More and more women, every day, are turning to natural alternative treatments to treat the symptoms they experience during menopause including hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. Try the following tips to ease your symptoms of menopause:
- Your diet is
an important tool that you can use to help control your menopausal
symptoms. Foods to avoid include high amounts of caffeine in any
foods, and carbonated beverages which contain phosphorous and can
increase bone loss. Also, limit your consumption of
commercially raised meats including beef, pork, and chicken
because these meats contain a high amount of saturated fats and decrease the
body's ability to metabolize estrogen. Excessive sugar intake also
limits your liver's ability to metabolize estrogen and impairs the
immune system.
Increase your intake of foods that contain phytoestrogens including soy. Other foods that you should include in your diet include grains ,oats, wheat, brown rice, tofu, almonds, cashews, and fresh fruits and vegetables. - According to
research published by the Journal
of the British Menopause Society, red clover isoflavone
supplements, used in controlled studies, have been shown to have a
significant positive effect on the rate of bone loss, improve
cardiovascular health, and may offer some protective effect
against breast and endometrial cancer. There is also evidence
which suggests that red clover isoflavones decrease the incidence
of hot flashes, one of the most common vasomotor complaints
experienced by peri-menopausal and menopausal women. In one study,
after 8 weeks using Promensil 40mg daily participants
experienced a 58% decrease in the number of hot flashes
experienced; study participants also experienced a significant
reduction in the severity of night sweats. Promensil is a
dietary supplement that is available over-the-counter, without a
prescription, at retail grocery, drug, and health food stores.
- Lactobacillus
acidophilus and Bifidus (the "good" bacteria in our
intestines) cultures are important for women during menopause to
help with metabolism and utilization of estrogen, and some believe
these "good" bacteria help reduce the occurrence of yeast
infections. These can be found in various nutritional formulas on
the market.
- In his book,
Medicinal
Herbal Therapy: A Pharmacist's
Viewpoint,
registered pharmacist Steven G. Ottariano says that certain
vitamins and minerals can provide particular benefits to
menopausal women. These include Vitamin E (400 to 800 IU daily) to
help reduce hot flashes and night sweats; Calcium (1500 mg
daily)--the best type of calcium is not calcium carbonate which
may not be fully absorbed, but microcrystalline calcium
hydroxyapatite calcium (MCHC) or calcium citrate; Magnesium (500
mg to 750 mg daily) is essential to help with the absorption of
calcium; Vitamin C (1,000 mg to 2,000 mg daily) helps absorption
of Vitamin E and decreases capillary fragility.
- Also
recommended by Pharmacist Ottariano is Black Cohosh (20 mg to 60
mg, 3 times daily) which is a phytoestrogen that helps many women
manage menopause symptoms. There are a number of Black Cohosh
products on the market for menopause including Remifemin.
However it's important to note (as I have learned through my
personal experience) that women with surgical menopause may not
find phytoestrogens as helpful as those who experience natural
menopause. Other herbs recommended as potentially beneficial by
Ottariano include Dong Quai (500 mg to 1000 mg, 2 or 3 times
daily), Evening Primrose Oil (500 mg 3 or 4 times daily), Ginseng
(100 mg to 500 mg, 3 times daily), and Vitex Agnus Castus (175 mg
daily).
