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Can Supplements Help With Depression?

A new assessment of studies on more than 60 supplements claiming to help depression symptoms finds that only 4 have ‘substantive’ evidence of benefits.

For the millions of Americans living with depression, there is no shortage of dietary supplements claiming to help.

Some influencers are more than happy to spread the word.

Now, a new review of existing studies suggests that there is “substantive” evidence to support the benefits of only four supplements for depression: St. John’s wort, saffron, probiotics, and vitamin D.

Previous research on mental health supplements has typically focused on single products, says lead author Rachael Frost, PhD, a senior lecturer in health and social care at Liverpool John Moores University in England and a Western herbal practitioner. “This doesn’t allow us to look across the different products and see where the research is, and where the gaps are,” she says.

“We aimed to provide an overview of the clinical trials available for a large range of OTC products to show which products have the most evidence, and which have very little,” she says. “This was to help people make decisions about products they may want to try, and to help inform future research directions on this topic.”

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