Naturally Overcome Menopause Challenges

Menopause is a phase in women’s lives between the ages of 40 and 55, when ovulation and fertility end. The World Health Organization defines menopause as 12 consecutive months without menstruation and the absence of viable eggs in the ovaries. During this period, the ovaries begin to cease functioning and producing two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, which play an important role in women's lives.

Several uncomfortable symptoms are associated with menopause and related hormonal changes. These can include hot flashes, sweating, insomnia, headaches, vaginitis, nervousness, absentmindedness, and difficulty concentrating – symptoms that can make menopause a challenging time of life. In addition, bone mass loss and the risk of cardiovascular disease increase. The period leading up to menopause, perimenopause, is when hormone levels fluctuate and some menopausal symptoms begin to appear.

The severity of these symptoms differs from one woman to another but appears to be linked to diet and environment. Women in many parts of the world experience less severe symptoms than women in North America and Western Europe.

Adrenal gland function is another issue affecting the severity of menopausal symptoms. These glands can continue to supply estrogen and progesterone to the body after menopause. However, stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and caffeine consumption can impair the function of these glands, further intensifying menopausal symptoms.

Hot Flashes – The Main Challenge of Menopause
Hot flashes are the most common symptom of menopause. In North America and Western European countries, 72% of menopausal women experience hot flashes.1 These flashes can vary in frequency from a few per month to several an hour, and in duration – between five and forty years.

Hot flashes are also known as vasomotor symptoms. During a hot flash, a woman's heart rate can increase by as much as five beats per minute, and skin temperature can increase dramatically. Hot flash symptoms are primarily felt in the face, neck, and upper body, and are accompanied by increased sweating. The body's actual core temperature increases due to heat loss caused by sweating.

Experiencing hot flashes is certainly uncomfortable, but worse, these flashes can have a dramatic effect on quality of life by interfering with daily activities. They can lead to sleep disruption, insomnia, increased anxiety, and irritability.

Low estrogen levels are considered a causative factor for hot flashes. Estrogen helps regulate the body's internal core temperature. In menopausal women, even small changes in core body temperature seem to trigger cooling measures (sweating and hot flashes) because there isn't enough estrogen to properly control these measures. The process is not perfectly understood as many other factors are involved. Some women do not experience hot flashes during menopause, nor the associated decrease in estrogen.

HRT – Risks Associated with Hormone Replacement Therapy
The main treatment for hot flashes used by the medical community is hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT involves using conjugated estrogen (Premarin®) or a combination of estrogen and progesterone to compensate for the absence of these hormones during menopause. In terms of results, HRT has been effective in reducing hot flashes, preventing bone density loss and fractures, and treating vaginal dryness.

Despite the benefits of HRT, three important clinical studies on the effects of HRT published between 2002 and 2010 highlighted the risks of this therapy. Unexpectedly, HRT was found to significantly increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, breast cancer, endometrial cancer (when estrogen was taken regularly), and gallbladder disease.3

Due to these adverse results, the majority of doctors in North America have stopped recommending HRT to their patients. Now, HRT is used only for women experiencing severe menopausal symptoms, and even in these cases, at very small doses and for a short period of time.

Some healthcare professionals prescribe the use of "bioidentical" hormones extracted from soy or wild yam, which are considered less potent and safer than HRT. These hormones are available in pharmacies in a variety of forms. Unfortunately, although they are considered safer than HRT, no major clinical trials have been conducted to confirm the safety of bioidentical hormones.4

Natural Alternatives to HRT
Moving away from HRT, women have had to seek alternatives to alleviate their menopausal symptoms. Reducing stress, regular exercise, avoiding smoking, and ensuring a healthy and positive environment can help.5 The use of natural supplements designed to relieve menopausal discomfort also plays a role for menopausal women seeking relief.

Recently, natural soy-based foods and plant extracts like black cohosh and red clover have been used by women to help alleviate menopausal symptoms, particularly hot flashes. These plants contain phytoestrogens or "dietary estrogens," meaning they are estrogenic compounds consumed through food and not produced by the endocrine system. Phytoestrogens have estrogenic effects on the body, meaning they mimic estrogenic effects. Soy-based phytoestrogens contain isoflavones, genistein, and daidzein.

A source of phytoestrogens has now been identified as having even better effects than soy-based products. Hops (Humulus lupulus L.), the plant best known for its use in beer, has been found to be rich in a phytoestrogen called 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN). 8-PN is a prenylflavonoid, and a standardized 8-PN material has been developed from hops and studied in clinical trials on women to alleviate hot flashes.

Lifenol® – A Clinically Proven Hop Extract
Lifenol® brand hop extract contains 0.15 to 0.25% 8-PN. This material has been studied in clinical trials on women to assess its safety and efficacy against menopausal symptoms.

In one clinical trial, menopausal women received either a placebo or an 85 mg Lifenol® supplement. After six weeks, 60% of women who received the Lifenol® supplement experienced a reduction in hot flashes. These women reported an average 30% reduction in their hot flashes.6

A second study on Lifenol® evaluated the overall quality of life of menopausal women. Again, these women received either a placebo or an 85 mg Lifenol® supplement. A promising 90% of the women who received the Lifenol® supplement reported an improved quality of life, and three times the number of women in the Lifenol® group reported a "strong" improvement over the 6 weeks. Symptoms evaluated included sweating, insomnia, nervousness, and dizziness.7

Black Cohosh and Sage – Other Herbs to Alleviate the Effects of Menopause
The 8-PN from hops is not the only phytonutrient to offer beneficial effects on menopausal symptoms. Black cohosh is a phytoestrogen that has been helpful in reducing the incidence of hot flashes. In one study, 40 mg of black cohosh was as effective as conjugated estrogens, but without affecting the thickness of the uterine endometrium as estrogen therapy does. In another study, 80% of women reported a reduction in menopausal problems within one month of use.17

Sage, an herb with a long history of many traditional uses, is also known to be effective in reducing hot flashes and night sweats.18

References:

1. Nelson HD (2008) Menopause. Lancet 371(9614): 760–70. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(08)60346-3
2. “Natural solution for hot flashes”. Naturex.
3. Murray, Michael, N.D. “The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.” Third Edition. Atria. p. 784-785.
4. Ibid. p. 786.
5. Torkos, Sherry, BSc Phm. “The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.” Second Edition. 2013. HaperCollins Publishers. pp 348-349.
6. Erkkola, R. et al., A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over pilot study on the use of a standardized hop extract to alleviate menopausal discomforts. Phytomedicine (2010), doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2010.01.007
7. Heyerick, A. et al. A first prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on the use of a standardized hop extract to alleviate menopausal discomforts. Maturitas 54 (2006) 164-175.
8. Rad, M., et al. Pharmokinetics and systemic endocrine effects of the phytoestrogen 8-prenylnaringenin after single oral doses to postmenopausal women. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 62:288-296.
9. Bolca, Selin et al. Disposition of hop prenylfavonoids in human breast tissue. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2010. 54, 1-11.
10. Naturex. “Effects of Lifenol® on the endometrium and vaginal cytology of menopausal women.” Unpublished.
11. Naturex. “Renew your sense of womanhood with Lifenol.” 2012.
12. Brunelli, E. “8-prenylnaringenin inhitibs epidermal growth factor-induced MCF-7 breast cancer cell proliferation by targeting phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase activity. 2009. J Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 113:163-170.
13. Pepper, MS. “8-prenylnaringenin, a novel phytoestrogen, inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.” J Cell Physiol, 2004 Apr; 199 (1): 98-107.
14. Effenberger, K.E. et al. Regulation of osteoblastic phenotype and gene expression by hop-derived phytoestrogens. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 96:387-399.
15. Sehmisch, S. Comparison of the phytohormones genistein, resveratrol and 8-prenylnaringenin as agents for preventing osteoporosis. Planta Med. 2008. 74:794-801.
16. Fromentin, Emillie. “Lifenol® is not a traditional hops extract for insomnia.” Internal paper.
17. Murray, Michael, N.D. “The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.” Third Edition. Atria. p. 790.
18. Health Canada. “Monograph: Sage”. Natural Health Products Directorate. http://webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca/nhpid-bdipsn/atReq.do?atid=sage.or&lang=eng