Many women who are approaching menopause may feel at a complete loss as to how to relieve new and unwelcome symptoms that are characteristic of this time of life. Hot flashes, mood swings, irritability, and fatigue are just a very few of the symptoms we may be challenged with.
Prescribed medications, therapies and treatments quite often come with their own set of adverse symptoms and long term side effects and may be ultimately worse than the original symptoms. A woman's journey into menopause and the symptoms associated with this experience are natural. A natural supplements treatment approach often proves quite beneficial without the risk of harmful side effects, and should be explored.
Signs and Symptoms Of Menopause
While some women breeze through to menopause with hardly any symptom, 85% of women do experience a few or multiple symptoms that can range in frequency and severity. Menopausal symptoms can be recognized in the following:
• Hot flashes/ Night sweats
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Muscle tension
• Low libido
• Joint and muscle pain
• Weight gain
• Irregular heavy bleeding
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Depression
Menopausal Natural Supplements
Hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) using synthetic estrogen and progestins had been the silver bullet approach to alleviating menopausal symptoms for years. Then in 2002, alarming studies revealed a significant rise in breast cancer, cardiac disease and stroke in women who participated in HRT. Gradually, women are now turning to age-old proven herbal remedies for relief from menopausal symptoms in the wake of HRT’s fall from grace.
Natural and herbal supplements have shown to ease some of the side effects of certain menopausal symptoms. The following are natural supplements that are thought to promote noticeable, positive effects with symptoms associated with menopause:
Black Cohosh – Also known as black bugbane, black snakeroot and fairy candle, black cohosh is believed to possess sedative, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Menopausal women report that black cohosh is very effective in reducing the severity of hot flashes.
Red Clover Leaf Extract – The flower head of red clover contains isoflavones that are similar in shape and action to that of estrogen. It’s been suggested that this herb’s properties serve to reduce hot flashes in menopausal women, and may work to delay bone loss which is another side effect in menopause.
Vitex Extract – Comes from the fruit of the chaste tree and is also known as chaste berry extract. Used for thousands of years, vitex extract is thought to help regulate hormonal imbalances by stabilizing the pituitary gland. As a result, this supplement is believed to assuage hot flashes.
Pomegranate – The seeds of the pomegranate contain beneficial compounds that contain powerful antioxidants along with mild estrogenic properties that ease the symptoms of hormonal imbalance.
Licorice Root – This flavorful smelling herb of the Glycyrrhiza species contains estrogenic properties that address hormonal imbalances, as well as certain flavonoids that have been used to treat depression in pre- and post-menopausal women. Licorice root also contains a substance called glabrene that is used in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.
Soy – Soy is one of the many plants that contain phytoestrogens, compounds that imitate natural estrogen in the normal levels that were produced in a woman’s body before the onset of menopause. It has been reported that isoflavone-rich soy extract significantly reduces the frequency and severity of hot flashes, and improves mood, insomnia, anxiety and depression.
Women transitioning to menopause are experiencing an important and challenging phase in their life. Many women are now wishing to avoid the documented risks involved with estrogen drugs, and are now instead strongly interested in finding a healthy approach to relieving hot flashes, mood swings, depression, and all the other symptoms that they may be experiencing. Many are now choosing to embrace natural supplements as menopause remedies that worked well for our ancestors on their path to menopause.
