Newshub recently published an article summarizing the positive response of 13 year old New Zealand teen Xander Steele who has used Daily Essential Nutrients to manage his ADHD symptoms. "It actually really calms me down when I feel stressed out," he comments.

Xander's mother Laura discusses her son’s condition before he started using the micronutrient treatment, "He would just cry all the time…He wasn't eating, he wasn't sleeping. He wasn't a nice Zandah."

Background on recent micronutrient research at the University of Canterbury, NZ

In January 2014, The British Journal of Psychiatry published the results of a double-blind controlled trial which provided evidence of efficacy for micronutrients† (vitamins and minerals) in the treatment of ADHD symptoms in adults, with a reassuring safety profile.

As a follow-up to the adult trial, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology recently published the results of a study which treated 14 children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) using micronutrients† instead of medication.

The study demonstrated the clinical benefit, feasibility, and safety of broad-spectrum micronutrients in the treatment of childhood ADHD. This trial was built on the findings of earlier successful University of Canterbury research and has now led to a larger randomized control trial in children, which is currently underway, using Hardy Nutritionals® Daily Essential Nutrients.

In the recently published study, medication-free children were treated with a micronutrient formula† for eight weeks and then taken off it for four weeks—with the on-off cycle repeating itself over a six-month period.

The researchers said the results were so effective that some parents were reluctant to take their children off the micronutrients† for the full four weeks. They noted “When they came off the micronutrients†, some children’s symptoms returned within days, which was a good indication of their effectiveness.”

The micronutrient treatment† improved the children’s inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. At the end of the six-month trial, 79% of the children were identified as “much improved” or “very much improved”. Areas of functioning which responded positively included emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and prosocial behaviors. The children’s self-reports confirmed the observed improvements.

The researchers noted there were improvements in mood, anxiety, irritability and other presenting psychiatric symptoms which are often inadequately treated with medications. They also noted that most children experienced no side effects. Where side effects were reported, they were mild and transitory. No children dropped out of the trial.

Researchers indicated that micronutrients† had a positive impact on sleep compared with medications. The researchers explained, “Medications such as Ritalin affect children’s ability to sleep, so many parents do not medicate in the evenings, which sees a re-emergence of symptoms at night, whereas the children in the micronutrients† study didn’t have this problem.”

Lead University of Canterbury, NZ nutrition researcher Dr. Julia Rucklidge comments on the dramatic observed response in the study, "It could actually be a game changer in terms of where we go forward in terms of treating children with ADHD."

Hardy Nutritionals® founder David Hardy comments on this research, “This promising research offers hope to millions of individuals who suffer from ADHD, depression, and other psychiatric disorders. We are very pleased that exciting double-blind research is already underway using our newest formula, Daily Essential Nutrients. I applaud Dr. Rucklidge and her University of Canterbury colleagues who are truly leading the way in nutrition-mental health research around the world. ”