Why I love peonies, and why you should too...

First off I love Peony flowers because they are absolutely stunning. Secondly, the numerous results I have seen for female hormone health in clinic when using peony in a liquid herbal tincture are astounding.

Peony is a flower/herb that originates in China, Japan and India. So traditionally it is a Chinese herbal but it blends beautifully with Western Herbal Medicines. I use it on patients with any form of female hormonal upset. This may include irregular periods, erratic ovulation, dysmenorrhoea, menopausal symptoms, endometriosis, fibroids, infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Now you might be thinking “surely this herb can’t help ALL of those conditions?” That’s where you are wrong. The reason it works so beautifully on hormonal upset is due to its regulating actions on the “hypothalamic-pituatory-ovarian axis (HPA)”. What the hell is that may you ask? The HPA axis is the feedback loop that controls your female sex hormone production. Simply, the hypothalamus gland in the brain sends a message to the pituatory gland to send a message to your ovaries to either produce more or less of a specific sex hormone. If this loop becomes out of balance in the slightest, some form of hormonal upset (as listed in the conditions above) will occur. By regulating this feedback loop many symptoms subside within 2-3 menstrual cycles.

Peony is also a key herb that I use in my patients with PCOS as it has a strong anti-androgenic affect. In simple terms it helps to decrease testosterone (primarily a male sex hormone) that becomes too high in females leading to numerous symptoms associated with PCOS.

Many of my lovely female clients suffer in silence with hormonal upset for years. They become to think of their symptoms as “normal”. Any pain, discomfort, clotting or mood swing associated with your menstrual cycle is not normal. Your period should be a breeze, you shouldn’t even realise it is there. Simple tweaking of the HPA axis using herbal medicines such as peony combined with gentle lifestyle and dietary adjustments can make all the difference and enhance future fertility.