St Johns Wort

Historically St John's wort is well know and its medical use started over 2400 years ago.

St John's Wort is an alternative to taking prescribed antidepressants.  It is well researched into the effects that it has in treating depression, acting like antidepressants by  inhibiting the  uptake of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline (norepinephrine).

On 7 March 2005 a team of German researchers found that St John's wort as effective as anti-depressant Paroxetine AKA Seroxat with fewer side effects according to a report in the British Medical Journal. "Our results support the use of St John's wort as an alternative to standard anti-depressants in moderate to severe depression, especially as it is well tolerated," co-author Meinhard Kieser said. The study comparing the herb with paroxetine - also known as Seroxat - was undertaken by Willmar Schwabe Pharmaceuticals of Karlsruhe and the Institute for Medical Research Management and Biometrics in Nuremberg.   http://www.hbcprotocols.com/sjw-paroxetine.html

You should not use St John's wort if you are:

-severely depressed; the herb only seems to have a positive effect on mild to moderate depression. If you are severely depressed, always seek the advice of your GP

-already using anti-depressants like Prozac or lithium

-photosensitive (extremely sensitive to sunlight)

-pregnant or breast feeding

-taking the contraceptive pill, as it's thought it can make the pill less effective

-taking blood-thinning medication (anti-coagulants) such as warfarin, as it can undermine the effect of the anti-coagulant

For more information on St Johns Wort visit the following sites for more information:

http://www.hypericum.com

http://www.all-natural.com/hyp-1.html

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/stjohnswort.html

St John's wort is easily available in British health food shops and chemists. You can usually buy it as:

-liquid extract

-tincture

-dried herb

-tablets

Where to BUY online:

GOLDSHIELD HEALTHCARE http://www.egoldshield.com/csp/gsh/egoldshield/index.csp?Preq=results.csp?search=wort&Media=G378AW

HEALTHSPAN  http://www.healthspan.co.uk/shop/product.aspx?id=WORT

Some medical professionals believe that St John's wort should be made a prescription only drug, as is now the case in Ireland. The herb was widely available in Ireland until early January 2000, when the Irish Medicines Board ordered it to be removed from shop shelves with the reasoning that any product on the market that makes medicinal claims requires authorisation.