Herbal Supplements for Menopause

Sometimes called "the change of life," menopause is when a woman stops ovulating. And while the mechanism is the same for all women, the symptoms vary. With menopause's estrogen drop usually comes hot flashes, dizziness, headaches, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and depression. To reduce these symptoms, doctors generally prescribe estrogen. However, there are risks as estrogen may worsen asthma, cause heart disorders, kidney stones, epilepsy or migraines. So many women seek alternatives in the form of herbal supplements.

Hot Flashes

• Herbal supplements can be found at most drugstores and at health food stores. According to Dr. James F. Balch, author of "Prescription for Nutritional Healing," there are many herbs that can help a woman deal with menopause. Among the supplements, is the commonly used black cohosh. Besides relieving hot flashes, women still menstruating take black cohosh to relieve menstrual cramps and pain. Another recommended herb is dong quai which relieves hot flashes, PMS and vaginal dryness. Dong quai increases the effect of ovarian hormones because it is high in natural plant estrogens.

Depression

• A common symptom of menopause is depression. Popular herbs for alleviating mild depression include St. John's wort. But for menopause, Dr. Balch suggests gotu koto as it decreases fatigue (another effect of menopause) while decreasing depression and increasing the sex drive. Ginseng, he says, is also sometimes taken to aid depression. Ginseng aids in producing estrogen while supporting the adrenal glands. Holistic Online lists chaste tree and damiana for helping fight depression. Chaste tree works as a hormone balancer while damiana regulates the pituitary gland.

Additional Herbs

• Other herbs you might try include licorice which stimulates estrogen-like effects. And if these herbs do not help, there are others reputed to help with menopausal symptoms. Dr. Balch recommends damiana to relieve headaches, another common complaint of menopause. Furthermore he suggests raspberry for hot flashes. It is reputed to strengthen the uterine wall and relax uterine spasms. For other estrogen regulators, holistic online recommends false unicorn root, liferoot (a uterine tonic) and red clover (which stimulates the ovaries).