ST JOHN’S WORT IS EFFECTIVE FOR LOW MOOD AND DEPRESSION
If dark, dreary February days are getting you down a short course of St John’s wort, sometimes known as the sunshine herb, could help bring back a smile to your face. A 2016 overview of 27 studies [i] reported that extracts of St John’s wort were just as effective in improving cases of mild-to-moderate depression as the popular prescribed antidepressants, SSRIs (such as Prozac).
EATING FRUIT AND VEG DURING PREGNANCY CAN HELP REDUCE RISK OF ALZHEIMER’S
Eating plenty of fruit and veg if you are pregnant can help lower the risk of your baby developing Alzheimer’s later in life. That’s the conclusion of a recent study carried out at the University of British Columbia [ii], which found that the seeds of this terrible disease can be sown well before birth if the foetus has been deprived of vitamin A. Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, grapefruit, mango, watermelon and apricots are all good sources of vitamin A.
TIP OF THE MONTH: FREEZE YOUR HERBS
There’s no need to chop fresh herbs before freezing. Just pop them into the freezer whole and crumble them straight into your cooking as needed.
[i] Cui YH, Zheng Y. A meta-analysis on the efficacy and safety of St John’s wort extract in depression therapy in comparison with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in adults. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016 Jul 11;12:1715-23.
[ii] Zeng J, Chen L, Wang Z, et al. Marginal vitamin A deficiency facilitates Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. Acta Neuropathologica. Published online January 27 2017
