Homeopathic Remedies

Although remedies or palliatives mentioned on this page are natural or homeopathic, some of them do have side effects and should not be taken in conjunction with other medication. Please refer to our Disclaimer page and read the package advice carefully.

St John's Wort

The classic natural remedy is St Johns Wort (a plant), with an active ingredient hypericin. This may have side effects if taken with some medicines (including some heart treatments), so please read the details on the pack carefully.

Tablets or capsules vary in strength and usually refer to a standardised extract. The units in which this is expressed may vary between suppliers (some quote in milligrammes mg and some quote microgrammes μg), so make sure you are getting value for money - 1000μg is the same as 1mg .

It is said that St. John's Wort gently adjusts serotonin re-uptake while adjusting three other feel-good neurotransmitters - dopamine, GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid), norepinephrine.

An excellent European supplier which I use (as I'm based in the UK) is Simply Supplements. If you are based in North America then I recommend HBC Protocols Inc. who offer research grade St Johns Wort.

Vitamin D

Besides food sources (such as fish oil, liver and egg yolks), the body makes Vitamin D in the skin on exposure to direct sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is very common, especially in people who have darker skin and require more sunlight to maintain production. One of the side effects is tiredness. So, vitamin D deficiency may be a component in the jigsaw of SAD symptoms.

So, although not directly a remedy for SAD, it is a vitamin which can help address a symptom of SAD - tiredness.

Vitamin D is widely available in cod liver oil tablets, multi vitamin tablets, or of course in oily fish, eggs and liver. Fish oils rich in Omega 3 are claimed to have many other benefits, apparently including improving the 'good cholesterol' balance, lowering blood pressure and even providing some protection against Alzheimer's Disease.

L-Tryptophan

L-Tryptophan is an excellent way for the body to raise serotonin levels and is essential for human nutrition, meaning the human body cannot produce it on its own. Pumpkin Seeds are a rich source, and that is why it is inlcuded in this homeopathic section. More about it here. In the SAD context, L-Tryptophan is used for anxiety and insomnia.

Gold

Gold injections are a recognised treatement for rheumatoid arthritis, and the underlying science of this is now being understood. However, it has been claimed that a highly diluted preparation of gold, known as aurum metallicum by homeopaths, is "renowned for its ability to cure the deepest depressions". I have not tried this, but you may wish to research it further.