Derrick Lonsdale (April 22, 1924 – May 2, 2024) was a British-born American pediatrician and researcher into the benefits of certain nutrients in preventing disease and psychotic behavior. He was a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACN), and also a Fellow of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (FACAM).[1]
Lonsdale is known for his research into thiamine and his controversial theory that thiamine deficiency is widespread among Americans and predictive of anti-social behavior.[2]
Positions
editLonsdale was a practitioner in pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic for 20 years. He became Head of the Section of Biochemical Genetics at the Clinic.
In 1982, Lonsdale retired from the Cleveland Clinic and joined the Preventive Medicine Group to specialize in nutrient-based therapy.[3]
Lonsdale was also on the Scientific Research Advisory Committee of the American College for Advancement in Medicine and was an editor of their Journal.[4]
Research work
editLonsdale hypothesized that healing comes from the body itself rather than from external medical interventions.[5]
Lonsdale studied the use of nutrients to prevent diseases.[6][7] He was particularly interested in Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine.[7] The World Health Organisation have cited three of Lonsdale's thiamine deficiency papers on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.[8]
Lonsdale spoke at orthomolecular medicine conferences.[9]
Autism
editLonsdale led an uncontrolled study on the treatment of autistic children with thiamine.[10] He also led a study (uncontrolled) of secretin, which he and Shamberger say led to an improvement in behaviour and bowel control of autistic children in his study.[11] Both of these studies are controversial because they link nutrition with autism.
Analysing the findings in the latter study, autism researchers say that while secretin may have "affect[ed] gastrointestinal function, [which] may have influenced bowel function that in turn limited the discomfort children feel, but this does not constitute a substantial behavioural change".[12]
Child violence
editIn 2002 Lonsdale caused controversy when he linked child violence (children killing other children) to dietary deficiencies rather than the accepted social causes. Lonsdale put this down to 'high calorie malnutrition' where children overeat high calories foods that lack vital nutrients resulting in an upset to 'brain balance'. He pointed the finger at a range of 'normal' foods as well as generally accepted junk foods.[13]
Personal life and death
editLonsdale was born on April 22, 1924, in The Fylde, Lancashire, England, to Edward and Kate Lonsdale. He turned 100 on April 22, 2024, and died in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 2, 2024.[14]
Books
editLonsdale has written several books, including:
- A Nutritionist's Guide to the Clinical use of Vitamin B-1.[15]
- Why I Left Orthodox Medicine: Healing for the 21st Century[16]
- Free Oxygen Radicals and Disease[17]
- A Nutritional Approach to a Revised Model for Medicine: Is Modern Medicine Helping You?[18]
- Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High Calorie Malnutrition[19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Historical Perspectives On The Development Of Chelation Therapies
- ^ Cohn, Victor (20 April 1980). "'Junk Food Disease' Akin to Beriberi Is Discovered Among Adolescents". Washington Post.
- ^ "Preventative Medicines Group - Derrick Lonsdale". Archived from the original on 2006-05-20. Retrieved 2006-07-18.
- ^ "American College for Advancement in Medicine". Archived from the original on 2005-03-19. Retrieved 2006-09-18.
- ^ Encephalomyelopathy Thiamine Derivatives In Subacute Necrotizing, Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Lonsdale and others
- ^ Insight Into Copper Elimination Archived 2006-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, Dr. Paul C. Eck and Dr. Larry Wilson
- ^ a b Thiamine's Mood-Mending Qualities Archived 2006-11-15 at the Wayback Machine, Richard N. Podel, Nutrition Science News, January 1999
- ^ Thiamine deficiency and its prevention and control in major emergencies, World Health Organization, 1999
- ^ "Derrick Lonsdale, MD". International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine.
- ^ Treatment of autism spectrum children with thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide: A pilot study Derrick Lonsdale, Raymond J. Shamberger 2 & Tapan Audhya</> (2002), Neuroendocrinol Lett, Vol 23:302-308.
- ^ Lonsdale D and Shamberger R J (2000) "A clinical study of secretin in autism and pervasive developmental delay." Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, Vol 10 (4), pp 271–280
- ^ Kalyva, Efrosini (6 May 2011). Autism: Educational and Therapeutic Approaches. SAGE. pp. 128–129. ISBN 978-1-4462-4987-1.
- ^ Dell' Orfano, Richard (28 July 2002). "Child Violence: Is Malnutrition the Cause?". The Weston A. Price Foundation. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
- ^ "Derrick Lonsdale". Legacy. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ A Nutritionist's Guide to the Clinical use of Vitamin B-1 ISBN 0-943685-02-8, Amazon
- ^ Why I Left Orthodox Medicine: Healing for the 21st Century ISBN 1-878901-98-2, Amazon
- ^ Free Oxygen Radicals and Disease ISBN 0-87983-451-X, Amazon
- ^ A Nutritional Approach to a Revised Model for Medicine: Is Modern Medicine Helping You? ISBN 1618970925, Amazon
- ^ Co-authored with Chandler Marrs ISBN 9780128103876