A TRADITIONAL herbal remedy really does combat the misery of premenstrual
syndrome, says Ruediger Schellenberg at the Institute for Health Care and
Science in H眉ttenberg.
More than half of women suffer from PMS to some degree, and while the
contraceptive pill helps in many cases, it can be hard to treat. In tests on 170
women, Schellenberg鈥檚 team found that the dried extract of the fruit of the
chaste tree (Vitex agnus castus) greatly reduces PMS symptoms such as
depression, mood swings, headaches and sore breasts (British Medical
Journal, vol 322, p 134).
The fruit contains compounds believed to mimic the effects of certain sex
hormones and neurotransmitters, says Schellenberg. 鈥淚t does not have any side
effects like synthetic hormones, so a woman can treat her PMS without risk.鈥�
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