Medical Questions » Mental Health Questions » Question No. 1564
| Question: | I' ve been taking St John' s wort and I' m on the Pill. Should I stop the St John' s wort? |
| Answer: | There isn' t any direct research that shows taking St John' s wort while you' re on the Pill is dangerous, but I wouldn' t recommend it. St John' s wort accelerates certain biochemical pathways in the liver that can, in some cases, make certain medications less effective because they are processed more quickly by the liver and therefore effectively lowers their effect. More important, perhaps, is the fact that taking the Pill can actually trigger depression in the first place because it depletes certain nutrients. That doesn' t necessarily mean you should stop taking the Pill; rather, that you would do well to increase your vitamin C (lg a day) and B vitamin intake, especially B6 (50mg a day) plus zinc and magnesium by taking a high-strength multivitamin. Deficiencies in these important nutrients can contribute to low moods. Take 1g of vitamin C and 50mg of B6 daily. |
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