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Spearmint Tea May Help Women With Hirsutism

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For this study, 21 women with hirsutism drank two cups of herbal spearmint tea for five days at a certain time in their menstrual cycle.

All women showed a decrease in free testosterone (circulating hormone not bound to other molecules) and an increase in several different "female" hormones, including follicle-stimulating hormone and estrogen.

There was no significant decrease in total testosterone levels; it was unclear if there was any change in amount of excess hair growth.

"The next step is to show the effect of spearmint tea on hirsutism scores of the women in a treatment period," Tamer said.

Although the amounts of spearmint used in this study are not generally toxic, the herb can be harmful if taken in larger amounts.

More information

Visit the American Academy of Family Physicians for more on hirsutism.

SOURCES: Mehmet Numan Tamer, professor, endocrinology and metabolism, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey; Khursheed Navder, Ph.D., associate professor, nutrition and food science, Hunter College, New York City;Phytotherapy Researchonline

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