R & R - Evening Primrose

self care, self-care, holistic health, health consultation, alternative medicine, integrative medicine, holistic medicine, herbs, herbalism, herbal medicine, integrative nursing, integrative, care, nurse herbalist, elder, support, supportive, complementary, complementary and alternative medicine, complementary therapies, health, healing, kits, healing totes, self healing, chronic illness, herbal remedies, self remedies, health consultation, therapies, recipes, recipes, healing remedies, integrative herb guide, drug interaction, diabetes, cancer, palliative heart disease, obesity, aging, hospice, longevity, inspirational speaker, public speaker, expert holistic health, creative healing, foot reflexology, lactation consultant, pediatric, non-verbal communication, dance therapy, TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Bach Flower

Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose oil is produced from pressed small seeds of the Oenothera biennis plant. Evening primrose oil can be taken in supplement form as a rich source of essential fatty acids (EFA's). Evening primrose oil contains Omega-6 EFA's. Omega-3 EFA's should be taken too when supplements such as Evening Primrose oil rich in Omega-6's are taken. Fish or fish oil supplements are often recommended by health practitioners as the best source of Omega -3 EFA's. Examples from studies on evening primrose that have shown beneficial to humans are included below:

BREAST PAIN: Evening primrose oil given orally, 6 capsules per day for three to six months (dosage not reported), significantly reduced severe and persistent mastalgia (breast pain) in 45% of participants with cyclical mastalgia and in 27% of patients with noncyclical mastalgia. Ninety-five percent of those who responded to evening primrose oil did so within three months and 2% of the patients in both groups complained of a bloated feeling with nausea after taking the evening primrose oil (Pye, Mansel, & Hughes, 1985).

POST VIRAL FATIGUE SYNDROME: After three months of daily treatment with 4000 mg evening primrose oil (Epogam) and fish oil, 85% of patients in the treatment group diagnosed with postviral fatigue syndrome demonstrated significant improvement as compared with the placebo group in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 63 adults (Behan, Behan, & Horrobin, 1990).

DEPRESSION AND SCHIZOPHRENIA: Evening primrose oil, an omega-6 EFA, contains high amounts of gamma linolenic acid (GLA). The GLA content of evening primrose oil is of interest because it is a precursor of prostaglandins, especially PGE1. Prostaglandins help regulate many metabolic functions. PGE1 is important in nerve cell transmission and is both anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating. Affecting the PGE1 pathway has been shown to improve conditions such as depression and schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, PMS, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Schmidt, 1997).