About Us
Why These Supplements & Foods
Our selection process is based on three following criteria to
ensure it fits our goal and maximizes benefit for the DTES community:
ensure it fits our goal and maximizes benefit for the DTES community:
Safety and broad tolerability across diverse recipients
Evidence from published studies from reliable and legitimate studies which show
associations or intervention effects in relevant populations
ounder’s personal research
We also prioritize foods that are:
nutrient-dense
shelf-stable
useful for people with limited cooking/storage options
Fit local environment, such as limited exposure to sunlight, increasing the need for
Vitamin D.
Our main goal is strengthening baseline nutrition access, moving beyond simply handing out
calories.
Some key examples from our analysis of what previous research says are shown below. Because most research warrants for future studies to further verify their claims, we always prioritize broad tolerability, distributing food and supplements that are commonly consumed.
01
Vitamin B12
A study found that individuals suffering from methamphetamine dependence had
significantly lower blood vitamin B12 concentration, one of the essential nutrients related to
proper brain and nervous system function. Results also indicated that lower B12 level was
correlated with greater relapse rates and addiction severity.
02
Vitamin C
A clinical study involving individuals suffering from heroin dependence involved two groups:
a vitamin C-treated group that was provided high doses of ascorbic acid orally and a control
group. The vitamin C-treated group experienced significantly higher rates of mild withdrawal
syndrome and significantly lower rates of severe withdrawal syndrome. The results show
that such administration may improve the withdrawal syndrome which aligns with previous
studies that reported antioxidants’ potential to inhibit an endogenous opioid
peptide–degrading enzyme and increase endorphin levels.
03
Vitamin D
A trial with people on methadone maintenance treatment, a long-term, evidence based
program for opioid dependent patients to reduce withdrawal symptoms and cravings for
opioids, reported that vitamin D supplementation was shown to lead to improved scores on
multiple cognitive tests.
04
NAC
Although NAC remains an active area of research, a recent meta-analysis noted its benefits
in potentially reducing substance craving, withdrawal symptoms, and depressive symptoms.
Specifically, significant decrease in craving symptoms and increase in overall improvement
were present in the NAC treatment group when compared to the control group. The
biological plausibility suggested warrants greater attention, especially in clarifying the
understanding of mechanism.
