Women’s Health: Evening Primrose Oil
Food Supplements > > Women’s Health: Evening Primrose Oil
Over the centuries, evening primrose oil has been used to promote good health, and is still sought after as a preventative for some conditions – especially by women, who tend to use it as a food supplement to help stave off certain illnesses that relate specifically to the female gender. The oil comes from a sweet wildflower, whose petals only open in the evening, which can be found in North America, Europe and certain sections of Asia.
As a food supplement, evening primrose oil is utilized for the healing properties that are contained within the fatty oil that’s present in the seeds of the evening primrose plant. This fatty oil is known as gamma-linolenic acide (or GLA), and is also present in certain foods, as well as in the body – since the body can produce it utilizing certain dietary fats.
Once used by the early settlers and their Native American counterparts, this food supplement was believed to address ailments such as stomachache, sore throats, hemorrhoids and bruises. Today, evening primrose oil is used for a number of other conditions, and to promote good health in specific areas of the human body – especially in women.
Evening Primrose Oil: The Health Benefits
As a result of its GLA content, this food supplement is believed to be effective in reducing the symptoms of Post-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS), menstruation, endometriosis and fibrocystic breasts. In regard to easing the discomforts during menstruation, evening primrose oil – through its release of GLA – helps to block the production of some of the hormones that are released during a woman’s monthly cycle that bring about inflammation, which causes cramping. Since the production process of this hormone is interrupted, cramping is minimized. Other irritations that may be minimized by this food supplement are tenderness of the breasts, inflammation due to endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome and the craving for carbohydrates (explaining the reason
Since women who have a history of fibrocystic breasts tend to have an unusually low level of iodine, the fatty acids that are present in evening primrose oil help to assist the body’s absorption of the mineral, and also use the properties of the food supplement to reduce
Arthritis suffers may want to consider using evening primrose oil, since it helps to ease joint pain and swelling. A number of studies have been done, which reflect the fact that those who use this food supplement to increase their levels of GLA do experience relief from some of the symptoms of arthritis, when compared to those who did not take GLA.
Among the many other benefits that are believed to be experienced through the use of this versatile food supplement are the prevention of nerve damage due to the effects of diabetes, reduction of the symptoms of eczema, elimination of lupus-related inflammation, treatment of rosacea and acne, elimination of some of the symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis – as a result of inflammation, reduction of numbness and tingling in extremities, reduction of the effects of aging, treatment of memory-related problems due to Alzheimer’s disease, assistance with fertility problems in both men and women, alleviation of the symptoms of Raynaud’s disease, elimination of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and the nourishment of scalp, hair and nails.