Menopause, Herbs, and Magnets

Filed in archive Pregnancy on March 23, 2007

Looking for help with menopause misery without using hormone replacement therapy? Some people are finding relief using Chinese herbal remedies. The Medicinal Herbs Guide tells us:

People can find more than one herbs for menopause that might help reduce the symptoms of menopause and/or reduce the discomfort. Phytoestrogenic herbs for menopause are a group of herbs formed by a similar component that matches the estrogen situated in the women's body that is why replacing it and bringing comfort.

According to the article, the herbs used most are:

• Ginseng
  


• Ginkgo
  


• Red clover
  


• Black cohosh

Our Alzheimer's.com on Health Central talks about a product called MF101:

Now, UCSF researchers may have found one -- a therapy called MF101.

"It's a combination of chinese herbs, 22 of them," George Sawaya, M.D., in obstetrics and gynecology at UCSF Medical Center, tells Ivanhoe. "We don't know exactly how MF101 works. As you can imagine, anything that's an extract of 22 herbs, it's very hard to pinpoint the exact mechanism of action."

And here's something new. An article in the London Daily Mail claims that a tiny magnet can soothe the misery of menopause:

A tiny magnet not much bigger than a 50p piece could ease away the symptoms of the menopause.

Tests on hundreds of women have shown that the LadyCare magnet can relieve symptoms from anxiety and mood swings to hot flushes and memory problems.

Many of the volunteers also lost weight, with some shedding more than a stone after wearing the magnet under their clothes for three months.

Too good and too simple to be true? I've thought this many times when magnets for health were mentioned. Yet, they continue to be popular for the treatment of many problems. The NCCAM (National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine) has done an extensive research study on the value of magnets, but the final verdict is still out.