How to Get Rid of PMS

Do you get bad PMS?  Are you grumpy, have breast tenderness, low libido, infertility, fibroids  or an irregular cycle?  Then you might want to give chaste tree a try! Second only to Red Raspberry, this is my favorite herb for helping the female reproductive system.  Many women experience bad PMS, especially after they've had children.  Progesterone (a female hormone) is high during pregnancy to help promote healthy gestation.  But once you have your baby, progesterone can become very low and low progesterone can cause any number of reproductive complaints.   

Chaste tree berry is excellent at regulating female hormones, especially when it comes to low levels of progesterone.  My personal favorite effect of this herb was its ability to help me with low libido after I had had my children (another effect of low progesterone).  It is very helpful in cases of PMS and a wide range of menstrual and gynecological problems that are related to hormone imbalance.  It can be used for irregular and painful periods, heavy bleeding, fibroids, and to re-establish a normal menstrual cycle after taking birth control pills.  It is also used for menopausal problems including depression.   

Chaste Tree Berries look a little like peppercorns and taste pretty similar.  Because of that I don’t recommend drinking it as a tea, unless you add it to other herbs like a chai.  I suggest grinding them up and putting them in capsules or taking them as a tincture. Traditional dosage for a chaste tree tincture is ¼ to ½ tsp., or one capsule, taken three times a day until you get your period.  Stop taking it during your period and then resume with the above dosage when it has run it’s course.

Pregnant women should not take chaste tree berry and I don’t recommend it until you get your first menstrual cycle after you’ve had your baby.  Men should never take chaste tree berry, it gets it name from a time when Monks used it to help them be chaste (funny bit of history there).

 

*LOCALS* You can purchase chaste tree berries at both the Homestead location and the Well Rounded Baby Boutique!  

If you are not local, I highly recommend buying them online at Mountain Rose Herbs.