Busting the Myths on St. John’s Wort

Could Saint John's Wort be the greatest example of the most successful propaganda campaign against a herbal medicine that we know of?

St. John's Wort is one of those plants that the majority (if not all) of the public have misconceptions about which leads to an avoidance of a herbal remedy that has valuable,  amazing and unique health benefits. These outdated and disproven notions are widely accepted by the public and its such a shame. Because St. John's Wort is one of the most valuable remedies for many psychological disorders. In fact, it is second to none in the herbal world.

Let's get down to the facts! Data from 35 double blind randomized trials on 35,562 patients found no signs of adverse effects in any of the trials. The authors concluded that St. John's Wort was well tolerated and safe to use when used as a whole plant extract and not altered in any way.

Another review of 35 trials involving 6,993 people found that the adverse effects in the trial were comparable to the placebo and were less than those in the studies taking the pharmaceutical antidepressants. 

The truth about St. John's Wort and photosensitivity. These reported reactions are specific to hypericin which is an active constituent in St. John's Wort. When manufacturers isolate constituents and concentrate them (this is what standardized extracts have) they can become harmful. Very high dosages of this active constituent may cause photosensitivity and sensory nerve irritation. The therapeutic actions of St. John's Wort are not dependent on high levels of this one constituent.   

St. John's Wort and the oral contraceptive pill. A number of studies have now shown it is safe. Some women did experience spotting but it did not affect the effectiveness of the OCP. A 2009 trial by Will-Shahab showed that St John's wort extract did not alter the pharmacokinetics of a low-dose oral contraceptive⁠ pill. This study argued that not all St John's wort extracts necessarily reduce contraceptive hormone levels and that extracts without elevated levels of activated constituents behave differently. 

Another study compared the results of taking a whole plant extract and a standardized extract containing high levels of hypericin. The hypericin group did experience an increase in sensitivity compared to the group taking the whole plant extract, which experienced none. The authors of this study concluded that the side effects related to St. John's Wort were associated with boosted levels of of hypericin and that the whole plant extract contained other constituents that had a protective effect.

The important distinction we need to make here is that many of the adverse effects were experienced by people taking isolated hypericin alone or extracts standardized to contain high levels of this one active constituent - hypericin.

The behavior of an isolated compound cannot be automatically assumed to represent the behavior of a whole plant extract.

The safety of St. John's Wort depends on how it is prepared. Whole plant extracts crafted in a traditional way are safe and effective when compared to "natural" tablets and pills which contain boosted levels of active constituents. 

St. John's Wort is the most effective plant in the natural world for support during depression, or for those that experience anxiety disorders and has even been found to be effective for OCD in numerous studies.

Don't forget St. John's Wort is also highly antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal. St. John's Wort infused oil is great for nerve pain, tissue repair and wound healing and has demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects. Internally, St John's worts constituents can influence inflammatory pathways, including mediators such as cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase and inflammatory cytokines. Her traditional use for nerve related pain has now been held up by modern research.

Honestly, it makes me so sad that no one will take St. John's Wort when I know how amazing she is. It's so bad I had to take her out of my mood tonic because people refuse it when they see it has St. John's wort in it. And to be honest, its no where near as good without her.  

The propaganda machine  has been effective. One of the most amazing plants that gives real results to people that really suffer has been basically put into the naughty corner.