The supplement industry is a billion-dollar industry. If you google “supplement for anxiety” about 1,550,000,000 results populate in 0.77 seconds. How in the world could anyone compete with that market, and why would they be motivated to add products to a clearly over-saturated marketplace? The answer is that I already have been using these ingredients in clinical practice for a long time, and there is nothing out there exactly like the products we have created, especially with children in mind. I see them working in real-time, over and over. Let's be clear and upfront- these are not medicines. They are “dietary supplements” which means they are food products and they are not to cure, diagnose, or treat anyone with a medical disease or illness. This is the governments way of allowing us to produce them, just as long as we are clear as to what they are.

BUT- I use supplements as part of my patient management. In my functional medicine private practice, this is what people come to see me the most for. Not for me to reach for my RX pad and get them started on Prozac, but for me to dig deep and figure out what their family member needs in order for them to reach balance as naturally as possible. These dietary supplements are part of my toolbox. I reach for my RX pad 15% of the time and for combinations of supplements the rest of the time. Moms typically don't want to use Vyvanse (which is an amphetamine and has a black box warning on it for abuse and dependence) as first-line therapy for their 6-year-old child with ADHD. Moms want to know what their child needs in order to hopefully avoid controlled drugs altogether, or at least delay the need to even discuss them because their child is blurting out in class and can’t follow 2-step directions.

When I go into our local compounding pharmacies in Austin, Texas, you will find me cursing the supplement isles and scrutinizing labels. What ingredients did they choose? What is the dose, what is the frequency, how was it made, how will it taste, and what other ingredients did they put in it? Products are not created equally, and often they are created in the cheapest way possible (so the manufacturer can rightfully make a profit). But this means they often have cheap ingredients, poor product quality testing, and not enough of an ingredient to have a therapeutic effect. My BIGGEST pet peeve of all is that they are also often not created by clinicians that are using them in practice. Some of the most famous TV doctors out there, don't actually see patients, and they just put their name and label on someone else’s product and claim it as their own. It's inauthentic and disingenuous, and it makes managing patients about profit and smoke in mirrors. That is not me. That will never be me.

My promise to you is always to bring the most science-based and effective tools to market that I am using in my practice and I am seeing results with. I’m not a TV doctor, hiding behind a huge marketing budget with people writing my blogs and creating content for me. I am authentic. I am ethical, I am a lifelong student of science, a partner in families' health journeys, and I truly care about people getting better. My waiting list today at Neuronutrition Associates is about 2 years… that list does not bring me pride or inflate my ego, it brings me sadness. I have to take care of myself; therefore, it's limited how much I can also take care of others. Neuro Nutrients is a way for me to reach people on that list, and people across the country, that want to explore natural supplements that have the best chance of working, because they are based on science and real experience by someone who is actively practicing.

- Dr. Emily Gutierrez, DNP, C-PNP, IFMCP, PMHS, CCN

Doctor of Nursing Practice, Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Institute of Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner, Certified Primary Care Mental Health Specialist, and Certified Clinical Nutritionist