Is St John"s Wort Good For Depression?
St John's Wort is sold in health food shops and certain pharmacies.
No prescription for it is necessary.
There are definite indications that it may affect the neurotransmitters in the brain in much the same way as the SSRI antidepressant drugs.
But is St.
John's Wort good for depression? Broadly speaking, it's been found to be of use for mild to moderate depression and of course has fewer side effects than medical drugs.
However, one problem has become apparent.
It does seem to have adverse effects on certain medicines such as anticoagulants and the contraceptive pill.
So whatever you do, before starting on a course of St John's Wort, have a word with your doctor, most especially if you're on either of these classes of medication.
Do bear in mind, though, that although it's a naturally growing plant from the genus Hypericum, it's still an outside agent that you're taking for relief of your depression, and therefore not totally ideal.
Nevertheless, a great deal of responsible research has been conducted over the years regarding the efficacy, benefits and drawbacks of this herb.
For instance, it was tested in a double-blind study consisting of 105 patients who were suffering mild to moderate depression.
By the way, let me explain that this business we hear so much about, 'double blind studies,' simply means that neither the patients nor the researchers know to whom the drug is being given, nor the placebos involved.
This makes certain that there's no collusion.
The patients consisted of both sexes, with ages ranging from 20 to 64 years.
They were all diagnosed as having neurotic depression, in other words their moods depended on their surroundings, time of day, etc.
Some would be extremely depressed in the early evening, while others would be more depressed if they entered a certain room.
However, none of them was severely depressed.
They were divided into two groups, and were monitored over a four week period.
Before the start of the study, all the patients were given a complete psychiatric evaluation.
The first group was given 300 mg.
of St.
John's Wort three times a day, while the second group received a placebo.
At the end of the four weeks, it was found that of those who'd received the St.
John's Wort, 67% responded positively to the treatment, and furthermore hadn't experienced any side effects.
Only 28% of the second group who'd been given a placebo showed any signs of improvement.
The authors of the study emphasized that only patients with mild depression were subjected to the experiment and they recommended that; "St.
John's Wort should be used as a remedy of choice.
" They stated further that there was no evidence to suggest that St.
John's Wort would be of any benefit to patients with more serious forms of depression.
No prescription for it is necessary.
There are definite indications that it may affect the neurotransmitters in the brain in much the same way as the SSRI antidepressant drugs.
But is St.
John's Wort good for depression? Broadly speaking, it's been found to be of use for mild to moderate depression and of course has fewer side effects than medical drugs.
However, one problem has become apparent.
It does seem to have adverse effects on certain medicines such as anticoagulants and the contraceptive pill.
So whatever you do, before starting on a course of St John's Wort, have a word with your doctor, most especially if you're on either of these classes of medication.
Do bear in mind, though, that although it's a naturally growing plant from the genus Hypericum, it's still an outside agent that you're taking for relief of your depression, and therefore not totally ideal.
Nevertheless, a great deal of responsible research has been conducted over the years regarding the efficacy, benefits and drawbacks of this herb.
For instance, it was tested in a double-blind study consisting of 105 patients who were suffering mild to moderate depression.
By the way, let me explain that this business we hear so much about, 'double blind studies,' simply means that neither the patients nor the researchers know to whom the drug is being given, nor the placebos involved.
This makes certain that there's no collusion.
The patients consisted of both sexes, with ages ranging from 20 to 64 years.
They were all diagnosed as having neurotic depression, in other words their moods depended on their surroundings, time of day, etc.
Some would be extremely depressed in the early evening, while others would be more depressed if they entered a certain room.
However, none of them was severely depressed.
They were divided into two groups, and were monitored over a four week period.
Before the start of the study, all the patients were given a complete psychiatric evaluation.
The first group was given 300 mg.
of St.
John's Wort three times a day, while the second group received a placebo.
At the end of the four weeks, it was found that of those who'd received the St.
John's Wort, 67% responded positively to the treatment, and furthermore hadn't experienced any side effects.
Only 28% of the second group who'd been given a placebo showed any signs of improvement.
The authors of the study emphasized that only patients with mild depression were subjected to the experiment and they recommended that; "St.
John's Wort should be used as a remedy of choice.
" They stated further that there was no evidence to suggest that St.
John's Wort would be of any benefit to patients with more serious forms of depression.
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