Herbal antidepressants are becoming increasingly popular because of reduced risk of side effects and minimal, if any, withdrawal effects. But are they all they are cracked up to be?
Can nonprescription natural treatments offer the same benefits as conventional prescription medication? Is antidepressant herbal medicine valuable for treatment of depression?
It is helpful to understand what causes depression. Neurotransmitters or chemical messengers in the brain transmit information across the neurons or nerve cells. When these chemical messengers become compromised, depression can result.
In treating depression, herbal antidepressants work to strengthen weak signals by raising levels of certain neurotransmitters and act to improve processing of these signals by the neurons.
Underlying nutritional deficiencies can also aggravate depression. Your nutritional state can have a serious impact on brain functioning-in fact, some scientists feel that a diet lacking in essential nutrients can lead to serious brain diseases.
In sum, most neurological problems result from two conditions that impact the brain: chemical imbalances and nutritional deficiencies, having their genesis in
poor nutrition, environmental and food pollutants, and stress-related factors.
Antidepressant herbal medicine incorporates specific and nutritional elements that have been scientifically proven to offer substantial benefits to physical and mental health.
Natural science has uncovered methods to rebalanced nutrient intake and repair essential neurotransmitters, providing the brain with components it needs to achieve normal functioning. When this balance is restored, people think more positively and negativity and anxiety vanish.
Herbal antidepressants draw from an impressive list of ingredients to either prevent or counteract depression. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes, specialty supplements and herbal extracts, such as vitamins B1 and B6, Passionflower and Chamomile, Ginkgo Biloba and Siberian Ginseng, act respectively to combat anxiety and depression.
SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine) acts on the brain in a similar manner as prescription drugs. It can improve intellectual performance and reduce depression and is critical in the manufacturing of important brain compounds, such as neurotransmitters.
Huperzine A is an alkaloid moss from China. It improves memory, cognitive and behavioral functions, while protecting brain tissue.
5-HTP (5-hydroxytryptophan) significantly improves anxiety and depression (comparable to conventional medications). It has been clinically shown to increase production of serotonin and has been used for more than 30 years.
Phosphatidyl choline is essential in forming acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. It is beneficial for depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. It increases central neurologic activity, brain energy, short-term memory, vocabulary recollection, and mood.
As can be seen, antidepressant herbal medicine targets the brain and its systems, achieving similar effects as those obtained through use of traditional medicines, offering realistic and tangible hope for treatment of depression.
You can use herbal antidepressants
herbal antidepressants with confidence when seeking relief from troublesome symptoms.
As in all cases, it is important to discuss treatment strategies with your doctor or a nutritionally oriented physician. He can advise you in using antidepressant herbal medicine.
Demystifying causes of depression and knowing how natural remedies counter effects of brain malfunctioning, offers real hope, not hype to sufferers. Herbal antidepressants meet the challenge.
