Has a natural cure for depression surfaced today? Over the years, various researches have highlighted that the conventional anti-depressants sued to treat mental health diseases may do more harm than good.

Paul Andrews, an evolutionary biologist at McMaster University and lead author of an article published in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology, says that "...we need to be more cautious about the widespread use of these drugs."

McMaster University reports that among the many risks pertaining to the use of anti-depressants that Andrews and his team discovered are adverse health effects on all processes normally regulated by seretonin such as developmental problems in infants, poor sexual stimulation and function, poor sperm development, digestive conditions such as diarrhoea, constipation, indigestion and bloating, and abnormal bleeding and an increased possibility of stroke for the elderly.

Andrews claims that his research "...could change the way we think about such major pharmaceutical drugs... You've got minimal benefit, a laundry list of negative effects - some small, some rare and some not so rate. The issue is: does the list of negative effects outweigh the minimal benefit?"

There are researches today suggesting that Inositol (also known as Vitamin B8), a natural compound that is found in numerous foods, can in fact help with depression. Although the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published in 2004 that the studies of Inositol for treating depression have been inconclusive, many natural health fans suffering from depression have claimed that they have reaped the benefits of the compound in combating depression. Various comments about the issue found on The People's Pharmacy prove this fact.

Among the many positive comments lauding the role of Inositol in helping them overcome depression are:

"I discovered inositol through PCOS support website. How wonderful!!! It works for me! I thought NO WAY but WAY it works and it’s inexpensive!"

"I read that inositol could help depression and started taking it. Within two days I was no longer suicidal and in a week I was back to feeling good."

There are also scientific studies that have been published in favour of the idea that Inositol could be the key answer to overcoming depression. The American Journal of Psychiatry reported in 1995 that the level of Vitamin B8 was significantly lower in depressed subjects. Some were then administered Inositol while others were placed on a placebo for four weeks. It was concluded that "Inositol had a significant anti-depressant effect" in that study.

Mental Health America publishes that the risk is of taking Inositol as a possible way of reducing depression is minimal since the compound is a part of our normal diet.



By Genevieve Tan Shu Thung

Copyright © 2014 Sandhya Maarga Holistic Living Resources
Holistic Living Annex (OCTOBER 2014)