A Virginia woman who treats her hormonal health issues with herbs and plants claims she has “never felt better.”
Ash Ruiz, 27, suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance that affects one in ten women of childbearing age in the United States, irregular menstrual cycles, ovarian cysts, and an excess of male sex hormones that can lead to abnormal hair growth .
She tried contraceptives and countless pharmaceutical treatments, but turned to alternative medicine after taking courses in medical botany in college, using plants like echinacea for digestion and mullein for bronchitis.
Ms. Ruiz claims, “I feel more balanced.”
She’s not the only one experimenting with natural remedies. Figures show that nearly a third of Americans have tried some type of alternative medicine, including herbs and acupuncture.
Ash Ruiz, 27, an herbalist from Virginia, turned to alternative medicine after taking medical botany courses in college. She now uses it to treat her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Ms. Ruiz was diagnosed with PCOS at age 14 and took contraceptives to regulate her menstrual cycle.
However, when she tried raspberry leaf tea and chasteberry vitex – an extract from the Mediterranean plant chasteberry – she said she felt “like myself again”.
Ms. Ruiz claims that these remedies, which also include red clover and nettle tea, rebalanced her hormones, eased her anxiety, helped her have irregular periods and relieved her headaches.
She said that since trying these remedies, she will “never resort to using traditional medicines alone again.”
“I took a lot of different medications from a young age, but now I feel more balanced,” she said.
“I had to use contraception from a young age – and now I’m constantly trying to find natural ways to regulate my hormones.”
Ms. Ruiz was diagnosed with PCOS after her parents took her to a gynecologist because of her irregular menstrual cycles. As a teenager, she went without a period for up to four months. Scans showed “many” cysts in her ovaries.
According to the US Office on Women’s Health, PCOS is a hormonal disorder that affects one in ten American women of childbearing age. It causes the ovaries to produce excessive amounts of the male sex hormone androgen because cysts form on the outer edges of the organ.
This leads to irregular menstrual cycles, abnormal hair growth, acne, obesity, thinning hair and infertility.
Doctors put Ms. Ruiz on birth control, which she took for about seven years.
“None of us knew any better, so I just went on birth control and it was terrible from then on,” she said.
“I used to have migraines, irregular periods, weight gain, anxiety – so many symptoms, the list goes on.”
“And the birth control just made it worse – I didn’t feel like myself anymore.”
Ms. Ruiz’s favorite herbs for relieving PCOS symptoms include chasteberry, St. John’s wort and raspberry leaf tea
Ms. Ruiz claims that herbal remedies make her feel “like herself again” and that she will “never again” resort to using traditional medicine alone
In 2017, Ms. Ruiz began studying medical botany at Virginia Commonwealth University.
She liked how “different” it felt from the other areas of study, and she focused all of her research on St. John’s Wort—a plant used to treat depression, burns, and cuts, among other things.
“From then on I felt like it was meant to be,” she said.
“I tried a juice cleanse for my PCOS symptoms anyway. Actually, everything was connected somehow.’
Shortly after trying herbal remedies, she noticed that her anxiety subsided, making her think, “This is the real deal.”
“I have noticed a huge improvement in my energy levels – as fatigue was also one of my symptoms,” she said.
“I’ve seen such drastic improvements in my cycle – my periods come more frequently and I have much less pelvic pain and discomfort.”
Six years later, Ms. Ruiz is studying herbalism while running a medicinal herb business.
Her favorite herbs for relieving PCOS symptoms include chasteberry, St. John’s wort, and raspberry leaf tea.
“I would advise everyone to try raspberry leaf as a hormonal agent,” she said. “Even pregnant women.”
“Some people prefer to take it as a tincture, but I always steep it in hot water and make a tea.”
“It’s a uterine tonic, meaning it helps tone and strengthen the uterus – although I had extremely irregular periods with PCOS, when I had the condition it was very severe and painful.”
Chasteberry, also known as Vitex agnus-castus, has been shown in some studies to increase fertility and relieve symptoms of hormonal disorders such as menopause. However, much of the research is unclear.
For example, a 2015 study in the journal International Immunopharmacology found that a compound in the plant called casticin could reduce inflammation in animals. However, the study also found that over-the-counter medications like aspirin work just as well.
St. John’s wort is a European plant with yellow, star-shaped flowers. Some research suggests that it may help relieve symptoms of mild to moderate depression, but there is no evidence that it is useful for treating more severe forms.
Raspberry leaf tea is a tea made from the leaves of raspberries. It can also be taken in tablet form. Some studies suggest that it may be used to speed up labor and relieve pregnancy symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, although there is no solid evidence for this.