The North Shore

Holistic Times

Nature's Prozac

Alternative ways of alleviating depression

Joseph Smith, Proprietor of MindWorks, Beverly, offers another alternative to treating depression and the effects of stress in the form of an amino acid, vitamin and mineral combination called Restores(tm). This product, claims its manufacturer Quest IV Health, showers the brain with the nutrients it needs for proper balance, which can become depleted by stress and addictions. Smith, a distributor of Restores, said it worked for him and now he hopes he can provide people with another alternative to prescription medication. Callie Currier, MA, from Newburyport, swears by a technique she recently became familiar with called Thought-Field Therapy.tm This treatment works by utilizing some of the same points that acupuncture uses, but is non-invasive. In TFTtm, pressure is applied to the specified points and, according to Currier, "the depression is simply gone." Currier said the effectiveness rate is between 85-90 percent and she herself is a success story. "I'd been depressed my whole life until I tried this," she said. The premise is that when an unpleasant thought comes up in your conscious mind, maybe something from your childhood, there occurs a disruption of energy in one of those points. The therapy releases that energy and the negative feelings are cast aside.

Currier said she was a standard "talk therapist" but then thought there's got to be something more goal-oriented that can move people through the process so they can get on with their lives. She said she is now certified in administering the technique as well as diagnosing. Deborah Evens, a multi-vibrational healer, said because the mind-body connection is so strong, her hands-on therapies can help with depression. She also does creative visualization and color therapy and said these two techniques can remove blockages in the aura and give an image to whatever feelings need to be exorcised. Once they have an image, she said, they can be removed from the body. Natalie Femino, M.Ed., LMHC, a holistic counselor, falls somewhere in between traditional psychology and alternative approaches. "There's no one answer for everyone and there could be several different answers for one person," she said. While she does treat people holistically, in that she looks at mind, body, spirit when determining a plan of action, she doesn't discount medication and long-term therapy. She also stays away from diagnoses for fear they may become self-fulfilling. She agreed that dietary and lifestyle changes can be made that will alleviate mental distress, and she explores those options with her clients.

Nearly 15 million Americans will suffer from depression this year, which translates into $2 billion in yearly sales for drug manufacturer Eli Lilly, makers of Prozac.

First introduced in January 1988, Prozac's popularity grew so quickly that by 1990, Newsweek magazine named it "Pill of the Year."

Since then, it has been widely held as a breakthrough treatment for depression.

However, nudging its way into the limelight, although far from stealing the scene from Prozac, is the herb, Saint John's Wort, which is being touted as the "Natural Prozac."

For mild to moderate depression, this herb, according to published reports, has an 80 percent success rate.

Saint John's Wort has been featured in the Boston Globe, as well as several other major daily papers and magazines around new England and the United States.

And according to drug and natural food stores, it's flying off the shelves.

The herb has been popular in Europe for 15 years as a treatment for depression.

In Germany, physicians write 3 million prescriptions a year for St. John's Wort - 25 times the number they write for Prozac, according to Newsweek.

And thanks to American's affinity for alternative treatments and self-care, its popularity here is spreading quickly.

Although not by any means a new discovery - it's been around for 2000 years - the word is getting out about the yellow-flowered plant whose Latin name is Hypericum Perforatum.

"We've known about it forever," said a representative from Temna's Herb Pharm in Andover.

"Usually, by the time we get the fourth or fifth phone call, we realize there must be an article somewhere about it."

The claim being laid to this herb is that it increases the serotonin available in the brain, similar to what makes Prozac effective.

Purdue University herb expert, Varro Tyler, was quoted in Newsweek as saying, "The absence of serious side effects is one of Hypericum's biggest selling points."

Mild reactions, like gastrointestinal irritations and restlessness, are common side effects of Saint John's Wort, while insomnia, weight loss and sexual dysfunction are common side effects of Prozac.

It is thought, however, that Hypericum could make some people very sensitive to sunlight after ingesting large quantities. Individuals on photosensitizing drugs, like terracycline, or those with a prior hypersensitivity to sunlight, should exercise extra caution.

Saint John's Wort is available on its own or sometimes in concoctions featuring one or more of these other popular mood-boosting remedies: Kava root, pregnenolene and the amino acids 5-hydroxy-tryptophan and L-tyrosine.

The contradictory evidence not mentioned in the plethora of articles on Saint John's Wort is that it's believed to be an MAO (mono amine oxidase) inhibitor, which means it decreases the amount of that chemical in the system.

Pharmacist and herbalist Ellyn Ott warns that if Saint John's Wort is, in fact, an MAO inhibitor, like herbalist Michael Tierra claims in The Way of Herbs, people need to be aware of certain dietary restrictions and its potential effect on blood pressure.

According to Ott, monoamine oxidase is a protective agent for blood pressure and when decreased, can lead to hypertensive crises.

Although research has not determined whether or not Saint John's Wort is, in fact, an MAO, Ott said if there is any chance at all that it is, people should treat it accordingly.

Ott said hard cheeses, beer and wine and any pickled food like sausage or sour kraut should be avoided when taking Saint John's Wort.

She also warns that people should not haphazardly take herbs like Saint John's Wort and should by no means take it in conjunction with anti-depressants like Prozac or Zoloft.

It's not "just a plant" she said, as many people think. It should be respected as something that may act like a chemical inside the body.

Ott agrees with critics of Prozac who say the drug isn't being used as it was originally intended.

"Medications are really helpful to find the source of the problem and then get you through the hard times while you work on that problem, but I rarely see that," said Ott. "That's just not how our medical system works in this country."

Dr. Keith Ablow, author of To Wrestle with Demons, said that while the use of Prozac and other anti-depressants can be credited with saving many lives, it is not intended as a means of therapy but rather as a supplement.

Ablow is concerned that Prozac is seen by society as a substitute for insight-oriented psychotherapy, a shortcut to self-discovery.

In addition, the flip side of the media blitz over Prozac's effectiveness is that long-term use hasn't been studied, according to Dr. Peter Breggin, in Toxic psychiatry.

Breggin, a harsh critic of Prozac, said the follow-up on these drugs is left to the manufacturers and that the Federal Drug Administration's main concern is drug approval not what will happen to people who take the stuff for years.

Michael T. Murray, N.D., author of Natural Alternatives to Prozac and over-the-counter-drugs, concurs.

"The human brain does not require Prozac to function although it is in vogue to refer to someone suffering from depression as 'Prozac deprived.'"

Many holistic practitioners, like Murray, cite many common medical conditions and prescribed drugs, including diabetes, arthritis, Premenstrual Syndrome, hypothyroidism, food allergies, oral contraceptives and antihistamines as the cause of some cases of depression.

"There are a number of reasons why people may be depressed; in order to treat someone effectively, you need to look at the spiritual, physical and emotional make-up of that person and then treat the individual." said Barbara Silbert, N.D.

Ruling out these organic or physiological causes first is essential in diagnosing and treating depression.

Many instances, according to experts, natural alternatives can be found to replace the prescription drugs as effectively without the side effects.

Murray also said most of the U.S. health problems are related to lifestyle and dietary practices, specifically addictions to nicotine, caffeine and other stimulants.

He said people are under the misconception that these substances provide relaxation when, in fact, they add more stress to the system.