Q: I want to avoid HRT and was wondering which herbs are
best for balancing a natural decline in estrogen?
A: It’s hard to say
which would be “best.” That would be specific
to each individual. I would recommend trying several of
the most common herbs and seeing which works best for
you. Hormone balancing herbs work in one of two ways.
One group contains weak estrogen-like compounds that mimic
the effects of estrogen at the cell receptor. These compounds
essentially stimulate cell metabolism the same way estrogen
does. Black cohosh and dong quai are two herbs appearing
in many menopausal formulas that have been shown to alleviate
a variety of menopausal symptoms. Like soy isoflavones,
they contain weak hormone-like compounds.
The second group works by stimulating the body’s
own internal production of hormones rather than supplying
external support. There are fewer herbs that work this
way but I think they are more effective. Vitex (chaste
tree) and maca are two herbs that act at the pituitary
and hypothalamus. These master glands secrete precursor
hormones that regulate the production of hormones in the
rest of the endocrine glands. Maca is especially helpful
in quickly guiding the body towards a balanced intrinsic
hormone profile.
There are a multitude of menopause products available.
I would suggest trying either a product containing a variety
of herbs, such as Source Natural’s Hot Flash, or
trying vitex or maca individually. Purple Coneflower makes
a wonderful vitex tincture that is locally made. As for
maca, it’s more difficult to find a quality product
but Herb Pharm’s PharmaMaca is excellent. The best
solution for you is out there but may take a little trial
and error to find. |
