Menopause herbs

Citation

(2009), "Menopause herbs", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739dab.005

Menopause herbs

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 4

Many women have a dread of the menopause, not just because of the associated symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats, but also because they face that well-known dilemma: HRT or herbs?

Recent studies linking the use of HRT with an increased risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, blood clots, heart attack and stroke have prompted hundreds of thousands of potential HRT users to look for alternatives, one of the most popular of which is the use of herbs such as black cohosh and red clover. Currently it is thought that around 40 per cent of women seeking treatment for the menopause use complementary therapies, either instead of HRT or alongside it.

But now, experts writing in Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin warn that herbal remedies for the menopause are not just unproven, but they may also damage your health. The safety of menopause herbal remedies has, say the authors, been “under-researched”, with limited information being available on herb-drug interactions.

One of the key messages of the report is that just because herbs such as black cohosh, red clover, wild yam, agnus castus and sage are natural, they may not necessarily be safe. Some may also interact with conventional medicines such as the anti-clotting drug warfarin and antidepressants, and interfere with their action.

However, it is not the first time menopause herbs have been the subject of health warnings. Only last year, US researchers claimed black cohosh could be harmful if taken by women with breast cancer, and urged all women taking the herb to be cautious. Indeed, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) here in the UK has also recommended products containing black cohosh include a health warning, thanks to a suspected link with potential liver problems.

So, while many women who take herbal remedies for the menopause believe them to be safer than HRT, are they in effect risking their health too? If you were taking herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms or anything else wouldn’t you want to be at least reassured that they won’t put your health in danger?

Who better to explain the risks than the authors of Traditional Herbal Medicines: A Guide to Their Safer Use (Hammersmith Press), all experts at the Medical Toxicology Unit of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London?

The authors’ credentials speak for themselves: Dr Lakshman Karalliedde spent ten years at the MTU and is now a toxicologist with the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division of the Health Protection Agency, Debbie Shaw heads the MTU’s Chinese Medicine Advisory Service, and Indika Gawarammana is a former registrar at the MTU.

Traditional Herbal Medicines is an indispensable herbal compendium that covers traditional herbal remedies from around the world including Chinese, Afro-Caribbean, Unani and Ayurvedic traditional medicines, describing their sources, known effects and side effects, dosages, interactions and, most importantly, precautions. It is a must for anyone involved in prescribing either conventional or traditional herbal medicines as well as the people who are taking them.