Maybe I should get a woman to write this column. While I can sympathise with women suffering the symptoms of menopause of course I cannot empathise. Or can I? Reading an article recently on menopause symptoms – there were about 17 listed – I found I could relate, from time to time, to more than half of them!

In my column on prostate problems, I point out that BPH, benign prostate hyperplasia, is not a disease but simply something that happens as a guy gets older – similarly menopause should not be regarded as a disease, but so often it is. It is, as you probably know, simply when your menstruation (meno) ceases (pause). That is not to say that you shouldn't do anything to relieve the symptoms, but HRT, I don't know about that – the body can only be fooled for so long.

With Black Cohosh, herbal medicine has a winner. I even heard a very conservative, normally anti-“alternative” medicine physician sing its praises on TV recently. Perhaps nobody had told him it was an herb. Black Cohosh has most certainly been shown to relieve most of the unpleasant menopause symptoms and research is continuing. There are few direct side effects from Black Cohosh, except for occasional gastric discomfort, and rare hepatic dysfunction.

Supplements using Black Cohosh, either on its own or in combination with other herbs, are well worth a try. It is the main, if not the only, herbal ingredient of the products featured here with one exception. Other herbal ingredients of these menopause supplements include Pasque Flower, Wild Yam, Damiana leaf and Licorice root.

The one product that contains none of the above is WholeHealth's Kava Kava which is used for a variety of problems including menopause symptoms. Kava has an intoxicating effect, apparently while increasing mental acuity and has few, if any, side effects.

Some very good sites dealing with menopause are

Menopause Metamorphosis    Alternative Approaches, Home Remedies, and Herbs for Women

Holistic online   Useful Herbs For Menopause- Actions, Uses, Dosage

Menopause online  Common problems and major threats associated with menopause (article)

Better Way Herbs  Phytoestrogens Offer Women Drug-Free Support (article)

Womens Health and Fitness Natural Herbs For Menopause Many Women Should Use Natural Herbs For Menopause Symptoms But What Natural Herbs Are Best? (Article)