Q. Hi, Pam, The author worked very closely with Tony Stephan. People on these supplements were advised to cut their meds 1/3 at a time to be totally med free within a month's time.

They were to take 32 pills a day and eventually were able to reduce that dosage, I think to 16 per day. They have since come up with a powder form.

The website for Truehope is : www.truehope.com and they give a list of ingredients for the Empowerplus. If you look to the left, click on "Empowerplus"

Moyer also recommends elimination diets for some people of casein and gluten, for instance and other substances. He also had his son tested for various sensitivities and found connections between these and provocation of symptoms.

A. I have followed Truehope for some time, and I think that they are on the right track. My own research into nutritional healing for psychiatric illnesses, ADHD, autism, etc. parallels theirs, and I think that they have done a good job in bringing all of the research together (see http://www.truehope.com/_bipolar/bipolarIndex.asp#2 for example). But I do have a few reservations about the product.

You may be aware of the ongoing dispute that Truehope has with Health Canada, who have raided their plant and issued several warnings about the product. Truehope has, in turn, sued Health Canada for discrimination against the mentally ill. I am sure this will continue for many years, and the people who are hurt by both sides are those with psychiatric illnesses. Health Canada’s most detailed warning can be found here: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/2003/empowerplus.htm.
An executive summary is as follows: some of the nutrients and herbs in the Empowerplus product, if taken at the dosages recommended by Truehope, exceed the levels regarded as safe. I do note that Truehope appears to have reduced their loading dose from 32 pills to 18 pills per day. So perhaps they have attempted to rectify this.

Whenever starting on a new supplement, I would start off with a small dose, perhaps even half a recommended dose, and gradually work my way up to a dosage that made a difference to me. Truehope recommends taking huge dosages to start with, in order to accommodate not only the patient’s higher metabolic requirement for the nutrients, but also to “restock” the body’s existing deficiency. See http://www.truehope.com/_faqs/faqs.asp#4. By doing this you are at risk for allergic reactions, gastric distress, etc. Of course Truehope recommends that you work together with your doctor when you are taking Empowerplus, particularly when you want to lower your psychiatric meds, and that is extremely important. Whether you take Empowerplus or start on your own customized program of supplements, you need to work with your doctor on reducing your meds safely. Never just go off of them without help.

My layperson’s recommendation for your teenager is: - take a flax oil supplement, starting with a half dose or single pill and increasing the dosage every few days until you notice a change. Don’t exceed the recommended dosage. Taking too much all at once can cause diarrhea. You may want to add a DHA/fish oil supplement as well, but be aware it may take 6-12 weeks to make a difference to your mental function. - start out with a regular over-the-counter vitamin and mineral supplement – swallow a pill, use a nutritional shake, whatever you prefer. Try to take something that doesn’t have a lot of artificial colours and other additives. Take it with food for a few days to make sure that it does not cause you stomach problems. If it does, try a supplement with a lower dose of iron. If you do not feel that it is making any difference, move up to a mega-dose type supplement, but one that does not exceed the safe levels established by the Canadian or U.S. health care authorities. Move up to Empower if you feel that you need to.

- add a b-complex “stress tab” either on a daily basis or in times of more extreme stress
- ditto calcium-magnesium supplement
- add St. John’s Wort or other herbs slowly. Valerian is particularly good for quieting your mind when you want to sleep

The second part of your questions addresses other issues that may affect mental health – food allergies, viruses, vaccinations, lyme disease, yeast, environmental contaminants. Yes, I absolutely believe that these things can trigger psychiatric illnesses. The field of epigenetic research is, as yet, very young.

Scientists are just starting to figure out how predispositions that we are born with, genes that we have from the moment of conception, can suddenly be turned on by things as simple as nutrition or the flu.

Scientists are also still trying to figure out the connections between allergies and metabolic differences, and disorders such as autism, ADHD, and even dyslexia.

It is going to be a few years before we reach the point that upon going to the doctor, you get one urinalysis and one blood draw which will give the doctor all of the information that he needs regarding your body’s unique metabolism, allergies, bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and environmental contaminants, and can then give you the proper program of nutritional and conventional medicine that you must follow to return to health. I believe that we can reach that level of expertise, but whether the medical profession sees it as a priority in the next few decades is doubtful.

That being the case, I would have your daughter follow an elimination diet to help identify foods which she may be allergic or sensitive to. Do a bit of research to learn the top ten most common allergenic foods, as well as foods and additives which may cause changes to her mental health and behaviour. Feingold or the Specific Carbohydrate Diet may be a good place to start.

Good luck!

Pam