GNC Herbal Plus St. John's Wort

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Are you the sort of person who prefers treatments from nature rather than a laboratory? Are you fed up with the harsh side-effects of prescription antidepressants? Perhaps you are looking for cheaper alternatives or want to take control of your treatment? Maybe the only thing holding you back is the fear that herbs won't work or they won't be potent enough? If any of these reasons appeal to you, then GNC Herbal Plus St. John's Wort may be for you.

You may be asking yourself if I am recommending this brand because I have some vested interest in GNC products. The answer to this is "no". I recommend this product because it is literally the only one on the market that I trust for my own mental health. Being an inveterate penny pincher, I have tested several brands over the past four years, but have always come back to GNC Herbal Plus. Why? Even though it may be slightly more costly, it consistently delivers what it promises as far as potency and quality.

As things currently stand, potency is a major consideration in the use of herbal products. They do not undergo the same stringent regulation that prescription medications do. Quite frankly, I think many manufacturers may be willfully taking advantage of that. How else can one explain the fact that an independent testing of ten products done a few years back turned up potencies ranging anywhere from 20-140% of what was advertized on the package? If you skimp on ingredients and don't bother to take the proper quality control measures, you end up cheaper products and higher profit margins, but also an inferior product. I'm sure there is an attitude in some circles that herbs are all "hocus pocus" and placebo effect anyway so what can it hurt? It can hurt plenty if you're talking about an herb like St. John's Wort, which actually has plenty of research to back up its claims of treating mild to moderate depression.

Although NIMH is currently conducting it's own trials in the U.S. to gauge St. John's Wort's effectiveness, it is already a trusted antidepressant in certain other countries. In Germany, where the majority ofclinical research has been conducted, it is prescribed 50% of the time for mild to moderate depression. In comparison, Prozac is only prescribed 2% of the time. In the British Journal of Medicine twenty-three separate clinical trials have been published concerning St. John's Wort's effectiveness.

In case you need hard proof that GNC produces a quality product, let's take a look at what the FDA recommends to consumers when they are deciding to purchase a product:

To help protect themselves, consumers should:

• Look for ingredients in products with the U.S.P. notation, which indicates the manufacturer followed standards established by the U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
• Realize that the label term "natural" doesn't guarantee that a product is safe. "Think of poisonous mushrooms," says Elizabeth Yetley, Ph.D., director of FDA's Office of Special Nutritionals. "They're natural."
• Consider the name of the manufacturer or distributor. Supplements made by a nationally known food and drug manufacturer, for example, have likely been made under tight controls because these companies already have in place manufacturing standards for their other products.
• Write to the supplement manufacturer for more information. Ask the company about the conditions under which its products were made.

How GNC stacks up in light of these suggestions:

• The GNC packaging states that it conforms to U.S.P. and gives the method for analysis, TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography).
• GNC packaging is very subdued in appearance and does not contain any grandiose descriptions of what it can do or buzzwords like "natural".
• GNC is a major national chain that specializes in herbs and supplements, not a fly-by-night company out to make a quick buck by adding popular supplements to its inventory.
• GNC makes it very easy to contact them for more information. Each package is clearly labeled with a toll free phone number which can be used to contact them.

Are you almost convinced, but think GNC products are too expensive? If you become a frequent shopper with GNC, you will want to become a member of their Gold Card program, which offers a 20% discount on the first Tuesday (Super Tuesday) of each month. Another money saving feature of GNC stores is their buy one/get one 50% off program on all GNC products. If you are planning to use St. John's Wort on a regular basis you will want to purchase the largest size two at a time on Super Tuesday to get your maximum savings. By using these programs, the price is quite reasonable.

All in all, GNC presents one of the best products out there. It's a good value for the money and you have the peace of mind of knowing that they take pains to ensure its quality. You could pay less, but what would you really be getting?