Chasteberry
These
little berries are the fruit of the Vitex agnus-castus plant, a small
shrub that grows around the Mediterranean. But we knows these berries
by a more intriguing name, chasteberry. Why? Because supposedly they
interfere with the libido. At least monks in the Middle Ages thought
so. They would eat the berries in order to try to curtail their temptation.
Modern science has looked at the chemistry of these little berries
and discovered that although they contain no hormones themselves,
they can regulate levels of hormones in the body. Particularly one
called progesterone, a very interesting hormone because it has been
linked with pre-menstrual syndrome. Women who suffer from irritability,
depression and bloating the two weeks prior to their menstrual period,
very often have low progesterone levels.
Many
women have been helped by taking chasteberry. It turns out that some
women find their menopausal symptoms dissipate by taking chasteberry.
On the other hand there's a bit of warning. If someone is on hormone
replacement therapy or is taking the birth control pill it is not
a good idea to take chasteberry because no one has studied the effects
of both on the body at the same time.
There's
one other interesting condition for which chasteberry may be appropriate.
Some ladies have difficulty getting pregnant because they suffer from
irregular ovulation. Turns out that chasteberry may help with that
problem as well because it can regulate ovulation and make pregnancy
easier. The question of course is, will these ladies have the motivation
to become pregnant? Does chasteberry really have an effect on the
libido?
Well once again modern science has cleared up this point. Those ancient
monks were wrong. Chasteberry does not have any kind of significant
effect on the sex drive.
