Nutritional Supplement Reviews by Real People Like You

Then I read about the remarkable results gained by people using the ancient herb St. John's Wort, also known as Hypericum Perforatum, with the active ingredient being hypericin. Hypericin has been proven in study after study to relieve all the same symptoms as anti-depressant drugs but without the potential side effects. It does so by boosting the brain's neurotransmitters to elevate mood and promote a feeling of well-being.

I bought a 100 capsule bottle of 375 mg. St. John's Wort by Nature's Way in my local health food shop. At only $14.99 per bottle, it certainly was a bargain compared to the medication's prescription price. I chose this particular brand after noting the milligram amount used on the test subjects in the published studies. Other brands offered as little as 100 mg. per tablet, which I figured meant taking more capsules per day. The literature on the bottle advises using the herb for at least two months before maximum benefits will be felt.

Well, I felt an immediate lightening of my tension and irritability the very first day I started the regimen. I began taking only one capsule a day until the very end of my cycle, which always brought the worst depression and tension...then I increased the dosage to two capsules, twice a day...and sailed through that week with more energy and less tension than I'd ever dreamed possible. On the days when PMS is not a problem, I take nothing at all. I would highly recommend this product to anyone suffering from mild to moderate depression and tension. It's changed my life, and consequently, the lives of those around me. People notice the difference. It's like getting half my life back again. That's why I wanted to share my experience, in the hope that someone else will find there is light at the end of the tunnel of depression.

Regards,

Prof. Plant Biochemistry

I want to respond briefly to the review of St. John's Wort, or more specifically on herbal and nutritional treatment for depression. The preponderance of the outcome research at this time has supported the view that chemical treatment of depression, (even the use of powerful pharmacological agents, much less herbals) is no better than basic cognitive-behavioral support or even just finding a good friend to talk to. Except in the darkest and most severe and intractable of major depressions, where it appears we need something to jolt us out of the hopelessness trap, whether it might be drugs, ECT, or even surgery.

For a striking and unexpected perspective on why people do sometimes get exceptional and unexpected results from antidepressants, refer to the current debate on the American Psychological Association's web page. There, they discuss the recent research by Irving Kirsch and colleagues purporting that most of the effects of certain antidepressants may actually be attributable to "placebo" or expectation effects (http://www.apa.org/releases/debate.html).

There are many things that respond usefully to placebo effects, and to generally sound nutrition, but depression seems to be one of the most responsive, especially if it is not too severe. Whatever the actual effectiveness of St. John's Wort (which is not really well established yet, but is probably "non-zero"), it is unlikely to be nearly as effective as a good human support system, proper balance of foods, and a few simple changes from pessimistic to optimistic thinking habits (for example, see University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Selligman's "Learned Optimism."). There is a wealth of research data supporting this so far, except, as I mentioned, in the case of very severe chronic depression.

If there are supplements that do aid in treating depression, they would probably include not only Hypericium, but also various stimulants and bioenergetics that help give some feeling of energy to lift a depressed person out of their inactivity. Sometimes, as with PMS, there are some more specific nutritional approaches, concentrated use of serotonin precursors and well-timed carbohydrates to alter hormone balance just enough to give the sufferer a feeling of energy and control, giving her more biological freedom to change her mind set and thinking patterns during that difficult time.

Just as an aside, I think most of the use of supplements adheres to this principle to some degree. Most don't really work reliably at all, and they few that do can probably attribute much of their effectiveness to other changes being made at the same time in more basic things like stress reduction, changes in bad habits, activity levels, and nutrition. One of the most important and least acknowledged principles is that any effect at all, or even just successfully adhering to a plan, tends to give people the feeling that they have more control than they previously expected.

For example, just realizing that you have the power to stop and think a half an hour before eating, take a few pills and a glass of water, and then eat more sensibly that you ordinarily would. That gives many of us a tremendous new sense of power, even if the pills turn out to have no active function in the body. Or, to borrow a trick from a famous hypnotist, getting people to change at all, even in the "wrong" direction, gets them to realize that they have the power to change themselves by their actions. Many of the bodybuilding supplements can attribute some positive effect to this increased sense of being able to control or influence some aspect of our training.

I guess the large St. John's Wort study currently going on by the FDA should help shed light on this. I have read many articles about several studies done in Germany, the UK, and the US that support the claim that St John's Wort is effective in mild to moderate depression and this is the first article that I have read to refute these findings. I also read that there are about 8 million tablets per year prescribed by physicians in Germany - are all these people simply experiencing a placebo effect? The precursor chemicals sound interesting but are there any studies that indicate that these are more effective than St John's Wort? One problem is that any study can have bias and I would suspect that psychiatrists would have very different views than psychologists for obvious reasons and we need more studies like the one being conducted by the FDA to help sort this out.

In any event I think it would be wise to consult a physician before discontinuing any medication because it might be thought to be only a placebo effect. I don't want to get into a who's right and who's wrong thing. I just think that it is better to err on the side of caution and reserve judgment until more studies are done.

As for myself, the St John's Wort seems to work and since there are no side effects and no reported deaths in over 2500 years of use, I will continue to use it until someone can reasonably prove that I an throwing money away.

The APA (American Psychological Assn.) has a vested interest in saying that drugs don't work for depression, that only "talking" (i.e., therapy) helps. Remember, they can't prescribe drugs -- yet. The idea that you could actually forego paying $200 an hour to a shrink and get the same results or better from a $10 bottle of herbs scares the bejeesus out of them. Well, guys -- the gig is up. Also, the FDA is highly untrustworthy. These are the same fools who banned diet pills on the basis of EXTREMELY faulty studies and the threat of lawsuits by greedy lawyers. I say SJW is empowerment in a bottle. No shrinks, no FDA. From what I've heard, it's great stuff and I aim to buy some myself!

I have heard that there are some brands that have been tested, and some that have not. I am wondering WHICH brand(s) are the one(s) that have been tested and are known to have positive affects? I don't want to buy an "off-brand", only to find out it doesn't have the right ingredients to work the way it should. I would appreciate the information.