The 21st Century Woman – Part II
Herbal Medicines for PMS and Menopause
By Dr. Michael Ruscio
Many women have heard about anti-depressants or birth
control for their PMS and menopausal symptoms, but what about natural herbal
alternatives? Let’s take a moment to
discuss what herbal medicines have to offer the 21st century woman
so that you are aware of all your options.
In my last article we laid a good foundation, discussing
the most common causes of female hormone imbalances. If you didn’t read the article, the main
premise was PMS and menopausal symptoms are usually caused by hormonal
imbalances. Building on this foundation,
let’s continue with natural treatments.
We first need to break down female hormone imbalances as
causing two different categories of symptoms; neurological and physical. Of course the mental and physical symptoms
are linked and do influence one another, but to help understand natural
treatments it helps to discuss them separately.
Neurological symptoms typically result from an imbalance
in brain hormones, technically known as neurotransmitters. There are 3 hormones that are of importance. They are serotonin, dopamine and GABA. Serotonin makes you feel happy and helps you
sleep. Dopamine helps you focus, be energized/motivated,
learn and not feel overwhelmed. GABA
helps you relax. Most anti-depressant
and anti-anxiety medications work to increase serotonin, dopamine and GABA.
Natural medicines and conventional pharmaceutical drugs
can both increase serotonin, dopamine and GABA.
However, natural medicines may provide a safer alternative as the side
effects are usually mild to none. Please
don’t take my word for it though; we will discuss what current science is
showing in a moment.
Before we do, let’s address the physical symptoms
associated with PMS and menopause. Most
physical symptoms are caused by fluctuations or imbalances in estrogen and
progesterone. Estrogen and progesterone
share a yin-yang relationship, meaning they have to be in the proper balance relative
to one another for a woman to feel well.
The beauty of herbal medicines is that they can restore your hormones to
the appropriate level whether they are high or low. This is referred to as a process called
adaptogenicity. Let’s take a brief look
at what modern science is showing.
For all of the following scientific research studies I
will provide an ID number. If you would
like to see this study yourself, simply go to www.pubmed.com
and type the ID number in the search box.
A very well performed study (17461529) found that combining
the herbs Black Cohosh and St. John’s Wort provided significant relief for
menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes.
Shortly after this study, another was published (15863547) showing that
in the 304 women studied, Black Cohosh was again an effective treatment for
menopausal symptoms.
Another very effective herb is Chaste Tree (aka Vitex
Agnus). A study published in 2010 (20334585)
showed that Chaste Tree was effective for treating PMS symptoms. In fact, all measured PMS symptoms (mood,
water retention, food cravings and pain) were significantly reduced within 3
months of treatment. Another study of
170 women (11159568) showed a similar positive effect on PMS with Chaste Tree.
If you’re asking yourself, aren’t drugs more
powerful? You might find this
interesting. A study comparing an
anti-depressant medication to Chaste Tree (aka vitex agnus) showed nearly
identical improvements in PMS symptoms (12672170). Let’s not forget about intimacy. A review of 26 published studies showed DHEA
provided mood and libido improvements for women with adrenal fatigue (17208951).
Herbal medicines have much to offer the 21st
century woman. One word of caution
though, please be careful not to self-diagnose and treat. A skilled clinician can ensure proper use of
herbal medicines, especially when it comes to navigating issues of quality
control and dose.
If PMS or menopausal symptoms are bothering you, there is
help. Invest the time and energy to feel
better. Your family, friends, loved
ones, and especially You deserve to have the healthiest, happiest version of
you.
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