The humble herb that can help maintain your emotional wellbeing

This is how St John’s Wort is used to ease the mood swing symptoms associated with premenstrual tension and relieve feelings of mild anxiety, among other things.

As medicinal herbs go, it’s hard to find one with a history as interesting as St John’s Wort.

Not only was the herb with bright yellow flowers used in ancient times for a variety of ailments, it was also thought to help ward off evil spirits.

There’s a clue in the plant’s botanical name Hypericum perforatum, from the Greek “hyper” (meaning “above”) and “eikon” (picture).

The herb was once hung over religious pictures and icons to “keep people safe” – but it was also used to help treat everything from minor abrasions to sleep troubles and water retention.

The health benefits of St John’s Wort

Fast forward to modern times and St John’s Wort is popular for helping support emotional wellbeing, providing relief from mild anxiety symptoms. It’s also used to ease the mood swing symptoms associated with premenstrual tension, decrease nervous tension, and reduce restlessness and unrest, when used traditionally in Western herbal medicine.

A number of the plant’s active ingredient components, including hypericin, hyperforin and adhyperforin, have scientists intrigued – they’re thought to help maintain healthy mood balance by supporting several chemical messengers in the brain.

St John’s Wort is also traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to help relieve mild nerve pain.

What’s easiest way to take St John’s Wort?

When it comes to using St John’s Wort, the plant’s flowers and buds can be either dried and made into capsules and tea, or pressed for use in oils and liquid extracts.

Thompsons One-a-day St John’s Wort 4000 tablets are a high-potency formula, with each tablet providing 2.2mg of the active ingredient component hypericin.

They are vegetarian and vegan friendly and the handy one-a-day design means you don’t have to worry about remembering multiple daily doses when life gets busy.

They are designed for high quality, one-a-day convenience to relieve symptoms of mild anxiety, help support a healthy mood balance and, as used in traditional Western herbal medicine, to decrease mild nerve pain.

And just in case you’re wondering about St John Wort’s rather odd “everyday” name, it comes from the fact the plant often blooms around the time of the feast of the biblical John the Baptist.

We told you, interesting.

Always read the label. Follow the directions for use. If symptoms persist talk to your health professional.

This post is brought to you by Thompsons One-a-day St John’s Wort 4000.

SHARE THIS

RELATED ARTICLES