Via: Discover Magazine
St. John’s wort flower herbal medicineKids are bouncing off the walls like never before. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children, with about 4.4 million cases in the United States. But while medications like Ritalin are very effective in getting these kids to focus on their homework, some parents worry about the effects of long-term use, or have more amorphous concerns about suppressing their children’s personalities. It’s no wonder that more than half of these parents have experimented with alternative medicines and special diets.Now, however, one of the leading contenders for an effective alternative medicine has been debunked in a new study. Researchers tested St. John’s wort, an herbal supplement that’s been adopted as an alternative treatment for ADHD and which is also used to treat depression. They found that children taking the herb fared no better than those taking a placebo pill.