Spearmint tea: remedy for female body hair

Data just published in the February edition of Phytotherapy Research shows that drinking two cups of spearmint tea (Mentha spicata) a day for five days could reduce the level of androgens in women with hirsutism. This is a distressing disorder where hair grows on the breasts, face and body, places where it is normally just found in men, due to abnormally high levels of the masculinizing androgen hormones circulating in the body.

Mehmet Tamer, lead investigator for the study, which was conducted at the Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey, noted that current therapies use either oral contraceptives to suppress androgen production, or medications such as spironolactone that prevent the body responding to androgen. "This study shows that spearmint could be a good natural alternative for women who have mild symptoms," he said.

The team decided to study the effects of spearmint on hirsutism because of previous reports that extracts of the spearmint plant could reduce libido in men.