This book had a profound effect on me.  I instantly recognized that it was Truth with a capital “T”, although the orthomolecular approach was clearly in opposition to the established medical model and contradicted everything I had ever learned as a student or professional.  Here at last was the exciting alternative approach to treating mental disorders I had so long sought.  I filed this information away, waiting for an opportunity to use it.  And I began to study all the references in The Orthomolecular Approach to Mental Disorders dealing with correcting the perceptual functioning of psychotic people using natural substances.

In the course of delving through libraries and book stores, I also came across the Mokelumne Hill Publishing Company (now defunct).  This obscure publisher reprinted many unusual and generally crudely reproduced out-of-print books about raw foods diets, hygienic medicine, fruitarianism, fasting, breathairianism, plus some works discussing spiritual aspects of living that were far more esoteric than I had ever thought existed.  I decided that weird or not, I might as well find out everything potentially useful.  So I spent a lot of money ordering their books.  Some of Mokelumne Hill’s material really expanded my thoughts.  Though much of it seemed totally outrageous, in every book there usually was one line, one paragraph, or if I was lucky one whole chapter that rang true for me.

Recognizing capital “T” Truth when one sees it is one of the most important abilities a person can have.  Unfortunately, every aspect of our mass educational system attempts to invalidate this skill.  Students are repeatedly told that derivation from recognized authority and/or the scientific method are the only valid means to assess the validity of data.  But there is another parallel method to determine the truth or falsehood of information:  Knowing.  We Know by the simple method of looking at something and recognizing its correctness.  It is a spiritual ability.  I believe we all have it.  But in my case, I never lost the ability to Know because I almost never attended school.

Thus it is that I am absolutely certain How and When to Be Your Own Doctor will be recognized as Truth by some of my readers and rejected as unscientific, unsubstantiated, or anecdotal information by others.  I accept this limitation on my ability to teach.  If what you read in the following pages seems True for you, great!  If it doesn’t, there is little or nothing I could do to further convince.

I return now to the time of my first pregnancy.  In the face of all these new Truths I was discovering concerning health and nutrition, I made immediate changes in my diet.  I severely reduced my animal protein intake and limited cooked food in general.  I began taking vitamin and mineral supplements.  I also choose a highly atypical Ph.D. dissertation topic, “The Orthomolecular Treatment of Mental Disorders.”  This fifty cent word, orthomolecular, basically means readjusting the body chemistry by providing unusually large amounts of specific nutrient substances normally found in the human body (vitamins and minerals).  Orthomolecular therapy for mental disorders is supported by good diet, by removal of allergy-producing substances, by control of hypoglycemia, plus counseling, and provision of a therapeutic environment.