22-04-2016, 11:57 PM
I have not been able to find any other herbs with proven efficacy at increasing relaxin type 2 expression. Also, contrary to various things claimed by another individual, those that showed activity in this respect showed it irrespective of cycle or pregnancy. Additionally, estrogenic and galactagogue herbs WERE tested in various studies and showed NO activity, disproving yet another of this persons claims. I won't be linking to all the various studies, if someone is interested they can repeat the search themselves. My terms were simple: relaxin 2 herbs.
Whilst the one herb that has wide availability is not cheap, it is certainly less expensive than trying to get access to the hormone itself which does not have wide availability. The cost of the other herb is currently unknown due to apparent limited availability. However, I did not look all that hard, only at the more common retailers like Swanson, iHerb, and Amazon online, and my own local ones.
In conclusion, I can not myself afford to add a Pycnogenol product to my program at this time, but would recommend it to anyone who can afford to and desire significantly wider hips. If I ever find a job, it will be something I'll put into my program IF I can't convince whoever I get for my hormones for HRT to prescribe synthetic to me, or insurance to cover it even if I can.
For those who do decide to use it be aware that it will encourage skeletal growth in areas other than the hips, such as the feet and hands. For me, this isn't that bad of a trade, as if the new growth happens in a more feminine arrangement I wouldn't mind having longer feet but slimmer for their size or the same for fingers, but for some it might be a problem and you should be aware of it before doing something to increase your relaxin expression. These are things that will happen to you naturally in pregnancy, so its not a BAD thing medically, but you might not want it cosmetically.
Whilst the one herb that has wide availability is not cheap, it is certainly less expensive than trying to get access to the hormone itself which does not have wide availability. The cost of the other herb is currently unknown due to apparent limited availability. However, I did not look all that hard, only at the more common retailers like Swanson, iHerb, and Amazon online, and my own local ones.
In conclusion, I can not myself afford to add a Pycnogenol product to my program at this time, but would recommend it to anyone who can afford to and desire significantly wider hips. If I ever find a job, it will be something I'll put into my program IF I can't convince whoever I get for my hormones for HRT to prescribe synthetic to me, or insurance to cover it even if I can.
For those who do decide to use it be aware that it will encourage skeletal growth in areas other than the hips, such as the feet and hands. For me, this isn't that bad of a trade, as if the new growth happens in a more feminine arrangement I wouldn't mind having longer feet but slimmer for their size or the same for fingers, but for some it might be a problem and you should be aware of it before doing something to increase your relaxin expression. These are things that will happen to you naturally in pregnancy, so its not a BAD thing medically, but you might not want it cosmetically.