Spearmint and cutting carbs may help ‘hairy’ women
In my practice from time to time I m consulted by women who complain of excess hairiness. Many of them tell a story of finding hairs sprouting in places where they weren’t there before such as their chins and around their nipples. This condition – the medical term for which is ‘hirsutism’ – is often related to higher-than-normal ‘male’ hormones known as ‘androgens’, of which testosterone is the most notorious. Conventional treatments for hirsuitism include the oral contraceptive pill (which can suppress androgen production) as well as spironolactone – a drug which reduces the effect androgens have in the body.
This week, my attention was caught by a study which suggests that spearmint tea may offer some assistance to hirsute women [1]. The study found that hirsute women drinking two cups of spearmint tea for just five days saw significant lowering in blood levels of ‘free’ testosterone – the form of testosterone that is metabolically active in the body.
While this study was short and was not designed to assess the effect of spearmint on hair growth, it seems reasonable to conclude that the regular imbibing of spearmint tea may help reduce hirsutism in women with raised androgen levels.
However, spearmint tea is not the only ‘natural’ approach that may be useful in the treatment of hirsutism. Women with this condition may benefit from dietary change too. Of particular relevance here is the fact that raised androgen levels in the body can be a response to elevated levels of another hormone – insulin. Quite often, these hormonal imbalances come as part of a condition known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), common features of which include not just hairiness, but acne, weight gain and infertility too.
Below, I have pasted a previous column which outlines a nutritionally-oriented approach to PCOS, the core component of which is a cutting back of carbohydrates that tend to disrupt insulin levels. In practice, I have found this approach is usually help in reducing the symptoms of PCOS, including hirsutism, though it can take several months for real results to be seen.
Natural approaches to polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) - 16 November 2003
Even in my relatively brief time as a doctor I have witnessed the rise to prominence of previously rare conditions including hyperactivity, autism and chronic fatigue syndrome. Another contemporary condition, and one which I seem to be seeing in increasing numbers in my practice, is the exclusively female affliction known as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). One frequent feature of PCOS is the abnormal sprouting of hair on the face and perhaps other parts of the body. As a result, many women with this condition can find themselves developing an ever-growing reliance on tweezers, depilatory creams, strip-waxing and the like.
For sufferers of PCOS, the cosmetic burden of unwanted hirsutism can mean that every day is a bit of a bad hair day.
Hairy moments, however, are not the only feature of PCOS. As its name suggests, the condition is characterised by the presence of multiple cysts in one or both ovaries. Also common in PCOS is a slew of hormone imbalances including an excess of male hormones known as androgens. A surfeit of androgens is believed to be at the root of the excess of hair familiar to many women with PCOS. Hormonal disruption may also give rise to a number of other complications common in the condition including acne, excess weight, menstrual irregularity, problems with ovulation and infertility. While it is now known for sure what causes PCOS, there is mounting evidence that the diet plays more than a bit part here.
The potential role of the diet in the development of PCOS is borne out of the fact androgen secretion is believed to be stimulated by excesses in another hormone - insulin. Insulin is itself produced by the body in response to rises in blood sugar levels induced by the eating of foods rich in sugars and/or starches (carbohydrates). Some have theorised that the rising tide of PCOS seen in modern times is related to an increasing emphasis on carb-based foods such as biscuits, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and cereals in our diet. There is also some thought that a glut of such foods is also a principle factor in the increasing incidence of diabetes and its precursor known as insulin resistance syndrome. Interestingly, these two conditions are known to be particularly prevalent in sufferers of PCOS.
The best diet for sufferers of PCOS seems to be one based on foods that give controlled release of sugar (and therefore insulin) into the system. Foods that fulfil this criterion include beans, lentils, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and most fresh fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, French beans and cabbage. If starchy carbs such as bread, rice and pasta are consumed, these are best had in their unrefined forms and in moderate quantities only. Regular meals, perhaps with snacks such as fruit and nuts in between, may help to keep insulin and androgen levels under control too.
In addition to consuming a blood sugar stabilising diet, the effects of androgens may also be quelled in the long term by taking a supplement of the herb Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). One of the effects of this herb is to slow down the conversion of a major male hormone known as testosterone into its more potent form (dihydrotestosterone). Taking Saw palmetto (at a dose of about 320 mg per day), combined with a diet lower in sugar and starchy carbs, can do much to keep women with PCOS from tearing their hair out.
References:
1. Akdogan M, et al. Effect of spearmint (Menthat spicata Labiatae) teas on androgen levels in women with hirsutism. Phytotherapy Research. e-pub 20th Feb 2007.
Published February 21, 2007 . Filed under: Healthy Eating, Herbal Medicine, Low-Carbohydrate/Carbohydrate Restriction, Women's Health
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you recommended saw palmetto for womens hair loss. does that mean spearming tea is good for hair loss too.
February 24, 2007 @ 7:54 pm
If by ‘hair loss’ you mean ‘reducing unwanted hair’ then the answer is yes. Though these approaches do take time, of course, and don’t work for everyone.
February 25, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Does this also mean that spearmint (or peppermint) tea could have the same effect in men i.e. reducing their levels of testosterone? I wouldn’t have thought this was particularly desirable.
February 26, 2007 @ 2:49 am
[...] Spearmint and cutting carbs may help ‘hairy’ women [...]
March 7, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
Does it have to be spearmint as I have only seen peppermint tea in the shops?
March 16, 2007 @ 10:21 am
In every store I have been to thus far they only sell peppermint tea.It’s practically impossible to locate spearmint tea.
Does peppermint tea have the same effects of reducing unwanted hair as spearmint? Please help…
May 23, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Linda - I’m not aware of any work that’s been done on peppermint tea and hirsutism. I’ve found this stockist of spearmint tea though:
http://www.yourhealthfoodstore.co.uk/details.php/p2098_celebration_herbals_certified_organic_herbal_tea_spearmint_leaf.html?gclid=CK79pOXWp4wCFRcGEgodbjKY6A
May 24, 2007 @ 8:50 pm
You can find Organic Spearmint tea at Vitamin Cottage (Denver based natural grocery store chain). Just buy all of them on the shelf since you have to drink 2 cups a day - it will go fast.
July 2, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
I purchased some spearmint tea from Amazon.com. let’s see how it works
October 16, 2007 @ 12:19 am
If anyone living in the UK is looking for Spearmint Tea I’ve managed to find some in an Indian Food Store, after looking for almost 6 months!Have just started drinking it so fingers crossed it will help!
November 29, 2007 @ 10:04 am
holland and barratt stock camomile and spearmint (50% each) and essentials, which are stocked at many health food shops sell peppermint (50%) spearmint (50%)
November 30, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
When drinking the tea, how long does it take before results show?
December 8, 2007 @ 5:18 am
Hello! I came across this link by chance, and am very interested.
I wasnt hairy as a child, but have noticed excess hair growth on my body since puberty. It includes normal body hair found on “normal” people, but I seem to have quite a lot of thin hairs on my chest/tummy and around the upper chest/neck area, and face. This affects me greatly in most things that I do. I cannot afford laser hair treatment as I am not working full time yet, and my mum will not allow me to shave/wax etc as she feels it would cause the hair growth to get worse. I dont know what do.
I am hoping to try the spearmint tea, twice a day over a period of months, in the hope that it will reduce the hair, or atleast stop the growth of anymore hair.
Dr Briffa, how safe would it be to drink this spearmint tea everyday, twice a day for say the next 6 months as a trial? How long before I can expect some resuts, however small?
January 5, 2008 @ 10:40 pm
http://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk
Hello everyone, just incase anyone is interested I found this place online and they sell spearmint tea, hope you find it useful. Regards Lina
February 5, 2008 @ 12:24 am
Apparently, what your supposed to do is start drinking 2 cups a day at the first sign of your period and then countinue for 5 days. You should google the instructions because I don’t think it’s supposed to be everyday.
March 5, 2008 @ 11:25 pm
I’ve had electrolysis done for chin hair, which does take awhile to cycle back. After pregnancies and 10+ years it’s definitly all back. Before I read this article I had heavily used peppermint tea for digestive purposes. It was not the prescribed timing or dosage for the spearmint, but since stopping I’ve noticed an increase of facial hair. Now I wonder if it is related to the lack of peppermint? Of course the winter months also brought on an onslaught of noodles, cakes… I certainly appreciate drbriffa’s article, encouraging diet. also, in stores I found Lipton Green tea with spearmint and peppermint
April 17, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
My Doctor told me a few years ago that I had PCOS and being an endocrinologist she put me on metformin which is normally a diabetes drug but she had known it to be used experimentally with people with PCOS. For about a year I was wonderful in almost every way. My appetite decreased significantly. Before I had always felt forever unsatisfied even when full. I was always looking for some magical food that would satisfy me so I was always craving and eating. I could easily eat an entire pizza all myself. On the metformin I could barely eat 2 pieces of pizza before feeling uncomfortably full and if I tried to push myself I would actually feel sick. I no longer had this love affair with food. Food was good but food was just food, not the highlight of my day. I got up to taking 4 metformin a day like my doctor wanted and everything was going fine. Over the course of the year I lost 40 lbs, I had lots of energy and was going for hikes everyother day, I no longer had knee pain or bouts of plantar faciitis and the general malaise, depression and aches and pains every where that I had been feeling. My problems with acne and thinning hair as well as hirsuitism dried up and blew away. To me it was a miracle drug. Unfortunatly the only thing that was bothing me was the fact that my previously almost non-existant period had become this monster that attacked me every month. I lost so much blood from my bleeding that when I went to the Dr she tested my blood and told me if I was even a tiny bit lower she would have admitted me for a blood transfusion. So I started also taking iron supplements. This went along like this for a few more months and then I started getting sick. I was vomiting every day. Especially in the morning. You would not believe how many times they did pregnancy tests on me. About as many times in those few months as I had thyroid tests in my lifetime LOL. I would vomit when I woke up and pretty much anytime anything more substantial than milk (and a few other very “light” foods) entered my stomach. I was taking a lot of pills - cortisone and florinef for my adrenalectomy and the metformin (4 a day) and the iron and I had this feeling that somehow they were responsible for this. I don’t know why I felt that way because I always managed with great difficulty to keep them down. When the Doctors started prescribing me more pills to fix the vomiting I began to dread taking my pills. Nothing helped. Every day I would put my handful of pills in front of me and stare at them for a while working up the courage to take them. Finally I had enough. On my own I cut out all the unnecessary pills. I still needed my cortisone and florinef to live and had taken them most of my adult life but I stopped everything else. By this time I had been vomiting every single day for about 6 months and lost another 10 lbs. As soon as I did this the vomiting stopped. I tried a few times starting the metformin again with just one a day but even that made me vomit. I have since worked up the courage to have my iron again and tolerated it fine. After I stopped the metformin I started a regular 3 times a week work out schedule because I knew that I was in danger of gaining all that weight I lost back if I did not. For about 6 months I was doing fine. Holding my weight and having no PCOS signs except the massive periods and a few serious menstrual cramping episodes that landed me in the ER. Then I gradually began to feel a tiredness that started making me skip a few of my 3 times a week work outs. Then I started eating a lot more and feeling that dissatisfaction. My periods started to dry up again. My hair started to thin and my facial and leg hair began to sprout with a vengence accompanied by oily skin and hair. I had intended to ask my endocrinologist if perhaps I could start back on a lower dose of the metformin…perhaps it had taken all this time to clear out of my system and now I could be ok on 1 pill a day. My regular check up with her is coming up so I was going to ask then. But in the mean time I had read this article and I decide to give the spearmint tea a try. I actually went to a health food store and bought the dried herb loose. I have a special recipe I have been using. In a tea bag I put 2 tsp of spearmint as well as 1 tsp of red raspberry leaves for better menstruation and then a pinch of peppermint and 2 chamomile flower heads for flavour (I keep the peppermint and chamomile which I dried from my own garden whole and crush them up just before adding them to the tea for best flavour). I have been having this tea twice a day for about a week and almost right away my facial hair and oily skin have cleared up. I started watching a chin hair that before was growing again within 2 days of plucking. I plucked it a day after I started the tea and it never grew back. It still hasnt. I am excitedly waiting to see if I have any more effects form this tea and I am going to tell my Dr about it in a few weeks at my appointment. Thank you very much for this informative article!
June 28, 2008 @ 8:01 am
You can buy spearmint (leaf ) online from scotmedherbs.co.uk
I have been drinking it for quite a few weeks & I’m not sure ,but I don’t think I have seen any improvement.
June 30, 2008 @ 8:29 pm