Vitex agnus-castus, extra generally generally known as the chasteberry, has lengthy been used to deal with quite a lot of menstrual points. “Its efficacy in treating many of those signs makes it one of the vital extensively used therapies in Germany, the place natural medication is a normal a part of common medical care,” writes herbalist and midwife Aviva Romm, MD in her e book Hormone Intelligence.
Whether or not as an extract or in capsule type, the fruit from this Mediterranean tree has anti-inflammatory and hormone-balancing properties that may present aid from temper swings, despair, breast tenderness, and complications.
“It’s thought that chasteberry alters progesterone sensitivity and restores regular progesterone ranges within the physique,” explains functional-medicine doctor Sara Szal Gottfried, MD, creator of The Hormone Remedy. “PMS signs are sometimes associated to an issue with progesterone, particularly in perimenopausal girls. Most researchers consider that chasteberry will increase the discharge of luteinizing hormone from the pituitary [gland], which raises progesterone and normalizes the second half of the menstrual cycle.”
British herbalist Catherine Tupper, BM, BS, BSc echoes the advantages of chasteberry as a remedy for PMS-related nervousness, despair, and insomnia. “My first herb would at all times be Vitex agnus-castus,” she says.
