Herbs can be a tricky thing to navigate. On one hand, they are supposed to be pretty benign, right? But on the other hand, they can be some massively powerful drugs.
I like to use herbs sometimes, but since I don’t have a huge depth of knowledge about them I only use what are considered nourishing herbs. Though these herbs can be used to really help with a specific problem, they are also perfectly safe to use and are not going to have a bunch of mal-effects.
In this video, I am talking about my favorite herbs for hormonal health and fertility and how to best prepare them.
The best herbs? LOCAL! But if you can’t do that here are links to the herbs mentioned in the video:
Do you like to take herbs? Is there any that have helped you with any hormonal problems?
Join the FREE mini-school!
+ Learn the top tips for coming off hormonal birth control
+ Understand all of the non-hormonal birth control options
+ Discover if fertility awareness is right for you
+ Free weekly updates
Your information will be kept private. Directions and log in details will be sent to you via email.
Thanks for this Hannah! I went to an herbalist recently looking for general health supporting tea and he recommended many of these same herbs. He also mentioned that Stinging Nettle is astrigent and therefore drying so he recommended including a moistening herb when using it, if you’re prone to dryness which I am! Here’s a link to a blog post about the tea he made me:
http://commonwealthherbs.com/2011/08/nettle-and-friends-nutritious-miracle-tea/
Cool, Anna, thanks! I loooooove nettle both as an infusion and just fresh as greens, so maybe I am just not as prone to dryness (which makes sense, I don’t seem to be very dry in any sense of the word, except perhaps my sense of humor).
Hey Hannah and Anna!
I frequently use herbs and definitely love using nourishing herbs, which I often recommend to clients. Most herbal teas are slightly astringent, and so they don’t take the place of regular H20 intake, and then yes, other herbs are definitely more astringent (red raspberry leaf being one of them as well! You can tell just by the feeling you get in your mouth after drinking it). I’m also a big nettle fan, great for the urinary tract. For hormonal issues, I tend to look to vitex, ashwaganda, queen anne’s lace, and then other nervines (since so much of hormonal imbalance is related to stress) and endocrine balancers.
Anyways, many of the herbs that I talk about for pre-conception are herbs that are just generally appropriate for women’s health. I’ve got several posts on this, but the most pertinent to this discussion would probably be this one: http://barakabirth.com/2013/06/11/herbs-for-pregnancy-preparation/ I’ve also got some more recent posts on herbs for pregnancy which are again mostly nourishing herbs and great for women at any time.
Keep up the awesome work, ladies!
Thanks for the comments and additional info, Krystina!
Anna, on that note, I’m giving a talk about herbalism and fertility at the Boston School of Herbal Studies in March. I bet you’d dig…and have a ton to contribute! You could also gawk at my growing belly :)
http://bostonherbalstudies.com/bostonherbalstudies.com/Classes.html
Thank you for this! I have been wanting to explore herbs in greater detail and this is just what I needed. We have great resources here in NYC for herbs. I love dandelion and nettle in tea form, so this is a great next step :) Keep up the amazing work!!!
Thanks for the comment, Jennifer.
Glad it helped you out. I really love most of these infusions. Hope you do, too.