Nutrition and Mental Disorders

Etheric Relationship between the Intestines and the Brain

The nature of any mental disorder is extremely complex and multilayered. As is explained in PHYSICAL vs MENTAL ILLNESSES we need to look for a cause of mental illness in an irregularity that is present in the physical-etheric organism. This does not mean that there exists a single cause for a specific mental illness, for health depends on numerous factors and influences. Nevertheless, "we must continually bear in mind that the human body is the tool of the spirit. If we look at the various functions that the body has to perform, we see that the human being utilizes it as a physical instrument. An instrument is useless if it is not adjusted correctly so that it functions in an orderly manner; similarly our bodies are of no use to our higher (spiritual) organism if they do not function properly. Our freedom can be handicapped and intentions impeded." [1]

Now we will follow the link between nutrition and mental disorders which has been established in practice by several researchers and doctors. Already in 1807 French psychiatrist Phillipe Pinel (1745-1828), the father of modern psychiatry, came, after working with mental patients for many years, to the following conclusion: "The primary seat of insanity is generally in the region of the stomach and intestines." [2] This link should be no great surprise if one takes into account the existence of the EARTHLY NUTRITIONAL STREAM and consequently the influence of food on the activities of the nerve-sense system which enable perceiving and thinking. The question now is: How does this influence reach the brain, or what kind of relationship exists between metabolic activities and the brain?

The first thing which one needs to know is "that a human being is actually a duality: that what appears in the lower part of his organism always corresponds to something that appears in the upper part of his organism; that certain organs could not come into being in the upper part unless parallel organs – in a certain sense, opposing organs – were able to have a place in the lower part as the opposite pole. The more the forebrain in the animal kingdom attains to the form which it then finally develops in man, the more the intestine develops in the direction of depositing food residues. There is an inner relation between the form of the intestine and the form of the brain. If the colon and caecum had not appeared in the course of the animal evolution, a thinking human being could not finally have appeared in physical nature – because man's possession of a brain, of an organ of thought, is contingent, absolutely contingent, upon his intestinal organs. The intestinal organs are truly the reverse side of the brain. For you to be relieved of physical activity so that you can think, you are obliged to provide your organism with a highly developed colon and a highly developed bladder. Thus the highest activities of soul and spirit that a human being manifests in the physical world, in so far as they are dependent upon a complete brain formation, are also dependent upon a complete intestinal structure. This extraordinarily important connection throws a strong light upon the whole working of nature." [3]

This 'extraordinarily important connection' is now confirmed by modern science due to discovery of an important role microorganisms play in the human intestines. The human organism lives in symbiotic relationships with numerous colonies of microorganisms, the great majority of which live in the intestines and collaborate in the processes of digestion of food substances. On the basis of their researches "scientists are increasingly convinced that the vast assemblage of microfauna in our intestines may have a major impact on our state of mind" [4] because "our body's parts are intricately connected, and the health of our gut is of utmost importance to the health of our brain and that of our immune system." [5]

Occult science offers an additional insight: "When the etheric is operative, the molecular activity of matter is transformed into cellular activity." [6] This means that whenever we have in front of us an organism which contains cells – even if it has only single cell as it is the case with some types of microorganisms – we are looking at manifestation of etheric or life forces. For that reason we can add up the mass of all microorganisms inside our body to our etheric body, and for the same reason all activities they perform become integral part of the activities of our own life body.

Alchemical 'Salt-Process' in the Human Being

The relationship between the intestines and the brain can be better understood if we look at a particular process which is happening in the unconscious region of the human organism after each intake of food. "In the lower man, in the metabolic system, the following remarkable process takes place. When we eat plants, that is to say, vegetable substance we force out the etheric and absorb into our own ether-body the dynamic structure which underlies the plant. The plant has a definite form, a definite structure. It is revealed to clairvoyant consciousness that the structure we thus take into ourselves is not always identical with the form we see externally.

And now something very strange occurs (to clairvoyant vision). Just suppose you have eaten some cabbage. A definite form becomes visible in the lower man as a result, and activity is generated there. To the extent to which this activity is generated in the lower man through the eating of cabbage, the actual negative of the process makes its appearance in the upper man, the head-man. You must be clear, however, that processes in the lower body generate processes in the head as their counterpart and spatial distance does not come into consideration. [7] It is actually the case that the eating of the cabbage produces in us a definite form or structure and that the negative of it appears in our head. And into this negative we now receive the impressions of the external world. This is possible because we have (speaking approximately) the hollow space within us and because all nutritive plants have this effect." [8] We can imagine this activity if we compare it with making a hollow mould in which liquid metal is poured. Of course, the process of creating the 'hollow mould' inside the human organism is not physical, but etheric. And into this empty etheric form, doesn't flow in anything physical; what is filling it are etheric perceptions and thoughts.

Now we will look at the role of mineral substances in the above described activity. Always when we consume food "the outer substances are dissolved in the fluids and juices within the human organism. The outer substances which the plants absorb from lifeless nature are all given form. Crystals are at the basis of all substances. Out of crystallised, lifeless nature the plant draws its substances and builds them up into that form which is peculiar to its own nature. From this again the animal derives its nourishment. So that we may say: Out there in nature, everything has its form, its configuration. When man takes in these forms, he dissolves them. The forms, as they exist in outer nature are dissolved. They are transmuted into the organic fluids. But when the substances have been absorbed and transmuted into fluid, forms which were first dissolved begin to build up again. When we eat salt, it is first dissolved by means of the fluids in the organism, but we then give it form again. When we eat substances drawn from plants, they are dissolved and then inwardly reformed, not this time in the bodily fluids, but in the etheric body." [9]

In COSMIC ORIGIN OF LIVING SUBSTANCES is given a description of carbon as the element which mediates form to all living creatures. But although carbon is the main formative element in the organic realm, it is not the only one; there exists many mineral substances and all minerals are crystals; and those crystals which can dissolve in bodily fluids are regarded as salts. Thus "man dissolves everything he assimilates from the outer world of matter. It is a process like salt being dissolved in water. Man bears this water within himself, in his vital fluids. All substances, in so far as they are foodstuffs, are salt. This salt dissolves. In the salts, the cosmic thoughts are expressed on earth. And man again gives form to these cosmic thoughts in his etheric body. This is the 'salt-process'." [10] Thus we have the link between "the thinking faculty – the process by which the world presents itself to man in pictures – with the 'salt-process', that is to say, with the dissolving and reforming process undergone by substance within the organism of man." [11]

If we summarize, we can say: In the lower man we have the process of the dissolving of carbon structures and minerals from our food in the bodily fluids, and in the upper man – as its counterpart – we have the process of opening to the sense impressions and to the cosmic thoughts. [12] The link between these two sets of activities is happening on the level of the etheric body. With the help of this link we can understand the effect of the diet on our mental capacities of perceiving and thinking, and subsequently on the state of our mental wellbeing.

The Role of Diet in Mental Disorders

From the explanations given so far it is evident that an unsuitable diet can contribute to the occurrence of mental disorder, while a suitable diet can have a preventive effect or it can contribute to the cure of mental disorder. The success of the treatment of any type of mental disorder is, of course, dependent on many factors, such as the individual character, the intensity and history of mental disorder, a proper diagnosis and the choice of therapies. Although this involves professional help, one can substantially support the recovery with a 'brain-friendly' diet. In fact, there is not just an indirect role of a diet in supporting the treatment, because "in hunger there is actually the tendency to physical illness, and in thirst there is the predisposition to mental illness. If a man does not properly nourish himself, he forms the basis for organic diseases, and if he does not quench his thirst rightly, he may bring about some form of mental illness. In some circumstances, the improper quenching of thirst is difficult to detect, especially if it occurs in infancy. At this stage one cannot clearly distinguish between assuaging thirst and hunger since both are satisfied by milk.

You will have noticed that nowadays (in 1920s) a great many people become afflicted with dementia praecox, so-called 'youthful insanity', which extends, however, quite far beyond the years of youth. [13] This illness, in which people begin mentally to deteriorate in their youth, originates in great part from the wrong kind of feeding during the earliest years of childhood. It is not enough merely to examine chemically the baby's milk; one must look into completely different aspects. You will have realized from all this that it does not suffice simply to train doctors to know that a certain remedy is good for a certain illness. One must rather seek to make the totality of life healthier, and for that one must first discover all that is related to a healthy life. Spiritual science can provide this understanding. It aims at being effective in the field of hygiene and seeks to comprehend correctly questions of health." [14] Understanding of the effect of diet on mental health is not an easy matter, because the cause and the consequence can be within a time span of a few years or even decades and because of the complex nature of this link. Here is a summary of the specific processes involved:

From food we eat we absorb into our body only mineral content: amino acids, simple sugars, fatty acids and glycerol (with a carbon framework as their key constituent), and other mineral substances.
These minerals dissolve in bodily fluids in a similar way as salt dissolves in water. For that reason they are called 'salts' and the process is called 'salt-process'.
The fluid mineral substances are further transformed in the manner described in TRANSUBSTANTIATION OF MINERALS until they arrive in the brain in a spiritualised state – in the state of warmth ether.
Parallel to this we have link between the dissolving of mineral salts in bodily fluids and the activities of the nerve-sense system (as described above in Alchemical 'Salt-Process' in Human Being), which creates the basis for opening our senses to incoming impressions and thoughts from outside.

This explains why improper quenching of man's thirst can bring about 'some form of mental illness' – for we see that in this case both minerals and fluids have an important role. Of course, this does not exclude the importance of food, for food contains mineral salts, and simultaneously contains also water.

For better understanding of the role of nutritional therapy in the healing of mental illnesses, we need to know that "mental illnesses especially distinguish themselves by the fact that one can hardly approach the ill person with a rational discussion. As a matter of fact it is just that impossibility of rational exchange which closes off the soul against outer influences in the so-called mentally ill." [15] What is the reason behind this obvious difficulty? "Spiritual knowledge knows that so-called 'mental' illnesses cannot be affected by soul or spiritual procedures, because mental illness consists precisely of the fact that the spiritual member of the human being has been pressed out, as it were, as is normally the case only in sleep. As a consequence, the spiritual member grows weak, and we must cure the bodily organs so that the soul and spirit may be taken up again in a healthy way." [16]

The state of sleep is caused by the separation of the 'I' and the astral body from the physical and etheric bodies which are lying in the bed. This means that we have in mental illness a case when the 'I' and the astral body cannot permeate the specific organ as they do in a healthy person. Causes which bring to such state are very complex and cannot be comprehended without extensive study of spiritual science. For the sake of this nutritional principle it is suffice if we know that "one will find over and again that especially in so-called mental illness – which actually has been, as such, incorrectly named – physical processes of illness are present in a hidden way somewhere. Before one wants to meddle in a dilettantish way with (the healing of) mental illness, one ought actually, with the proper diagnosis, to determine which physical organ is involved in the illness. Only then will one be (capable of) working beneficially through a corresponding healing of the physical organism." [17]

Here we have now an additional reason that explains the great importance of nutritional therapy in the healing of mental illnesses. For among the therapies which influence directly the physical organism – which is always permeated with the etheric body – belong also therapies with medicines and nutritional therapies. Besides it becomes clear why the nourishing of children has such a great effect on their development, including eventual development of mental illness; namely, in the very first years of their existence their internal organs are being formed. Although in later years and in adulthood the impact of diet is not so dramatic, it is still very important, especially because of the fact that eating and drinking is repeated from day to day, from week to week, from month to month, from year to year…

For complementary perspectives see:

♦ NUTRITION AND CAPACITY OF PERCEPTION

♦ NUTRITION AND CAPACITY OF THINKING

DIETARY CONCLUSIONS & PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS

First we can ask: What is the preventive 'brain-friendly' diet for everyone who wishes to maintain good conditions for his or her mental health? The good news is that the GENERAL NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES which can be regarded as a general preventive nutritional therapy in the case of physical illnesses have the same preventive effect in the case of mental disorders. Such impact is mainly due to the high quality foods recommended by these guidelines. Even in a case when we take care of a person with mental disorder we can get positive results with such nutrition, because with its help we eliminate the host of artificial mineral substances, such as pesticide residues, food preservatives and colours, synthetic hormones, artificial sweeteners, etc. Another important culprit which we thus avoid is white sugar, or any type of refined sugars. Among many other negative health impacts, it creates havoc in the intestinal microflora. The foods which support beneficial colonies of microorganisms in our gut are all kinds of traditionally fermented foods such as sauerkraut, naturally fermented pickles, miso, tempeh, and fermented dairy products (yogurt, kefir, etc).

With the help of this principle we can start to appreciate the role of good quality fluids: good water, herb teas, fruit and vegetable juices, and soups, which take care for the maintenance of our 'fluid organism'. They are the source of natural mineral-rich fluids which replenish the mineral content of our inner fluids in an unobtrusive, gentle way. In comparison to this there exist many dangers of overconsumption of sugary drinks – especially for growing children! One of the key characteristics of the fast food culture is the consumption of a great amount of fizzy and energy drinks, which contain a lot of sugar, or artificially produced high fructose corn syrup, or any other artificial sweetener.

With the help of this principle we can understand also the great importance of breastfeeding and if necessary natural supplements for mother's milk [18] – not crystallised infant milk formulas. Instead of living food we get powder! Even if it is of organic origin, this doesn't change the fact that it is a manmade, artificial substitute for something which should be consumed in the natural liquid form. [19]

WARNING: You always have to put the above practical dietary instructions inside the framework of GENERAL NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES with the aim to know their limits when looking for a solution of a specific nutritional problem. You also need to be familiar with THE ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES with the aim to avoid any one-sided conclusions.