Alternative therapies for menopause symptoms

Menopause is a natural state in the life of a woman when her body stops the generation of certain hormones. Its common symptoms include night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, forgetfulness and insomnia.

Recent studies prove that women in Asian cultures are less prone to these menopausal symptoms as compared to other women in the world. Menopause is not a disease. But earlier it was taken as a disease because of the wrong conception in the minds of people. Many women were advised to go for a hormone therapy to treat menopause symptoms. But the recent studies show that there is a great amount of risk in adopting hormone therapy. This led to women trying alternative natural remedies to treat menopause symptoms.

Most of the professional practitioners who use herbs, energy therapies, massage and acupuncture recommend women to talk regularly with their health care providers about all the available options. This is because results of such therapies vary from individual to individual. In case a woman finds no improvement in her condition, she may switch over to other available options.

Herbal remedies, such as black cohosh or soy, are also recommended by many therapists.

Let us discuss about black cohosh in detail here.

Black cohosh, also called Cimicifuga racemosa in botanical language, is a phytoestrogen. Initially, phytoestrogens were supposed to work by binding to the estrogen receptors in the body. Phytoestrogens and natural estrogen are chemically similar, though the effect of phytoestrogens on body is milder than natural estrogen. Thus, they were assumed to have an effect that mildly mimicked estrogen, eventually stabilizing the reduced levels of estrogen in the body of a woman. However, now it is believed that phytoestrogens like black cohosh control the hormonal system in a woman’s body.

Though the working system of black cohosh has not been properly defined as yet, scientists have found that it works very well to treat menopause symptoms in women. Studies show that black cohosh is very effective in treating both the physical and psychological menopause symptoms. A Japanese study has also proved that black cohosh increases bone mineral density, thus preventing age-related osteoporosis. Researches have proven that black cohosh is extremely beneficial for women suffering from symptoms like, hot flushes, heart palpitations, depression, headache, and sleeping problems. A standardized dose twice a day is one of the best alternatives for treating these menopause symptoms.

The other recommended therapy with few contraindications is exercise. This is because exercise releases the endorphins that help to stabilize mood.

Another therapy that works to restore balance and promote relaxation in the body of a woman experiencing menopause symptoms is consumption of soy products like soy pasta. A lot of studies conclude that by adding soy to your diet, (in the form of soy pasta, soy pasta noodles, soy milk, soy cheese and other soy products), the chances of experiencing menopausal symptoms decrease or become less frequent. The studies also conclude that while soy is not a total substitute for Hormone Replacement Therapy, it is definitely a good alternative for women unwilling to go for hormone therapy.

Acupuncture is another very good alternative for treating menopause symptoms. It can relieve migraines and cramps and can reduce the intensity and frequency of hot flashes. The use of acupuncture to control menopause symptoms varies from woman to woman. Firstly, the acupuncturist accesses the symptoms of menopause that a woman is suffering from and then uses appropriate acupuncture to control those symptoms. Thus, the treatment for menopause is unique for every woman based on her menopausal symptoms.
 
Apart from the above therapies, Traditional Chinese Medicine is also becoming extremely popular in controlling menopausal symptoms.

Just like any other treatment, it is recommended to consult your physician so as to ensure that you are getting the right treatment for menopause required by your body.