Seven Weeds Every Menopausal Woman Should Love
Before HRT, women turned to herbs to help them with symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, and mood swings. Today many women are coming back to those herbs and finding them not only helpful, but also better than the hormones their doctors were so quickly and easily handing out.
So, what are these wonder herbs? Below I’ve given a brief description of the benefits of each.
1. Black Cohosh – This is the grandmother of menopause herbs. Known best for controlling hot flashes and night sweats, Black Cohosh also helps calm the nerves and relieves minor aches and pains.
2. Stinging Nettles – While these shouldn’t be touched with bare hands, these plants are known for nourishing the different organs that help supply your body with natural estrogen. Another benefit of stinging nettles is nourishing hair follicles, which may keep hair from thinning as we age.
3. Motherwort – Taking a dropper full of Motherwort tincture will calm nerves almost instantly. Motherwort can be used to restore balance for any type of irritability. Some researches believe that daily use of Motherwort will help control the tendencies of high blood pressure.
4. Chaste Tree (or Vitex) – Chaste tree has been used for centuries for controlling menstrual cycles and creating regularity. Chaste Tree is helpful for not only menopausal symptoms, but also those of PMS. Used as a tonic, Vitex helps nourish hormone producing glands.
5. Sage – Older women, and especially those who are menopausal or post menopause, need to add sage to their diets if only for the high calcium content. Like many of these herbs, sage also promotes natural estrogen output in the body.
6. Valerian – Valerian is nature’s sleeping pill. Taken about thirty minutes before bed almost assures a good night’s sleep, as it relieves tension and irritability that can affect women during menopause.
7. St. Johns Wort – This herb, used extensively in Europe for fighting depression and nervousness, is better than any pill a doctor can provide. While it doesn’t work overnight, use of St. Johns Wort begins showing remarkable results in as little as three weeks.
Nature has provided a cure for almost every remedy known to man or woman. By reading a few good books (or even one) on herbal medicine, all women, from pre-menopausal to post can find ways to cope with their changing bodies during what used to be called ‘the change.’ The best book I can recommend for the menopausal woman is Susun Weed’s Wise Woman’s Guide to the Menopausal Years.
All of these herbs can be found in health food stores and some drug stores and supermarkets. Tinctures generally work best, but most are also availble in pill or capsule form.
Before beginning any alternative treatment, check with your doctor or health provider, as many herbs do react with prescription drugs.
