Evening Primrose Oil contains a high concentration of Gamma-linoleic acid, aka GLA which in conjunction with the amino acid phenylalanine is said to be useful in treating a variety of conditions. Herbalists list it's benefits in: treating PMS, breast pain due to hormonal changes, joint pain and the reduction of swelling due to rheumatoid arthritis, the prevention of diabetes related nerve damage, the reduction of eczema symptoms, the treatment of rosacea, reducing Alzheimer induced memory deficiencies and for boosting the immune system. (http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-evening-primrose.html)
The NIH agrees there are some benefits but as is typical, suggests more studies are definitely needed to get a more accurate picture of it's values medicinally.
I started taking EPO a month ago in the hopes that it would help my truly awful PMS symptoms. Over the past few years I've spend at least two weeks out of every month with daily headaches, chronic nausea, heartburn and irritability, only to be relieved with the onset of menses.
So I tried EPO knowing it could take a few months to really notice a difference. I take one capsule with each meal daily. It can cause stomach upset if taken on an empty stomach. So I get 1500 mg a day.
This month I experienced far fewer and far less severe headaches. I experienced very little nausea, not the usual morning sickness like day long and sometimes night long misery I've been suffering.
Was it all related to the EPO? I'm not sure. I think at least half of it can be connected to that. I also changed my diet radically this month. I removed sugar (though I cheated a bit this past week), and I removed caffeine. I eliminated processed foods and have been eating only whole foods like veggies, fruits, whole grains (not even bread or pasta but truly whole grains like barley, oats and wheat berries), nuts (especially almonds), and legumes and beans. I add in chicken I cook myself and fish where possible.
Not only have I dropped ten pounds but it is definitely changing the way I feel. I'm sleeping better. And for a lifetime insomniac that's a very good thing. I'm waking less grumpy. Of course I still wish I could linger in bed longer but there's still an improvement.
I noticed this week in having a few Girl Scout Cookies and eating a little dark chocolate, none of it tasted as good as I remember. In fact fruit tastes WAY sweeter than it ever has before and a handful of chopped almonds and chopped dried apricots is a real treat for me now.
I am going to continue my use of EPO this month and see if there's an even further reduction in PMS symptoms. One more thing of MAJOR note.
My husband and both my sons have had two nasty upper respiratory infections this month, one after the other. I haven't caught either of them. I'm really, really surprised at this since there's been much sneezing, coughing and general germ spreading going on here for weeks. Now whether it's the EPO, the diet or a combo of both, I really think there's something to this.
EPO is also suggested by some herbalists as being a great immune booster and even offer child dosage recommendations. I'm tempted to try it for them and see what happens.
You can read more about Evening Primrose Oil at some of the links below.
http://www.naturalnews.com/036177_evening_primrose_oil_nutrition_healthy_oils.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/340538-evening-primrose-arthritis/
and of course via your web browser.
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