Black Cohosh Does Nothing for Menopause
December 20, 2006 by gayla
Filed under Women's Health
Yet another popular herbal remedy shot down by medical science. The gold standard of testing drug effectiveness, randomized clinical trial, was used to compare the effects of black cohosh and placebo on menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, and night sweats. The two seemed equally good (bad?) at relieving women of discomfort associated with menopause.
Dr. Katherine Newton:
In the doses we used, and the way we used it, it did not work. The findings will certainly be a disappointment to women. It would have been nice to find something that is safe and effective.
Only estrogen seems to do the trick of making women feel better as they go through menopause but in 2002, estrogen was found to increase the risk of breast cancer and heart disease. Other supplements that have been touted to help include soy, wild yam, red clover, and St. John’s wort, but none of those have proven themselves in scientific studies either. Antidepressants are helping some women but have their own set of side effects.
The best solution is try to endure and know that most menopausal symptoms will go away with time. If you’re still tempted to try an herbal supplement, be sure to study up on them first and stay within the recommended dosage. For more on black cohosh, see the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.
The Baltimore Sun, December 19, 2006
Tags: black cohosh, herbal supplements, supplements, women, womens health, menopause, menopausal symptoms, hot flash, diseases, illness, health, estrogen
There are natural remedies based on balck cohosh, like Remifemin, that have gone through some studies and been shown to work. I guess that it depends on how the remedy is prepared. Also, there are studies on soy that show no results what so ever, and others that seem to indicate that some soy supplements do actually work. So, yes, it can be a bit complicated when it comes to finding an herbal remedy that works.