Herbal Supplements for Menopause—Why They Don’t Work

Many women are desperate to find affordable solutions that give fast results when it comes to menopause. Hormone replacement therapy can also be a little scary for some people. When menopause herbal supplements seem to be a quick, affordable, and safe solution, there are some caveats to consider.

Phytoestrogens, such as evening primrose oil, black cohosh or ginseng are known as complimentary alternative supplements. Women use these supplements to find fast relief. Herbal supplements and plant-powered remedies can deliver impacts and noticeable results for symptoms of conditions—not the conditions themselves. Even though they are considered holistic medicinal supplements, they do not holistically treat menopause.

What Do Menopause Herbal Supplements Treat?

Hormones begin to decline around age 35. Around the early to mid-forties, many women begin to notice a sharp decline that sometimes negatively affects their quality of life. Low levels of progesterone and estrogen usually cause hot flashes—a sometimes severe symptom of menopause.

During hot flashes and night sweats, the vasomotor processes are not functioning properly. An example of a vasomotor process is when the body’s internal temperature becomes too hot from exercise. Common ramifications of that are a red face, sweating, and rapid breathing.

When the internal temperature becomes too heated, blood vessels will begin to supply blood to the skin to release heat—(which is people have red faces during and after exercise.) Blood vessels dilate or cause vasodilation. Vasodilation causes more heat to be carried by the blood to the skin, where it can be lost to the air.

Some studies have reported black cohosh and evening primrose relieving and possibly preventing hot flashes. These menopause herbal supplements, however, do not correct profound hormonal imbalances usually found in perimenopausal and menopausal women.

The only way to treat significant hormonal imbalances is replacing the lost hormones. Hormone replacement therapy is the answer to balancing hormones and increasing dropped levels.

Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy

Traditional hormone replacement therapy uses animal-urine-derived hormones. (Read more about traditional hormone therapy here.) Derived primarily from plants, bioidentical hormones are a much safer option than traditional hormone replacement therapy medications. They act like the hormones our bodies make and are identical in molecular structure to the hormones we make in our bodies.

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is growing in popularity among women and men over the age of 35—specifically, those who feel run-down, gain weight easily (sometimes for the first time in their lives) and are out of other options when it comes to managing these symptoms. Estrogen and testosterone are the two hormones tied explicitly to youth. (Testosterone is another hormone that makes a sharp decline during perimenopause and menopause.) BHRT aims to balance and improve conditions that are causing people not to feel their best.

Plant-Powered Supplements vs. Plant-Powered Hormones

Women should want to reach for therapies that are more natural—they usually are much safer. It’s also important to remember that hormones are the body’s signaling agents—(which explains the major changes women experience during perimenopause/menopause.) The potency of the phytohormones found in herbal supplements is really a waste of money, because the biochemical structure of the hormone makes up a small percentage of the plant extract. And because herbal supplement are consumable, most of the potency is lost in the digestive tract.

The best way to experience the power of plant hormones is through bioidentical hormone pellet insertions. A small and painless procedure is performed to insert a pellet—(filled with the potency of the plant-derived hormone)—into the skin. The pellet then releases hormones at the body’s natural metabolic rate—there are no intense waves of hormone fluctuations that are commonly found in traditional hormone replacement therapies.

It is best to go natural. But don’t throw away your money with expensive supplements that only treat a symptom of menopause. (Menopause is more than just hot flashes.) To talk to a specialist about bioidentical hormone pellets, and if they are right for you, contact us for more information.