Red clover is one of the safest and most effective natural remedies for menopause. It has long been used in traditional medicine and has been shown to help with hot flashes, insomnia, irritability and night sweats.

The news about hormone replacement therapy has motivated women everywhere to find alternative treatments for these symptoms of menopause. You know there must be a way to find natural menopause relief, but you want to be safe and not experience any side effects. Red clover is certainly one of the best herbal remedies available today.

Is there scientific evidence to support it? Red clover is the subject of current study in scientific circles and the preliminary results look very promising. Of course, this comes as no surprise to natural healers and herbalists. Nevertheless, it is always encouraging when science and traditional healing agree.

Red clover is rich in bio-active compounds, which are considered to help in menopause. Some of the chemicals in the plant bind with estrogen in the tissues and produce a subtle physiological action. Soy and kudzu, which are cousins to red clover, work in a similar manner by regulating responses in the bodies cells to help balance hormones. This explains why red clover is effective: it helps balance hormones, and menopause symptoms are caused by an imbalance.

What about side effects? The good news is that no scientific study has demonstrated any negative side effects from using red clover. Of course, common sense always is in order, and you should talk with a herbalist or naturopath if you have any uncertainties or questions.

How much should you take? Should you decide to use red clover as a stand alone supplement, you should look for capsules containing extracts of organically grown clover, and it should include at least 40 mg isoflavones or 8% isoflavonoids per capsule. Usually the leaves are mixed with the flowers to maintain a balanced formula that is most effective in treating menopause symptoms.

How long have women used red clover? There is evidence of women using red clover in teas, tinctures, infusions, and extracts from ancient times, but nobody really knows just how far back it’s use goes. Certainly, any plant that gives safe menopause relief and endures for thousands of years should be investigated.

Red clover is also commonly used to treat sore throats, ulcers, bronchitis,sores and eczema for centuries. Randy Hough and Laura Simon, MSW,MEd,have worked together to create a family stress blog and a safe menopause relief web site. They live and work in the beautiful Upper Valley of Vermont.

Menopause can be defined as the permanent stoppage or cessation of ovarian function occurring sometime before the lifespan ending. Menopause usually happens in females and it happens more or less in midlife, indicating the end of the fertile phase of a women’s life. Menopause also occurs in some of the animals who do not have monthly periods.

Perhaps menopause can be easily understood as the process opposite to menarche, the start of monthly periods. In women menopause cannot be satisfactorily defined as the cessation of monthly periods on permanent basis, as because in this matter functioning of ovaries is the primary factor than the functioning of uterus. Ovaries in human females play a key role. If ovarian function gets stopped menstrual cycle also stops and then it’s called as menopause.

Causes of menopause

The causes of menopause can be considered from complementary proximate and ultimate (adaptive evolutionary) perspectives –

Proximate perspective

Physiological and natural menopause occurs as a part of women’s normal ageing procedure. Vaginal atrophy and Osteoporosis can also be caused by its long-term effect. Menopause can also be caused by the surgical removal of ovaries which is done very often and removal of uterus and fallopian tubes can cause menopause.

Cigarette smoking has been found as one of the vital cause for menopause. When females smoke it decrease the age of physiological menopause by one year and women who have undergone hysterectomy with ovary conservation also suffers menopause

Signs and symptoms of menopause

There are certain signs and symptoms which indicate that the woman is suffering from menopause. They can be:

Vascular instability

1. Hotflashes or hot flushes including night sweats, cold flashes can be seen in few people. 2. Migraine 3. Rapid heartbeat 4. Itching 5. Dryness 6. Bleeding 7. Back pain 8. Joint pain 9. Thinning of the membranes of the vulva, the vagina, the cervix.

Psychological

1. Depression and anxiety 2. Irritability 3. Mood disturbance 4. Memory loss 5. Insomnia

Sexual

1. Dyspareunia or painful lovemaking 2. Vaginal dryness 3. Decreased libido

Treatment for menopause

Hormone replacement therapy or HRT, in Britain known as Hormone Therapy or HT refers to the use of estrogen and progestin in women who is suffering from menopause. This kind of therapy fights against menopause and cures it. Earlier this therapy was provided as tablets but nowadays it is available in the form of gels, skin sprays, subcutaneous implants etc.

Menopause problems can be reduce by taking herbal supplements, which is safe and effective too. Try some herbal remedies and see the difference.

Read about Menopause Causes Symptoms. Find herbal Vaginal Tightening Cream. Also know about Herbal Breast Enlargement Pills for natural firming.

The issue of male menopause is a hotly debated one but the evidence is strong that men also suffer the same menopausal-like symptoms that women do. The only difference is, while menopause signals the end of the reproductive stage of a woman’s life, in men, this is not the case.

So should men and menopause be used in the same sentence? The fact remains, men can produce sperm well into their seventies and eighties and this is where the debate rages. If a man can still father children at this time of life then how can they possibly go through menopause?

The problem in identifying male menopause is there is no defined period that a man can experience it. In women, it’s usually in their forties when the big “M” can come knocking at their change of life door. Apart from some isolated instances of women going through it at a much younger age, the general awareness stage starts in their forties.

Andropause

This is a term which is often used in place of male menopause. So what is it? Well, it’s associated with the decline in a man’s testosterone levels. This is usually as a result of aging and men have reported many symptoms associated with menopause such as:

– sexual issues – fatigue – depression – mood swings

The difference between the testes and the ovaries is the former can still produce sperm at a later age. The similarity is, men can also experience testosterone decline at about the same time women begin the reproduction shut down.

Testing For Male Menopause

So how do you know if male menopause may be affecting you? The most logical step is to see your doctor who will first conduct a physical exam and then discuss the symptoms you may be experiencing.

It doesn’t end here though because there are other factors which may come into play. The symptoms may be associated with other conditions which could be contributing. Your doctor will need to test your testosterone levels and will more than likely call for blood tests.

Treatment may include testosterone replacement therapy however, as is the case with hormone replacement therapy for women, there are side effects possible so discuss these with your doctor. One of the more likely ways to combat symptoms of male menopause is making lifestyle changes.

This could include an exercise regime or simply altering one’s dietary habits. Depression can be a major issue during andropause in fact, many believe it doesn’t get the attention it should. Treatment for depression should be strongly considered and your doctor will guide you in this area.

Want to know how to effectively prepare for the symptoms of menopause and save yourself unnecessary stress? Plus, get the latest menopause related news and reviews.

Dealing with a monthly cycle is something that all women have to live through. It involves pain in the form of cramping, as well as general bloating and often a feeling of tiredness too. For that reason many of us are quite ready to accept menopause when it comes. There is more to menopause than just the cessation of menses though. A lot of other things will be going on at the same time and some of them are pretty hard to deal with.

Some of these symptoms are worse than others and some will affect people differently. Not everyone gets extra hair growth that they never had to deal with before. Most do have the hot flashes though. These are likely the worst to deal with. You become so overheated that you are completely drenched in sweat in a matter of just a couple of minutes. It makes women wake up in a wet pile of sheets during the night too.

Many women try over the counter herbs and supplements to help reduce the effects of menopause but for those with more serious symptoms it may be time to consult your physician about hormone replacement therapy. HRT can help to relieve most of the symptoms associated with menopause and can also help combat the osteoporosis that becomes a bigger problem for women after menopause.

It is important to understand the risks that are associated with using HRT. They are significant enough that many women will stay away from this treatment. It makes the risk much higher for breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke. The threat of these goes up or down according to a woman’s lifestyle. This is something that needs to be frankly discussed with a doctor that is familiar with the patients history. The treatment is geared towards short periods of time but many women stay on it for a much longer period.

The fact is that for the most part the symptoms that make menopause so annoying will eventually diminish and then stop completely. The best possible idea is to get through it without the medication. That should be the first thing that you try, and hopefully it will work. Getting through the discomfort can be as simple as adjusting your life to dealing with them. If they are so severe that it is impossible to live with them, then ask your doctor for help.

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When they first find out they have the symptoms, many women want to know – how long does menopause last? Each year many thousands of women start to have these symptoms, so they want to know more.

Since the average age of menopause is 51 in American women, that leaves quite a few years for most women to go through the symptoms. These symptoms can start to appear as early as the mid to late-thirties even in some cases, but normally not until the mid-forties. Maybe your symptoms will start slowly with more irregular periods, or just the few hot flashes here and there. But in most women they will progress to digestive problems, insomnia, heart palpitations, thinning hair, dry skin, and mood problems.

Depending on the severity of the symptoms, you may seek treatment earlier or later, but at some point most women search for some relief. A natural solution to menopause is one that can offer more relief with few side effects, which is becoming more of a standard these days. Since the -old-fashioned- way of treating menopause symptoms is to simply boost estrogen levels with a prescription, these days it isn’t the best option.

The reason this isn’t the best treatment any longer is that it is now realized that each woman has a different hormone -profile- that needs an individual approach to treatment. The main hormones that are out of balance are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Yes, even women have some testosterone, although only about 1/10th as much as a man. It is needed to keep the libido in check, so without this hormone many women lose their desire for sex completely.

What to do about it? There are herbs that can natural stimulate or replace the hormones in the body, some which can mimic the bodies hormones very closely. These hormones include: black cohosh (for night sweats and hot flashes), dong quai (for vaginal dryness), kava kava (for mood improvement, lowers stress) and also ginseng, which has been known to help mood swings and overall health.

Another natural product many women are finding helpful these days is natural progesterone cream, which is used to help ease many of the symptoms common to menopause by boosting the hormone missing most, progesterone. This hormone is a pre-cursor to the biosynthesis of other hormones in the body. The good news is that natural progesterone cream can be purchased many places without any prescription, since it is a natural product.

There are many symptoms of menopause and also many natural menopause remedies for these symptoms. Learn as much as you can about them, and you can take positive steps to find relief for yourself.

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