Saffron: Nature's Mood Booster

The world’s most expensive spice, saffron offers an array of health benefits, from reducing PMS symptoms to easing postpartum depression.

- Vera Tweed

Saffron has been used medicinally for 4,000 years, to treat at least 90 different illnesses. But in supplements today, it’s become an evidence-based, natural mood booster that rivals pharmaceuticals without their side effects. “It’s known for its cheerfulness-promoting properties so it’s one of the happiest botanicals,” says Nick Bitz, ND, a naturopathic physician and expert in botanical medicine and Ayurveda. And research backs up the claim, in people of all ages.

Effective Antidepressant

Well-designed studies of depressed adults have compared saffron supplements with either a placebo or antidepressant drugs. When researchers at Jacksonville University in Florida analyzed the results, they found two things: Saffron was clearly more effective than a placebo, and it was just as effective as antidepressants—even for major depression— without adverse effects. Drugs used as comparisons included the Prozac variety and tricyclic antidepressants.