Dr Jun Wei wants to prove a wheat allergy-schizophrenia link

The Bangor-based Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain hopes to prove beyond doubt that people are affected by the food they eat.

Another charity, the Mental Health Foundation, said more work was needed into the connection.

It is already calling for more money for research in the field.

The association was founded in 1970 by the late Bill Hemmings and his wife, Gwynneth Hemmings.

We need to enlighten people and to show that food has a major effect on the system Gwynneth Hemmings, Schizophrenia Association of Great Britain

It aims to help patients suffering from schizophrenia, and their families. As part of this it has funded research for the past 15 years into the link between genetics, nutrition - in particular celiac disease, which is an allergy to wheat - and the illness.

Dr Wei said he was working to prove the link in such a way that people would have "personalised medical and nutritional" advice which would prevent them developing not just schizophrenia but other illnesses, such as heart problems and diabetes.

Although Dr Wei will continue with similar work in his new job in Scotland, Mrs Hemmings was disappointed the research would not carry on in Wales.

"We need to enlighten people and to show that food has a major effect on the system," she said.

More research

Not everyone in the medical profession believes in the link between nutrition and mental health, and according to Dr Andrew McCulloch, the chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation, more research is needed.

"In this field as a whole there is a big bias towards research into biological medicine, which researches the development of the brain, and into pharmacology," he said.

"We need a much broader funding base, but it is a bit like turning round an oil tanker."

Dr McCulloch said there was no proven link between wheat allergies and schizophrenia at the moment, but as research was limited, results were also hard to come by.