It has been discovered than an oil derived from the seeds of this plant is helpful in a wide range of health problems, including obesity, premenstrual syndrome, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, brittle nails, eczema, heart disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism and schizophrenia. GLA is an essential fatty acid. Essential fatty acids, like vitamins and some amino acids, are substances that the body needs to function properly but that it cannot produce. This means that GLA must come from dietary sources. The arachadonic acid is then used to produce prostaglandins.
Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances that regulate blood pressure and clotting.
This means that by supplementing the diet with GLA, the body can skip a step and more efficiently produce the prostaglandins. As it turns out, evening primrose is the only significant dietary source of GLA besides black currant oil and breast milk. That is why evening primrose oil can be so important to relieving the conditions already mentioned. One of the overall effects of evening primrose oil is that it works as an anticoagulant to lower blood pressure and strengthen the heart. The generally recommended dosage of BEV EPO is one to three softgel capsules taken daily with meals.