2005.
Awaiting revision 2008
St John's Wort
St John's Wort has been used since the middle ages
as a valuable relaxing herb. It also has long-lasting tonic
effects on the whole Nervous System.
Its main properties are:
ANTI-DEPRESSANT Well-Proven Benefits
This is what most people know St John's Wort for - it has become the product of
choice for mild to moderate depression. We examine this in detail
below.
MENOPAUSE Some Strong Evidence of Benefits St John's Wort
has proven very helpful during menopause.
Clinical Study
In a clinical study in Germany, 111 women aged from 43-65 years
were given 12 weeks treatment with St John's Wort at standard
dosage. In 75-80% of women, their menopausal symptoms diminished
or disappeared completely - an amazing result! In addition, the
St John's Wort was also reported to improve 'sexual
well-being'. (Advances in Therapy 1999 Jul- Aug;16(4):177-86)
The results of this study sound - let's be honest - a bit too good
to be true; but there must be something in them. It must be worth
trying St John's Wort if you are approaching or in the menopause.
Please let us know your experiences.
One question I'd ask would be: "Were the benefits maintained when
the women stopped taking St John's Wort?"
I suspect they were not maintained completely - but it certainly
sounds as if St John's Wort could be a good bet for reducing the
symptoms of menopause - and making you feel better, at least in the
short to medium-term.
If this is so, it would be preferable to combine it with a
herbal formula aimed more at balancing the hormone system deeper
down. In other words, aimed more at the cause of the
menopausal symptoms. Such a formula would include a balanced
mixture of herbs such as Carbenia (blessed thistle), Agnus Castus,
Dong Quai, Smilax (Sarsaparilla), Licorice, Mitchella (Squaw Vine),
and other herbs.
NERVE TONIC Very Well Respected by Herbalists
St John's Wort is a persistent, gentle nerve tonic,
boosting the whole Nervous System when taken regularly over an
extended period say for 3-6 months. If long-term stress has led to
nervous exhaustion, St John's Wort will often help, slowly but
surely, to building the energy level back up towards normal.
This long, slow building up of energy via the nervous system is
something shared by a few other valuable Western herbs, such as
Verbena (Vervain) and Scutellaria (Scullcap). The value of such
herbs is that they calm the Nervous System while they build it up.
This is an opposite effect to that of sedative drugs, which can
certainly calm the nervous system, but have no tonic powers.
After taking sedative drugs, the Nervous System is weakened, and
the Liver stressed - because it has to deal with the drugs
in the blood stream, which are treated more or less as poisons by
the body. This weakening of the liver by medicinal drugs just makes
matters worse for the poor old nerves and the emotional balance of
the body - both of which are affected tremendously by the health of
the Liver.
There is certainly a place for drugs in our 'ideal healthcare'
system - especially in emergency situations. But herbal and similar
remedies are a better answer in many - in fact, most - situations
where drugs are used today. Especially as no drugs have yet been
found which have a tonic effect on the body - they are all
debilitating. For tonics, you have to use alternative therapy.
DEPRESSION AND ST JOHN'S
WORT
On to the best known use for St John's Wort - that of helping banish
depression.
St John's Wort is generally recommended for cases of mild to
moderate depression. (There don't seem to have been any studies of
St John's Wort being used in cases of severe
depression.)
In Germany, St John's Wort has been prescribed for depression by
doctors for decades. In 1994 alone, 66 million doses of the herb
were taken.
In fact, St John's Wort is a 'quasi-drug' in that country; in
that it is packaged like a drug, produced by pharmaceutical
companies, and prescribed widely by doctors.
News of St John's Wort's benefits has slowly filtered out to the
rest of Europe so that in the UK, for example, hardly a day goes by
without an article in the papers about St John's Wort and
depression.
How Much Evidence Is
There?
Lots. Many studies have been performed where St
John's Wort has been tested against a placebo - ie a sugar tablet;
and against a standard drug widely used for depression.
The results are generally that:
- St John's Wort is considerably better than a
placebo at alleviating mild to moderate depression. In other
words, it is not just 'suggestion' that makes people taking
St John's Wort feel less depressed.
- It is equally as good, or nearly as good, as the
drug it is compared with in the studies carried out, but has
few or no side effects. This is a very important point, as
doctors - and members of the public - are very aware of the
many side effects of many common anti-depressant drugs - not
least, addiction.
- What the studies should say (but it is hard to
measure, so I am going to add it as point '3' anyway!) is
that St John's Wort actually builds up the Nervous
System - as discussed above. So, in this respect, it is
superior to anti-depressive drugs, which tend to weaken the
body. This is a vital point! These drugs often make you walk
around in a semi-catatonic state - and who wouldn't be
weakened after a few months of that? Whereas St John's Wort
has a centuries-old tradition of strengthening the Nervous
System while it reduces depression - a valuable combination
indeed.
So,
if you take drugs for depression, you are basically zapped
into 'suspended animation' for a few months, then re-emerge,
probably with less energy, to fight the battle of life again.
I know some people are delighted with a short course of drugs
for depression. But I would argue that St John's Wort would help the majority of those
with mild to moderate depression just as well - and probably
better, because of its other advantages.
This may be a bit of an over-simplification; but the general
argument is sound.
STUDIES
Where a scientific study has been carried out, it
is usually fairly dense and hard to interpret for most of us
mortals. So it is useful to see a summary of the study. This is
often provided by the team who performed the study, and is called
an scientific 'extract'. Here are links to a few scientific
extracts from studies involving St John's Wort and depression.
(NB Where a URL below is on two lines, you will probably need to
paste them into your browser text window without a line
break for the link to work. When you paste, make sure there is no
space inserted - browsers don't like 'em!)
1. www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/sajohn06.html
2.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=Pub
Med&list_uids=10647752&dopt=Abstract
3.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=Pub
Med&list_uids=10625118&dopt=Abstract
4.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=Pub
Med&list_uids=10591711&dopt=Abstract
In general, these scientific extracts support the points above.
PREPARATIONS OF ST JOHN'S WORT
Standardised Extracts
Basically, I do not like standardised extracts. I prefer whole
herbs.
What is a standardised extract?
Someone decides what the 'main active ingredient' is - out of the
dozens of components of a herb. Well, this is ridiculous for a
start. A herb is a synergistic blend of all of its components; and
the 'whole' is greater than the sum of its parts. In other words -
don't mess about with it - use the whole, natural plant.
In fact, 'standardisation' is a method used by scientific bods so
they can say - with precision - such things as:
'327 people were given an extract of xxxxxx herb, standardised to
0.05% of xxx ingredient, three times a day for 18 days, and 27%
noticed such and such happened.'
The whole Alternative Health movement is pro-holistic healthcare,
and anti-'science for science's sake'. In other words - science has
its place - but don't lets be silly about it.
A good question for those who are in favour of 'standardised
extracts' is, "You have made an extract of a herb which contains a
specified amount of one of the ingredients. Fine. But - what
have you left out of your extract, which a holistic herbalist
might prefer was left in?
I say - use the whole herb!
CAUTIONS
What do you have to be careful of when using
St John's Wort?
There have been no reported large scale reactions to St John's Wort
- but there have been a small number of reactions reported among
people taking the herb.
- Drug Interactions
There are
queries hanging over St John's Wort with regard to a number of
drugs; particularly anti-depressants, hypertensive (high blood
pressure) drugs, warfarin, AIDS medication, and the contraceptive
pill.
The concern with anti-depressants, hypertensive drugs, and warfarin
is that St John's Wort may possibly raise blood pressure, leading
to an increased chance of a stroke. With the contraceptive pill and
AIDS drugs, there is some indication that St John's Wort may reduce effectiveness of the
drugs.
It is true that there is a very long history of use of St John's
Wort in Europe - and only a tiny number of cases of strokes among
St John's Wort users have been reported. However, they are there,
and until or unless St John's Wort is cleared of all implication,
it would be wise to avoid taking this herb with any drugs at all,
including the contraceptive pill.
If you wish to switch to St John's Wort from an antidepressant drug, consult a
doctor for advice on how to achieve this safely. As a minimum,
close monitoring of blood pressure would be desirable.
Recommendation Do not take St John's Wort together with
drugs.
If changing to St John's Wort from antidepressant drugs, do so only
under the supervision of a doctor or other qualified person who is
closely monitoring your blood pressure.
- Epilepsy
It is
accepted in scientific literature that anti-depressant drugs can
cause fits in susceptible people. There have been a small number of
anecdotal reports of epileptic fits occurring in patients taking St
John's Wort.
As the herb has anti-depressant properties, it is recommended that
it be avoided where there are epileptic tendencies.
Recommendation Do not take St John's Wort if you have epilepsy, or a tendency
towards fits or seizures.
- Photosensitivity
In other words - sensitivity to light.
St John's Wort can - rarely - cause a rash when the skin is exposed
to the sun. The hypericin from St John Wort travels to the skin
where, in a few individuals, the sun changes it to an itchy
compound which causes the rash.
There are only a very small number of reported cases of this
reaction; but it does happen. Where it has happened, when the St
John's Wort has been discontinued, the rash disappears.
Recommendation If you are taking St John's Wort use extreme caution when in the sun,
and do not use a sun bed, in case you are one of the minority who
could develop photosensitivity. If you begin to develop a rash and
have been in the sun, stay in the shade and discontinue the use of
St John's Wort until the rash clears up.
- Cataract
There was a report in New Scientist recently which stated that the
photosensitive properties of the hypericin in St John's Wort could
promote cataracts in rats. There are no reports of the same
occurring in humans.
Recommendation As a precaution, the researchers recommend
that if you are in the sunshine, you should wearing 'UV-resistant'
wrap-around sunglasses, if you are taking St John's Wort. Sunlight
shining on the eyes is a cause of cataract in any case, so this is
good advice to follow whether or not you are taking St John's
Wort.
DOSAGE
The usual dosage of raw herb (ie not 'standardised extract'),
is:
Capsules
1 capsule 3 times a day.
Herbal Fluid Extract (1:1)
10-15 drops 3 times a day in
water or juice, (This form of the herb is not a standardised
extract - which is a powder. It is a liquid preparation - usually
alcoholic - where 1 litre of the liquid has been made with 1 kilo
of the herb. Hence the '1:1'.)
Herbal Tincture
1/2 teaspoon, 3 times a day in water or
juice. A herbal tincture is made with 250-350g of herb steeped in a
litre of alcohol. So it is 3-4 times weaker than the equivalent
fluid extract.
Extract standardised to 0.3% hypericin
Follow the
instructions on the pack - usually 2 or 3 capsules a day. The
advantage of a standardised extract is that the quality control is
more assured than for most preparations of the raw herb. But bear
in mind that hypericin is now thought - fairly certainly - NOT to
be one of the main active ingredients in this herb! So the fact
that a preparation is standardised for a percentage of hypericin is
irrelevant!
SUMMARY
St John's Wort is a valuable herb with a long history
of safe use in Europe.
It is valuable for:
- Mild to moderate depression,
- Symptoms associated with the menopause,
- Building up the Nervous
System.
| |
However, it appears that it can be a very active herb in some
circumstances, so we advise the following:
Do not take St John's Wort without thorough investigation
if;
- You are any taking certain drugs - namely
anti-depressants, warfarin or other blood-thinning
medication, AIDS medication, or the contraceptive pill. For a
UK government-approved list of medications to avoid, and
advice on what to do if you are already taking St John's Wort
and you are already taking one of these
medications,
- You have a tendency to suffer from any type of
fit.
- You are going to use a sun bed, or to sunbathe. Use
with caution if you live in a hot country, or if travelling
to a hot country, and discontinue the herb at the first sign
of a skin rash
developing.
|
Resources
St John's Wort herbs
Nerve
herbs
A herbal 90-day Nerve Programme
An article about St John's Wort and Menopause
------------------------
4 Recommended Detox
Methods
Many approaches to detox can work. Often, it is
just a case of which approach suits you - so you can follow it
right through. Here are 4 approaches which have been carefully
thought out.
1. Herbal 90-day Detox Diet
Programme
This programme consists of unique herbal products
for the three main detox organs: the Colon, the Liver and the
Kidneys, as well as a Detox Tea. The products
for the 3 main detox organs are available either in Capsules
or as Drops, as you prefer. (Both are just a good - Drops are
cheaper.)
This programme lasts 3 months, which is a
good length of time. You also get unlimited free support by phone
and email. You can choose to spread the cost over 3 months if
you wish.
This reputable company has been in business since
1982. ** UNLIMITED MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE WITH
THIS PRODUCT **
2. Dr Janet Hull's Detoxification
Kit.
A 'ten step detox programme'. Dr
Janet Hull cured herself after being 'written off' by
doctors. This comprehensive 6-week detox is the result of her
experiences.
There is a 90-day conditional money-back
guarantee with this kit.
3. 12 Steps to a Complete Body
Detox.
A complete approach to detox, by Calvin
Newstead. Calvin applied detox principles to himself
with tremendous success, then left a 20-year career to promote his
detox approach.
You get the 12 steps book, and valuable
information about acid/alkaline balance, candida, gluten, and
other topics. You are entitled to free lifetime
updates.
There is an 8-week unconditional money back
guarantee.
4. Detox Bath -
Plus.
This is a book detailing many well-established
detox methods founded on naturopathic principles of old;
including exercise, breathing, diet, skin brushing
and 'water cure'.
These have been used by successful
naturopaths for centuries.
There is a 60-day unconditional
money-back guarantee. |
|
|
