Micronutrients may help treat stress

People who suffered psychological distress following the Christchurch earthquakes benefited from taking micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), a University of Canterbury study has revealed.

Associate Professor Julia Rucklidge (Psychology) led the four-week study on 91 members of the public just ten weeks after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. The research has been published in the UK journal Human Psychopharmacology.

Results showed that stress, trauma, anxiety and depression improved markedly across the three groups of earthquake survivors who were monitored over four weeks after taking daily doses of micronutrients.

“We found that under high stress following a natural disaster it would be beneficial to take a supplement to compensate for the nutrient depletion that occurs when the body is dealing with chronic stress,” Professor Rucklidge said.

Participants took one of two supplements - Berocca, a high dose vitamin B complex, or either a low or high dosage of a broader-based nutrient supplement (CNE), which contains more vitamins and minerals than Berocca.

“We wanted to see if we could come up with a simple solution to help people with on-going chronic stress associated with the earthquakes,” Professor Rucklidge said.

“There are a lot of treatments to help people with stress associated with a natural disaster such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, medications, psychological first aid and simulators for the reductions of post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of these treatments have been found to be helpful.

Unfortunately, medications often come with side effects that some people can’t tolerate. The other alternatives can be expensive and more challenging to reach a large population in a short time. That’s the appeal of using micronutrients as a treatment because you can purchase them easily and they are widely accessible.”

Professor Rucklidge found that all three treatment groups benefitted. A non-randomised control group of people who didn’t complete the treatment were used as a comparison for the study.

“The most important thing is that all three treatment groups improved during the study whereas the control group did not. You don’t cure everyone in each group but overall participants were significantly better in stress levels, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said.

“The group taking the higher dose did slightly better overall. Both groups on CNE had less traumatic thoughts about the earthquake than the Berocca group, and the group taking CNE8 (eight pills a day) were more likely to feel ‘very much improved’ compared with Berocca,” she said.

Professor Rucklidge attributes the combination of high levels of B vitamins and the large array of minerals as a key factor behind the success of CNE8.

“It might also be that under chronic stress the body depletes itself very quickly of nutrients because of the fight or flight response that kicks in after a quake. Producing adrenaline can be very metabolically demanding and therefore you may need to replenish your system more frequently than you would under normal circumstances,” she said.

“After an earthquake people’s nutritional intake also changes because of how they eat. Research by Dr Roeline Kuijer in our department has revealed that some people’s eating habits change. They can become more emotional eaters. They also have less access to healthy food and eat more processed foods as a result, so people’s nutrient intake is lowered.”

The study was conducted during a period of on-going stress where participants experienced 45 aftershocks over magnitude 4 including the 6.3 quake on 13 June 2011, the Government announcement of homes being zoned red, green or orange, and there was constant disruption in the city.

“A lot of the participants were directly affected during this time. After recruiting online we monitored participants with a weekly online questionnaire because we were unable to work from our laboratory. It was such a successful technique that we will be conducting our studies this way in the future,” she said.

“A further benefit of using micronutrients is that there weren’t many side effects, although those on the highest dose experienced a slightly elevated amount of dry mouth, sleep disruption and stomach aches.”

Professor Rucklidge has also researched the positive impact micronutrients have as a treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Professor Rucklidge will be conducting further trials on stress and people interested in being involved can email julia.rucklidge@canterbury.ac.nz or visit www.mentalhealthandnutrition.co.nz.