One form of alternative medicine is herbal remedies. Some of these do help, but you have to be very careful because some will not work and some have very bad side effects. One herb that is fairly well known but doesn't work is St. John's Wort, which has been used for centuries to treat mental disorders and nerve pain. Anciently, it was used as a sedative, treatment for malaria, and a balm for wounds, burns, and insect bites. Today, it is still used to treat mild to moderate depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders. In 2002, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the alternative medicine branch of the National Institutes of Health, did a study on St. John's Wort and found that, in treatment of patients with major depression of a moderate level, the herb was no more effective than a placebo. Side effects of St. John's Wort include dry mouth, dizziness, gastrointestinal symptoms, increased sensitivity to sunlight, and fatigue. It can also decrease the effectiveness of many other medicines, such as the HIV drug indinavir, cyclosporine (used to help prevent organ transplant rejection), and birth control pills. The studies done are not 100% conclusive, but the current NIH findings show that St. John's Wort isn't worth using as an antidepressant. For more information, you can visit http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/stjohnswort/, the official government site on the study.

Article by Alex Heimbigner