When families start searching for options beyond medication-only care for ADHD and autism, they usually discover two things very quickly:

1. There is a lot of noise online.
   
   

2. Very few approaches are backed by multiple randomized controlled trials and real-world clinical experience.
   
   

That’s exactly why we were honored to participate in the Autism Parenting Magazine summit with Dallin Hardy, scientist with Hardy Nutritionals, and Dr. Raymond (“Ram”) Escalona, a functional medicine physician in the Philippines who specializes in autism.

This article walks through what they shared:

• The research behind broad-spectrum micronutrients in ADHD
  
  

• How those same nutrients are being used in real clinics with children on the autism spectrum
  
  

• What this might mean for parents looking for safer, root-cause supportive options
  
  

Throughout, they discuss Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN)—Hardy Nutritionals’ clinical-strength broad-spectrum micronutrient formula, used in multiple university trials and in Dr. Escalona’s practice.

“These kids are really just sick kids needing to get healthy.” – Dr. Raymond Escalona

What Are Broad-Spectrum Micronutrients?

Broad-spectrum micronutrients are not the same as a once-a-day multivitamin from the pharmacy.

They’re therapeutic-dose combinations of vitamins and minerals designed to support the brain’s metabolic “machinery” at a deeper level. In many of the ADHD and mood studies, researchers used a 40+–ingredient formula containing all essential vitamins and minerals in highly absorbable forms. (PMC)

Dallin summarized the difference this way:

“The difference between broad spectrum micronutrients and the vitamins you’d get at the pharmacy over the counter is the fact that they include minerals specifically that aren’t included in multiple vitamin products.”

Why does that matter? Because most of the enzymes in the brain that turn one molecule into another (for example, turning precursors into dopamine or serotonin) require vitamin and mineral co-factors to function properly. If those co-factors are missing, enzyme function – and therefore brain function – can be “marginalized.” (Cambridge University Press & Assessment)

Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN) is one of the most studied of these formulas. Independent university researchers have now published 60+ peer-reviewed papers, including several randomized placebo-controlled trials, using Hardy’s broad-spectrum micronutrient formulations in children and adults with ADHD, mood dysregulation, anxiety, and related symptoms. 

Two ADHD RCTs in Children: New Zealand & the MADDY Trial

Dallin’s portion of the summit focused on two key randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in children with ADHD. Both used Hardy’s broad-spectrum micronutrient formula:

1. New Zealand child ADHD trial (2018) – led by Dr. Julia Rucklidge’s team (PubMed)
   
   

2. The MADDY Trial (Micronutrients for ADHD in Youth) – a 3-site North American RCT published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (PubMed)
   
   

Both trials:

• Included children/youth with diagnosed ADHD (ages roughly 6–12)
  
  

• Excluded psychiatric medications, so results could be attributed to the micronutrients
  
  

• Randomized participants to micronutrients vs placebo for 8–10 weeks
  
  

• Used the same underlying formula that corresponds to Daily Essential Nutrients (Liebert Publishing)
  
  

Real-World ADHD: Not Just Attention Problems

Although every child in these studies had ADHD, that was rarely the whole story.

In the MADDY trial, for example:

• Nearly two-thirds also met criteria for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
  
  

• Over two-thirds had clinically significant anxiety
  
  

• Many had mood issues, learning disabilities, developmental concerns, and in the MADDY study, nearly a third also had autism
  
  

Dallin emphasized this point:

“Although the children all had an ADHD diagnosis in both of these studies, it’s really important to look at the rest of the picture.”

So when we look at the outcomes, we’re not just asking, “Did this help attention?” We’re asking, “Did this help the whole child?”

Global Functioning & Emotional Regulation: What Actually Improved?

Both RCTs used the Clinical Global Impressions – Improvement (CGI-I) scale as the primary outcome, which is a clinician-rated measure of overall change.

Across both studies:

• About 50% of children taking micronutrients were rated as “much” or “very much” improved after 8–10 weeks
  
  

• The placebo group had significantly fewer responders (e.g., in the MADDY trial, 54% response in the micronutrient group vs 18% on placebo) (PMC)
  
  

These global impressions were backed up by:

• Better overall functioning and reduced impairment (PMC)
  
  

• Significant improvements in emotional regulation and aggression in the New Zealand trial (PubMed)
  
  

• Clinician-rated improvements in inattention
  
  

• Parent and teacher reports showing fewer tantrums, outbursts, peer conflict, and conduct problems
  
  

Dallin summarized what parents and teachers were actually seeing:

“These are conduct problems, peer conflict—so this would be aggression, tantrums, outbursts, things like that… Parents and teachers in both the New Zealand cohort and the North American MADDY study were noticing a difference.”

In the 2018 New Zealand study, specific mood measures were included and showed significant improvements in mood and emotional control besides ADHD symptoms. (PubMed)

A Surprising Finding: Better Growth, Not Growth Suppression

One of the most striking findings from these trials had nothing to do with attention – it was growth.

In both studies:

• Children in the micronutrient group grew significantly taller than those in the placebo group over just 8–10 weeks (on the order of 4–6 mm, or more than ⅛ of an inch). 
  
  

• When the placebo group crossed over to micronutrients in the open-label extension, their growth rate caught up, showing a clear “inflection point” when micronutrients were introduced. 
  
  

That’s especially important because conventional stimulant medications for ADHD are well known to suppress appetite and can slow growth during the critical childhood years.

Dallin noted:

“The micronutrient group grew significantly taller… and they continued on that trajectory of better growth throughout the open-label extension phase.”

The takeaway? These nutrients didn’t just avoid the growth-suppressing side effect commonly seen with stimulants—they appeared to support children in moving closer to their genetic growth potential, even in food-secure countries like New Zealand and the U.S.

Long-Term Outcomes: What Happens After a Year?

Short-term benefits are encouraging, but families also need to know: Does this last?

In a one-year follow-up from the New Zealand child ADHD trial: (PubMed)

• About 20% of the original cohort were still taking micronutrients at a year (parents were now purchasing the product on their own).
  
  

• Those who continued taking the micronutrients maintained an 84% response rate (“much” or “very much improved”) at one year.
  
  

• Children who switched to conventional medications maintained some benefit (about 50% responders), but did not continue improving.
  
  

• Those who stopped everything regressed – dropping from about 60% improved at the end of the study to just 21% at one year.
  
  

Across the board, micronutrients outperformed “do nothing,” and continuing micronutrients provided the most durable benefit.

Importantly, no new safety concerns emerged over a full year of use. Similar long-term observational work has followed adults and children taking broad-spectrum micronutrients for up to seven years, again without identifying significant safety signals. (PMC)

Safety & Side Effects: What Did the Trials Find?

In both the New Zealand and MADDY trials:

• No serious adverse events were reported in either the active or placebo groups. 
  
  

• Overall rates of minor side effects were similar between micronutrients and placebo.
  
  

• One notable difference in the MADDY trial: children in the micronutrient group experienced significantly greater reductions in anxiety than those on placebo. 
  
  

Dallin explained it this way:

“In terms of adverse events, there wasn’t much to see, which is what you want when you’re looking at safety and tolerability.”

In our own long-term observational data, the most consistent lab finding has been elevated vitamin B12—which is exactly what we would expect with ongoing supplementation and is not considered toxic. There is no established upper toxicity limit for B12, and elevated levels in the context of supplementation generally indicate that nutrients are being absorbed. 

As always, we strongly recommend parents work closely with an experienced clinician, particularly if a child is also taking psychoactive medication. Micronutrients can potentiate certain medications, so Dallin emphasized the need for thoughtful coordination:

“It’s a balance of increasing the dose of the Daily Essential Nutrients and decreasing the dose of the psychoactive medication so we’re not creating a scenario where the medication is increasing in the serum levels to an extent that will result in side effects.” (PMC)

From Research to the Clinic: Dr. Escalona’s Autism Case Series in the Philippines

While the ADHD trials were conducted in New Zealand and North America, Dr. Raymond Escalona shared how he’s been applying Daily Essential Nutrients in a very different setting: his functional medicine clinic in the Philippines, working with children on the autism spectrum.

“We’ve been using Hardy’s Daily Essential Nutrients for about three years now for our kids, and I’m going to show you the effect of the product locally for our kids here in the Philippines.”

A Comprehensive Medical Approach

Dr. Escalona does not treat autism as a purely behavioral condition. He sees it as a medical problem rooted in biology, not willpower.

In his model, autism often involves:

• Mitochondrial dysfunction (problems with the cell’s energy factories)
  
  

• Gut dysbiosis and microbiome imbalance
  
  

• Immune dysregulation and inflammation
  
  

• Toxin exposure
  
  

• Folate transport/folate receptor issues in some children
  
  

These themes are increasingly reflected in the scientific literature, including work on mitochondrial dysfunction, dysbiosis, and cerebral folate deficiency in subsets of children with autism. (PMC)

Dr. Escalona’s protocol typically includes:

• Detailed questionnaires such as the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC)
  
  

• Food diaries and nutrition histories
  
  

• Blood work (CBC, iron, vitamin D, liver panels, etc.)
  
  

• Organic acid testing to assess mitochondrial function, dysbiosis, and toxin markers
  
  

• Microbiome and environmental toxin testing where indicated
  
  

Then he treats what he finds:

1. Gut and nutrients first (improve digestion, remove problem foods, correct nutrient deficiencies, support the microbiome)
   
   

2. Treat infections (e.g., candida, bacterial overgrowth, mold)
   
   

3. Reduce toxic burden
   
   

4. Support mitochondrial function with targeted nutrients (where Daily Essential Nutrients becomes a core tool)
   
   

5. Rewire the brain with therapies like neurofeedback, Safe & Sound Protocol, and other neurotech – after medical stability improves
   
   

“If the gut’s not ready, then the whole body gets a different response and they get sicker than when they started… So just remember the order: gut and nutrients, then infections, then toxins, then you rewire the brain.”

48 Children, 3 Years of Data

From 2022 to 2025, Dr. Escalona’s team tracked 48 children who completed their program (out of 52 recruited; 4 were excluded for missing data). These children:

• Were mostly aged 0–10
  
  

• Had been in conventional therapy for 2–3 years with little or no progress
  
  

• Received a combined protocol that included Daily Essential Nutrients as a foundational micronutrient/mitochondrial support
  
  

On average, they saw:

• 19% improvement in speech, language & communication
  
  

• 33% improvement in sociability
  
  

• 26% improvement in sensory/cognitive awareness
  
  

• 30% improvement in physical health & behavior
  
  

• 42% average improvement across all ATEC domains
  
  

By comparison, Dr. Escalona noted that the global average improvement is typically only 5–10% over three years with standard care alone.

Some particularly encouraging outcomes:

• 5 children lost their autism diagnosis altogether (91%, 89%, 86%, and 75% improvement in individual cases)
  
  

• ~10% of cases returned to age-appropriate learning
  
  

• 16 children had 50–74% improvement
  
  

• 18 had 25–49% improvement
  
  

• Only 2 children worsened – both were getting sick every month, leading the team to investigate ongoing environmental triggers
  
  

“Healthy diets will work… Mitochondrial supplementation will work… Microbiome treatments will work because they’re really just sick kids needing to get healthy.”

While this is not a randomized trial and the protocol includes many elements, Dr. Escalona repeatedly emphasized that Daily Essential Nutrients is the micronutrient backbone of his mitochondrial support, chosen because of its research base and inclusion of folinic acid (a key form of folate for many autistic children with folate receptor antibodies). (AAP)

How Does This Fit With the Broader Psychiatric Literature?

The idea of using broad-spectrum micronutrients in mental health is no longer fringe.

A dedicated chapter on single and broad-spectrum micronutrients appears in the American Psychiatric Association’s textbook Complementary and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatric Practice, summarizing evidence for their use across mood, anxiety, ADHD, and other conditions. (PsychiatryOnline)

The authors conclude that broad-spectrum micronutrients:

• May be comparable in efficacy to conventional medications for certain symptom clusters
  
  

• Appear to have favorable safety profiles
  
  

• Work not by “treating ADHD” or “treating autism” as labels, but by addressing underlying physiological root causes (nutrient deficits, mitochondrial function, inflammation, etc.) across diagnostic boundaries.
  
  

That’s exactly what Dallin highlighted in the summit:

“The data these RCTs provide give really clear evidence that broad spectrum micronutrients are not a targeted treatment for any particular psychiatric disorder. The data speak to addressing underlying physiological root causes… which helps explain the wide-ranging effects that spread across multiple symptom sets.”

Where Daily Essential Nutrients Fits In

Daily Essential Nutrients (DEN) contains every essential vitamin and mineral science has shown to be required for human health, in carefully balanced ratios and highly bioavailable forms. It is:

• Backed by four randomized, placebo-controlled trials and 60+ independent publications for mental health applications 
  
  

• Recognized by international guidelines as a Grade A option for certain mood and anxiety presentations
  
  

• FDA-approved as an Investigational New Drug for ADHD, supporting ongoing formal trials 
  
  

Researchers worldwide have used this formula (or earlier iterations of it) when studying broad-spectrum micronutrient treatment in ADHD, mood, irritability, and more. (PubMed)

For Parents & Clinicians: Practical Next Steps

If you’re a parent or clinician considering broad-spectrum micronutrients as part of a child’s care plan:

1. Work with a qualified practitioner.
   Particularly if the child is on psychoactive medications, titration needs to be coordinated so that medication doses can be adjusted as the child’s own brain function improves.
   
   

2. Think “medical plus developmental,” not either/or.
   As Dr. Escalona put it, you can’t simply “therapy them out of it.” Addressing gut health, nutrient status, mitochondrial function, and toxins can make therapies work better when the child is ready.
   
   

3. Measure change.
   Tools like ATEC, CGI-I, teacher rating scales, and simple height/weight curves can provide objective feedback over time.
   
   

4. Expect individual differences.
   While RCTs show clear group benefits, some children will be rapid responders, some will improve more slowly, and a small number may not respond. In a few, paradoxical reactions can be a clue (not a failure) that something else—like folate receptor antibodies, ongoing mold exposure, or severe dysbiosis—needs to be addressed.
   
   

If you’d like to explore the research behind Daily Essential Nutrients in more depth, you can visit our research hub and clinical resources on our main site, where we link directly to published studies, clinician guidelines, and getting-started protocols for families and providers.

As Dallin said during the summit:

“I come to work every day for those testimonials where it’s really changed someone’s life.”

And as Dr. Escalona added:

“At the end of the day, if we don’t do something, then nothing’s going to help.”

Broad-spectrum micronutrients aren’t a magic wand—but for many children with ADHD and autism, they may be a powerful way to support the brain and body from the ground up.

About Hardy Nutritionals®

Hardy Nutritionals® multivitamin-mineral products are powered by our proprietary NutraTek™ mineral delivery technology, which combines each mineral with specialized organic molecules—just like nature—to optimize absorption and distribution to body cells. Our flagship supplement, Daily Essential Nutrients, is widely considered to be the most research-backed micronutrient treatment.