My brother got schizophrenia.Need some help.

[youngsinatra]

How many days has it been since he's last consumed any form coffee/caffeine?

By the way chocolate does have some caffeine so its kind of missing the point of the caffeine detox. He needs to lay off all sources of caffeine so this can work properly.

If hes eating a lot of potatoes, than likely he is getting cholinergic reaction from them. Potatoes have solanine which inhibits acetylcholinesterase (which breaks down Ach). It has a long half life of 21 hours so frequent consumption of potatoes can lead to mild cholinergic toxicity symptoms because Ach is not being broken down at the normal rate. This higher activity of Ach at muscarinic receptors in the bladder triggers the detrusor muscle to contract too much, which gives the urge to urinate even if you little urine. This Ach build up also contributes to fatigue.

He should stop the potatoes and replace the starch with rice, yams, sweet potatoes (they dont contain toxic glycoalkaloids like solanin), white flour products (occasionally). His frequent urination should go away and so he'll be able to sleep. His focus, anxiety and other things should improve once he can sleep through the night again.

Wow this explains some very significant issues I experience when I consume potatoes daily or regularly.

 

[BRBsavinWorld]

Hello,

my brother got schizophrenia. I need some advice regarding his diet and supplements.

He is 30 years old, 190cm and his weight is 102kg,

He has to eat every 1-2 hours because without constant eating his negative symptoms get worse. Do you have any Tipps to stabilize his blood sugar?

Current diet:

breakfast: 1 glass of OJ, 1 coffee with milk and 1 tbs of sugar and 30g of protein powder with skimmed milk

Till lunch he drinks maybe 1-2 coffees with milk and sugar.

lunch: some meat and fruit and a glass of OJ or Coca Cola

till dinner 1-2 coffees with milk and sugar. Dinner 30g protein powder, 3 oranges. And constant snacking till he goes to sleep, because his bloodsugar feels so unstable.

He has very low energy but tries to go outside and walks maybe 8000 steps in total. Other symptoms are muscle pain, constant hunger, poor concentration, cognitive decline.

Supplements:

b-complex
200mg Vit B1
500mg niacinamide 3xweek (helps him with mood)
Magnesium 400-600mg


Thank you for reading

People who post so authoritatively on what one should or should not consume, ought to reveal their: age, gender, height, and weight.

FWIW, I'm a 28 yo man, 6ft, 235 lbs, with a lifetime of hypothyroidism, that I'm finally tackling within the last 2 years of learning from Peat.

I'd strongly suggest emailing him personally, before taking the advice here as gold standard (the advices on supplements are generally good, like B1, B3, thyroid, minerals, more meat, etc). I'd also suggest that anything worth doing right is worth paying for... I'd definitely pay for coaching advice from Danny Roddy.

There shouldn't be much wrong with dairy, that the basic gut cleansing concepts from Peat wouldn't resolve.

I'd ask What Peaty evidence to stop caffeine consumption, and not rather increase sugar/caloric consumption?
What evidence to assume he's simply not eating enough protein with the sugar, or not enough of both?

Caffeine is a thyroid surrogate. When People are just downing Caffeine of any kind, it's usually therapeutic (this is also the Peaty explanation for addiction; with some substances/activities, helpful, and some not). Without knowing much about actual caloric consumption, I'd dare say He's not eating enough red meat, and possibly not enough sugar with it. As long as the coffee is quality, without that stinky moldy smell (that's mold), it should be ok; I'd be curious to hear what Peat has to say about a mentally disabled/diseased person consuming coffee.

Peat says that excess sugar, relative to protein consumption, can raise serotonin. Mental problems are very much a stress hormone related problem.

1:1 ratio of sugar:protein, and eat until full, is optimal. Steak for breakfast is great. Steak 3 times a day is great. Ruminant red meat 6 times a day is better than 3 times a day. I eat 1.5-2 pounds of red meat a day.

A small serving of Liver a week, and oysters periodically, for more minerals, will be good, too, and the sugar:protein ratio should be followed for those foods, too.

I don't have a total problem with starch, but beware that it's very UnPeaty, for the compromised metabolic person to consume. People with healthy metabolic rates and strong intestines, could supplement carbohydrate needs very well with potatoes, rice, and pulpy fruit products. With a well functioning thyroid, and adequate presence of youth steroids and B1, the intestines could essentially be "fortified," against alcohol and starch, and function very well; it's why everyone's grandparents consumed a lot of worse-than-starch foods, like bread, pasta, and pastry products, and remained fairly skinny, with good immune function (mental issues like autism and retardation were also much lower 70 years ago). In the case of a sickly or mentally handicapped person, there is increased "gut permeability," which the starch particles will absolutely leak thru, and reek havoc, raising serotonin, estrogen, and causing endotoxin release in the gut.

So, a major fix will be lowering endotoxin and serotonin. A little carrot salad, a can or 2 of bamboo shoots, and a little activated charcoal once a week, will do wonders. Well cooked mushrooms are also very much encouraged.

I'd encourage finding a quality OJ, via Dan's website on Peat approved products: Orange juices with/without flavor packs and pulp-dissolving enzymes - Toxinless

I'd also suggest walking for leisure, and not pushing himself when he walks (like not walking when he starts to get sore/tired) - this raises serotonin; A little resistance training would be good! I used to walk 6 12 mile minutes a day, and that was a high stressor. I'm a million times better walking half a mile, and doing moderate resistance training every evening.

 

[Hofmann95]

Wow that is a lot of beef. He is currently eating around 250g of beef per day. I know, that more would be better but it is not his favorite food…maybe he will eat more of it in the future.

Coffee + milk + sugar made him kind of active and more talkative…

Dairy was never an issue but it seems that there is connection with schizophrenia so we want to try it out.

I think he does not eat enough protein at the moment because dairy is missing and he does not eat enough beef.

He started with the carrot salad and we will implement mushrooms

 

[OccamzRazer]

All beef is not created equal. Have you considered homemade bone broth!?

 

[youngsinatra]

How‘s it going?

 

[Hofmann95]

Hello,

at the moment he does not have any paranoia or other positive symptoms.

Current symptoms:

- depression
- low energy
- muscle pain
- loss of creativity
- not able to focus

He started drinking coffee again and thinks he has to loose weight. He has become more active (10.000-15.000 steps per day) I don´t think it is a good idea to reduce calories at the moment. He is trying to eat around 2000-2300 calories per day and feels bad when he thinks he ate too much. He is not enjoing food because he thinks every bite is making him fat.
How can I convince him to eat more?

supplements:

- B-complex
- Vit B6
- B1
- Mg
- Vit B2

He keeps saying that the vitamins are helping him. He uses Niacinamide (500mg) maybe once a week and it seems that after taking it he is able to speek more fluently. How is that possible. Should he take Niacinamide on a regular basis but what about methylation.

 

[Peatness]

He keeps saying that the vitamins are helping him. He uses Niacinamide (500mg) maybe once a week and it seems that after taking it he is able to speek more fluently. How is that possible. Should he take Niacinamide on a regular basis but what about methylation.

MEGAVITAMIN B-3 THERAPY FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/070674377101600605

Has he checked his vitamin D levels?

 

[youngsinatra]

What does he eat at the moment?

 

[youngsinatra]

I‘d be careful with the B vitamins and magnesium.

They can cause a sort of parasympathetic dominance by increased cholinergic activity + NMDA blockage which reduces dopamine/serotonin/norepinephrine/glutamate signaling, which are very important for feeling good.

In animal models, schizophrenia is induced by NMDA hypofunction.

 

[Hofmann95]

I‘d be careful with the B vitamins and magnesium.

Interesting. I did not know this fact. I am going to tell him to reduce the B vitamins and magnesium.
What about vitamin B6. I read that it could raise dopamine

What does he eat at the moment?

3 Latte macchiato
2 eggs
300-400ml OJ
Meat around 200g. He prefers ground beef
White rice or sweet potatoes 200g
1 banana
1 proteinshake
Some greek yoghurt
Sugar for the coffee and yoghurt

Has he checked his vitamin D levels?

Not yet but we are going to test it. Last time we checked it was around 30ng

 

[youngsinatra]

I think @redsun is very knowledgable on the nuances of physiology.
Maybe he can give you better advice then me.

 

[BestSinceDAYONE]

Do you have a family history of schizophrenia? Do you know that it's rare to develop schizophrenia in your 30s?

 

[Hofmann95]

Hello,

just a short update...
My brother was able to quit coffee and Coca Cola. He is not noticing any improvement regarding his anxiety but his sleep is much better now.
He uses the B complex only twice a week and a very low dose multivitamin. He also uses Vitamin B1 (2-3 times per week 500mg) and some magnesium.
He is able to walk 10.000 steps per day but his energy levels are still very low.
In terms of diet he is trying to increase his carb intake. He is very hungry all the time especially in the evening. But he was able to loose a little bit of weight.
A typical day of eating:

breakfast: 3eggs and some juice
lunch; meat (steak or chicken) + rice/potatoes
snack: a banana or some cheese
dinner: Meat + rice and some juice
after dinner constant snacking:
greek yoghurt + sugar, cheese, mango, juice and sometimes chocolate, collagen shake

So he is still suffering from constant anxiety, some depression and low energy but I think he is getting a little bit better.

Do you have any other tipps?

Do you have a family history of schizophrenia? Do you know that it's rare to develop schizophrenia in your 30s?

I don´t really know because our father died 15 years ago so we don´t know. My mother also doesn´t know exactly if any familiy members got this diagnosis.
I would say he had paranoid thoughts for many years prior to his psychotic breakdown what led to his hospitalisation. His psychologist also said that he suspected it could be schizophrenia a few years ago.

 

[BestSinceDAYONE]

Hello,

just a short update...
My brother was able to quit coffee and Coca Cola. He is not noticing any improvement regarding his anxiety but his sleep is much better now.
He uses the B complex only twice a week and a very low dose multivitamin. He also uses Vitamin B1 (2-3 times per week 500mg) and some magnesium.
He is able to walk 10.000 steps per day but his energy levels are still very low.
In terms of diet he is trying to increase his carb intake. He is very hungry all the time especially in the evening. But he was able to loose a little bit of weight.
A typical day of eating:

breakfast: 3eggs and some juice
lunch; meat (steak or chicken) + rice/potatoes
snack: a banana or some cheese
dinner: Meat + rice and some juice
after dinner constant snacking:
greek yoghurt + sugar, cheese, mango, juice and sometimes chocolate, collagen shake

So he is still suffering from constant anxiety, some depression and low energy but I think he is getting a little bit better.

Do you have any other tipps?



I don´t really know because our father died 15 years ago so we don´t know. My mother also doesn´t know exactly if any familiy members got this diagnosis.
I would say he had paranoid thoughts for many years prior to his psychotic breakdown what led to his hospitalisation. His psychologist also said that he suspected it could be schizophrenia a few years ago.

If it is real schizophrenia it should stop after medication - try vraylar it seems to work pretty decently lowers serotonin raises dopamine.

If it doesn’t improve, talk to me …I am going through something similar and have never ever been accused of having it

 

[cs3000]

So he is still suffering from constant anxiety, some depression and low energy but I think he is getting a little bit better.

Do you have any other tipps?

I don´t really know because our father died 15 years ago so we don´t know. My mother also doesn´t know exactly if any familiy members got this diagnosis.
I would say he had paranoid thoughts for many years prior to his psychotic breakdown what led to his hospitalisation. His psychologist also said that he suspected it could be schizophrenia a few years ago.

low dose (but not high dose) pregnenolone has shown to help with schizophrenia and has a good safety profile,

30mg works better than 200mg which doesn't, maybe due to the way lower dose gets converted to different things Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone as an adjunctive treatment in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder: an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, 2-center, parallel-group trial. | Semantic Scholar
- for reducing positive symptom scores (where stuff like delusional thinking, hallucinations fits). & also improves general functioning

This study combined with l-theanine shows 50mg pregnenolone also reduces negative symptom scores. negative symptoms in schizophrenia are things like blunted emotions, extra quietness. it also reduced anxiety a lot.
https://www.clinicalschizophrenia.n...d-anxiety-symptoms-of-schizophrenia-an-8w.pdf

so 50mg pregnenolone a day for improvements that should start to work soon with major effect by week 6 onward

 

[chimdp]

Hello,

just a short update...
My brother was able to quit coffee and Coca Cola. He is not noticing any improvement regarding his anxiety but his sleep is much better now.
He uses the B complex only twice a week and a very low dose multivitamin. He also uses Vitamin B1 (2-3 times per week 500mg) and some magnesium.
He is able to walk 10.000 steps per day but his energy levels are still very low.
In terms of diet he is trying to increase his carb intake. He is very hungry all the time especially in the evening. But he was able to loose a little bit of weight.
A typical day of eating:

breakfast: 3eggs and some juice
lunch; meat (steak or chicken) + rice/potatoes
snack: a banana or some cheese
dinner: Meat + rice and some juice
after dinner constant snacking:
greek yoghurt + sugar, cheese, mango, juice and sometimes chocolate, collagen shake

So he is still suffering from constant anxiety, some depression and low energy but I think he is getting a little bit better.

Do you have any other tipps?



I don´t really know because our father died 15 years ago so we don´t know. My mother also doesn´t know exactly if any familiy members got this diagnosis.
I would say he had paranoid thoughts for many years prior to his psychotic breakdown what led to his hospitalisation. His psychologist also said that he suspected it could be schizophrenia a few years ago.

I'd highly suggest you listen to this podcast. Unless you live near the equator that diet is ***t for someone with a severe mental disorder. I'm sure most on this forum would cringe but I'd highly suggest he try a couple variations of keto. It has some powerful effects on the brain and helping poor functioning mitochondria. I personally have used it to fix mental health issues with myself when years of peating didn't help and was making it worse.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjEFo3a1AnI