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Holistic Health

This tag is associated with 4 posts

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

5-HTP: Efficacy for Depression, Anxiety & Insomnia

5-HTP might be as effective for depression as Prozac, but the evidence of efficacy is unclear for both the supplement and the antidepressant pharmaceuticals. It’s possible 5-HTP might help some people with either insomnia or anxiety. But the evidence is less clear. . . . Continue reading

Low Tryptophan = Low Serotonin. Does Low Serotonin = Depression?

There’s a major controversy over whether or not depression is caused by low tryptophan and it’s consequence—low serotonin. Some researchers assert that there’s no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin. What does the science say about the causes of depression . . . Continue reading

Gut-Brain Axis: Director of Mental Health?  

There’s burgeoning evidence that the various bacterial species inhabiting our gut have an important influence on our psychological health. Based on their antidepressant and anxiolytic effects, these beneficial bacteria that inhabit our GI tract have been dubbed “psychobiotics”. Continue reading