OTC plant supplements may be a promising way to get rid of anxiety

A new study of the Weizmann Institute of Science has found that common supplements available may be a potential way to treat anxiety, especially when combined with Prozac antidepressants. This substance is found naturally in many plant foods, including avocados, although the dosage is needed to experience an anti-anxiety effect greater than you can get from only eating this food.

Promising supplements are called beta-sitosterol and available to be purchased through many supplements companies. Scientists behind this new study are looking for potential compounds that can help treat chronic anxiety problems without many side effects that come with traditional psychiatric drugs.

The researchers attended the research leadership in mice published a few years ago, using a hunt for compounds that were able to mimic the expression of genes found in ‘calm’ mice that had anxiety. The genome database led the researchers to the five candidate complexes and they finally narrowed them into beta-sitosterol.

These supplements are popularly used to help reduce cholesterol levels, but new studies find that – in mice, at least – it can also significantly reduce the level of anxiety. In addition, mice that remember this natural supplement is not observed to have side effects as you find with traditional anti-anxiety drugs.

Likewise, the researchers found that beta-sitosterol also worked synergistically with Prozac, type of SSRI anti-depression drug. By combining these two substances, the amount of prozac and beta-cytosterol needed to reduce anxiety is reduced when compared to giving its own compound. Beta-sitosterol is found in a lot of food, including nuts like pistachios and almonds, but eating food just won’t offer a high enough dose to have an effect.

The researchers warn that clinical trials involving supplements are needed to determine whether it has similar anti-anxiety effects on humans.