Effective & Trusted Medications Guide

Naturally-occurring and Herb-based Remedies for Depression

Every year, approximately 20 million adults in the United States suffer from Depression. It can strike anybody at any time… However, severe and prolonged feelings of sadness do not necessarily compel depressed people to get off the couch and go seek medical assistance, although the majority can be helped with adequate treatment. It’s crucial to realize Depression IS a serious illness and no self-help and/or self-treatment is recommended.

Note that Depression can also be a symptom generated by a different health condition, such as anemia or hypothyroidism. If you are currently undergoing any kind of treatment and taking any kind of medication and consider adding anti-depressants to the list – do not stop unless your doctor says otherwise.

Below is presented the list of 9 natural and herbal remedies commonly used to treat depressive states.

1. St. John’s Wort – (Hypericum perforatum) – is a yellow-flowering herb that grows wild in American meadows and is cultivated commercially in some regions of South Eastern Europe. It has been used for ages in folkloric medicine to treat sadness, anxiety, nervousness and insomnia.

Scientific background The conclusive results of over 20 recent clinical trials allow to state with certainty that St. John’s Wort herb produces a noticeably positive effect as compared to a placebo, is no less effective than any worthy antidepressant for mild to moderate depression available on the pharmaceutical market and has a benefit of not evoking as much side effects as chemical-based drugs.
However, same studies contraindicated it for treatment of major depression due to insufficient effectiveness.

Where to buy and how to take and what to expect? St. John’s Wort is distributed at drugstores, health food stores and online pharmacies in the form of pills, capsules, tinctures (liquid extracts) and tea (infusions).
It may take up to 4-6 weeks for St. John’s Wort to manifest its efficacy to the fullest. The herb has a quite narrow range of mild effects such as dizziness, indigestion, dry mouth and fatigue. St. John’s Wort is also known to somewhat increase photosensitivity, so extra protection of skin and eyes is strongly recommended.

Precautions Pregnant and breast-feeding women children and people suffering from bipolar disorder, kidney and/or liver disease should avoid using any kind of antidepressants, including St. John’s Wort.

1 Warning concerning St. John’s Wort’s drug interaction field!
When taken alone St. John’s Wort causes no inconveniences and concerns whatsoever. However, it can adversely affect the effectiveness of some prescription and ovc (over-the-counter) drugs, such as antidepressants, organ rejection preventers in post-transplant patients, drugs to treat HIV-induced infections and AIDS as well as oral contraceptives.

2. Folic Acid – which also goes by the name ‘folate’ is a type of the water-soluble vitamin B… meaning it dissolves in water, excretes leftovers through urine and, therefore, a non-stop supply of it into the body is indispensable. Lack of vitamin B is often the case with depressed people.

Scientific background: Harvard University Researchers discovered that low folate levels in depressed people were the reason for a weakened response to antidepressant treatment. Therefore, taking additional folic acid in supplement form can heighten the effectiveness of antidepressants.

Sources: Folate occurs naturally in different foods but is also available as a dietary supplement. Among most common eatable sources of folic acid are green leafy vegetables, fruits, beans and fortified grains.
Apart from food, folic acid can also be procured from the B-complex vitamin supplement.
Lack of vitamin B is one of the most widespread vitamin deficiencies due to poor diet, chronic health issues and frequent use of certain medications such as birth control pills and aspirin.

3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids – are unsaturated fatty acids crucial for proper brain functioning. The human body does not produce omega-3s on its own, so they should be regularly acquired through nutritional intake.

Sources: Among most common and richest food sources of Omega-3 fatty acids are cold water fish, such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, albacore, herring, anchovies, lake trout and tuna fish.

Scientific background: Studies insisted that the lack of Omega-3 fatty acids contributes its mite into developing deep depressive states. To compare, in Japan – a country with elevated fish consumption - the depression rate is significantly lower than in the North American continent. Japanese people are 10 times happier and 10 times less depressed than the North Americans.
These studies suggest the idea that a combination of omega-3’s and antidepressants may turn out to be more effective in the long run than the use of antidepressants alone.

Benefits: The advantage of fish oil capsules over the natural fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids lies in avoiding the consumption of too much mercury, PCBs and other health-unfriendly chemicals found abundantly in fish. Most dietary supplement manufacturers filter and purify their fish oil prior to converting it into fish oil pills. Therefore, all of the harmful chemicals are removed.

Buying and Storage Tips: You can find and purchase fish oil capsules in drugstores, health food stores and online pharmacies. On most brands’ storage conditions you will read the ‘Keep in the fridge’ line. If complying with this simple recommendation - you will prevent the oil from going rancid. When comparison-shopping between brands look for EPA and DHA components. They are key active components for helping deal with depression.

Precautions and Safety Measures: As for the undesirable drug interactions, avoid taking fish oil supplements when on blood-thinning medications such as aspirin and warfarin. It may result in somewhat troubling side effects involving indigestion and even bleeding.
Also, do not take fish oil supplements in the 2-weeks long pre- or post- surgical period.
And 1 last purely practical recommendation: in order to avoid the nasty fishy aftertaste try taking the capsules just before the meal.

4. 5-HTP - is the short version for ‘5-hydroxytryptophan’ – a naturally-occurring amino acid produced in the human body and intermediating between tryptophan, which is an essential amino acidic component of protein necessary for growth, and the crucial brain chemical serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter. Not quite serotonin but not tryptophan anymore.

When and why should you consider taking extra 5-HTP? 5-HTP in dietary supplement form is believed to raise serotonin levels in the body and is recommended for use whenever serotonin deficiency has been detected. Because if such lack of a critical component is ignored and left pending for a long time - excessive weight, sugar and carbohydrate cravings, depression episodes, frequent headaches and even nagging muscle pains are likely to occur.

Benefits: Using 5-HTP for depression is only recommended as an alternative treatment option to therapy with conventional chemical-based antidepressant drugs. But never as an add-on “paragraph” to the already specified and followed treatment scheme! Do not combine!
Besides, 5-HTP is believed to be effective whenever and wherever there is a hopeless case of total unresponsiveness to standard antidepressants.
Among other 5-HTP benefits is the lower risk of developing serious adverse effects as compared to chemical-based intrusive medications.

Scientific opinion: The expert assessment of 5-HTP anti-depression properties is somewhat two-fold. Some regard it as a new-age anti-depressant, others as lacking evidence to mark it as safe. More research is needed in order to claim unanimity.

5. SAM-e (pronounced “sammy”) – is the short version for ‘S-adenosyl-L-methionine’ – a synthetic (man-made) form of a naturally-occurring in humans compound generated by interaction of methionine, which is an essential amino acid, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the energy transporter found in all body cells.

Benefits: SAM-e is believed to boost the levels of serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters and, thus, aid in managing depression.

Scientific opinion: Clinical studies have witnessed SAM-e to be more effective in treating depressive states as compared to a placebo.

Where to buy? On the North American continent, SAM-e is available as an OVC (over-the-counter) dietary supplement in health food stores, in local drugstores and online pharmacies. The capsules are supposed to be enteric-coated in order to absorb maximally.

The costly price of SAM-e does not scare away the average consumer and the supplement is still considered one of the most efficacious and worthy remedies for depression.

6. Diet - sticking to a few important diet recommendations may help you if not get rid of a long-standing depression but at least prevent developing one.

Eat Less Sweets The tricky part with being a sweets-addict is allowing your mood to depend on the quantity of cakes & candies you get to swallow during the day. Whenever you have a bite off of a chocolate bar – blood sugar levels temporarily jump up and make you feel happy emotionally contented… but not for a long time! As soon as the blood sugar levels drop – you find yourself in a mood that is way worse than the initial one.
Learn to feel happy about yourself without any sweets-doping. As a matter of fact, there is an enormous pleasure in staying healthy and eating healthy food. You’ll be proud of yourself and more positive than ever!

Avoid Alcohol & Caffeine The tricky part with the consumption of alcoholic beverages and caffeinated drinks is that both of them eventually lead to a downfall mood. Alcohol provides temporary relaxation and caffeine – a temporary energy boost. Both are short-lasting, both can amplify mood swings, provoke anxious or depressive states and insomnia.

Vitamin B6 is critical to the production of moon-elevating neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. Normally, vitamin B6 deficiency is not encountered. However, it can sometimes be detected in people taking drugs for tuberculosis, oral contraceptives or undergoing hormone replacement therapy.

Magnesium is also indispensable for the production of mood-enhancing serotonin neurotransmitter. Nutritional habits of most people are not enough magnesium-oriented these days. A diet rich in legumes, whole grains, nuts and green vegetables will provide the sufficient supply of magnesium. Also note that too much stress depletes magnesium.

7. Exercise – Regular workout sessions is a perfect method to get rid of the accumulated stress, shake off depressive thoughts and better up the mood.

For instance, intensive aerobic-like exercising launches the release of mood-elevating chemicals in the brain and reduces the amount of stress hormones.
The least and the easiest you could do to chase away the blues is take a 30-minutes walk outside every morning at wake-up time. 5 days a week.

Important! Make sure to choose something you enjoy doing, a pleasurable active passtime – be it dancing classes, the gym, gardening or tennis playing.

8. Light Therapy – the depressing ambience of snowy, day-darker winter months and gloomy, colourless weather may be blown over by simply getting enough sunlight. Seasonal mood changes, especially in big, stressful cities - are a quite common happening nowadays…

A brief exposure to sunlight in the morning will help perfectly regulate your body’s sleep/wake-up cycle. Each time you go out into the sunlight, the production and release of serotonin, a brain chemical that positively influences our mood, is switched on. During winter times, when days get shorter and nights get longer, when there is less sunlit hours – serotonin levels can drop and feelings of fatigue and blues can follow. Sometimes those can develop into a more serious condition called Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
A brief walk outdoors every morning is the most simple and accessible way to increase your exposure to sunlight. Just apply some ultraviolet protector onto the skin and go!

9. Other Natural Remedies

· Yoga

· Acupuncture

· Flower Remedies