1 Sept 2026
The Micronutrient Studies NZ Won't Talk About | Prof. Julia Rucklidge
Prof. Grant Schofield sits down with Prof. Julia Rucklidge, clinical psychologist, University of Canterbury researcher, and one of the world's leading voices on micronutrients and mental health, for a wide-ranging conversation on three decades of research most people have never heard about.
Julia walks through the origin story of it all (yes, it really did start with pig farmers in Alberta), then into the studies that built her case: ADHD trials showing improved emotional regulation, faster recovery after the Christchurch earthquakes and mosque attacks in well-nourished populations, and the landmark "NUTRIMUM" pregnancy study, where mothers taking a broad-spectrum micronutrient formula saw dramatically better birth outcomes than those on antidepressants, including a threefold difference in resuscitation rates at birth.
From there the conversation turns to the part that will frustrate you: why none of this has translated into practice. Julia unpacks New Zealand's 40-year-old+ Dietary Supplement Regulations, the bizarre legal reality that a supplement is not allowed to claim it can prevent or treat disease (yes, even scurvy), and her own first-hand experience being refused a prescription for the very formula she's spent her career researching. They also cover her newly-teenager emotional dysregulation trial, the reward-system dysregulation driving the "anxious generation," and her new role on the NZ Psychologists Board.
If you've ever wondered why good nutrition science doesn't reach GPs, mums, or teenagers who need it, this one's for you.
How a pig-feed observation in Alberta led to a career studying micronutrients and mental health
Faster recovery from trauma (Christchurch earthquakes, Christchurch mosque attacks) in well-nourished populations
The NUTRIMUM pregnancy trial: depression outcomes, birth outcomes, and postnatal depression rates vs. antidepressants
Why broad-spectrum micronutrients may work better than single nutrients like vitamin D or B-vitamins alone
Reducing emotional dysregulation in teenagers, without a psychiatric diagnosis
New Zealand's outdated supplement law (Dietary Supplement Regulations Act, 1985) and why a food "cannot legally prevent or treat disease"
Julia's own experience being denied a prescription for daily essential nutrients by her GP
The regulatory maze around lithium-containing micronutrient formulas and Medsafe's crackdown
What an ideal, evidence-based regulatory environment could look like
Reward system dysregulation, dopamine, and the "anxious generation" in young people
Julia's new appointment to the NZ Psychologists Board
In this episode Guests & Links
Prof. Julia Rucklidge, Clinical psychologist and researcher, University of Canterbury🔗 https://prekure.com/meet-the-faculty/professor-julia-rucklidge/?srsltid=AfmBOorWCSuCEW407OjLSwFlvzAGhZkB_bItn5IHAgKW4Y1IAk25NVIr (https://prekure.com/meet-the-faculty/professor-julia-rucklidge/?srsltid=AfmBOorWCSuCEW407OjLSwFlvzAGhZkB_bItn5IHAgKW4Y1IAk25NVIr)
Prof. Grant Schofield, Host🔗 https://profgrantschofield.com/ (https://profgrantschofield.com/)
PREKURE🔗 https://prekure.com/ (https://prekure.com/)
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