeing as the place was a hostel for young people there should be a snack machine somewhere. I was correct and found one close to the reception. Unfortunately, Optimum Nutrition has not yet reached The Scout Association so the machines were full of chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks. I bought a packet of Walkers Ready Salted crisps – low in sugar, only 0.5g of salt and a moderate amount of non-essential fatty acids. However, I dared not go back in the main hall with such a substance. Possibly I could have been lynched by a group of nutritional therapists. At that point I noticed an exhibition in the corner of the room. Unsurprisingly it was about Baden Powell and the foundation of the Scout movement. The text on the first panel explained that back in 1907 Britain was a very different place. There was much poverty and many young people experienced malnutrition. Rickets was not unknown. Baden-Powell’s solution was not a supplement programme, it was teaching self-reliance. Members of the Scout movement experienced life out-doors, got plenty of exercise and learnt how to cook over camp fires. Unfortunately, I seemed to be alone whilst reading the exhibition.

The second part of the evening was taken up with Patrick telling us various things about allergies, testing for allergies, the pressure group Sense About Science, how to detox, why you should not eat dairy products and antioxidants. What this had to with addiction I was not sure, but it was his seminar after all. If I have time I’ll write that up another time. I was a bit disappointed that there was no opportunity to ask questions so afterwards I went up to the front to speak with Patrick. Again another post for another time. I also spoke with David Miller. Meanwhile next to us Mrs Holford was tidying away the audio equipment. She asked if I wanted privacy to speak with Dr Miller. Well no, I did not. Quite the opposite as what I wanted to know was whether there had been any studies done comparing what he was doing with more conventional treatments. We would not want to be shy and private about our successes would we? He told me that studies were shortly to short. That was a pleasant surprise. He handed me two leaflets about two centres offering the treatment. Click here and here for their websites. Both seem to specialise in intravenous therapy which according to one of the leaflets I was given

Delivers nutrients to the brain while by-passing the gut

Bridging the Gaps is based in the Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia. Placebo therapies such as acu-detox are available as is Yoga and gym membership. Possibly that has as much to do with their success rates as the nutrition therapy offered? If Patrick Holford were to open a similar facility in Britain where would it be located – Dartmoor, the Brecon Beacons, the Lake District or the Wye Valley? As soon as we find out we’ll let you know so you can vary your holiday plans accordingly.

As I left I overheard Mrs Holford talking to Dr Miller

David you must be so hungry

I wondered whether I should point him in the direction of the chocolate machine in the foyer. No. Perhaps not.

The Food for the Brain Foundation Needs YOU

Readers I have just been sent an email (see below) from The Food for the Brian Foundation (CEO: ex-professor Patrick Holford offering me the chance of a job. Lucky old me ehhhh? Unfortunately, it is not one for which I am remotely qualified so I don’t think I’ll be applying. They are looking for “a BANT registered nutritional therapist with clinical experience.” Now I don’t wish to boast here, but I think I must be one of the country’s leading experts on Dip ION qualified BANT nutritional therapists. Yes, yes I know the research has not yet been published but do give me time my dear readers. Some of them I have read their websites so many times they seem almost like family. Obviously, I need to organise a safe house to go to before I upset the alties. Is there anyone on a Pacific island reading this who might be interested in helping me out? Ummm, sorry now where was I?

The trouble is that very few of them are actually qualified to do an MSc project in nutrition and mental health. A Dip ION is actually a foundation degree in science from the University of Bedfordshire. Quite sneaky that ehhh – two qualifications for the price of one? Of course, no one would be dishonest enough to put the letters Dip ION/FdSc on their website to imply they had two separate qualifications would they? Umm … we shall return to that matter on another occasion. A foundation degree is actually equivalent to two years full-time study. So “Food for the Brain” is actually specifically targeting people for an MSc – nutritional therapists – who have skipped the final year of their degree. However, we must be fair here. It is possible to convert the Dip ION/FdSc in to a University of Bedfordshire honours degree. However, on looking at Dip ION websites it would not appear that not very many have done so. Also it has be said that many Dip IONs have first degrees in relevant things like nutrition, biological sciences or nursing. These qualifications were obtained before they went down the Dip ION route.

However, I would estimate that there are probably less than a few hundred people in the whole country who are both BANT registered nutritional therapists AND holders of a relevant first degree in nutrition/biologicial sciences or health care. Presumably there are thousands of bright young things out there with good degrees in psychology, medicine, life sciences or nutrition who might be qualified to do an MSc about nutrition and mental health, but Food for the Brain want a nutritional therapist and THAT is THAT. Possibly, if we were being a bit cynical we might think they already have some one in mind.

What of the research itself? It is all jolly vague. They are looking for some one to evaluate the clinical efficiency of ADHD (does that stand for Always Dependent on Holford’s Direction?), schizophrenia or depression. It is as if they are saying “come on now we don’t care what research you do as long as it is something that proves there is a reason for our existence.” Usually, you would expect a prospective employer to provide a job specification. In this case “Food for the Brain” are inviting research applicants to set the agenda. One would have expected their scientific advisory board to have a few meetings and make a decision: “Okay, the scientific world is skeptical that nutritional approaches can help schizophrenia. Let’s do some research to prove them wrong and win ourselves a Nobel prize in the process. We can then come back and cure depression and ADHD in 2010 and 2012.” The way they have behaved is not very well-organised or proactive is it? Perhaps I’ll send in application to research the training and continuing professional development of nutritional therapists. What they are trying to do is find some one to prove the concept of optimum nutrition more technically known as orthomolecular medicine. If you remember the religion of orthomolecular medicine was founded more than thirty years ago by Abram Hoffer,“the pioneer and perfector of the faith.” They want some one to review both mainstream and anecdotal evidence. Fortunately, Ernst and Singh have recently reviewed the mainstream scientific evidence in their book “Trick or Treatment?”. Here is what they had to say:

“Proponents of this approach believe that low levels of these substances cause chronic problems which go beyond straightforward mineral or vitamin deficiency. These problems include a tendency to suffer from infections such as the common cold, lack of energy or even cancer. [Readers of Optimum Nutrition for the Mind will know that ex-professor Holford believes other conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, ADHD and bipolar disorder can similarly be cured.] (…) The hallmarks of orthomolecular medicine are the extremely high doses that are usually suggested and the individualization of the prescription.”

He goes on to conclude:

“The concepts of orthomolecular medicine are not biologically plausible and supported by the results of rigorous clinical trials. These problems are compounded by the fact that orthomolecular medicine can cause harm and is often expensive.” (Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial, Ernst and Singh, p.320, Bantom Press 2008)

So there we have it conventional science is not yet very impressed by the claims of ex-professor Holford and his friends. However, the researcher is also going to be expected to investigate “anecdotal evidence of nutritional interventions”. I bet there are going to be one or two of those ehhh readers?!! Heyyy, let me tell you a joke: “What did the alternative therapist think was the plural of anecdote?” “Data!” Oh no, don’t tell me you have already heard that one before. I’ll get back to being serious then.

Earlier this year I read a little book in Oxford University Press’ Very Short Introduction series. Have you read any of them? Most of them are quite excellent and enable you to become an expert on a subject in a very short space of time. The one I was reading was by two people – Professor Chris Frith and Professor Eve Johnstone – who are very respected in the field of schizophrenia. Do you think they spent much time discussing nutritional interventions in schizophrenia? Unfortunately, for Food for the Brain in more than 150 pages there was not one mention of nutrition even to demolish the idea that it could help those with schizophrenia. You would think that if there was any merit in the idea Professor Johnstone would have come across it at some point in the last forty years. Oh dear.

Research Opportunity Researcher for a MSc project on nutrition and mental health We are seeking a BANT registered nutritional therapist with clinical experience, to undertake a MSc research project evaluating the clinical efficacy of a nutrition-based approach in the treatment of depression, ADHD or schizophrenia. The research will involve both a comprehensive literature review and analysis of client data treated at the Brain Bio Centre. The objective of this research is to review both mainstream and anecdotal evidence of nutritional interventions in depression, ADHD or schizophrenia, and to determine whether individualised nutritional interventions, as an add-on to existing treatment, improve psychometric scores in specific patients using an open label study design. Applicants need to have previous research experience. Please send your CV plus an example of any research, indicating which mental health condition you are interested in to info@foodforthebrain.org entitled ‘MSc Research. Please submit your details by October 1st 2008.

Patrick Holford vs The University of Cambridge

Patrick Holford often claims that the path of optimum nutrition “is likely to add years to your life and life to your years”. http://www.patrickholford.com/content.asp?id_Content=2168

In contrast, researchers at the University of Cambridge “discover” that non-smokers, moderate drinkers and those who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables live longer: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7174665.stm

Now, as you all know my favourite book is Nutrition for Dummies. The beginning of the book has a very interesting section called “Research you can trust.” According to the authors ignorant members of the public – like me – need to ask: “Where was the study published?”, “Does this study include human beings?” and “Are there enough people in this study?”

The study on which the above BBC article was based was first published in PLoS Medicine a “peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the Public Library of Science.” Sounds good to me. I particularly like the section which states, “Statistical Advisors provide methodological input for certain types of submitted manuscripts and advise on whether statistical aspects of those manuscripts are performed to the technical standard required for publication” – http://www.plosone.org/static/edboard.action#statisticaladvisors I wonder how some of the surveys done by the ION or Food for the Brain would measure up?

There were 20,244 human participants in the study which sounds quite a lot.

You can read the full article here: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050012

My question, and no one has ever (!) been to answer it is this: how much healthier will I be and how many years will I add to my life if I follow the Way of Optimum Nutrition compared with the approach offered by the British Dietetic Association?

ION Diplomates Do Not Know Enough Pharmacology!!

As you may be aware The Nutrition Therapy Council was set up to help regulate the nutrition therapy industry.  The ever-so-generous department of health awarded them £900,000 for the task: http://www.bant.org.uk/bant/pdf/NTC/NTCUPDATE_Dec2005.pdf Still, according to question one on page three it is all voluntary at the current time as, “the cost of statutory regulation may be disproportionate to the rewards expected.”  I am not really sure what that means. Perhaps some one could enlighten me.

You may be wondering how nutrition therapists at The Institute for Optimum Nutrition measure up. You only need to look at their website to find out.  See the following two documents:

http://www.ion.ac.uk/Grandparenting/GP_Route_CPD_Requirements_ION.doc

http://www.ion.ac.uk/Grandparenting/GP_ION_Notice_of_Assessment_for_Course_Mapping_Route_C.doc

Now, I am only an Arts graduate so do not really understand long words such as “pharmacodynamics”, “pharmacokinetics” and “nutraceuticals”. However, my interpretation is that the document is saying that people who finished the ION course between 2001 and 2007 do not know enough about the effect of drugs on the body and the implications for human nutrition.  Possibly they are not that interested in pharmacology.  After all ION founder, Patrick Holford, did write a book called “Food is Better Medicine Than Drugs”: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Better-Medicine-Than-Drugs/dp/0749927100 However, one would have thought that many people consulting nutrition therapists would be suffering from chronic long-term conditions.  Therefore, one would have thought it pretty essential for people claiming to be nutritionists to at least have some understanding of the relationship between food and medicine.

Help is at hand though as the lack of knowledge can be rectified by purchasing “Dr Cliff Whelan’s 2005 lecture: Therapeutic Module: Pharmacokineticys. This will help to rectify areas of this subject missing from the course.”  According to the above NTC memorandum they have until September rectify their lack of knowledge

So what exactly are the implications of this gap in their knowledge?  I asked expert and renowned Bad Science blogger Dr Aust to comment. Here is what he had to say:

I’m not a pharmacologist (physiologist strictly, although I do teach some pharmacology too) but one lecture on pharmacokinetics does strike me as a bit, er, laughably thin, given the propensity of some “nutritional” therapies to interact with other conventional drugs people may be taking. A famous example is St John’s Wort, which interacts with almost everything and in Germany is a prescription medication. David Colquhoun, who is a real “Pharmacology ninja”, would probably have other examples.

“Conventional” prescribers (doctors, of course, and now the nurses) get a fair bit of teaching about pharmacology. To be strictly accurate, the amount they are explicitly taught about pharmacokinetics specifically may be quite small (1-2 lectures on the principles, usually early in the course). However, this is reinforced by the fact that, for every drug they are told about, their attention will typically be drawn to its unwanted effects, possible actions in overdose and common and/or potentially serious interactions. They will also have it drummed into them ad nauseam that before prescribing something they always need to CHECK for interactions with other medications the person might be taking, and other contra-indications,  in the British National Formulary (BNF) – http://www.bnf.org/bnf/

From this POV, my opinion would be that one online lecture as a “retrospective bolt-on” is too little, too late.

The Manual of Dietetic Practice has a very informative table on the nutritional implications of certain medications. If such a book sounds too complicated the table has been adapted for inclusion in Nutrition for Dummies.   I wonder whether either book is actually held in the library of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.  The strangest thing is that Patrick Holford thinks it is a myth that only dieticians and doctors are qualified to give diet advice and claims that the ION’s diploma, “provides considerably more qualification to advise an individual [his emphasis] about their nutritional needs than either a medical training or a dietetic training.”  http://www.patrickholford.com/content.asp?id_Content=2178

For once words fail me. For the time being, Patrick, I’ll stick to my doctor.

Detox Diet Led to Brain Damage Following Advice from Nutrition Therapist

The following link comes relates to an article that was published in The Oxford Mail on Saturday 05 July 2008

http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.2380792.0.detox_diet_led_to_brain_damage.php

Do read it and leave a comment on the site.

NUTRI-BULLOCKS OF THE WEEK – 17 JUNE 2008

Often, as one is strolling through the supermarket one finds rather bizarre claims on labels. That is of course assuming you are not in a hurry and have the time to read the labels.

Professor David Colquhoun coined the excellent description of nutri-bullocks with regard to products with exaggerated or just plain daft claims about them.

This week’s product is Golden Lay eggs as recommended by our friend Patrick Holford.  Now they are rich in omega 3 due to the seeds the chickens have been fed on. The label is that the best sources of omega 3 are oily fish, but that lots of people don’t know how to cook mackerel.

Now let me give our friends at Golden Lay a basic cookery lesson. Turn the grill on your oven to a moderate setting. Place a mackerel fillet under the grill and leave it there for a couple of minutes. Then turn it over and do the over side.  While this is happening spread a slice of rye bread with a thin scrape of margarine. Place the fillet on top and serve with some lettuce and tomatoes.

There you have it – omega 3, fresh vegetables and a portion of wholegrain. Not to difficult ehhh readers?