What is schizophrenia?
According to the Mayo Clinic, "schizophrenia is a group of severe brain disorders in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior." Schizophrenia is a lifelong, incurable illness that is treated with anti-psychotic medication.
What Dietary Habits are Best for Schizoprenia Patients?
Because schizophrenia is a brain disorder, and nutrients gained from food are utilized by the brain, patients must be careful to eat foods that help the brain function best and reduce or eliminate foods that hinder brain function. Schizophrenia patients should increase essential fats in their diets, should avoid oxidants, and shouldincrease antioxidants in their diets.
Essential fats are especially crucial because essential fats both build and break down the human brain. Because the enzyme phospholipase A2 (PLA2), which breaks down essential fats, is overactive in schizophrenic patients, they need to consume more essential fats than those who do not have schizophrenia. In fact, schizophrenia patients have much lower levels of fatty acids in the frontal cortex of their brains. Examples of foods rich in essential fats that schizophrenia patients may want to include in their diets are fish, nuts, kale, spinach, beans, and salad greens. In addition, patients with schizophrenia should avoid oxidants because oxidants destroy essential fats in the brain. Schizophrenia patients would do well to avoid fried and burnt foods because they are rich in oxidants.
An abundance of antioxidant-rich foods is crucial for schizophrenia patients. Antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E are especially important. Vitamin C, an anti-stress vitamin, counteracts excessive adrenalin. Patients with schizophrenia often have excessive amount of adrenalin in their bodies. Patients should absolutely avoid smoking because smoking is both oxidant-rich and destroys Vitamin C. Fresh fruits and vegetables should exist in abundance in the diets of schizophrenics because they are antioxidant power houses.
Essential fats are especially crucial because essential fats both build and break down the human brain. Because the enzyme phospholipase A2 (PLA2), which breaks down essential fats, is overactive in schizophrenic patients, they need to consume more essential fats than those who do not have schizophrenia. In fact, schizophrenia patients have much lower levels of fatty acids in the frontal cortex of their brains. Examples of foods rich in essential fats that schizophrenia patients may want to include in their diets are fish, nuts, kale, spinach, beans, and salad greens. In addition, patients with schizophrenia should avoid oxidants because oxidants destroy essential fats in the brain. Schizophrenia patients would do well to avoid fried and burnt foods because they are rich in oxidants.
An abundance of antioxidant-rich foods is crucial for schizophrenia patients. Antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E are especially important. Vitamin C, an anti-stress vitamin, counteracts excessive adrenalin. Patients with schizophrenia often have excessive amount of adrenalin in their bodies. Patients should absolutely avoid smoking because smoking is both oxidant-rich and destroys Vitamin C. Fresh fruits and vegetables should exist in abundance in the diets of schizophrenics because they are antioxidant power houses.
Wheat Should Be Avoided in Some Schizophrenic Patients
There is evidence that a subset of schizophrenia patients have an odd immune response to gluten and other wheat proteins. For patients who have this response, elimating wheat is beneficial. Since the antibodies produced by schizophrenic patients who have an immune response to wheat are different from those produced by celiac patients, a celiac disease test would not come back positive. Patients could simply avoid wheat for at least three months to see whether their symptoms improve or they could ask their doctors about testing options. Again, this applies to only some schizophrenia patients.
A Healthy, Specialized Diet is Key, But Not a Replacement for Medication
Antipsychotics are the conventional treatment for schizophrenia, and a healthy diet that takes into account the special needs of schizophrenia patients is a supplement to treatment, not a replacment.
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