Here are my notes from a 1/2 day intensive workshop taught by Cascade Anderson Gellar that I attended last week at HerbFest. It's kind of long so it may take me more than one sitting to type it all, and it's not going to be in complete sentences.

Factors that affect hormone balance:
1. Heredity: can't do anything to change this. Try to talk to older female relatives about their menstrual history, any miscarriages, when menopause started to get an idea of what may be in store for you.
2. Birth control pills: if you had a lot of negative symptoms while on the pill, they may reappear at menopause
3. Diet: Most important element in hormone balance,try to eat natural, unprocessed foods, some raw. Your compost pile should be larger than your trash pile. Ridges on fingernails running from base to tip indicate a deficiency in protein, B vitamins, or minerals. some women who consume a lot of soy products have increased bleeding and length of period, consume a variety of legumes instead to get phytoestrogens.

Liver is center of hormone production, first task in improving hormonal problems is to tonify the liver and improve digestion.

Alterative herbs are generally nutritive and helpful to the liver and digestion: burdock, dandelion, milk thistle, oregon grape, nettles.

Hormone Support Tea -- we drank during class
1 part licorice root (Glycirrhiza glabra)
1 part dandelion leaf (Taraxacum officinale)
1 part dandelion root
1 part wild yam (Diascorea villosa)
1 part cinnamon (Cinnamonum sp.)
use approx. 1 oz per 1 quart water. Decoct 5-10 minutes, then infuse 15-20 min.
Can substitute fenugreek for licorice for people with high blood pressure. Extended use of fenugreek can make urine smell like maple syrup, not harmful.

Dandelion is good as diruetic in PMS formulas, excess water may cause slight swelling of brain and depression.

Wild yam has saponins that are precursors to progesterone. Especially good for menstrual cramps, start taking it about a week before period. Bitter tasting, mix with licorice or sasparilla to sweeten.

Cinnamon is good to stop excessive bleeding, has tonic effect on uterus and is warming. Almost all western women need warming in a uterine formula. May need to drink up to a quart of tea a day for heavy bleeding.

Herbs for pain: black cohosh, blue cohosh, cramp bark, wild yam.
Herbs for tonics: chaste tree, dong quai, ginseng, licorice, motherwort, raspberry leaf
herbs for cardiovascular health: garlic, ginko, hawthorn
(note: I have more detailed notes about each of these herbs, but I'm not going to type them in unless someone really wants them.)

Next installment: a few more misc. notes and some formulas

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2001

Answers

Booo hoooo I wanted to go to Herbfest but had other commitments... having my 4 year old grandson for 10 days... his first stay with "granny"...

my neighbors went to Herbfest and felt disappointed with the speakers... I was there 5 years ago... and had a GRAND time...

my neighbor mentioned that the Saturday night speaker was great tho... about the Navy releasing radar of some type that is causing lots of problems for the dolphins and whales...

did you listen to Kelly Kirschner?? I have his books... and know other members of his family... originally from southern Nebraska..

so please, share more???

btw... did they have the Saturday afternoon gathering of fest goers selling their wares??? what did they have this year???

boooo hooooo... glad you went tho

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2001

So what did you think of the taste of that Hormone Support Tea -- pleasant, neutral, or bad?

-- Anonymous, August 26, 2001

There was one speaker that I was disappointed with, mainly because I didn't buy her assertion that all diseases are caused by systemic yeast infections and because it seemed like she was just using the lectures as a sales pitch for her latest book. The papermaking workshop was a disappointment too, they had 50 people in a class that really would have been a lot better with only 25 people. It was so loud, crowded, and confusing that I had a mini panic attack and had to leave. Other than those two sour notes I was very pleased with the conference. I didn't get to hear Kelly Kirschner due to scheduling conflicts, but based on the talk around the registration table his 1/2 day intensive workshop was the hot ticket. I also missed the speaker on Saturday because I was in the massage tent getting a massage. (Hey, I wanted to ask the therapist some questions and this way I had her undivided attention and didn't feel guilty about taking up her time!)

Joy, we drank the tea hot and it was very tasty. I don't like the taste of licorice candy, but I do like the taste of licorice root.

I'm actually going to get the chance to try out some of this knowledge. One of my friends was taking Depo-provera shots for birth control. She didn't like the side effects so quit taking them about 3 months ago, but her hormones are still out of wack.

-- Anonymous, August 27, 2001

More notes from the Herbs for Women workshop

PMS Formula
2 parts chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
2 parts dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
1.5 parts Dong quai (Angelica sinensis)
1.5 parts wild yam (Dioscorea villosa)
1 part cinnamon (Cinnamonum spp)

1/4 to 1 tsp 1-2 times daily for 5-7 days per week. Take 15 minutes before meals. Discontinue during week of menstruation. It usually takes 2-3 cycles before a change is noticed, continue treatment for 6 months total.

Dong quai is a good toning herb for uterine deficiency (scant menses) Can make heavy periods worse.

Chaste tree good for full tender breasts that tend to be cystic, also useful for fibroids and ovarian cysts. "Coyote herb of the Mediterranean"= action varies widely with the individual, this is the first herb to eliminate from a formula if it's not working. Only use for first 3 months of PMS Formula above.

Cascade's Tips for a Healthy Reproductive System

1. Eat fresh, colorful foods every day. If you are vegetarian/vegan and are having reproductive problems, reconsider adding a small amount of animal protein to your diet. Vitamin B6, calcium, and magnesium are important for reproductive health and it is difficult to get enough only from non-animal sources.

2. Drink at least 4 big glasses of water a day.

3. Exercise regularly, especially walking and stretching.

4. Get some loving and good touch.

5. Spend time with loving and supportive women. Be a source of love and support for your daughters, granddaughters, etc.

6. Explore emotional issues around sex and reproduction, especially for chronic problems. Get professional guidance if necessary.

7. Support the digestive tract with herbs and good food, especially the liver.

8. For milder symptoms, reframe them and make room for them as a part of your life. No one can be at 100% all the time. Be gentle with yourself, give yourself permission to take it easy some days.

Menopause Aid
2 parts licorice
2 parts dandelion
1 part motherwort
1 part dong quai
1 part false unicorn root
1 part wild yam
Tincture dose: 1-2 droppers 3x daily 4-5 days/week
Tea: decoct 1T per cup water, drink 1-2 cups per day

Reducing Bleeding Formula
15 grams wild yam
8 grams sage
15 grams raspberry leaf
15 grams blessed thistle
15 grams licorice
15 grams uva ursi
8 grams scotch broom
8 grams cinnamon
1 gram cayenne
Tea: blend all together in a jar. Shake well before dispensing dosage. Use 1 heaping T per cup water. Simmer 5 minutes covered, steep until cool, strain. Drink 2 cups per day until bleeding slows substantially then reduce to 1 cup per day until bleeding stops.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Oh drat! I forgot to hit enter twice after each line on the formulas so it wouldn't all run together. Sorry!

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Fixed.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2001

Sherri, Thank you so much for sharing this for us. It is so nice to think that we can help ourselves with the herbs that grow around us. Lord knows them Dr.s arn't much help! TRen

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2001