[florence]

I want to take the herbal route of NBE and probably start with a simple program. Can anyone venture an opinion on which is the best or main single herb for NBE? I know fenugreek gets mentioned a lot.

[Molly H]

Herbal programs for NBE usually use a combination of herbs, so there is not really any single herb that is known to frequently produce results. However, there are some women who say they grew on fenugreek alone and some who say they grew on maca alone and some who say they grew on hops alone. In the past saw palmetto alone was reputed to cause breast growth. Goat's rue had similar claims made for it too. But I would repeat the general point I made that herbal NBE as it has been developed in the West is not about finding one single magic herb to promote breast growth, but about finding a suitable combination of herbs which will generally be more effective than any herb taken singly.

[MoK217]

I agree with Molly. I showed some substantial gain from Saw Palmetto for about a week, and then added Barley, and Hops to the mix, along with a one a day vitamin, and soya powder. I still have slight tingles...but will be adding Fenugreek and Fennel to the mix here in another few days. I am hoping to cut the Saw Palmetto out of the daily intake...as it seems to cause quite a few women with unwanted cellulite. But as I produce too much testosterone, I don't think I will be able to get rid of it. Google the herbs you plan on taking first, that's what I did. But I am mostly following Eve's program, with the addition of Saw Palmetto. Good Luck.

[kikhira]

Fenugreek is the most popularly used herb but I don't see hardly anyone using it just by itself.

[soonenough]

I used fenugreek (3240 gr) as an NBE herb by itself although I used it with MSM (6000 grm), Flax oil, chicken feet broth/soymilk/boobie food friendly + massage. Used the above combination for a month and I grew 1 inch by the holidays after I started 12/9/10.

Fenugreek was very effective for me, and I should have stayed with it, but I was so scared of gaining weight and getting acne that I stopped.

[MoK217]

I used fenugreek (3240 gr) as an NBE herb by itself although I used it with MSM (6000 grm), Flax oil, chicken feet broth/soymilk/boobie food friendly + massage. Used the above combination for a month and I grew 1 inch by the holidays after I started 12/9/10.

Fenugreek was very effective for me, and I should have stayed with it, but I was so scared of gaining weight and getting acne that I stopped.

Is that 3,240 mg per day? Was that what you started with? That seems extreme. I am taking a lot of herbs together, but Fenugreek being the one I take the most of. And I am only taking 1800mg total a day. Should I be taking more? I haven't read anywhere of people gaining weight or acne, is that a side effect from the Fenugreek?

[surferjoe2007]

There's a German organization that recommends 6000 mg, at least for nursing. Many nursing women report zero results at 1500 and below. Some measure it in tablespoons (8000 mg each) and there are even Indian dishes you eat like rice. Those amounts might be unnecessary, but apparently safe.

[MoK217]

There's a German organization that recommends 6000 mg, at least for nursing. Many nursing women report zero results at 1500 and below. Some measure it in tablespoons (8000 mg each) and there are even Indian dishes you eat like rice. Those amounts might be unnecessary, but apparently safe.

If you started out taking 6000mg a day....wouldn't your body eventually build a resistance to it...therefor making it useless to you? If the max amount you could use is 6000mg, and you start at 6000mg, there's no room for ramping.

[surferjoe2007]

I dunno but none of the herbal studies ramp. Nursing women tend to increase until they get enough then stick to it. I suppose you could try 2000 to 6000 or more (2 tablespoons or 16000 isn't uncommon) if you wanted.

But basically, no, 3000 is not extreme for fenugreek. Maybe it is for some other herbs.

[moneygirl]

There's a German organization that recommends 6000 mg, at least for nursing. Many nursing women report zero results at 1500 and below. Some measure it in tablespoons (8000 mg each) and there are even Indian dishes you eat like rice. Those amounts might be unnecessary, but apparently safe.

If you started out taking 6000mg a day....wouldn't your body eventually build a resistance to it...therefor making it useless to you? If the max amount you could use is 6000mg, and you start at 6000mg, there's no room for ramping.

I usually take it in 1200mg doses, sometimes 1830mg (three capsules), sometimes as many as three such doses a day. So far the only side effect is that I sweat maple syrup haha!

I will skip some days, take more or less depending on... well... I don't know exactly why I do this, it just feels like the right thing to do if that makes any sense. Maybe the herb is telling me how much to take, at least that's what I try to visualize when I am dosing for the day. I used to put all my herbs in a pill container but found that varying the dose based on what I feel is right any given day has actually given me better results.

I already have an acne problem and actually have found that it has cleared up very nicely since I started MSM for NBE (granted, it got worse first) but I will always break out I guess. And I haven't had any weight gain, in fact I've lost a few pounds since I started NBE! Wooo!

just my $0.02 FWIW