Brighten Up
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Brighten-Up
By Bob Lefavi, PhD, CSCS, CHES
Chairman, Changes Science Advisory Board

BRIGHTEN UP YOUR LIFE
With Changes Herbal Mood Elevator

Today' s world leaves many people feeling overly stressed and worn out. Over a period of time, this can lead to feelings of anxiety, fatigue, melancholy and depression.

While modern medicine has provided a few remedies although with side effects for those with severe cases of depression, little has been done in Western medicine to treat the mild to moderate cases where many people feel blue or edgy. Enter St. John' s wort, kava kava, and adaptogens.
These herbs have been used for centuries to help manage stress, anxiety, and depression. Does that fact, or the anecdotal evidence from people who have been using them, by itself make them effective? No. It' s the scientific research that has impressed many in nutrition research and alternative medicine, creating a new understanding (and a new market) of herbal remedies for anxiety and depression.

This new understanding came from very sound research starting in the mid-1990s. At that time, St. John' s wort was launched from an obscure folk remedy in England to a hot supplement on the coat-tails of a 1996 article in the prestigious British Medical Journal. In this article, researchers showed that when the results of more than a dozen studies on St. John' s wort were pooled together, they demonstrated this compound was effective in people suffering from mild to moderate depression. In fact, the synopsis of all the studies showed that 408 people taking St. John' s wort were nearly three times as likely to show improvement as the 420 people taking a placebo! What really attracted attention was that these studies were performed with very good controls. The St. John' s wort in Changes Brighten Up is standardized to 0.3% hypericin, which is the active component of the herb.

Brighten Up also contains kava kava (Piper methysticum), which is made up of compounds called kavalactones. Kavalactones seem to change brain activity in humans without causing sedation. A 1996 study showed that people taking kava had significantly reduced anxiety compared to those taking a placebo. This is important as so many anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) medications can cause dependency problems.

To top off this formula, ginseng, green tea and ashwangandha root, all of which have been reported to improve mental alertness and feelings of well-being, have been added as adaptogens. All together, Changes Brighten Up is a science-backed, exciting, well-balanced formula for the enhancement of well-being and the reduction of anxiety and stress.

Are we suggesting that everyone who' s depressed avoid a psychiatrist or medication and just use Brighten Up? No, not at all. But for people who feel a bit over stressed, or a bit of the blues, Brighten Up could very well be an effective, natural alternative.

Note: As with any supplement that could affect mental functioning, be careful to gauge how you respond to Brighten Up before using it while operating machinery. Also, remember to ask your physician for approval when a medical condition in present, or when pregnant or nursing.

Nutritional questions regarding Changes products can be submitted to [email protected].