Integrative Approach - Clinically Trained in Hardy Nutritionals® Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN)
A 2011 article in BMC Psychiatry concluded that the predecessor formulations of Hardy Nutritionals® Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN) were the only complex micronutrient formulas which had been studied extensively for mental health treatment. More recently, DEN significantly improved attention, mood dysregulation, and global functioning in “the first fully-blinded, randomized, controlled trial of medication-free children with ADHD”.More than 30 medical journal articles have been published on these formulations, all but two of which are peer-reviewed. The study designs employed in the published articles include controlled trials, case reports, case studies with years of historical information, database analyses, randomized controlled trials, and double-blind randomized controlled trials (see Appendix A). Consistent research results have been found independently by scientists at more than a dozen institutions in several countries. None of the researchers have had financial ties to these formulations or to Hardy Nutritionals®.
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It is important that such nutrients be monitored by a healthcare professional.
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1. This is not an established treatment.
2. Established treatments are available.
3. Limited randomized controlled trials are available to evaluate safety or efficacy.
4. If transitioning from psychiatric drugs, the following may be expected: a. Potentiated psychiatric drug side effects b. Potentiated, protracted, or delayed drug discontinuation symptoms (including anxiety) c. There may be a period of some symptom relapse and situational anxiety during the transition as drug doses are tapered down.
5. Adverse effects include potential worsening of Candida infections and speculatively of other pre-existing health problems known to be highly micronutrient-dependent (eg. while micronutrients are possibly protective against de novo cancer, pre-existing cancers may thrive with the additional nutrients, including folate).
6. Nutrient interactions with psychiatric and non-psychiatric medications can occur.
7. The prescriber should be contacted when starting any new drug, especially an antibiotic.
8. Reducing or preferably stopping recreational drugs, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, and any other psychoactive substances will enhance treatment effectiveness and safety. People who ingest large amounts of these substances (e.g., four cups of coffee daily, marijuana twice weekly) are likely to notice weaker therapeutic effects of micronutrients.
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