Do you want to hear about a plant-based treatment
for anxiety and possibly depression?
Well, lean in, that's what's next.
I'm Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist,
and I make mental health education videos.
I'm excited to talk about a super promising natural remedy
for anxiety and anxious depression,
and that is, lavender in pill form.
I've talked before about aromatherapy
and how it has a mental effect,
because of the direct connection
between your olfactory nerve,
connecting your nose to your brain,
and aromatherapy has been around for centuries,
but this is different.
If you've used aromatherapy before,
by inhaling essential oils,
you probably noticed that the effect doesn't last very long,
it lasts only as long as you're exposed to the oil
and then maybe a short while afterwards.
And it's generally not recommended
to simply take drops of the oil and put them in your mouth,
because the oil is very concentrated.
Well, the German company, Schwabe Pharmaceuticals,
helped us out with this by creating a proprietary capsule
of 80 milligrams of lavender Augusta folia,
and they call it Silexan.
It's sold under the, as a prescription drug in Germany,
under the brand name, Lasea,
and I may be mispronouncing that,
but you can get it over the counter here in the US.
And here's how good this is,
Silexan has a lot of strong research behind it.
One study tested it in people with generalized anxiety
and showed that Silexan was more effective
than 20 milligrams of Paxil.
Paxil, generic name paroxetine,
is an antidepressant that's FDA approved
for panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder,
and social anxiety,
and it's a big deal for a single drug to get approval
for all three of those indications.
Another study showed that Silexan was just as effective
as 0.5 milligrams of lorazepam, brand name Ativan,
and that's a big deal for it to work
as well as a benzodiazepine.
The strongest research has been
in using Silexan for anxiety,
but there's also some studies showing improvement
in depression symptoms and anxious depression.
What makes lavender able to do this?
Lavender is an aromatic flowering plant in the mint family.
The plant oils contain phytochemicals
that have a mental effect, and in this case,
the active chemicals are linalool and linalyl acetate.
These oils are volatile,
which means that they take on a gas form.
Inhaling the gas is one of the bases of aromatherapy,
but for Silexan,
you're ingesting the oil as a soft gel
that's been formulated to be safe for ingestion.
How do these oils improve anxiety?
They increase serotonin, and they block NMDA receptors.
In my video on magnesium for anxiety,
I talk about how magnesium also blocks NMDA receptors.
What's the big deal with NMDA receptors?
These receptors control glutamate secretion.
What's glutamate?
Glutamate is a chemical that activates cells,
overactive cells cause dysfunction.
You can think of glutamate as pressing on the accelerator.
Glutamate works in concert with GABA,
which is a chemical that slows cell activity.
It presses on the brake,
so glutamate speeds up and GABA slows down.
Benzodiazepines, like Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan,
work by activating GABA to slow things down and calm you,
so when things like magnesium, or in this case, Silexan,
block NMDA,
it blocks glutamate and takes the foot off of the gas,
so that you can decelerate.
A couple of caveats here.
The Paxil study used 20 milligrams of Paxil
against 160 milligrams of Silexan.
20 milligrams is not that much Paxil
to treat on fire anxiety.
Usually, people need between 40 and 60 milligrams of Paxil,
not everyone, which is why this is still a good study.
But if you have anxiety
that has required high doses of antidepressants to treat it,
the maximum dose of 160 milligrams of Silexan
may not work as well as your medication does.
And the same goes for the study
comparing Silexan 80 to Ativan 0.5.
0.5 of Ativan is usually a starting dose,
and if you've been taking it for awhile,
you may now be up to one or two milligrams.
So what it's looking like is,
Silexan is best for people with mild to moderate anxiety.
I haven't seen any precautions
about taking it with other medications,
so one possibility is,
that if you're already on an antidepressant,
Silexan may be something
that helps you reduce your antidepressant dose.
But, of course,
you should consult with your doctor
about reducing or tapering off medications.
The recommended dose is 80 to 160 milligrams,
some studies used 80 and others used 160.
It's always best to start low and then move up as needed,
and similar to the way antidepressants work,
you have to take it daily and give it two weeks
to see the results.
As for side effects,
the main effects are lavender-flavored burps and sedation.
It does weakly increase estrogen levels,
which can mean breast development in boys
and early breast development in girls,
so it's generally not recommended for children under 18.
And another caution is,
if you have an estrogen responsive tumor,
like with breast cancer,
you should check with your doctor before taking Silexan.
Where can you get it?
Nature's Way makes a version of this called CalmAid.
I hope this was helpful for you.
Thanks for watching and see you next time.