A Hot Topic: Herbs and Menopause Menopause

Women in the millions are headed by a shift-change, rather that not-so-magical moment of a woman's life when her ovaries decide to call it departs. Doctors call it "menopause, women have other names for the phenomenon dreaded experiencing, usually between the ages of 45 and 55. Traditional Western medicine has been limited to forms that could support women who come to their physician with complaints classic-menopausal hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and memory or concentration difficulties. For these women, the options have been limited to two: 1) hormone replacement therapy with drugs that contain estrogen and progesterone, hormones that the ovaries stop making at menopause, or 2) living with her.

Today, however, women are demanding more choices of ways they can be more comfortable without having to rely on synthetic hormone therapy. Leaving aside the traditional medical therapy, herbal remedies have become increasingly popular for women who want to make a good natural menopause, but the transition. In a three-part series of articles, I will discuss the various medicinal herbs for menopause and help you make an informed decision about what is best for you.

One of the most popular herbs for menopausal symptoms is black Cohosh root, harvested from a bush native plants and parts of eastern North americas. It has been used widely in Europe as a treatment for menopausal hot flashes and is gaining popularity in the U.S.. The way black Cohosh works to control hot flashes is interesting and worth discussion. Unfortunately, most painless means a mini-conference on menopause and why hot flashes occur. Therefore, if you are for it ...

When a woman approaches menopause, your ovaries basically raise awareness and stop producing the usual amount of estrogen and progesterone, hormones normally produced cycle in women menstruating. The brain, sensing the relative lack of female hormones, starts sending chemical signals in an attempt to attract the ovaries to "pick up the pace a bit and produce more hormones. These brain chemicals are called follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The women in menopause have many of these hormones in their bodies. Scientists believe that fluctuations in the highest levels of LH, in particular, are the causes of hot flashes.

Enter Cohosh black. When taken for menopausal symptoms, the herb attaches itself to some of the same receptors in the body that estrogen does and tricks the brain into thinking it is really estrogen. The LH levels are reduced hot flashes and get better. Easy, huh?

Well, not exactly. If black Cohosh can fool the brain into thinking it is estrogen, it does act like estrogen in other ways? More importantly, does carry the same risk of stimulating the growth of estrogen-sensitive cancers (such as some breast and uterine cancer) as well as estrogen real? Although not completely understood scientifically, recent evidence suggests that black Cohosh has minimal estrogenic properties. This means that while grants to estrogen receptors and estrogen, not "become" receptors in the same way as estrogen. Apart from its effects on the brain LH secretion, it is not known to stimulate the lining of the uterus or do any other of the commonly known estrogen does things. In other words, part of the body is fooled into thinking black Cohosh is the estrogen, but not all of it.

So what does all this mean? If science can prove that black Cohosh reduces levels of LH but does not act like estrogen completely, this may be an excellent option for postmenopausal women at risk for estrogen-sensitive cancers that otherwise would not be candidates for traditional therapy Hormone replacement. The "jury" is still in this, but I personally am very hopeful that this will be the case.

If you're willing to give black Cohosh an example, here's what you need to know before heading to the store to buy some. Look for a brand reputation that gives the dose of black Cohosh as an "extract". The daily dose should be approximately 80 milligrams of extract. Sometimes, other herbs are mixed with the black Cohosh and called for a "formula of menopause." This is probably fine, but as you can learn in the following articles, each herb is not as effective or as safe Cohosh black and he can invite the undesirable side effects. Take it for a month or so and see how he feels. There has been no scientific studies on black Cohosh beyond 6 months of use to see your healthcare provider if you want to use the grass for that.