Chasteberry:
A Menopause Natural Remedy

This herb goes by multiple names: chasteberry, vitex, chaste berry or vitex angus-castus.

It has been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of conditions including symptoms of menopause and PMS.

As the name implies, it was used by monks in medieval Europe to suppress their libido. But the monks must have been experiencing a placebo effect because there is no evidence to show it affects your sex drive.

What Can It Do?

Chaste berry treats a number of menopause symptoms. Along with the list below, It can also treat insomnia and suppress your appetite.

• Hot Flashes

• Irregular Periods

• Depression

• Tender Breasts

Some say that it also increases milk production in the breasts, but that has not been proven by any study.

How Does It Work?

The berry of the chaste tree is the part of the plant that is used in herbal remedies.

This herb naturally balances your hormones by raising LH (luteinizing hormone) levels in your pituitary gland.

This encourages your body to create more progesterone and less estrogen.

And while having an excess of estrogen can lead to many negative effects, the majority of women don't have to worry about having an excess level of progesterone.

Why?

Women are designed to handle large levels of progesterone because progesterone levels shoot up when or if we become pregnant.

Since we are built to be fertile and have a high progesterone level, it is rare to have negative side effects from too much progesterone.

When some women use synthetic progesterone boosters, they experience negative side effects (like depression). But, chaste berry is a natural supplement and has not been shown to have these side effects.

That is good news!

However, some people may get a skin rash from using this herb, so be on the lookout for any itchy skin.

Return to the Natural Herbs for Menopause page.

Go From the Chasteberry page to the Estrogen Source Homepage.