Health Benefits of Evening Primrose Oil

Evening primrose, of the genus  Oenothera,  is a biennial flower common to North and South America. Biennials require two years to complete their life cycle, and bloom and form seeds in the second year. Also called suncups or sundrops, this bright yellow flower blooms at night; hence the name Evening Primrose. You might call Evening Primrose a nocturnal plant, but you’ll never call it useless.

Other names include:

Common Evening Primrose, Fever plant, Great Evening-Primrose, King’s-cure-all, Night willow-herb, Scabish, Scurvish, Tree primrose.

Native Americans used the plant as a painkiller and an asthma treatment. The oil from Evening Primrose is very high in gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is and essential polyunsaturated fatty acid tht our bodies convert into prostaglandin. Prostaglandin is a hormone-like substance that does essential things for us like contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle,  dilation and constriction of blood vessels, control of blood pressure, and modulation of inflammation.

Evening Primrose oil has even been shown to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It can ease premenstrual syndrome and anxiety, and has even been used successfully with schizophrenics. The British Journal of Dermatology cited a study in 1987 that showed how Evening Primrose Oil significantly helped infantile eczema, or ‘cradle cap.’

How to use Evaning Primrose:

Take 250 mg upt to 3 times dail. For PMS, use evening primrose oil two to three days before symptoms usually appear, continue use until the onset of mensturation.

Evening Primrose Oil benefits:

Relieves symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Reduces anxiety.

Helps prevent heart diease and stroke by controlling heigh blood pressure and reducing cholesterol.

Helps keep skin healthy.