Guest Author - Carolyn Chambers Clark, ARNP, EdD

Are you feeling depressed or anxious? This article provides some alternatives to traditional medical approaches to share with your health care providers.

A meeting of physicians in La Jolla, California in March, 2004 provided evidence supporting the use of alternative treatments such as dietary supplements in evidence-based practice cosponsored by the Scripps Clinic and the University of California, San Diego. The speakers, all physicians, reviewed the data behind the claims for many supplements, warned about products known to have harmful effects and reported on some emerging supplements that show promise.

This article examines the information presented for alternative treatments for depression and anxiety. Dr. Scott Shannon, a physician at the McKee Center for Holistic Medicine in Loveland, Colorado, discussed the placebo-controlled studies for SAMe (5-hydroxytryptophan) and St. John's wort. He said they were both effective remedies for depression. SAMe is "as good as anything we have," Dr. Shannon said. As early as the l980s, studies demonstrated it usefulness compared to imipramine. The pharmaceutical agents currently being prescribed for depression are no more effective than imipramine, he said, they just have fewer side effects. Dr. Shannon concluded that the data on SAMe is still valid. SAMe has a mildly sedating effect that is usually prescribed in doses of 50-400 mg a day. According to Dr. Shannon, it acts quickly and appears to be safe and well tolerated.

The alternative treatment, St. John's wort, relieves mild to moderate depression but is ineffective against a major depression. It can interact with other drugs, so Dr. Shannon cautioned against it use in combination with other drugs, chiefly warfarin, digoxin, cyclosporine and theophylline.

Randomized, clinical trials have also shown that another alternative treatment, a dietary supplement named inositol, has also proved to be effective against depression and anxiety, Dr. Shannon said.

NOTE: Inositol is found in the following foods: wheat germ, oranges, grapefruit, watermelon, peas, cantaloupes, whole grain breads and cereals, molasses, nuts, bulgar wheat, lima beans, oysters, peaches, lettuce and brown rice. If you're depressed or anxious, try adding these foods to your daily diet.

Kava, an herb from the South Pacific, has also proven itself to be a powerful alternative treatment for anxiety. Dr. Shannon noted that it can create liver problems if used for more than 3 months, but is effective.

Sources:

Macready, N. Evidence helps clarify alternative med options, Clinical Psychiatry News, March, 2004.

Clark, C.C. Food sources of vitamins and minerals. Wellness Practitioner, New York: Springer, pp. 105-107.

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