8 Herbal Teas for PCOS
There are several herbal teas for PCOS that can help to reduce symptoms. If you are looking for ways to naturally help your PCOS symptoms, herbal teas may be a good option for you.
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These herbal teas have benefits for PCOS like:
helping to improve insulin sensitivity
reducing testosterone
improving acne
reducing hirsutism
promoting ovulation
These are all possible symptoms of PCOS. PCOS is diagnosed by meeting 2 out of the 3 (or all 3) of the following criteria:
elevated androgens - testosterone and/or DHEA
irregular or missing periods due to missing or delayed ovulation
polycystic ovaries on an ultrasound
If you’ve gone to your doctor looking for a solution for your PCOS, you may have been offered:
birth control
spironolactone
metformin
NUTRIENTS & HERBS TO EASE POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME NATURALLY
While there is definitely a time and place for medication, you’re wondering: “is there a way to manage my PCOS naturally that I could try first?”
The good news is YES - there are absolutely natural ways to support and manage your PCOS.
This important question we need to be asking is: what are my drivers or root causes contributing to my PCOS?
This is taking a root cause approach when it comes to understanding our health and hormones. When we answer this question, we are understanding what is driving the imbalance (which is showing up as symptoms in the body).
By addressing the root cause, not simply just the symptom (or the hormone imbalance for that matter), we can find long-term, sustained healing.
I’m here to help you have better periods, symptomless cycles, and optimize fertility (whether that’s now or in the future) all through simple nutrition and lifestyle shifts that feel simple, doable, and empowering (not overwhelming).
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As always, I’m giving away my best hormone tips here, answering your burning questions, and letting you in on the what the science says.
This is the kind of insider info I share with all of my 1:1 coaching clients and students in my signature course, Heal Your Period.
I’m so passionate about sharing this info with anyone on a hormone healing journey, so I’m letting you in with all the info here!
So, let’s dive in into it!
PCOS ARTICLES
I have so many PCOS resources that it would be impossible to pack it all into this one article!
There is so much noise and confusion around nutrition and lifestyle shifts to manage PCOS with clarity and ease, which is why I’m so passionate about getting this info into your hands!
Click to view all of my PCOS Articles
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Are there herbal teas for PCOS?
Here are 8 herbal teas for PCOS:
*Consult with your healthcare provider before beginning herbal supplements
1. Spearmint Tea for PCOS
Spearmint tea is a great herbal tea for PCOS, particularly for those dealing with elevated testosterone levels and associated symptoms like hirsutism, or unwanted hair growth on the face or body. Studies show that spearmint tea helps to decrease free testosterone levels and increase luteinizing hormone (LH), follicular stimulating hormone, and estradiol (1, 2) in those with PCOS. Due to spearmint tea’s ability to inhibit testosterone, it can help to restore follicular development in the ovarian tissue and promote ovulation (3). If you struggle with elevated testosterone, hirsutism, or trouble ovulating spearmint tea can be a great addition as an herbal tea for PCOS.
2. Licorice Root Tea for PCOS
Licorice root tea is another effective herbal tea for PCOS. A small study of nine women age 22-26 found a reduction in serum testosterone levels after daily licorice intake for two cycles (4). Testosterone levels returned to pre-treatment levels when discontinued. Elevated testosterone levels can result in common PCOS symptoms like hirsutism and acne. Licorice can also help if you have low blood pressure or low cortisol levels (5). Do not consume more than one cup of licorice tea per day due to the risk of elevated blood pressure.
3. White Peony Tea for PCOS
White peony contains a constituent called paeoniflorin, which has been shown to reduce serum testosterone levels (6). It promotes the aromatization (or conversion) of testosterone into estrogen (7). TJ-68 is a traditional Chinese formula containing a combination of equal parts white peony and licorice. In a trial of 34 women with PCOS this combination significantly reduced serum testosterone levels (8). In a trial of 8 women with elevated androgen as similar effect was observed (9). Pairing white peony and licorice makes a great herbal tea combination for PCOS to help boost ovulation due to the testosterone lowering effects.
4. Nettle Tea for PCOS
Nettle, or also known as stinging nettle or urtica dioica, is another great herbal tea for PCOS. Nettle has anti-inflammatory, testosterone lowering, and blood sugar lowering effects (10). A study on 40 women with elevated androgen levels found a significant decrease in total testosterone and free testosterone levels (11). Due to its testosterone lowering effect nettle can help with symptoms associated with elevated androgens like hair loss, acne, and hirsutism.
5. Dandelion Root Tea for PCOS
Dandelion root tea helps to support proper liver detoxification, making it another great herbal tea for PCOS (12). The liver plays an important role in breaking down and clearing hormones. If this process is not working as well as it could then there runs the risk of reabsorbing and recycling hormones. This can contribute to elevated levels of testosterone or estrogen.
6. Cinnamon tea for pcos
Cinnamon helps to lower blood sugar levels, making it a great herbal tea for PCOS, especially if you have elevated blood sugar or insulin levels (13). Blood sugar imbalances are often at the root of PCOS. A randomized trial of 45 women with PCOS compared cinnamon supplements versus a placebo for six months. The results found that of the 17 women that completed the trial that menstrual cycles were more frequent in the cinnamon group and luteal phase progesterone levels confirmed ovulatory cycles (14). Another pilot study of 15 women with PCOS were randomized into a cinnamon or placebo group and found significant reduction in insulin resistance in the cinnamon group after 8 weeks (15).
7. Chasteberry (vitex) tea for pcos
Chasteberry, also called chaste tree, vitex or castus agnus, is an herb commonly used to help correct hormone imbalances and is another great herbal tea for PCOS. While it can be found as a tea, it is often taken in capsule form. The way chasteberry works is to reduce prolactin levels from the anterior pituitary (16). Those with PCOS may have elevated prolactin levels, which can affect ovulation. You can also experience low progesterone or a luteal phase defect, meaning a short luteal phase. Chasteberry can help to correct these imbalances to normalize the cycle, promote ovulation, and increase progesterone production (17).
8. Red Reishi tea for pcos
Red reishi is a mushroom, or adaptogen, that helps the body adapt to stress. It has also been shown to have anti-androgenic effects, meaning it can help to lower androgens like testosterone, making it a great herbal tea for PCOS. A study looking at the anti-androgenic effects of 19 mushrooms found that reishi mushrooms had the strongest effect inhibiting testosterone (18). Red reishi has been show to reduce an enzyme called 5-alpha reductase, which helps with the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). High DHT levels are associated with acne and hair loss.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are many different herbal teas for PCOS to help reduce your symptoms and balance your hormones.
While we chatted through lots of different options, remember that every body is unique and it’s about determine what works best for your body.
The main foundations when it comes to lowering testosterone naturally is focusing on blood sugar balance and lowering inflammation.
Remember: simple shifts build to make a big impact over time!
Healthy testosterone levels are possible for you.
-Krista
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KRISTA KING, MS, RDN, LDN, IFNCP
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