Do any natural supplements work?

[elgrande]

Hi

I've been researching a couple of natural supps to try and help relieve my symptoms. St Johns wart, valerian and suntheanine(L-Theanine) are 3 I've looked at but I'm hoping someone can recommend something?

Thanks

[TheOneandOnly]

I use L-Theanine every day.. I buy the Vitamine Shoppe brand, it is Suntheanine 100mg. I take it randomly 3 or 4 times a day.. Seems to help out a little, at least I'd like to think that. Try it out for yourself.

Just remember, if you expect it to help calm you down, it will.... because thats just how anxiety works..

[elgrande]

Thanks, another one I've been reading about is Niacinamide (vit B3). Google it and you will see a lot of anxiety related info.

[TheOneandOnly]

I take a multivitamin thats got plenty of B-vitamins in it already. I also take a Magnesium supplement.. which is also suppose to help anxiety since stress prone people could have a magnsium deficiency which could lead to 'anxiety' symptoms.

[Robbed]

Keep in mind that the evidence in favor of using dietary supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder is largely anecdotal. Few (if any) tests have been done to prove the effectiveness of natural supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder. This does not mean that they DON'T work, as MANY people swear by them. But whether they are really effective or just expensive placebos is unknown.

Saint John's Wort is one exception here. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression, and it is actually one of the primary treatments for depression in Germany. However, its effectiveness against anxiety is unknown. Also, Saint John's Wort appears to be a drug rather than a supplement (which might help anxiety by correcting nutritional deficiencies). As such, it has side effects. However, these side effects are said to be MUCH less severe than with prescription antidepressants (such as the SSRIs). It is also unknown whether there might be withdrawal symptoms on discontinuation. So there are unknowns. But, in many ways, Saint John's Wort at least seems like it might be a better alternative to prescription antidepressants.

The bottom line? If you just take nutritional supplements like vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, they may or may not help you. And if they DO help you, there is no way of knowing whether it is all placebo effect. However, at least these products won't hurt you. At worst. they will just cost money. Products like Saint John's Wort and Valerian might help. But they are basically drugs, and carry more risk for adverse reactions. Also, like prescription drugs, they are basically band-aids. And they might keep you from dealing with the true cause of your anxiety.

[forwells]

HI

Keep in mind that the evidence in favor of using dietary supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder is largely anecdotal. Few (if any) tests have been done to prove the effectiveness of natural supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder.

Very board statement , sorry i dont mean any offence but my anxiety was starting to lift when i went back down again after stopping my diet and supps , i did alot of research into supplements for the treatment of anxiety and found that many things can be effected with anxiety and it is not just the way you think . Many things when low in the body can cause or atleast raise your anxiety .

SInce i began taking these supplements i would say that within about a month my anxiety is now almost gone , Now i might be the odd one out here as my thinking was never really the problem to begain with and only changed once i got high stress and could not handle all that was being tossed at me .

So to sum up i would say that yes the right supplements can help your anxiety because anxiety uses aot of the resources of the body that we just cannot replace that fast when under stress , Not eating is just one of the cases that it proves handy

After saying all this though i do agree that a supplement used to control anxiety is not going to work but one that replaces things in the body and helps it work better and repair from being under stress is going to

cheers kev

[elgrande]

What are you taking Kev? I was thinking about a B complex, Suntheanine, Niacinamide, vitamin D and fish oil.

[forwells]

HI elgrande

I take a good multi , fish oils , Vitamin c in a drink 3 times a day , protein shake in the morning for amino acids . Amino acids work the same as ssri from what i read they build more of the things the brain needs to work better but the advantage is they build more where as the ssri only use what is there in a better way ( or atleast thats what they say , i did not take any drugs )

I also take Magnesium oil direct onto skin as someone mentioned if you are low in this it will not help your anxiety and by taking a oral supplement it does not often work as it has to be in the gut for 12 hours which it often is not . The research i found points out that in todays diet nearly 68 % of people are low in Magnesium .

I also eat better , i eat every 3 hours , healthy stuff , remember if its natural its good , if its processed its not . I try and cut all sugar out of my diet , high and low sugar levels play a large part in anxiety to . I also don't drink alcohol.

I guess what you need to remember is as i said when you are under stress your body uses more of these vitamin and minerals than it would do when it is not under stress .

So when all is said and done i think the biggest thing we have to understand is that the body is understress and anything we can do to remove this stress and help our bodies heal is good , one of the things is to also except that you have anxiety and it may not be nice but with some work and time it will settle and you will return to the normal old you , if not a better version

cheers kev :)

[snowpea]

yes I think eating well and taking supplements makes a huge difference.

Benzo's do absolutely nothing for me, unless I take so much I am knocked out, and in the long wrong that does no good at all! I found ssri's always made me feel sick, and sometimes actually made my anxiety worse.

Now I take Omega-3, a multi vitamin, magnesium, and L-theanine. I have also cut out most alcohol, sugar, and refined carbohydrates. I try to eat 3 servings of vegetables a day and drink lots of tea and water.

At night I drink a strong passionflower tea, I haven't heard anyone mention passionflower, but I swear by it! Now, maybe it's a placebo effect but I find it really calming and it helps put me to sleep.

Forwells what is the magnesium oil you mentioned? I would be interested in trying it, if it's available here in Canada.

[elgrande]

Sounds good. I like a glass of red wine in the evening and find it relaxes me. Its a bit of a reward for a hard days work. I don't drink to excess unless one large glass of red a day is regarded as just that! Anyway I may try to cut it down to every other day to see if that makes a difference. I bought a juicer recently and juice up 3 carrots and an apple every morning. Juicing is a very healthy way to increase your fruit and veg intake without too much fuss.

[Robbed]

HI

Keep in mind that the evidence in favor of using dietary supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder is largely anecdotal. Few (if any) tests have been done to prove the effectiveness of natural supplements for the treatment of anxiety disorder.

Very board statement , sorry i dont mean any offence but my anxiety was starting to lift when i went back down again after stopping my diet and supps , i did alot of research into supplements for the treatment of anxiety and found that many things can be effected with anxiety and it is not just the way you think . Many things when low in the body can cause or atleast raise your anxiety .

You cut it off right before I said:

This does not mean that they DON'T work, as MANY people swear by them. But whether they are really effective or just expensive placebos is unknown.

What I am trying to get at here is NOT that dietary supplements are a complete waste. Just that they have not really been tested. Also, although deficiencies in some nutrients may cause symptoms of anxiety disorder, this does not mean that you are necessarily deficient in them. Once again, I must emphasize that I am neither saying that supplements WON'T work or that you shouldn't take them. Just that they have not been subjected to rigorous testing as an anxiety treatment. Then again, in MANY ways, neither have SSRIs.

[dragonslayer428]

I've tried every supplement out there (vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids etc) and nothing worked for my anxiety.

For instance, they say B-Complex is good for anxiety, but for me, it puts me in almost a manic state.

However, everyone's body is different. I would certainly suggest trying natural solutions before SSRIs. Though, for me, only medication has worked.

[CindyE]

My counselor highly recommends St. Johns Wort, but I read up on it and saw that it interferes with birth control pills, which I am on.
I have tried CalmAdvantage, it may have helped a little. I take a stress multi-vitamin, fish oil, and try to get plenty of rest and healthy food. I gave up caffeine. I like my daily glass of red wine, too. I know drinking to excess def. makes it worse the next AM! But I've been in a rough spot lately and am trying Zoloft. I think exercise helped a lot, and not being able to get out and walk as much due to the weather might be part of my problem.

[user38]

Magnesium and zink can help with anxiety. I take two 250mg pills per day, seems to be helping.