Welcome to another edition of Common Ground Online. Here's what's in this week's edition:
- Vitamin Boost for Mental Health
- Study Finds Vitamins Boost Mental Health
A study conducted in New Zealand using EMPowerplus is receiving media attention. Researchers Julia Rucklidge, Mairin Taylor, and Kathryn Whitehead measured "remarkable" improvements in 14 unmedicated adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and severe mood dysregulation (SMD) who took EMPowerplus for eight weeks.
Below are some excerpts from two media articles about the study:
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Julia J. Rucklidge, PhD,
Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury,
New Zealand |
From Pharmacy Today:
'"Professor Rucklidge’s trial measured inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity, mood, quality of life, anxiety and stress and the effect of nutritional therapy.
'"Most of the individuals were in a moderate to severe depressed state at the commencement of the trial and at the end of the eight weeks, the mean score on the depression measure fell in the normal non-depressed range, which is a fairly remarkable change in such a short time, especially given that many had not experienced such improvements with other conventional treatments" Professor Rucklidge said.
'"Participants were monitored for a further two months and people who stayed on the micronutrient formula showed further improvements and the ones who came off showed regression in their symptoms."
'Another important finding from the study was the micronutrient treatment had remarkably few side effects in comparison to many of the mood stabilizers and stimulant regimes used in conventional medical treatments for these psychiatric conditions.
'"Aside from a few headaches and stomach aches in the first few weeks no other side effect or adverse affects were reported," Professor Rucklidge said.
'"Blood work and urinalysis also confirmed that the micronutrients were not having any adverse effects. That is a positive thing as many pharmaceuticals come with side effects that people find intolerable and can often be the reason why people stop their medication."
'Professor Rucklidge plans to follow up this study with a randomised control trial that will establish if the micronutrient formula performs better than the placebo effect. She is currently recruiting participants. This research has recently received research funding from the Vic Davis Trust.
'"It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that micronutrients can affect psychiatric symptoms given that they are essential for the synthesis of neurotransmitters; it is possible that some individuals with mental illness either have deficiencies in nutrients or may need more for optimal brain functioning," Professor Rucklidge said.'
Click here to read the entire article.
From the New Zealand Herald:
'"People with mental illness made "remarkable" improvements by taking a daily dose of nutritional supplements rather than conventional medicines, a trial has found.
'The work by a Canterbury University clinical psychologist has shown the potential that consumption of the right micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids, could have for helping a range of mental health problems.
'Many who took part in a trial with Associate Professor Julia Rucklidge showed improvements they had not shown under prescription drugs.
'Dr Rucklidge said it should come as no surprise that micronutrients could affect psychiatric symptoms, as they were essential for the inner workings of the brain.
'"It is possible that some individuals with mental illness either have deficiencies in nutrients or may need more for optimal brain functioning."
'"Most of the individuals were in a moderate to severe depressed state at the start of the trial," Dr Rucklidge said.
'"At the end of the eight weeks, the mean score on the depression measure fell in the normal non-depressed range, which is a fairly remarkable change in such a short time, especially as many had not experienced such improvements with other conventional treatments.
'"Participants were monitored for a further two months and people who stayed on the micronutrient formula showed further improvements and the ones who came off showed regression in their symptoms."
'Dr Rucklidge said another important finding of her work was that [the] micronutrient treatment had few side effects in comparison to many of the mood stabilisers and stimulants used in conventional treatments.'
Click here to read the entire article.
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