6 March 2026
A new clinical trial suggests that vitamin and mineral supplements could help reduce severe irritability in teenagers, offering a potential alternative for families struggling with behavioural challenges.
Could vitamins help calm irritable teens?
Researchers behind the study – which involved teenagers aged between 12 and 17 – say broad-spectrum micronutrients may help with emotional regulation.
The study, published in the National Library of Medicine, was led by professors Julia J Rucklidge, Angela Sherwin, Joseph Boden and Roger Mulder.
They wrote: “Our research findings are based on the Balancing Emotions of Adolescents with Micronutrients (BEAM) trial, in which 132 unmedicated teenagers (aged 12 to 17) with moderate to severe irritability were randomly assigned to micronutrients (taken as four pills three times a day) or an active placebo for eight weeks. They were monitored monthly online by a clinical psychologist.”
The researchers explained that simply taking part in the study appeared to help some teenagers. However, the micronutrient treatment still produced stronger results across several measures.
They added: “The placebo response was high, suggesting that simply participating in the study helped many teens feel able to improve their behaviour. But micronutrients still outperformed the placebo across key clinical measures such as irritability, emotional reactivity and overall improvement. Despite this, research consistently highlights a lack of effective and accessible treatments for severely irritable youth. This suggests a significant unmet public health need.”
The biggest changes were seen among teenagers diagnosed with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, a condition linked to persistent anger and frequent emotional outbursts.
The authors explained: “We saw the strongest effects in teenagers with disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), with 64 per cent responding to micronutrients compared to 12.5 per cent on placebo. This demonstrates an unusually large effect for a psychiatric intervention.”
Researchers also tracked indicators linked to mental health risk. Around a quarter of participants reported suicidal thoughts at the start of the trial. Over time, these thoughts improved for both groups, though the improvement was greater among teenagers taking micronutrients. Self-harm behaviour also decreased during the study.
In an article published by The Conversation, the authors wrote: “These results are relevant for parents, clinicians, teachers and policymakers seeking safe and practical interventions, especially for young people who cannot access or do not respond well to existing treatments. The results also highlight important equity implications, as teens from lower-income families showed stronger responses.”
