Chaste Tree Berry Benefits
Filed Under Bulk Herbs
Chaste tree berry (also known as Vitex and by the trade name Femaprin) was at one time called Monk’s pepper because of its supposed ability to decrease sexual drives. However, others have taken it to enhance sexual drives. How could it do both at the same time?
Though it grows to a height of twenty-two feet, chaste tree is just a large shrub native to the Mediterranean and southern Europe. Naturally it grows on moist riverbanks, but it can be grown in ornamental gardens in America as well. Look for its blue-violet flowers to blossom in midsummer. Chaste tree berries are only used to treat female problems today.
Its effect on sex drive is not the only seeming contradiction in its use. Some have used it to treat infertility, while others claim it, at best, has no affect. Some use it to treat post menopausal symptoms, while other say it makes them worse. It has been used to both encourage lactation and discourage excessive lactation.
The explanation for chaste berry’s contradictory results is that it is an adaptogen. This means it helps the body adapt to changes by working through the adrenal glands (in this case the pituitary) to normalize hormone imbalance. In other words, it encourages hormonal deficiencies and constrains excesses. Other herbs that are adaptogens are taheebo, ginkgo, garlic, ginseng, Echinacea, and goldenseal.
To accomplish this balancing act for the body, Chaste tree berry increases the production of certain hormones which reducing the production of others. In this way it may help overcome infertility by shifting the body’s hormonal balance in favor of the gestagens which are used by the body to condition it for pregnancy.
Chaste tree berry is especially effective in balancing the female reproductive system because it encourages the production of progesterone. This results in restoring menstruation, regulating heavy periods, and restoring fertility that resulted from hormonal imbalance. PMS tension, and the changes of menopause have also been decreased by this herb. Excess prolactin may be the cause of premenstrual breast tenderness and Chaste tree berry will balance this hormone and thus relieve the problem.
Chaste tree berry is also used, in tincture form, to relieve pains in the limbs, to relief pain of paralysis, and to treat neuropathic muscular weakness. Some even use them to treat acne. The berries can be ground and used as a substitute for black pepper, the flowers and leaves, with their spicy aroma, used in flavoring.
As a tincture, use 20 drops one or two times a day. Or take 20 to 40 mg of the herb daily. Capsules or one cup of tea may be substituted as well. Some rest better when they take chaste berry shortly before bedtime. The herb is slow acting; wait at least two months or longer to know if it is helping.
Though not universally held, some say pregnant women and nursing mothers should not take Chaste tree berry. A woman suffering from a hormone-sensitive cancer (e.g. uterus, breast, pituitary, etc.) should not take it. Nor should a woman taking hormone drugs such as oral contraceptives or menopausal hormone replacement therapies. Some react to it with an itchy allergic rash, some with mild nausea, and some with headaches. A few women have said that their cycle length changes.
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