5-HTP and omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil pills) are not &quot;alternative medicine&quot; supplements. They&#x27;re regular medicine supplements. It&#x27;s believed most people are probably deficient in omega 3, unless they eat a lot of fish.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC3415362&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC3415362&#x2F;</a><p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pubmed&#x2F;17392137" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pubmed&#x2F;17392137</a><p>In my opinion, the &quot;alternative medicine&quot; label shouldn&#x27;t be thrown around recklessly at substances that clearly have psychoactive properties and strong theoretical or proven mechanisms of action. They may be insufficiently researched regarding their potential treatment of specific conditions, but you shouldn&#x27;t throw them in the same boat as homeopathy or acupuncture or reiki.<p>I think 5-HTP probably isn&#x27;t a suitable supplement to treat depression in the long term (risk of downregulation and cardiac issues), but it&#x27;s definitely one form of treatment for many people.