Is There a Natural Alternative to Tylenol, Advil and Antidepressants?
SAMe, or S-Adenosyl-l-methionine, is an obscure but important product of every cell in our body involved in over 40 biochemical reactions necessary for everyday life and health. Like folic acid and vitamin B12, SAMe donates methyl compounds (a carbon molecule) to another molecule, which is critical in the manufacture of many body components, especially brain chemicals, and detoxification processes.
Normally, the body makes all the SAMe it needs from the amino acid methionine. However, a deficiency of methionine, vitamin B12 or folic acid (which are all very common) can result in decreased SAMe synthesis. Levels of SAMe have been found to be typically low in the elderly and people suffering osteoarthritis, depression and liver disorders.
With low SAMe, we can’t go on particularly well, and consuming more of it is proving and effective remedy for the above ailments as well as migraine and fibromyalgia. It was only discovered in Italy in 1952 and became commercially available in the US in 1999.
Many trials have investigated SAMe as an antidepressant, with clinically meaningful results. Not only does it help form cell membranes and improve brain function...
Supplementation With SAMe (400–1600 mg/day) in Depressed Patients raises levels of the Well-Known ‘Feel Good’ Neurotransmitters Serotonin & Dopamine
SAMe in doses of 1200 mg/day has also been compared with and found to be just as effective as common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (e.g. Nurofen, Advil), aspirin and naproxen (e.g. Aleve). These drugs reduce the body’s natural inflammatory response to infection or irritation, lessening a fever or aches and swelling. However, NSAIDs have many side-effects, including anything from indigestion to bleeding stomach ulcers and kidney damage. In fact, NSAIDs represent 43% of drug-related US emergency visits.
SAMe makes a wonderful substitute for NSAIDs, particularly in long-term inflammatory conditions such as osteoarthritis, because it does not have these dangerous side-effects, although it takes longer to work. It is actually completely safe but should be used with caution by people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, Parkinson’s disease or taking antidepressants. As it acts as an antidepressant, taking it with something like Zoloft can be a ‘double whammy’ and incite mania.
As a liver protector, SAMe is necessary to produce glutathione, an anti-oxidant that protects the liver against free radicals created by drug and alcohol intake. In studies of alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver diseases, SAMe supplementation significantly increases glutathione levels and helps the liver recover.
In a trial of patients with fibromyalgia, a painful condition afflicting mainly women where no real cause or cure has ever been found, 800 mg/day SAMe improved disease activity, pain, fatigue, morning stiffness and one measurement of mood. Migraine is another condition not well understood nor treated by modern medicine, but 400–800 mg/day SAMe reduced pain in one study of migraine sufferers.
Generally, the longer SAMe is used, the better its results. It is well suited for long-term use because it is so safe but it can cause nausea, diarrhoea or constipation in some people using higher doses for specific conditions, so it is recommended that dosage start at 200 mg twice daily and gradually increased for, say, depression. Beneficial effects of SAMe are usually seen within 4–5 weeks for osteoarthritis, while antidepressant effects are usually experienced within a week. Treatment of fibromyalgia or migraine can take up to six weeks until benefit is noticed.
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