Friday, October 10, 2008

St. Johns Wort for Depression


The bright yellow flowers of the St. John’s wort plant are full of an oily red substance called hypericin.

If you have St. John’s Wort growing nearby you can see the little red spots in the plant (hence the perforations in the name Hypericum perfoliatum), now roll the flowers between your fingers to release the red oils and see the medicine first hand! The red oily hypericin is the active constituent of Hypericum perfoliatum.

This herb has been highly studied in many double blind research trials and shown to have significant effects similar to prescription anti-depressants. St. John’s Wort has also been shown to have a lower risk of side effects than conventional anti-depressants.

THIS HERB SHOULD NOT BE COMBINED WITH OTHER MEDICATIONS! The reason for this, is that it activates the liver’s cytochrome p450 detoxification pathway and will metabolize drugs at a faster rate, thus moving them out of your system before they likely can have their therapeutic effect. This is why we don’t combine St. John’s wort and birth control pills. I find it interesting that St. John’s Wort works so well for depression and is also such a great detoxifying agent. According to Chinese Medicine most depressed people have “sluggish livers” and thus the liver/bowel meridians are typically treated. St. John’s wort should NOT be used with prescription anti-depressants as it has a weak MAOI and SSRI effect similar to the standard activity of anti-depressants and thus may cause adverse effects. Standard dose of St. John’s Wort for those not on any other medications, is 300 mg THREE times daily of the 0.3% standardized extract.

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DISCLAIMER:

This website is intended for educational purposes only. Read our full disclaimer. Always work with your physician for proper care and supervision. I strictly advise AGAINST combining herbs or natural therapies (aside from vitamins, minerals, or fish oil) with any form of anti-depressants. Although it is occasionally done, most naturopathic physicians, MD’s, and psychiatrists agree that until we have research demonstrating efficacy and safety herbs and natural anti-depressants with similar mechanisms to prescription drugs should not be simultaneously used. Also, although these medicines are “natural” they are still medicines. Please do not choose to discontinue your natural medicines without the advice of your physician, someone should be overseeing your care. Depression is complicated to sort out. Please do not try to do it alone. Someone needs to be documenting your mood fluctuations as well as when you start and stop specific therapies. Never make any changes to your health without first consulting with your physician. Have your physician check for drug interactions, and always be cautious when combining natural medicines and drugs for depression as the life threatening condition "Serotonin Syndrome" may occur. Work directly with a physician in regards to your bi-polar or depression.