Spearmint tea
Spearmint tea tested for hirsutism (excess body hair) help
Turkish researchers from Suleyman Demirel University in Isparta report
that women with excess body hair, a condition known as hirsutism, who
drank two cups of spearmint herbal
tea a day for five days showed
significant reductions in their levels of free testosterone. The
researchers previously noted that drinking peppermint tea seemed to lower
sex drive in some men, which prompted them to investigate spearmint as an
anti-hirsutism treatment. 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 no 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.
Comments: Previous research has indicated that licorice could also be
helpful. Perhaps a woman with hirsutism, in addition to weight loss and
exercise, could alternate the use of spearmint tea and licorice tea or
take a licorice supplement.