I don’t like endorsing products and this is not an endorsement, but it is the story of a woman whose experience I believe. And it is in fact a “bipolar” recovery story. A case of someone lacking necessary nutrients.
Products like EmpowerPlus are what I call “shot-gun” approaches. They may work very well for some and indeed this woman is not the first I’ve heard do very well on EmpowerPlus. The thing is not all so-called “bipolar” disorder can simply be fixed by one very specific concoction of vitaimins and minerals.
There are often profound psycho/spiritual issues that must be addressed as well. Trauma in childhood is rampant in people diagnosed with mental distress of any kind. In my opinion, most often several fronts of healing need to be explored, including nutrition, but equally important the psycho/spiritual and sometimes other physical problems that are simply not addressed with this supplement. Things like food allergies for example, though it could be many other things as well.
Also I’ve looked closely at the ingredients and it’s pretty easy to create a better individual formula that can also be quite a bit cheaper if you’re going to respond to this particular protocol.
I personally would not take this particular concoction because it has L-Phenylalanine in it, which I know makes me agitated. It can be very helpful for some people’s depression though.
In any case, it’s strong evidence that nutrition and diet can be and often is a major part of what needs to be addressed in all sorts of mental distress.
It will be interesting to see the results of the clinical trials at University of Calvary.
I had seen Dr. Amen on one of our PBS TV shows, and at the time was impressed with what he was talking about because it dealt mostly with nutrition, the brain and it “seemed” he was anti-drug at the time. So…. I ordered his stuff, and when I received it, I was very disappointed because he is recommending the meds, just like you said, Gianna, and to do that for children is a tragedy, let alone adults. We are very hard-pressed these days to find doctors that we can feel comfortable with and allow us to express the fact that we know our own bodies. When you find one, they are worth their weight in gold.
psychoactive drugs are spirit killing in my opinion so I can’t really get on board with that idea…
especially when he is dealing with children with developing brains…
drugs + developing brains not a good combo
I can’t speak for him compared to other docs…my psychiatrist is a warm, loving spiritual man whom I like a lot…I still find it repulsive that he doles out drugs to children…I have a hard time with the dissonance of it all…
he let’s me do what I’m doing—that is I’ve gotten off almost all my meds with him so I appreciate that, but he doesn’t help others find the alternatives I found for myself…
From his perspective drugs are a part of his world. I would say that he seems more in tune with the whole mind-body-spirit connection than a lot of doctors.
well, saying nutrition is good is hard to argue with…Dr. Amen otherwise believes in tons of shit and recommends Ritalin and other stimulants for children all the time…
he is not someone I admire or trust.
nutrition is ESSENTIAL…I totally believe that…but different people have different needs and that is why I avoid the shotgun approach.
I take a lot of nutrients. I also eat better then virtually anyone I’ve ever met. Or frankly, I think I eat better than ANYONE I’ve met…virtual or otherwise 😉
anyway…
In his most recent book and tv program, neurologist Dr. Daniel Amen (what a last name) said that nutrition is very important when it comes to having a healthy brain. I think it’s important for people to realize, as you stated, that there is no one magic bullet. There are some things that work well for larger amounts of people, but individuals will need to find what works best for them.
yeah, well, that is why I don’t go running around sponsoring stuff like this…there is always a lot of hype involved…
BUT!! I do know of people who have successfully used EmpowerPlus…so I feel fine talking about it…it’s just not a fix-it-all.
oh and your user name is linked up the way you want it already!! you’ve done it and didn’t even know!
I take EMPower Plus every day in addition to my abilify and lamictal. One thing to note is that Autumn is the daughter of the person who developed the product (not sure if that’s mentioned in the video — I’ve seen it before but don’t remember exactly). However, I have noticed some great effects from this product; I get sick way less often and I do believe it has a mood stabilizing effect, even though it’s hard to tell since I’m also taking abilify and lamictal (and Yaz, a mood stabilizing birth control pill). Ultimately, I hope this will be my longterm plan, but it IS very pricey and I’m sooo worried it won’t work.
I’m one of those “childhood trauma” people too. 🙁
Quick question… how do you get your username to link back directly to your blog? I want mine to do that but I can’t figure out how, and yours does it, so you must know. This is most important for the people who I comment on for the first time, who want to know who the heck I am… not so for you, since you already know I’m notyet30. Thanks in advance.