MISSIVES FROM THE APOTHECARY
Herbs to Support the Trans Experience
February 7, 2025
by Kamden Cornell, Old Town Herbal lead clinical herbalist and owner of Heart & Vine Apothecary
I am feeling a lot of feelings, recently, as I’m sure you are, too. It is difficult to figure out how to transmogrify those into something useful and helpful, as well as couched in love, empathy, and compassion instead of righteous, seething anger. This is, in part, what I’ve come up with. There are herbs that can help support trans bodies and make exogenous hormones a little more efficient, which can, in turn, make the bodily experience just a little less stressful during times like these. I will hopefully be teaching a few workshops here at the store starting in the Spring, with trans and queer health being part of the focus for those. This article is just a start.
Testosterone Support: Unfortunately, there really aren't that many herbs that provide exogenous testosterone, the two that I can think of being pine and corn pollen. There are a TON of herbs that can help support healthy T, though, by helping to limit the metabolization of Testosterone to Dihydrotestosterone and extend the life of the primary androgen. DHT is an important hormone in developing masculine secondary sexual characteristics, but only at birth and during puberty. It does not help to maintain those features once they are acquired, which is one of the roles T takes to maintain secondary features, such as deeper voice, facial hair, etc. Prolonged heightened amounts of DHT (due to stress or hormonal imbalance) can lead to hair loss, weight gain, and blood pressure issues as well as all-cause mortality. Herbal DHT blockers include Pumpkin Seed, Saw Palmetto, Fenugreek, Nettle Root, Ashwagandha, and Ocotillo. We sell a tea blend specifically geared toward blocking DHT and helping promote longer-lived, healthy Testosterone (which I formulated FOR trans men, but will work for everyone having DHT issues) that we affectionately call Masculini-Tea.
Estrogen Support: Phytoestrogens and pre-Estrogens are MUCH easier to come by. That being said, though, they do need to be applied wisely and well. There are a lot of herbal supplements that are meant to aid in balancing or promoting Estrogen in the body, but they should be understood for different times of life. Most young people don’t need a bunch of black cohosh, mugwort is only useful at certain times of the cycle, cotton root is used for limiting progesterone and bringing on labor, and raspberry leaf isn’t always safe to ingest (particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy).
All of this should inform our work with trans folx, so we can get them the care they NEED without a bunch of extra, potentially harmful nonsense. So, here are some ideas. Black Cohosh may help to increase the number of available Estrogen receptors in the body, meaning you’ll be using more of the E you’re taking. Vitex, also known as Chaste Tree Berry, is a lovely, safe way to balance Estrogens and acts to help the body increase its own production, even in bodies without ovaries. Wild Yam can help to promote progesterone, thus the development and amplification of feminine secondary sexual characteristics. Alfalfa, Red Clover, and Dong Quai are all estrogenic herbs, meaning they have various flavonoids and other compounds that work in the body like Estrogen. Also be sure to be getting enough vitamin D, Boron, and Omega-3s, all of which help to produce more endogenous and support exogenous Estrogen. We also have a tea here formulated to help support healthy Estrogen levels, Feminini-Tea which also includes herbs to suppress Testosterone, such as Spearmint and Licorice.
Hopefully this is useful! I will always fight for queer and trans joy and expression!
<3 Kami