hot flashes

March 22, 2004

Hi Sharon,

Just a thought, and I have no proof of how this works, but bear with me. I

have a few friends who are at the change of life and having hot flashes.

Also, they had dry skin and so I gave them some rose hydrosol to spray on

their faces, I find it so refreshing. One of my friends finds that her hot

flashes seem to start from the back of her nose and work down her body. As

one started a few months ago, she felt really hot, so grabbed the hydrosol

and sprayed all over her face, obviously inhaling as well, I guess. Turns

out that the flash was not so intense, and also her nose did not feel so

congested during the time it lasted. She now uses it all the time.

An interesting thought????

Regards

Jeanine

October 25, 2005

Black cohosh no better than placebo against hot flushes, finds new

trial

By Dominique Patton

21/10/2005 - Taking supplements of the herbal black cohosh is

unlikely to offer much relief from menopausal hot flushes, conclude

the US researchers on a new trial.

Feedback from around 350 postmenopausal women who were randomized to

receive either the herbal, conventional treatment, other supplements

or a placebo, failed to support the efficacy of black cohosh

reported in other trials.

" Given the serious health risks associated with hormone therapy, we

were disappointed to discover that a popular herbal alternative

appears to be no more effective than the placebo, " said Katherine

Newton, lead researcher on the new study published in this month's

issue of Elsevier journal Maturitas (16:134-46).

" Regrettably, we found that black cohosh has little potential to

play an important role in the relief of vasomotor symptoms. "

Since major trials revealed the health risks of hormone replacement

therapy (HRT)- until then the most popular and proven therapy for

menopause symptoms - the use of supplements containing natural

products like black cohosh, soy isoflavones and red clover has

surged.

Black cohosh preparations have been approved by the German

government as non-prescription medications for treatment of

menopausal symptoms and are among the most widely-used natural

alternatives to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

But their use is controversial among some healthcare professionals

who say there is little evidence to support their efficacy.

In the new trial, funded by the US National Institute on Aging and

the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine,

researchers from four institutions in Seattle enrolled followed the

women for a year.

They had been randomly assigned to one of five daily regimes: 160mg

of black cohosh (supplied by US-based Pure World); a multiple

botanical supplement containing 10 different herbs, including black

cohosh; the same multibotanical supplement together with counselling

to increase dietary soya; hormone therapy (Premarin or Prempro); and

placebo.

The participants kept diaries, recording the frequency and intensity

of their hot flushes at the start of the trial and at three, six,

and 12 months.

At three months the diaries recorded hot flush frequency to be down

by 35 per cent with black cohosh, 15 per cent with the

multibotanical, 30 per cent with the multibotanical plus dietary

counselling, 21 per cent with the placebo, and 88 per cent with

hormone therapy. The findings were similar at six and 12 months.

The same pattern was found when the researchers used a menopause

symptom score. At three months, the frequency of hot flushes

decreased 27 per cent with black cohosh, 14 per cent with the

multibotanical, 23 per cent with the multibotanical plus soy, 15 per

cent with the placebo, and 76 per cent with hormone therapy. The

findings were also similar at six and 12 months.

The authors noted that differences between the herbal regimens and

the placebo were not significant but that the difference between the

hormone therapy group and the other groups was considered important.

Oakland, CA 94609

October 25, 2005

Yes that may be the result of research, but many of my patients swear by it.

Heiko Lade

M.H.Sc.(TCM)

Lecturer and clinic supervisor

Auckland College of Natural Medicine

Website: www.acnm.co.nz

-

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 7:14 AM

Re: hot flashes