Something is just not right:

Vitamins and minerals may be able to limit effects of bipolar disorder

By: Danielle Bailey

Posted: 11/12/04

New research has shown that vitamins and minerals--known collectively as micronutrients--can improve mood and behavioral problems, such as bipolar disorder and ADHD.

On November 2, Dr. Bonnie Kaplan, a professor at the University of Calgary, spoke to a crowd of about 70 Lafayette students and faculty about the impact that micronutrients can have on mental health. "What I am studying," Kaplan said, "is that at a broader level, micronutrients matter in the mental health of human beings."

To correct behavioral and mood problems, previous treatments have relied on prescription medication and mood stabilizers such as lithium. "I thought the most interesting part was that the vitamin and mineral supplement was effective in the treatment of bipolar disorder. It seems like such an obvious solution, because we already know that lithium--another mineral--works," said Rachael Magner '07.

Kaplan's approach to the treatment of mood disorders has shed light on a previously unresearched area.

"While research in the past has found nutritional deficiencies associated with mental illness, none that I am aware of have documented behavioral improvement after attempting to regulate [it]," said Kristine Schuster, visiting instructor of psychology. Schuster believes Kaplan's research brings "a new approach to a long-standing problem, which could motivate treatments that were previously ignored."

Kaplan had previously steered away from studying nutrition to help cure mental and behavioral problems because the medical community was skeptical of it as an alternative medicine. However, Kaplan's research has been well received by reputable psychological journals.

Schuster believes that it can help add to the knowledge of behavioral issues. "It provides a means of comparison and gives researchers a bigger, more complete understanding of the problem," she said.

Kaplan has conducted research on what is called "broad-spectrum supplementation," the use of a variety of micronutrients. She is currently working with the supplement EMpower+, produced by the Truehope Nutritional, which contains 36 different vitamins and minerals. Her research has concluded that the use of a broad-spectrum of micronutrients can stabilize the mood of children who show signs of ADHD and behavioral problems. It is not yet known which micronutrients are attributed to helping correct specific mood and behavioral problems. Kaplan explained that since every person is different, "a broader intervention will catch more mood and behavioral problems and help more people."

The use of broad-spectrum supplementation has raised concerns about whether EMpower+ gives too high a dose of vitamins. All the ingredient quantities in EMpower+ are below what the Food and Drug Administration states that a person can have on a day-to-day basis.

One reason Kaplan feels it is necessary to increase the amount of micronutrients people take is that much modern food lacks the nutritional value present in foods of the past. Today, when crops are harvested, only three nutrients are put back into the soil to fertilize it, and subsequent crops gradually lose other nutrients.

For full effectiveness, Kaplan's supplements have to be administered when the subjects are not taking other medication. This has also led to controversy, and attempts to stop Kaplan's research, because some groups prefer that children with mood disorders be put on medication.

Kaplan is not against medication for helping curb mood problems. "We have medication[s] because we need them," she said.