St. John's Wort

In recent months, there has been some 'bad' press regarding the herb St. John's Wort. These reports have stated that St. John's Wort should not be sold over the counter and only on prescription, why should the Department of Health restrict a health product, a natural herb to us the British public!

Only in the last few months has there been extended well research studies on this herb, the latest by researchers in Germany and published in the British Medical Journal, a well respected journal. They found the plant extract was more effective, especially as patients were more likely to keep taking it, due to the lack of side effects.

In this study at Giessen University more than 300 patients with mild depression were treated with the herb or Imipramine for six weeks. Helmut Woelk concluded that both treatments were effective but 63 per cent on Imipramine suffered side effects.

These results with the many others that have taken place, especially in Europe and America, again prove the effectiveness of this herb, not only for mild depression but also boosting the immune system. It is an effective astringent that promotes wound healing and has antiviral properties. New studies are in progress at the London University.

Although the publicity in the British press advised many people to stop taking this herb because it prevented other prescription drugs from working properly (i.e. prescription pill, depression -Prozac), it is still one of the top selling herbs worldwide with sales of over £3.75 billion, that's a lot of people!!