Menopause and Phytonutrients: Natural Hormone Balance

In any conversation by women over forty-five there’s likely to be a conversation about hormones. Some women have too much estrogen and they have a range of problems. Others have too little estrogen and another set of problems. All women should now be aware of the dangers of the artificial forms of hormone replacement therapy. An array of natural products have come on the market since the 2002 announcement that the pharmaceuticals could cause cancer and heart disease.

The natural products rely on phytonutrients (plant-based foods) that produce estrogen-like products during digestion. Some rely on Black Cohosh, a herb known to Native Americans for being helpful for older women, some on soy extracts known as isoflavones, others on Red Clover or Wild Yam. Each works a little differently for different women; the effect will depend on the personal constitution and diet. Here’s a few of the many products on the market. These were chosen to show the range of products available.  These aren’t necessarily the best or the cheapest. Check out a big online store like VitaminShoppe.com which has approximately 120 products in this category.

Estroven by Amerifit Brands

Estroven uses Black Cohosh and Soy Isoflavones, combined with calcium and boron for bones, some B vitamins for stress plus some calming herbs and some energizing herbs.

Estrotone by New Chapter

Estrotone uses Black Cohosh but adds an interesting assortment of herbs—Schizandra is said to be specific for vaginal dryness, Ginger is an anti-inflammatory and anti-aging, Chaste Tree for overall hormone balance and Rosemary for essential fatty acids.

Hot Flash by Source Naturals

Hot Flash by Source Naturals combines Black Cohosh with Dong Quai, Licorice root extract, and Vitex Berry extract with a little calcium and Soy isoflavone contentrate.

Phytoestrogen by Solaray

Phytoestrogen relies mostly on a Mexican Yam root, with Soy isoflavones, Black Cohosh and Dong Quai included for balance.

Femamax with DHEA by NaturalMax

NaturalMax makes Femamax with a very broad range of herbs. It includes almost everything in the above products plus Blue Cohosh, Kudzu, Motherwort, Shephard’s Purse, Lemon Balm and DHEA (25mg). Most people over 35 are deficient in DHEA and many older people take it as a supplement. This is a very economical product—about 50 cents per day.

Remifemin Good Night by Enzymatic Therapy

This product is designed for premenopausal women. The package contains 21 tablets for the days between menstruations.  It relies on Black Cohosh for estrogen plus a combination of Valerian root, Lemon Balm leaf extract and Hops Strobile extract as a sleep aid. A similar product, Remifemin, is only Black Cohosh without the sleep aid.

Brevail by Lignan Research

This product uses flax seeds as a source of lignans which have been found to reduce menopause symptoms and protect against breast cancer.

Which one is best?

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to answer that question! Every woman will react differently.  Many women just need a little Black Cohosh; others need different herbs. What worked for your friends may not work for you.  Luckily these products are reasonably priced; expect to pay from 50 cents per day to $2 per day. You can try one per month for several months and take notes on how you feel, then choose the one that works best for you. If you are pre-menopausal, your needs may change over time and you may have to repeat the trial process again to find a product that matches your changed chemistry.