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Spearmint
Tea May Help Treat
Excess Body Hair
Chava discovered this
article on the web,
which can be found on
many websites including
www.reuters.com
and www.bbc.com
Spearmint Tea May
Help Treat Excess Body
Hair
Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:31pm
EST
NEW YORK - A few mugs of
spearmint tea could help
women combat excess
facial and body hair,
Turkish researchers
report.
Women with excess body
hair, a condition known
as hirsutism, who drank
two cups of the herbal
tea a day for five days
showed significant
reductions in their
levels of free
testosterone, Dr. Mehmet
Numan Tamer and
colleagues from Suleyman
Demirel University in
Isparta report.
Typical treatments for
hirsutism target excess
levels of male hormones,
and include oral
contraceptives to
prevent the production
of these hormones or
drug treatment to block
the body's response to
them, Tamer and his team
point out in the journal
Phytotherapy Research.
The researchers
previously noted that
drinking peppermint tea
seemed to lower the
libido in some men,
which prompted them to
investigate spearmint as
an anti-hirsutism
treatment. Hirsutism is
characterized by
excessive hair growth on
the face, breasts and
belly, and affects about
5 percent of women. It
is thought to be related
to the body's level of
androgens (male
hormones).
The researchers had 21
women with hirsutism
drink a tea prepared
from a heaping teaspoon
of dried spearmint
leaves twice daily.
Twelve of the women had
polycystic ovary
syndrome, while the rest
had hirsutism with known
cause.
After five days, the
women's levels of free
testosterone (the
biologically active
form) declined, although
their total testosterone
level stayed the same.
Women's levels of
luteinizing hormone,
follicle stimulating
hormone, and estrogen
rose, while their
triglyceride levels
dropped significantly.
Women with high male
hormone levels may also
have high levels of
triglycerides, insulin
resistance, and obesity,
the researchers note.
Spearmint can be an
alternative to
antiandrogenic treatment
for mild hirsutism.
However, further studies
are needed for testing
the reliability and
availability of
spearmint as a drug for
hirsutism," the
researchers conclude.
SOURCE: Phytotherapy
Research, online
February 20, 2007
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