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Nutritional Supplements

This category contains 31 posts

Do Tart Cherries Improve Sleep?

Sweet and tart cherries improved both sleep quality and quantity, some studies show. With effects rivaling melatonin and valerian, tart cherry extended total sleep time by a whopping 84-minutes, a result that is better than most sleeping pills, one small study showed. All that and superb health benefits! Continue reading

Kava for Insomnia, Anxiety, Depression: Risks versus Benefits

For thousands of years kava has been used to relieve anxiety, stress and insomnia. More recently there’s been a realization that some people who take kava might face significant health risks. And there’s no way to predict who could be one of a small number of people harmed by kava. Continue reading

Is Valerian Effective for Depression?

A valerian-St. John’s wort combination herbal supplement was linked to a more rapid improvement in depressive symptoms. Learn about other depression remedies that are more reliable and can break the vicious cycle that perpetuates depression. Continue reading

Plant Valium: Is Valerian Effective for Anxiety?

Some studies show valerian is as effective as Valium and others show it is no better than a sugar pill. Evidence suggests it’s safer than drugs like Valium. Effectiveness is impacted by how it’s prepared. To find out how Ashwagandha, CBD, kava and other anxiety treatments compare to valerian Continue reading

How effective is valerian for insomnia?

While valerian can improve subjective sleep quality, products containing multiple herbs may work as well as sleep drugs like Ambien. But such combinations pose additional safety risks. Some valerian products may be more efficacious than others. Valerian may help some people more than others.
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Insomnia, Anxiety & Depression: Is Valerian Effective?

The weight of the evidence shows valerian improves sleep, When used short term and in appropriate doses, the herb is likely safer than its pharmaceutical counterparts. Cognitive Therapy for Insomnia is a side-effect free treatment that is more effective than anything that can be swallowed. Continue reading

St. John’s Wort: Getting its Benefits without the Drawbacks

St. John’s wort may fight depression by modulating cortisol, calming stress, extinguishing inflammation, boosting neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, increasing tryptophan and normalizing melatonin. But there are more powerful ways to heal depression that do all those things and more. Continue reading

St. John’s Wort: Backyard Weed as Potent as Prozac

This mood-boosting herb that can be found growing in your backyard is shown in studies to be as effective as a variety of different types of pharmaceutical antidepressants including tricyclics like amitriptyline, SSRIs like Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft as well as other types of antidepressant medications. Continue reading

Depression, Anxiety & Insomnia: Is St. John’s Wort Effective?

St. John’s wort is as effective as pharmaceutical antidepressants like Prozac for the treatment of mild-to-moderate depression. And it has fewer side-effects than the drugs. A key drawback of St. John’s wort is its problematic and potentially dangerous interactions with numerous drugs. Continue reading

5-HTP: Are antidepressants effective, and if so why?

5-HTP might be as effective as SSRI antidepressants like Prozac. But that might not be saying much. Most (if not all) of the benefits of SSRIs “are due to the placebo effect,” a re-analysis of FDA studies found. Antidepressants and 5-HTP may work in ways that don’t involve boosting serotonin. Continue reading