When someone brings up female hormones, what’s the first thing you think of?  Probably estrogen and progesterone.  Estrogen is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and fat cells.  When estrogen is unbalanced, you may feel it with fatigue, hair loss, bloating and fertility challenges.

There are five main female hormones that helps regulate fertility, sexual desire, our menstrual cycle, pregnancy and even breastfeeding.  Those hormones are estrogen, progesterone, follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin and luteinizing hormone (LH).  I’m going to be addressing mostly estrogen and progesterone—the two biggies!

Progesterone’s job is to regulate the lining of our uterus.  This hormone needs to stay balanced especially if you are trying to become pregnant.  It prepares the uterus for pregnancy and plays a part in mood changes and our menstrual cycle.  But these are not the only hormones in a woman’s body.

How Some Of Our Female Hormones Affect Us

Our thyroid releases hormones to help regulate our body temperature.  Cortisol is released when we are stressed.  Every time we eat, our insulin and glucagon come into play to help regulate our blood sugar levels.

And different glands have their say about our hormones. For instance, our adrenal glands. These are two small glands that sit on top of each kidney and produce cortisol, the stress hormone.

Our cortisol levels must be balanced.  Cortisol levels shouldn’t be too low or too high.

This hormone is important for emergencies and helps us to go into “fight or flight” mode. We need this to react in an urgent situation.

When we produce too much cortisol, it can affect us in different ways.  We can gain weight quickly, present with hypertension or high blood pressure or our bones can become brittle.  Keeping your stress levels low helps keeping cortisol balanced, which is crucial.

So, you can see how important it is to have the female hormones in our bodies running smoothly.  They are what sends out the messages between our cells and organs when a hormone needs to change.

Would you like to have help with PMS symptoms or help when big time stress hits you?  Let’s look at some possibilities from the herbs below.

DISCLAIMER

I’m not a doctor and will never claim to be. I intend all information I share for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions.

Herbs and spices can be powerful and very helpful.  However, you are responsible for your own health and for the use of any home remedies, treatments, or medications you use for yourself and family.

Always speak to your health provider first, before ingesting any herb/spice for medicinal purposes, especially if you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or on any other medications.

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Beginning to Use Herbs For Female Hormone Regulation

My suggestion is to get to know one herb at a time.  Do your own research and learn, then enjoy the healing powers of certain plants.

Then move onto the next herb that you are interested in for you and your family.  There are tons of outstanding herbs in your own backyard and from all over the world.

Stress

Ashwagandha or Winter Cherry

This is an herb that has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic Medicine and has many benefits.  Ashwagandha calms our nervous system and helps us to have a restful sleep.  Studies have shown that this herb can be anti-stress and anti-anxiety.

Ashwagandha can also increase energy levels and help improve our mood and has been known to help increase fertility and balancing hormones during menopause.

We can find this herb in powered form, as a cut root or a supplement.

Nettle/Stinging Nettle/Common Nettle For Female Hormones

Be careful when working with this plant in its natural form as you can get a red rash from the sharp sting you can get from touching the leaves.  Therefore, it is also called “stinging” nettle.  But don’t overlook this herb because of this one little misfortune because it has excellent uses once cooked or dried.

Nettle soothes stress, promotes healthy skin and reduces toxicity by acting as a tonic to our kidneys and adrenals glands.

This herb also promotes healthy hair and nails and is high in Vitamin K, iron, calcium and magnesium.  Nettle infusions are very good for supporting the immune system, building blood and preventing allergies.

Nettle is outstanding for women in all things to do with their menstruation and menopause.  We can make this herb into a tea or infusion.

Rhodiola

This herb will help your mind and body adapt to stress much easier.  And that’s because it can help regulates and influence the release of cortisol, which is our stress hormone.  At the same time, it can boost energy levels.  It can help cut down on feelings of chronic stress while also boosting energy. 

Chamomile

Most of us know that chamomile is calming and relaxing.  That’s because it has benefits that affect our nervous system and digestive system.

This helps with headaches, insomnia, digestive issues/upsets and stress.  Chamomile is gentle enough for all ages and makes an excellent tea.

PMS/Menstruation 

Angelica

This herb is related to Dong Quai which is a Chinese variety of Angelica.  Dong Quai is better for use in the long term.  Angelica is a better and stronger answer for acute, short-term use.

Some uses for angelica is the support of painful menstruation and irregularities.  It helps to relieve congestion in the pelvis and reproductive organs and may help to aid in birthing the placenta after childbirth. 

Chaste Berry/Vitex For Female Hormones

Chaste Tea is used to regulate menstruation, fight PMS, as a hormone stabilizer and also supports fertility.  So, you can see why this herb is very popular and is used almost exclusively for our menstrual cycle or different female reproductive conditions.

There have been over 10 randomized controlled trials on this herb.  These studies found that the chaste berry is good for PMS, PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a severe form of PMS) and also helps reduce thyroid release hormone-stimulated prolactin secretion.

These studies also found that chaste berry is comparable to the medication bromocriptine which decreases prolactin and as effective as fluoxetine that can be used as an antidepressant.

Black Cohosh and Female Hormones

Black cohosh is most often used for menopausal symptoms.  It’s helpful for hot flashes, excessive sweating, mood swings, etc.  Because black cohosh is a phytoestrogen (plant-based compound that mimics estrogen in the body), it is very good at balancing female hormones.

The compounds in this herb helps to reduce period pains and cramps.  Because this herb helps to increase estrogen when needed, it can help reduce vaginal dryness and also increase the female libido during menopause.

We can find this herb as a supplement.

Some words of caution:  DO NOT use black cohosh if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.  Black cohosh has been used to induce labor, so stay away from it when pregnant.

Dong Quai or Female Ginseng

Dong Quai is used frequently by doctors of traditional Chinese medicine.  They’ve used it for centuries to balance female hormones and prevent PMS symptoms because it helps balance out estrogen levels.

This herb helps to normalize female hormones, is very high in minerals and is known as a liver and blood tonic.  This herb is best taken before or after menstruation, but not during.

Dong Quai helps nourish the blood, stimulates the liver, balances the menstrual cycle, and regulates hormones.  It is a fairly gentle herb to strengthen and balance the uterus and is good to use during peri-menopausal balance.

Note:  this is also not an herb that should be taken while pregnant.

We can find Dong Quai as a tea, supplemental form, tincture or powder.

Motherwort 

Motherwort is useful as a tincture or tea.  It can bring about childbirth, promotes menstruation and ease of menstrual cramps.  This herb can also help with insomnia, depression and uplifts emotions and the spirit.

During postpartum, a tincture of motherwort helps stabilize hormones and increase energy. 

Maca

Maca has been used to help with male hormones also, but as far as female hormones go, it has shown in studies that maca suppresses the follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), T3 and cortisol levels.  It also eases menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweating.

This herb can help reduce the use of hormone replacement therapy and is an alternative non-hormonal plant option.

Cramp Bark For Female Hormones

Yep, you guessed it—this herb helps with menstrual cramps because it is a muscle relaxer.  Cramp bark is a suitable alternative to try if you get bad cramps or other PMS symptoms.  Can be made into a tea or tincture.

Ginger Rhizome

This herb helps to balance female hormones.  It has good anti-inflammatory properties and can also be used to treat nausea.  It helps reduce the symptoms of PMS such as mood swings, headaches and cramps.

We can find ginger rhizome as a spice, supplements or as a tea.  This spice can be an excellent addition to your morning smoothie on days you feel you need a little uplift.

Miscellaneous Herbs to Help Balance Female Hormones

Red Raspberry

Red raspberry is a good all-around herb, because of its excellent combination of vitamins and minerals.  It can help build strong teeth and bones, calm a fever, lower blood sugar and can tone and firm pelvic muscles. This herb contains a compound that strengthens the uterine muscles and is hormone-balancing.

It contains vitamins and minerals such as manganese, calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium along with vitamins A, C and E.

Red raspberry is also high in iron.  It is healthful for menstruation, pregnancy, and all women’s cycles.  All of this can help women in each stage of life.  

Add raspberry tea to your daily drinking regime for its antioxidant effects.  It may also help as a muscle relaxant depending on how much you drink which means it could help with cramps too.

Dandelion Root

This root can play a big part in detoxing the body which would also get rid of excess hormones and can be used as an anti-inflammatory.

Dandelion root is high in plant estrogens, vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, potassium and trace minerals. We can find this plant in both supplement and tea form, or you can use what you find in your own backyard.

We can eat dandelion leaves in fresh salads; its fresh roots are good as an anti-inflammatory and the dried root is optimal for detoxing and digestion.

Below, I’ve listed a few books I recommend to start your herb journey.  They are easy to follow and are good for beginners!

Astragalus

This herb can help support digestion, reproductive organs and the immune system.

There are many ways to use astragalus.  You can add the root to stocks, soups or grain dishes to infuse the herbal benefits into daily meals.  When the dish is done cooking, just take the root out.

Final Thoughts On Herbs For Female Hormones 

Being women, I think most of us wouldn’t say no to a safe, but effective way to help us with some symptoms we have because of our female hormones.  Who wouldn’t want help with PMS or hot flashes?

I had the worst cramps when I was younger, but there was no help suggested to me by my doctor other than aspirin and a hot water bottle.  Many times those did not help.  I would definitely have tried some cramp bark!

Using herbs and spices for healing is a long-time journey of education and experimentation.  The herbs I’ve presented are just a few of the common herbal remedies used by many women for natural wellness.

I like being able to find the ingredients needed in our natural environment rather than a lab.  I believe it’s God’s gift of natural healing for our bodies. 

Let me know if you’ve tried any of these herbs and how they worked for you.  Also stayed tuned for my post next week on how to make a tincture.  It’s much easier than you think!!

Stay Awesome!

Cher

Relevant Reading:

Basics of Essential Oils
Using Crystals and Oils to Balance Chakras

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