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Feeling Flushed? Herbs to the Rescue New research examines the effect of natural remedies on hot flashes 
Is there an alternative remedy for hot flashes? According to a new study recently published in Menopause, The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, the severity of menopausal hot flashes may be decreased with the use of St. John’s wort. This herb joins a growing number of plant-based alternative remedies – including black cohosh, red clover and ginseng – that are being studied to alleviate this uncomfortable companion to menopause. “Alternative remedies for menopausal symptom relief is an option for women who cannot take estrogen prescription treatment,” says Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Dr. Margery Gass, executive director of the North American Menopause Society (http://www.menopause.org). “In general, herbs and plants have not been so effective as hormone therapy, but not everyone seeks total relief of hot flashes. Many women are content with having a noticeable decrease in hot flushes.” Hot flashes, also known as “hot flushes” and “night sweats” are described by Gass as “recurrent, transient episodes of flushing accompanies by a sensation of warmth to intense heat on the upper body and face and affect a woman’s quality of life.” They affect 75 percent of women, reaching highest occurrence during the first two years of post-menopause. The Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran conducted the eight-week study of St. John’s wort on menopausal hot flashes earlier this year, involving 100 women averaging 50 years old who experienced moderate to severe hot flashes at least once per day. According to the study, the women were given either a placebo or St. John’s wort. Those taking the herb experienced a slightly larger cutback in hot flashes, down from four to less than two per day by the end of the study. During the same interval, those taking the placebo dropped to an average of about 2.6 hot flashes per day. “Based on the article cited above, St. John’s wort was effective in alleviating hot flashes. Prior to that, the efficacy of St. John’s wort for hot flash relief was not widely accepted,” Gass says. But the jury is still out for some medical professionals, such as Dr. Heather Boon, an associate professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto and co-director of the Canadian Interdisciplinary Network for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research (IN-CAM). “Usually St. Johns wort in combination with other things, like black cohosh, suggests some benefits of reducing hot flashes. But I would say it’s not conclusive,” says Boon, whose organization runs an informational website called CAMline (http://www.camline.ca/about/about.html). But what about black cohosh, red clover and ginseng? “I’m not convinced there is good evidence that any of these herbs will have a good effect. I think there is likely a placebo effect,” Boon says. “What we are seeing in the studies is a statistically significant difference, but it might not be clinically significant. We don’t see that they completely go away. I am not aware of any of these herbs that is literally going to stop hot flashes completely.” But Boon did point out one plant that may make a difference in her book: the soybean. “The one that is most likely to work is soy. We know that soy contains group of compounds called isoflavones that bind to estrogen receptors,” Boon says. “Evidence from human trials suggests that people who increase soy content have reduced hot flashes. But not all the evidence is positive. We probably need more research to indicate how much to take and what form to take it in.” And while the medical community continues to research alternative remedies to menopausal hot flashes, women should consult their doctors before trying any herbal or plant-based treatments. “Any woman that’s told they should not take estrogen, such as women who have had breast cancer, have to be very careful because most of these products bind to the estrogen receptors and that will cause the same problems taking estrogen would cause, possibly stimulating the tumor,” Boon says. “And some of these herbs decrease the blood’s ability to clot.” |
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