It’s no secret that eating well is key to having a healthy body. But what about a healthy brain? With antidepressant use up 65% since 1999 and as many as one in five Americans suffering from a mental illness, scientists Bonnie J. Kaplan, Ph.D., and Julia J. Rucklidge, Ph.D., shift the focus to the impact of nutrition on brain health in their new book The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition. 

This groundbreaking book, with a foreword written by world-renowned integrative practitioner and University of Arizona Professor Dr. Andrew Weil, highlights the importance of nutrition and its impact on mood and mental health. Drs. Kaplan and Rucklidge have spent most of the past two decades researching the effects of nutrients on brain health, specifically the effects of supplementing with broad-spectrum micronutrients for mental health.

The Better Brain discusses how and why micronutrients can be used to ease symptoms of anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and other mental illnesses caused by a western diet or suboptimal nutrition. For individuals who can’t afford to take antidepressants every month or who don’t want to deal with the associated side effects, the research presented in The Better Brain can make all the difference.

Backed by over 40 independent university studies for a wide range of mood and mental health disorders, Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN), a clinical-strength, broad-spectrum micronutrient formula, has been studied by both Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Rucklidge in their university labs for a number of years. You may be asking yourself why you've never heard of this approach before. The Better Brain explains several reasons for this: "[One] reason nutrient treatments have not yet received the attention they deserve involves our system of health care. Pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in patients being prescribed psychiatric medications. It earns them billions in profits, whereas they cannot make the same level of profit from most nutrient products, as we explain in chapters 1 and 11. And because psychiatrists have become primarily psychopharmacologists—trained in drug treatment in medical school and later by the pharmaceutical companies—it is understandable that they practice what they've been taught."

While medications have their place and can certainly be beneficial in the short-term for those who need them, Drs. Kaplan and Rucklidge have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that nutrition matters when it comes to mental health. For instance, they have conducted and published multiple studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN) for use in children and adults for mental health, including randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials for ADHD.

Why not just eat more fruits and veggies? Dr. Rucklidge and Dr. Kaplan are huge proponents of eating healthy foods. The Better Brain has an entire chapter dedicated to "Eating Well: Mediterranean Style". The book says, "It's always best to get your essential nutrients from whole foods...but if you're doing your best to eat an excellent diet and are still having issues with your mental health or difficulty coping with stress, it might be time to consider adding a supplement." The book goes on to explain how to choose the right micronutrients to supplement with. While Drs. Kaplan and Rucklidge have no financial ties whatsoever to Hardy Nutritionals, they have spent decades researching David Hardy's pioneering micronutrient formulations for mood and mental health. On page 260, The Better Brain recommends Hardy Nutritionals Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN) "For ADHD, smoking cessation, emotional dysregulation, symptoms associated with trauma, aggression, insomnia, stress, anxiety." 

 See a full list of the independent studies conducted on David Hardy's formulations here.

“If you love facts and aren’t wholly convinced that big pharma has YOUR personal best interest at heart, then you might tolerate reading the truths in this book. It’s fact-driven and well-written without an inkling of exaggeration or hype. Kaplan and Rucklidge make total sense of an unpopular discovery and do it in a way that is backed by solid data 25 years after the real curiosity about multi-nutrient treatments began. This work has me up nights absorbing the intelligent, methodical, and honestly entertaining uncovering of what is real when it comes to supporting brain health. I’m so grateful for their courage to continue when their work was shunned by big money and big lobby. We all need more of this real science so we can understand our actual options for health,” writes Dana, a reader of The Better Brain.

Throughout the book, readers are taken on a journey through fascinating independent studies carried out at universities worldwide that demonstrate that the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses can actually be caused by a lack of proper nutrition. Citing research on clinical-strength micronutrient formulations created by David Hardy, founder of Hardy Nutritionals, Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Rucklidge explore what roles micronutrients carry out in the brain and how the gut and brain are intertwined. 

“This book will put the critical knowledge in your hands, and it will empower you to improve not only your life but the lives of your loved ones,” the book promises. “Making this happen is why we wrote this book. To work toward a more successful treatment approach, one that is more affordable and accessible to the millions of people who need it.”

Health care professionals across the globe have been giving praise to The Better Brain, calling it 'One of the most important books of the year' and 'A model of good science writing.' Ready to learn how nutrition can combat depression, and reduce ADHD and stress? The Better Brain will change the way you approach mental health.

Click here to order your copy of The Better Brain today.

About Hardy Nutritionals®

Hardy Nutritionals® multivitamin-mineral products are powered by our proprietary NutraTek™ mineral delivery technology, which combines each mineral with specialized organic molecules—just like nature—to optimize absorption and distribution to body cells. Our flagship supplement, Daily Essential Nutrients, is widely considered to be the most research-backed micronutrient treatment.