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When I was gatekept away from proper HRT, I tried a bunch of different phytoestrogens to try and do something. By the time my doctor examined me, my T was down to ~100ng/dL, and I had budding breasts. At the time I was taking pills of spearmint, liquorice, and pueraria. I think all of them had a role in reducing T, but I credit my initial breast growth to pueraria.
Pueraria is a genus of hardy potato vines from Southeast and East Asia. They’re severely understudied, and even the species classification is in flux and disputed. The Thai mirifica is usually classed as P. candollei (Pueraria candollei var. mirifica, Pueraria candollei Graham ex Benth. var. mirifica). In Thai they’re called ‘white’ (kǎao) Kwao-Krua (kwâao krʉʉa), the latter being a name used for several other plants too. The best way to get some at a good cost-benefit is from ebay sources in powdered form; look for Thai sellers, or sellers who specify either the full scientific or ‘white’ Thai name.
Kwao-krua Kao is traditionally used for female health and menopause, which suggests estrogenic properties. In particular, she’s a staple of the indigenous transfeminine culture, often called kathoey (a term which can be variously perceived a slur by the women themselves, or reclaimed for self-identification). According to a document widely quoted online whose original I can’t locate, the Tumrayahuakaokrua (‘Recipe of the Kwao-Krua’), purported to date from the 13th century:
To take the tuberous root of Pueraria with big leaves, pound and blend with cow’s milk. The benefits of this medicine is to support memory, talk big, and be able to remember three books of the astrology, make the skin smooth like six year old kid, live more than 1,000 years and parasite diseases are not able to be of trouble.
This profile matches the modern folk prescription as women’s medicine (memory, energy, longevity, and young-looking soft skin are all benefits of high estrogen levels). Pairing her with milk daily would add regular protein consumption, which increases growth hormone levels and helps in bodily changes of all kinds, including breast tissue growth.
Modern research is incipient, but it has identified some 17 phytoestrogens in the girlpotatoes, including puerarin and (deoxy-)miroestrol, whose strongly estrogenic properties have been lab-tested and reproduced. Results for menopause supplemention are promising. The ratio of compounds varies significantly from plant to plant, depending on the crop and growth conditions, which makes research trickier. Commercial products are even worse; many sellers add fillers, undercut the claimed dosage, or lie altogether about what plant they’re selling.
The Chinese-Japanese kudzu, Pueraria lobata, is a close relative of mirifica. The classification is disputed; some consider her as a subspecies, Pueraria montana var. lobata. In America, an introduced mutt of lobata-y Pueraria is the best-known example of invasive species, spreading so fast that she covers other plants, trees, houses, cars, ‘and you if you stand there all day’. This reputation is somewhat exaggerated; kudzu is resistant to herbicides, which made her hard to control and feared by farmers, but she hasn’t spread as much as claimed or damaged the ecology more than other invasives like, say, roses (who has colonised 3 times as much American forestland as the Japanese vine).
Kudzu is also a cherished food and medicinal herb in East Asia. She has most of the phytoestrogens of P. mirifica, including puerarin, and has shown positive results in menopause research. She seems however to lack miroestrol, and her feminising effects probably won’t be as dramatic. When buying online it’s important to make sure the vendor is not dealing on lobata, either from Chinese medicinal culture or American kudzu; though for DIY, dried powdered kudzu root could be a free, easy, and eternally available supplement for American femmes.