Hey Ana, glad that you found Vitex (Chasteberry) for yourself to be beneficial.
Professionally, I'm a functional medicine provider and have seen Vitex angus-castus work well for many women.
Interestingly, traditionally, it was used by monks and other cloistered religious to decrease libido. This is definitely not an herb that is generally used by men for that reason.
In modern times, it has mainly been used for women's health issues including hot flashes, PMS, amenorrhea, and infertility. According to one of my books, "Clinical Guide to Nutrition & Dietary Supplements in Disease Management," "Chasteberry acts on the anterior pituitary to normalize menstruation and encourage ovulation. It reduces prolactin production and increases progesterone production by reducing secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone and increasing production of luteinizing hormone. Its active principle appears to bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary" (p.483). It further states, "Irritability, bloating, and depression are most likely to be relieved in women who produce insufficient progesterone in the 2 weeks before menstruation. Mastodynia is less severe after therapy. Less prolactin production may reduce premenstrual breast tenderness" (p.484).
ADDitude has an interesting article on the link between PMS and worsening of ADHD symptoms: "PMS and ADHD: How the Menstrual Cycle Intensifies Symptoms" https://www.additudemag.com/pms-adhd-hormones-menstrual-cycle/ and there's also an interesting study published: "Female-specific pharmacotherapy in ADHD: premenstrual adjustment of psychostimulant dosage" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10751335/ . Finally, according to WebMD: "The female sex hormone estrogen also increases the amount of dopamine in your brain. Another female hormone, progesterone, acts on dopamine as well, but research doesn’t fully understand yet just what effect it has. Estrogen levels rise in the first 2 weeks of the menstrual cycle. After ovulation, estrogen levels drop and progesterone levels rise. Both hormones are at their lowest levels in the days right before your period. That may also cause a drop in dopamine. For some women, that can mean a double whammy of worsening ADHD symptoms and PMS." https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adult-adhd-menstrual-cycle
This definitely helps to point to how and why Chasteberry would be helpful for most women experiencing PMS and especially ADHD women.
My personal recommendation is for anyone who wants to consider using medicinal herbs to work with a clinical medical herbalist, functional medicine provider, or acupuncturist who also uses herbs. In most cases (for nearly all conditions), it's best to have a holistic approach rather than only using a single herb. Just my professional opinion.
Thanks for the comment! I would still recommend talking to a doctor first, just to be sure. Chasteberry can have an effect on stabilizing hormone levels and it's typically prescribed to women for PMS. I saw somewhere that men can take it too, but I couldn't find much information about that.
Hey Ana, glad that you found Vitex (Chasteberry) for yourself to be beneficial.
Professionally, I'm a functional medicine provider and have seen Vitex angus-castus work well for many women.
Interestingly, traditionally, it was used by monks and other cloistered religious to decrease libido. This is definitely not an herb that is generally used by men for that reason.
In modern times, it has mainly been used for women's health issues including hot flashes, PMS, amenorrhea, and infertility. According to one of my books, "Clinical Guide to Nutrition & Dietary Supplements in Disease Management," "Chasteberry acts on the anterior pituitary to normalize menstruation and encourage ovulation. It reduces prolactin production and increases progesterone production by reducing secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone and increasing production of luteinizing hormone. Its active principle appears to bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary" (p.483). It further states, "Irritability, bloating, and depression are most likely to be relieved in women who produce insufficient progesterone in the 2 weeks before menstruation. Mastodynia is less severe after therapy. Less prolactin production may reduce premenstrual breast tenderness" (p.484).
ADDitude has an interesting article on the link between PMS and worsening of ADHD symptoms: "PMS and ADHD: How the Menstrual Cycle Intensifies Symptoms" https://www.additudemag.com/pms-adhd-hormones-menstrual-cycle/ and there's also an interesting study published: "Female-specific pharmacotherapy in ADHD: premenstrual adjustment of psychostimulant dosage" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10751335/ . Finally, according to WebMD: "The female sex hormone estrogen also increases the amount of dopamine in your brain. Another female hormone, progesterone, acts on dopamine as well, but research doesn’t fully understand yet just what effect it has. Estrogen levels rise in the first 2 weeks of the menstrual cycle. After ovulation, estrogen levels drop and progesterone levels rise. Both hormones are at their lowest levels in the days right before your period. That may also cause a drop in dopamine. For some women, that can mean a double whammy of worsening ADHD symptoms and PMS." https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/adult-adhd-menstrual-cycle
This definitely helps to point to how and why Chasteberry would be helpful for most women experiencing PMS and especially ADHD women.
My personal recommendation is for anyone who wants to consider using medicinal herbs to work with a clinical medical herbalist, functional medicine provider, or acupuncturist who also uses herbs. In most cases (for nearly all conditions), it's best to have a holistic approach rather than only using a single herb. Just my professional opinion.
Thank you for making me aware of an option I’d never heard of!
Thank you. Will try this for the ADHD effect.
Thanks for the comment! I would still recommend talking to a doctor first, just to be sure. Chasteberry can have an effect on stabilizing hormone levels and it's typically prescribed to women for PMS. I saw somewhere that men can take it too, but I couldn't find much information about that.