Julia Rucklidge - Mental Health & Nutrition Research: Te Puna Toiora

22/08/2026

21/08/2026

Up and go...the biggest scam on the star rating system

20/08/2026

I'm so thrilled to see this editorial on the BEAM Study, our randomized controlled trial investigating micronutrients for adolescent irritability, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP), one of the world's leading and most prestigious journals in child and adolescent mental health. The editorial not only highlights the findings from our study but also places them within the broader history and future of nutritional psychiatry.

What particularly stood out to me was the editorial's call for greater investment in nutritional psychiatry, including achieving funding and access parity with conventional psychiatric treatments. As the author notes, the next frontier is ensuring that families and clinicians have access to evidence-based nutritional interventions alongside other treatment options.

For more than two decades, my colleagues and I have been conducting research in New Zealand on the role of nutrition in mental health. Despite a growing evidence base, multiple randomized controlled trials, and increasing international recognition, government investment in translating this evidence into policy and practice remains disappointingly limited.

The editorial argues that nutrition deserves serious consideration within mental health care. I couldn't agree more. We cannot claim to be committed to evidence-based practice while largely ignoring a body of research simply because the intervention isn't a pharmaceutical.

What keeps me motivated are the young people and families who participate in this research. Behind every publication are real lives. One participant in the BEAM study described her experience this way:

"I instantly felt lighter after beginning the trial. I was able to regulate my emotions better and be more level-headed. They also improved my sleep and energy levels throughout the day and my connection with my family. Overall, this led to a major improvement in my mental health. I felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders."

Another parent said:

"This trial gave us back harmony in our home, and we will be forever grateful."

I am deeply grateful to the adolescents, families, students, researchers, clinicians, and supporters who have contributed to this work over the years. This editorial is a reminder of what can happen when we follow the evidence, ask difficult questions, and remain open to new ways of improving mental health.

If you believe mental health policy should be guided by evidence, please share this post. Help raise awareness of the role nutrition can play in mental health and ask our decision-makers why nutritional approaches continue to receive only a fraction of the funding devoted to pharmaceutical interventions. The science is advancing. It's time for policy and investment to catch up.

This editorial is dedicated to Dr. Gene Arnold, who helped champion use of multinutrients and who is sorely missed by those he mentored: students, residents, and clinical and research child psychiatrists and psychologists, in addition to the patients and families he treated, and to Dr. John Campo, w...

15/08/2026

Here I am explaining why we need minerals and vitamins for optimal brain functioning

15/08/2026

What a fantastic experience presenting at the 2026 GP Conference with Dr Andrew Hill, child and adolescent psychiatrist, on the use of broad-spectrum micronutrients in clinical practice.

We were delighted to have more than 80 GPs attend the workshop and engage in a thoughtful discussion about the growing evidence base for nutritional approaches to mental health. Also, hundreds of GPs heard about the recent teen study showing that micronutrients can reduce irritability, temper and suicidal ideation.

What struck me most was how much the conversation has changed. A decade ago, nutritional psychiatry was largely on the fringe. Today, many GPs are actively seeking practical, evidence-based ways to incorporate micronutrients into patient care. I know that some of you experience difficulty (including me!) in accessing the nutrients, but I was encouraged by the number of GPs wanting to know more about it. I think we are at a turning point. Don't give up! (more on this later)

An "interesting" contrast at the conference was the exhibition hall. Some of the largest displays were from pharmaceutical companies promoting new treatments (the GLP1s are clearly raking in the cash), while the mental health nutrition stand occupied a very small corner. Yet despite the enormous difference in marketing resources, the interest was evident.

To me, that reflects something important. Interest in nutritional psychiatry is not being driven by advertising budgets. It is being driven by clinicians looking for additional evidence-based tools to help patients achieve better outcomes. And the more consumers ask about it, the more they will want to know.

Thank you to everyone who attended, shared experiences, asked thoughtful questions, and helped make the workshop such a success.

For those wanting to explore broad-spectrum micronutrients in clinical practice, three pathways are currently available in New Zealand to obtain Daily Essential Nutrients:

1. DEN with lithium

Available through Stay Well Pharmacy (Christchurch).
Requires a GP prescription under Section 29 which means that the GP will likely want to prescribe it to treat something (hence why I had such difficulty with my GP). They can mail order around the country.
Website: https://www.staywellpharmacy.co.nz

2. DEN without lithium AND EMPowerplus

Available through Nature Zone Health.
Requires a letter from a prescriber authorising the sale of DEN or EMP. Lightning Sticks also available from NZH
Website: https://www.naturezonehealth.com

3. Importing either one through Hardy Nutritionals (that's also where you go to find out more about the research)
Website: https://www.hardynutritionals.com/products/

PLEASE NOTE: the products CANNOT be advertised in NZ so you need to contact the companies directly for more information.

The field has come a long way, but it feels as though we are only just beginning to see nutritional psychiatry enter mainstream healthcare.

Please share this widely to ensure everyone knows exactly how to access the nutrients

13/08/2026

Great to get the doco off the ground! Thanks so much to Prof Grant Schofield for expert knowledge on metabolic health.

08/08/2026

Loved chatting with Sophia Dawson, one of my talented PhD students, who has started a podcast. We dive deep into the problems of our health care system. We have such great options out there to help prevent and treat psychological symptoms but the infrastructure to support the dissemination is broken. Great conversation to get up to speed in this space.

The WHOLEistic Psychology Podcast · Episode

28/07/2026

If the only legal way to access daily essential nutrients in New Zealand is through a section 29 prescription, does the pathway actually work? I decided to find out for myself. The experience raised some important questions about prevention well-being and access to evidence-informed nutritional interventions.

27/07/2026

If you want to know what the different political parties's policies on health are, have a read of this article - the majority are focused on the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and we all know that's a bottomless pit of cash hungry entrenched sickcare systems....what if we focused on prevention and lifestyle medicine as cure? https://dailytelegraph.co.nz/opinion/politicians-stuck-in-scientific-purgatory-in-election-year/