Francine Phillips was a graduate student who had been periodically depressed and fatigued since high school. Basically intelligent and capable, she often had periods in which she could not perform even simple tasks. She also suffered from obesity.
She herself suspected that “sugar” was the cause of her problem (most people do not differentiate between the various forms of sugar). She believed, as well, that part of her weight problem was caused by fluid retention. She reported feeling swollen after eating a heavy meal. She said that she could gain three or four pounds in a day, but that she could also lose ten pounds on a crash diet. Miss Phillips also suspected that she was allergic to certain kinds of water and reported abdominal bloating whenever she drank tap water.
When she was treated in the Ecology Unit, her depression became worse before it gradually lessened. At the end of the fast period, she felt well. She was then tested on various waters, and she did, in fact, react to several of them, including chlorinated city water.
Her own suspicions about foods were largely correct. She reacted with depression, headache, or fatigue to corn and corn sugar and also to cane sugar, as well as to tea and coffee. She also had lesser reactions to onions, acorn squash, walnuts, lettuce, potatoes, chocolate, and honey.
She also reacted to some foods tolerated in their organic form when she was fed them in their commercial, supermarket form. This was taken as a positive test for chemical susceptibility.
Miss Phillips’ case was not very advanced, and her depression was rated at a minus-three level. With careful control of food intake and avoidance of environmental chemicals, she has been able to lead a happier life and pursue her studies without interruption.
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