cover image Healing the Mind the Natural Way

Healing the Mind the Natural Way

Pat Lazarus. Jeremy P. Tarcher, $15.95 (351pp) ISBN 978-0-87477-752-9

Medical writer Lazarus (Keeping Your Pet Healthy the Natural Way) offers much information on the little-known nutritional healing approach known as orthomolecular psychiatry, whose practitioners turn ``holistic'' medical theory inside out to heal the mind through the body. Lazarus cites studies, case histories and anecdotal evidence to demonstrate that what is ingested or breathed can have wide-ranging effects on the psyche and emotions: a young man's psychotic rages at his mother disappear when an electric range is substituted for a fume-dispersing gas one; a woman's severe depression is cured by eliminating chicken from her diet. Although she offers tips on prevention and self-care, Lazarus stresses that orthomolecular therapy is not for do-it-yourselfers--particularly in treating severe psychiatric disorders. A pedantic style and many redundancies make for slow, heavy reading. Nonetheless, Lazarus offers a unique, informative addition to consumer medical literature. (Sept.)