The Mysterious Curative Effects of Evening Primrose Oil

Premenstrual syndrome, often called premenstrual stress disorder, refers to various physical and psychological discomforts that occur a period of time before menstruation. It is estimated that about 80-90% of women of childbearing age suffer from these distresses.

There are still many reasons for premenstrual syndrome, among which the most common is the lack of the first prostaglandin PGE1, which is related to the high prolactin (Prolactin), and the GLA (γ- Linolenic acid) was found to increase PGE1 and inhibit Prolactin, so it is believed to improve PMS.

The effect of evening primrose oil on improving PMS can be said to be both positive and negative. Early studies are biased in favor, while recent studies have confirmed that the effect is no better than placebo, or only slightly improved.

Dry eye syndrome is one of the fastest-growing eye diseases, mainly caused by insufficient or poor tear production, often causing a stinging and burning sensation in the eyes, and blurred vision, making it difficult to focus on things that require eyesight. The estimated prevalence of dry eye syndrome in the general population ranges from 7.4% to 33.7%.

Older people (especially post-menopausal women) are the most common people suffering from dry eye syndrome. Other factors, such as wearing contact lenses, drug use, and excessive viewing of computers and mobile phones, may further trigger or aggravate dry eye symptoms.

A double-blind controlled study (6 months in 76 patients with contact lens-related dry eye syndrome) found that taking evening primrose oil improved overall contact lens comfort (contactlenscomfort, by 20%), and reduced dry eye evaluation scores (by 40%).

The underlying mechanism is related to the increased tear production (measured by tearmeniscus height) and anti-inflammatory effects of evening primrose oil, but due to the small number of samples, more studies are needed to further confirm.

Diabetes is a dangerous disease that has no obvious symptoms on the surface but secretly destroys the body. The most troublesome thing is that once the long-term blood sugar control is poor (at least 10 years), it may cause three major complications, such as retinopathy and nephropathy and neuropathy.

Among them, neuropathy mostly occurs in the fingers and toes. In the early stage, you will feel soreness, numbness and tingling.

In the study, it was found that gammalinolenic acid (GLA) in evening primrose (480mg daily) can improve the clinical symptoms of diabetic neuropathy (including pain, weakness, etc.), especially for patients with good blood sugar control.

How much you eat and move can be said to be the most common lifestyle of modern people, and it has also made weight loss a norm. Although there are many ways to lose weight, the difficulty is how to maintain the weight for a long time.

And the wrong way to lose weight often leads to repeated weight loss, always cycling back and forth between weight loss and weight gain, and the weight goes up and down, forming the so-called Yo-yo effect (Yo-yo effect).

In a double-blind controlled study, it was found that the use of GLA (890mg per day) for one year can effectively reduce the weight gain after weight loss. The group taking GLA only gained 5 pounds of weight, while the control group increased by 19 pounds (taking olive oil), and BorageOil (borage oil) was used in the experiment, and evening primrose oil also had the same effect.

GLA (γ-linolenic acid) can be converted into the first prostaglandin PGE1 (ProstaglandinE1) in the human body, and PGE1 has anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory effects in the human body. Other GLA anti-inflammatory mechanisms are listed below:

Inhibit COX-2 and LOX enzymes, prevent arachidonic acid (mainly from meat and eggs) from being converted into pro-inflammatory substances (this mechanism is the same as that of general non-steroidal drugs, but without side effects).

Inhibition of NF-kB transcription factor: NF-kB is a protein complex that is the master switch of the inflammatory machinery in cells.

Activation of PPAR receptors: PPAR is a cell receptor related to metabolism, which has an important impact on blood pressure, blood sugar and inflammation. When PPAR is suppressed, it is easy to cause cell damage and cause cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

Eczema, officially called atopic dermatitis in medicine, is the most common skin disease (redness, swelling, dryness, itching, etc.), and about 2%-7% of the population suffers from this disease.

The biggest feature is that it will keep scratching during the attack, and it will even scratch the skin in severe cases, making it unbearable for patients. In general treatment, oral antihistamines are the most common prescription, but they often lead to side effects such as drowsiness. Taking them during the day can easily affect concentration and cause inconvenience.

Clinically, it is found that eczema patients often cannot produce enough anti-inflammatory hormones (because of poor ability to convert fatty acids into GLA (gamma-linolenic acid)).

By supplementing GLA in evening primrose oil, it has a significant effect on improving eczema. In the experiment, 96% of the patients’ skin inflammation was significantly improved. It is a very safe natural prescription without side effects.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic inflammatory disease (a type of autoimmune disease) caused by immune cells attacking body tissues, causing chronic inflammation of specific joints (common in the joints of the hands and feet), which can lead to severe and even loss of strength in the hands and feet, and even The joints are severely deformed.

Evening primrose oil can be used as a natural prescription for improving rheumatoid arthritis, and can even replace NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).

In a study published by Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, it was found that 94% of patients who took evening primrose oil had significant improvement in pain and morning joint stiffness, but the effect would not appear until 1 to 3 months.