Full Text COPYRIGHT 1998 Intertec Publishing Corporation, a PRIMEDIA Company.All rights reserved.

Menopause -- far from being a dreaded event -- is viewed by more than 50percent of all women of menopausal age as heralding a new, and fulfilling,stage of life, according to research released at the most recent annualmeeting of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). As the NAMS executivedirector Wulf Utian, M.D., Ph.D., noted, "These findings reveal, in myexperience, a real change in attitudes about menopause.

"The natural process of menopause comes with its share of symptoms, many ofwhich can be traced back to hormonal changes. Some symptoms, such as vaginaldryness, result from the lack of estrogen. Others, such as hot flashes, arecaused by more complex hormonal changes.

Bolstering hormone levels, naturally

Many menopausal women view hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with a skepticaleye. Consequently, less than half of women eligible for HRT have taken it orare currently taking it. Instead, the study released by NAMS shows that amajority of women are turning to natural diet and lifestyle therapies tomanage their menopause symptoms -- and 10 percent of women use plant estrogens(such as those in black Cohosh and soy).

Natural plant estrogens (also called phytoestrogens) act, in many ways,analogously to synthetic estrogen therapy. One of the early tip-offs to thepotential benefits of phytoestrogens was the observation by researchers thatvery few Japanese women are plagued by menopausal symptoms.

As Herman Adlercreutz, M.D., of the Department of Clinical Chemistry,University of Helsinki, pointed out in a letter to the prestigious Britishjournal Lancet: "High levels of isoflavonoid [phytoestrogens] may partlyexplain why hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms are so infrequent inJapanese women."

Adding credence to this theory, Australian researchers compared the ability of different phytoestrogens to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. AL Murkiesand colleagues randomly -- divided into two groups -- 58 menopausal women who suffered from 14 hot flashes or more per week. Each set of women had diets supplemented with either wheat flour (which contains phytoestrogens called enterolactones) or soy flour, daily, for three months. The wheat flourresulted in 25 percent fewer hot flashes while the soy flour reduced hotflashes by an impressive 40 percent.

Although it remains to be fully investigated, some researchers suggest that ahigh intake of soy foods may be an alternative to estrogen replacementtherapy. The phytoestrogens in soy may provide some of the health benefits ofestrogen or, at least, reduce requirements for synthetic estrogens.

Black Cohosh researched in menopausal womenAnother source of phytoestrogens is the herb black Cohosh (Cimicifugaracemosa). The use of black Cohosh as a menopause treatment (either as astand-alone treatment or in conjunction with HRT) can be traced back more than 40 years in Europe.

According to a study of 60 women with menopause triggered by a hysterectomy,black Cohosh extract was as effective as several synthetic estrogens foraddressing menopause-related symptoms. Of course, black Cohosh has the addedadvantage of not having the health risks or side effects of syntheticestrogens. Research in both animals and menopausal women confirms the value ofthe phytoestrogens in black Cohosh for relieving hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause.

Black Cohosh can be taken for up to six months, and then it should bediscontinued temporarily. It is prudent for women taking estrogen therapy toconsult a licensed healthcare practitioner before using black Cohosh.

REFERENCES

Adlercreutz, H., et al. "Dietary phytoestrogens and the menopause in Japan,"Lancet 339:1233, 1992.

Duker, E. M., et al. "Effects of extracts from Cimicifuga racemosa ongonadotropin release in menopausal women and ovariectomized rats," PlantaMedica 57(5):420-424; 1991.

Murkies, A.L., et al. "Dietary flour supplementation decreases Postmenopausalhot flushes: Effect of soy and wheat," Maturitas 21(3):189-195, 1995.

Victoria Dolby is a health and nutrition writer who lives in Oregon. She takesa comprehensive took at the history and health benefits of green tea in TheGreen Tea Book (Avery, 1998). Ask your retailer to call (800) 548-5757.