*courtesy of the AAMA website*
The side-effects of taking anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs can make worrying reading. They include addiction, adverse behavioral changes, heart palpitations and loss of sex drive.
For many people the option of a natural and safe alternative is extremely appealing. Herbs have long been used in other cultures to help control anxiety, tension, depression and related sleep problems, but now scientists are examining them to discover exactly why they are so effective.
One of the herbs we know most about, and is most immediately effective, is kava kava, whose heart-shaped leaves have been chewed or brewed into a drink by Polynesians, for their calming properties, for at least 2,000 years. It is dubbed 'natural Valium' for its feel-good properties.
While studying for his PhD in Britain George Marakis found he kept on panicking while trying to study. Worried that this would have a bad effect on his results he confided in his tutor.
He suggested that the talented student try kava kava. Speaking to the British newspaper The Independent he said:
"The effect was almost immediate. I began to feel relaxed, alert and able to concentrate and take in the information I was studying. This enhanced my confidence and even had the effect of normalizing my nervous bowel problems."
Marakis is now pursuing his post-doctoral work on diabetes.
The active compounds in kava kava are kava lactones and kava pyrones, and that it is effective for generalized anxiety disorder, where anxiety is severe enough to interfere with work.
A recent review in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology concluded that kava was warranted as a treatment option for anxiety. The active compounds appear to work on the amygdala, a chickpea-sized organ in the brain, which is involved in a complex range of psychophysical responses.
St John’s wort is nicknamed herbal Prozac. This herb is thought to act in the same way as some antidepressants by enhancing the effect of the neurotransmitter, serotonin, in the brain. It has a long history of use.
Reviews of trials have found this herb to be more effective than SSRI (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitor) drugs, such as sertraline (Lustral), as well as tricyclic antidepressants, such as imipramine.
It was also found to have fewer side-effects when used for mild-to-moderate depression. Side-effects of SSRIs, but not St John’s wort, commonly include sexual dysfunction, although it can take six-to-eight weeks before a positive effect on depression by the herb is felt.
One of the rare side-effects of St John’s wort is an increase in sensitivity to light. This may also explain why it is effective for treating SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) related depression in the winter.
Dr Ann Walker, a senior lecturer in human nutrition at Reading University in the UK and is a registered medical herbalist, says that herbs can be incredibly useful when bought over the counter, but it helps to get the expert opinion of a medical herbalist.
Herbal specialists will often recommend combining types of herb: the reason being that specific combinations can be put together to suit individual conditions.
One very real advantage of combining herbs is that results can be achieved with smaller doses, thus avoiding any potential side-effects of high doses.
In Germany 70 per cent of doctors prescribe herbal remedies. German doctors have pioneered the use of herbs that are classified and listed, and there are official preparations which are prescribed by doctors.
German observers are quick to point out that the quality control problems that have effected the US could have been avoided with tighter regulations.
Always stop and look at what you are taking. Never be ashamed to ask questions about it. Your practitioner should always gladly accommodate you in your quest for better health.
