Julia Rucklidge PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand, was interviewed on the Anxiety Summit by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Julia has over 75 peer-reviewed studies and is passionate about helping people find alternative treatments to medications for their psychiatric symptoms. Her current research interests can be found at the University of Canterbury site here.
What if… Nutrition could Treat Anxiety and Depression?
- The increasing prevalence of mental health problems and medication side-effects
- Why diet is so important when it comes to mental health (anxiety, depression, ADHD and even schizophrenia)
- Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry and ISNPR (International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research)
- The problems with food: pesticides, soil quality, Roundup
- Micronutrient research for ADHD, anxiety, bipolar and PTSD
- The emerging field of nutritional mental health: Inflammation, the microbiome, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function
Here are some snippets from our interview:
Why is nutrition important? As a scientist I can just say because the data says it’s important. So if we start with the wonderful work that has really been spearheaded from Felice Jacka and there are other people in Spain and in Japan who have published similar studies showing that the more you eat a processed, western type of diet, the higher your risk for mental illness. They’ve published data on depression and anxiety, but also other mental illness as well. And the more you eat what we call, a prudent or a healthier Mediterranean type of diet, the lower your risk for depression and anxiety.
How long is it going to take our society to pay attention to the research that shows that suboptimal nutrition is contributing to the epidemic of mental illness? Are we just going to sit around and ignore this evidence to our peril? Or are we going to start paying attention and start to invest in the really important research that needs to happen?
Here is an earlier blog post I did on Dr. Rucklidge’s excellent TEDX talk: The surprisingly dramatic role of nutrition in mental health
Here is part of the recent paper titled “What if nutrients could treat mental illness?”
We are at a tipping point in psychiatry.
The growing body of literature on the effect of nutrients on mental health is compelling enough and consistent enough for us to pay attention. It is time to revisit the role of diet and supplementary nutrients in the treatment of mental illness and to invest in this line of research.
Here is the smoking and cannabis study we talked about: Use of micronutrients attenuates cannabis and nicotine abuse as evidenced from a reversal design: a case study.
This case adds to a growing body of research supporting the use of micronutrients in the treatment of psychiatric symptoms and suggests it may extend to substance dependence. Micronutrients, by assisting with mood regulation and reductions in anxiety, may assist with successful cessation of drug use.
We discussed this earthquake paper, a favorite of hers: Shaken but unstirred? Effects of micronutrients on stress and trauma after an earthquake: RCT evidence comparing formulas and doses.
This study supports micronutrients as an inexpensive and practical treatment for acute stress following a natural disaster with a slight advantage to higher doses
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Recall reading a book on depression several years ago where author found fish oil (EHA?) very benficial (makes my BP drop too much, can raise BS also), and that when she had taken antidepressants , was later diagnosed with breast cancer. There was no history of breast cancer in her or her family!!
Lynn
Thanks for sharing. The EPA/DHA in fish is helpful for many but not needed for everyone. Folks with pyroluria tend not to need it and can get it from their diets.
Here is info on pyroluria https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/pyroluria-mauve-pyrrole-malvaria-kryptopyrroles-social-anxiety/ – I’ll be talking more about pyroluria in my interview later in the summit.
I’m not sure if you have a question about cancer.
Trudy
What exactly were the micronutrients and their doses used in the studies? There was no mention of them by name, only the very general “micronutrients” .
Hi Valerie
This paper discusses the products used: “Vitamin-mineral treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults: double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial” http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/204/4/306.long
As you’ll see at the end of the paper the formulation has changed over the years.
For me, the big take-way is that a good professional grade multivitamin/mineral product is going to be effective for many people. As you heard Julia say, it doesn’t help everyone. This could be due to other factors like malabsorption, heavy metals and other toxins, gene defects and more.
An area I also focus on is other nutritional deficiencies like low zinc, low GABA, low vitamin B6, low omega-3s. We didn’t get to individual nutrients but before our interview Julia did say she favors a broad-spectrum micronutrient due to what she has seen in the research. I’m going to have to debate her on that one (maybe next summit) based on what I see in my practice 🙂 I have studies to share on individual nutrients but didn’t want to detract from her excellent research and message
You will hear more in later interviews
Trudy
Dr. Rucklidge’s interview was fantastic. Loved the explanation about drug studies being short term….not only for mental issues but heart issues as well and the use of beta blockers and statins. We needed to hear that as Rowbear refused the statins [ref. Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s work] and after a year is weaning off of a beta blocker that has changed his energy and personality [ref. Dr. Mercola’s reporting]. The information shared took me back to my teaching career and many of the students I had that were mentally ill and no services were available to help the children.
So glad you enjoyed it Karin and good to hear about you and Rowbear using common sense. I just love that name btw: Rowbear!!
your research is awesome. I am working with a Pharmacogenomics trial and Psychiatrists are so resistant to getting involved. Have you used nutrigenomic testing at all in your studies? IN addition to a challenged gut, there could be genomic issues.
Hi Janet
I assume your question is directed to Julia. I’m pretty sure she’ll agree with you about gut health and gene defects. I’ll ask her to come and comment.
Feel free to add more specifics if you’d like to
Trudy
Hi Trudy,
Thank you for facilitating this interesting interview with Julia. I appreciate the work you have done to prepare for the interviews. Looks like l have a lot more reading to do. It sounds like her research is definitely worth studying.
Regards
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen
You’re very welcome! Enjoy reading all the amazing research Julia has done!
Trudy
So if we find a good professional grade multivitamin with minerals, we don’t just take them once a day, but three times?
Hi Carrie
There are no simple rules as each brand is different. I like a product by Designs for Health called Twice Daily Multi and it’s just twice a day. But is vitamins only so an additional multi-mineral would be needed. I’m going to be discussing the supplements I use with my client later in the summit so stay tuned.
Trudy
Hello Trudy,
I just listened to the talk by Julia Rucklidge searching for input regarding Bipolar 1. Unless I missed it I didn’t really hear about this.
Can you direct me to another talk on the summit or any other source dealing with Bipolar 1 ?
Thank you,
Marjorie
Hi Marjorie
You didn’t miss it! It was on our list to talk about but we didn’t mention bipolar specifically.
However, the same nutrients she discusses have been used with success for some people with bipolar. Here is one of the papers: Database analysis of children and adolescents with bipolar disorder consuming a micronutrient formula (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20875144)
“While these data cannot establish efficacy, the results are consistent with a growing body of research suggesting that micronutrients appear to have therapeutic benefit for children with [bipolar disorder] with or without ADHD in the absence of significant side effects and may allow for a reduction in psychiatric medications while improving symptoms. The consistent reporting of positive changes across multiple sites and countries are substantial enough to warrant a call for randomized clinical trials using micronutrients.”
Keep in many that many factors can play a role in any mental health condition so I’d encourage you to tune in to all the talks.
I will be talking about bipolar and lithium orotate in my amino acid troubleshooting talk too.
In the meantime here is a blog post I did awhile back that talks about blood sugar, gluten and real whole food https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/bipolar-disruptive-mood-or-gluten-and-junk-food/
Trudy
wonderful interview. Great studies. I was wondering is it possible to knwo what the micronutrients Julai talks about and used in her studies actually are, and what the doses are. There are so many multivitamins out there but all vary in dose.
Claire
Please see the comment with the link to the bipolar study – that’s a complete study and lists the product information.
As mentioned I like Designs for Health Twice Daily Multi and will be sharing more about this and the products I like later in the summit. I can certainly talk about the product/s used in Julia’s research. I say product/s because the formulations have changed a bit over the years.
Let me know if you have any specific questions and I’ll be sure to include them in my talk
Trudy
Hi Trudy,
Are you familiar with the term ‘derealization’ for those
With anxiety? Its supposed to be something
that happens to many who go though prolonged
stress and anxiety, emotional trauma, etc.
Reality to them doesn’t feel real… they walk
Around in a brain fog, dreamy like state to where
Nothing around them seems real, and some even
Say that things around them dont seem familiar, and that
They do not even feel like themselves or attached
to themselves.
It supposedly Is the brain turning off and going to sleep like state,
Even while the person is awake, so that the brain
can heal and or protect the person.
If so, do you have any thoughts on what is going
On or what the most important thing one can do?
Its a terrible anxiety symptom. Many believe they are literally going crazy – when its harmless and a symptom of anxiety.
Some people get DR with anxiety. Some don’t.
Im wondering if you feel it’s due to much better
stress tolerance/less sensitive?
Any thoughts on that?
Jack
Yes and there are a number of biochemical causes that can play a role – gluten issues, medication side-effects (benzodiazepines, fluoroquinolone antibiotics) and even blood sugar swings. There are also reports of DR from cannabis use, alcohol and when someone is sleep deprived. There’s not much research on the biochemical aspects but I suspect we’re going to be learning more on this topic.