Reducing the length or severity of menstruation is possible through the use of a variety of herbs that have been used by women for thousands of years. Control of excessive or heavy flows, reducing the average number of days a woman menstruates and restoring healthy hormone balance to the body can be achieved through some popular and very effective Native American and Chinese herbal treatments.
Visit your local health or vitamin store to find Chinese herbs that have long been used to reduce menstrual blood flow as well as duration of menstrual cycles. For example, cayenne pepper is known to enhance the strength and structure of capillaries in both veins and arteries, which helps provide adequate circulation, dilation and constriction, reducing excessive blood flow through the uterine lining. It has also been used in Native American folk medicine to stem internal bleeding.
Make some red raspberry leaf tea, which has long been used by Chinese women to constrict tissues in the body, including blood vessels and thereby blood flow. The tea also helps relax tissues, reducing muscle cramping that often initiates heavier blood flow. Prepare according to package instructions if purchasing in pre-made tea bags, or brew 1 teaspoon of raspberry tea in one to two cups of hot water for optimal benefits. Drink the tea twice a day.
Take Radix Notoginseng (also known as san qi), a natural herb known to regulate excessive blood flow for many menstruating women and stop menstruation from occurring longer than normal (most commonly three to five days for most women). This herb powder can be ingested in 1- to 2-teaspoon doses brewed in hot water for a tea mixture up to three times a day.
Brew a tea with Angelica, an herb that is often used for indigestion and heartburn. When brewed as a tea (1 teaspoon of Angelica root) with one cup of hot water, the tea is known to suppress menstruation.
Balance hormones and reduce menstrual blood flow and length of periods by using other herbs like yarrow, red clover and black cohosh. These can all be brewed in teas that, when drunk twice a day, offer effective relief by balancing the amount of progesterone and estrogen hormones in a woman's body. Prepare using 1 to 2 teaspoons per 8 ounces of hot water, or 1 pre-packaged tea bag per cup of water for optimal benefits.
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Denise Stern is an experienced freelance writer and editor. She has written professionally for more than seven years. Stern regularly provides content for health-related and elder-care websites and has an associate and specialized business degree in health information management and technology.