(NaturalNews) The herbal supplement St. John’s Wort has long been promoted as an effective alternative for treating depression. Unfortunately, St. John’s Wort has proven ineffective for people suffering severe clinical depression. In fact, the results of a recent study revealed that St. John’s Wort is completely ineffective at treating severe depression. There is another effective natural alternative, however, and it is called SAM-E (S-adenosylmethionine).
Symptoms of Depression:
•Feelings of sadness and emptiness
•Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, guilt, or worthlessness
•Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
•Excessive sleeping or insomnia
•Fatigue
•Lack of energy
•Difficulty concentrating and in decision-making
•Headaches or digestive disorders
•Crying and tearfulness
•Overeating or under eating
In the aforementioned study, St. John’s Wort was tested for eight weeks on 200 patients who were suffering a degree of depression that made daily functioning difficult. St. John’s Wort was no more effective than a placebo.
In a significant number of previous studies, however, St. John’s Wort was found effective for mild to moderate cases of depression. There is some evidence that points to the fact that St. John’s Wort can help with some symptoms of depression. In Germany, in fact, St. John’s Wort is available by prescription.
There have been questions about the quality of some of this research, though. One such criticism cites a lack of studies using a placebo and another drug such as Zoloft. Zoloft is classified as an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and these are commonly used drugs for treating depression. These newer drugs also have numerous side-effects, however, and while many claim to be “non-habit forming,” this does not seem to be the case.
To satisfy these criticisms about the St. John’s Wort studies, researchers gave participating patients either St. John’s Wort, Zoloft, or a placebo for up to 26 weeks. When the study concluded, researchers found that neither the prescription drug nor the St. John’s Wort was more effective than the placebo. Almost 33% of the placebo patients showed a large response to their treatment and this was compared to approximately 24% of both the Zoloft group and the St. John’s Wort group.….read more here…
