Vitex: The wonder plant

Michelle Guillemard talks to Naturopath Siobhan Jordan about the wonders of vitex, chaste tree for women's health

What is Vitex, Chaste Tree

Vitex agnus-castus, also known by its common name chaste tree is a shrub boasting green leaves and violet flowers and highly aromatic purple to black coloured berries, which are the part of the plant that’s used medicinally. It has been referenced in many traditional medicine systems, including Ayurveda, Unani, ancient Greek medicine, Chinese traditional medicine and is still used today in Western Herbal Medicine by women to relieve symptoms of PMS and support menstrual cycle irregularities.

Chaste Tree: the menstrual miracle worker according to Naturopath Siobhan Jordan

Naturopath Siobhan Jordan wrote about the wonders of Chaste Tree in her article 'Chaste Tree: the menstrual miracle worker'. Here she sits down with Michelle Guillemard to explain why, in her own personal experience, it's such a wonderful herb.

What do you love about chaste tree?

"Oh, how I do love Chaste Tree! For me, it really is God’s gift to women, particularly for those of us who struggle each month with debilitating PMS symptoms and other menstrual cycle challenges. There’s just nothing quite like it."

How long do you recommend its use for your patients?

"Getting down to the practicalities of using this herb, be aware that you usually need to use if for a number of menstrual cycles (e.g. 3 – 6) to notice significant changes.  In my experience, it’s also common that you may notice slight improvements in the first one or two cycles and improvements increase from there."

How do people know it's working?

"So, to see how it’s working for you, consider keeping a diary and recording your symptoms (e.g. bloating, mood changes, headaches). You’ll be able to track progress much more accurately. More than likely, you’ll also become far more in tune with your body and mind too. I’d even go as far as to predict that you could have a few Aha! moments along the way.  For example, those seemingly out of the blue low moods just might occur with a bit more regularity than you previously thought.

That’s just a bit of my personal and professional experience with Chaste Tree."