Novel Herbal Combination Fights Depression

Around the world, cases of depression are rising. Sipping a tea made from two beautiful flowers can help.

There is a little discussed connection between depression and your heart. People struggling with depression may have shorter life expectancy because cardiovascular disease associated with cholesterol problems is more common in depression.

Poor cholesterol might lead to inflammation, and inflammation is increasingly being seen as linked to depression. Fats and cholesterols are also important in determining the integrity and permeability of the cell membranes that control transport into the cells of monoamines and neurotransmitters like the antidepressant serotonin.

Because of this connection, researchers set out to see what a herbal tea made from saffron and chamomile could contribute to improving cholesterol and depression. Saffron is a powerful antidepressant that has been shown in several studies to be as effective as antidepressant drugs while being safer, and chamomile is gentle and effective for anxiety.

The people in the study all had mild to moderate depression, and all of them were on antidepressants. While half of them continued to take their antidepressants, the other half added a tea made from 1mg of saffron stamens and 20mg of chamomile flowers to their meds twice a day.

After a month, the heart healthy HDL cholesterol was significantly increased in the saffron-chamomile group compared to drug only group, and the heart harmful LDL cholesterol was significantly decreased in the saffron-chamomile group compared to the drug only group.

Most importantly, while the antidepressant alone and the antidepressant plus the herbs both significantly reduced the severity of depression, the addition of the saffron and chamomile produced a significantly greater improvement.

This is the second study to demonstrate the effectiveness of this herbal combination. An earlier study by the same group of researchers also found that adding saffron-chamomile tea to antidepressant meds had a significantly greater effect than the meds alone. That study found that saffron and chamomile increased tryptophan and decreased inflammation (Heliyon. 2022 Oct;8(10):e10774).

An earlier study found that a combination of saffron, chamomile and fennel helps menopause, including the psychological symptoms of menopause (J Caring Sci September 2019;8(3):181-9).

So, if you are struggling with depression, you might want to try adding a cup of saffron-chamomile tea a couple times a day.

J Pak Med Assoc. 2023 Jun;73(6):1245-1250.

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For much more on natural help for depression, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

For comprehensive natural help with depression, make an appointment to see Linda Woolven now. Linda’s clinic is now open for virtual appointments.

The Natural Path is intended for educational purposes only and is in no way intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. For health problems, consult a qualified health practitioner for a comprehensive program.