Motherwort is a strong-smelling perennial herb with purple stems and pink-mauve to white flowers. It has also been used for centuries to regulate the menstrual cycle and to treat menopausal and menstrual complaints as well as conditions relating to child birth.

Motherwort acts as a galactagogue, meaning it can help promote a mother’s milk flow. It is also used as a uterine (womb) tonic before and after childbirth because it contains a chemical called leonurine, which encourages womb contractions. In addition, motherwort is a mild relaxing agent and is often used treat such menopausal complaints as nervousness, hot flushes, insomnia, heart palpitations, and rapid heart rate.

 

Motherwort was recently shown to prevent the formation of blood clots, which, of course, improves blood flow and reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other diseases. It is good for hypertension because it relaxes blood vessels and calms nerves. Motherwort also may correct the heart palpitations that sometimes accompany thyroid disease and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). And because of its ability to improve mental outlook and reduce the effects of stress, some herbalists feel motherwort tea can help minimise the risk of postpartum depression. In such cases, motherwort combines well with linden flower and ginger tinctures.

 

And if all this wasn’t enough motherwort is also useful for headache, insomnia, vertigo, asthma, bronchitis, and other lung problems, usually mixed with mullein and other lung herbs.

 

You can prepare motherwort tea or get a tincture. As a tincture, take 2 drops every 10-15 minutes until your symptoms disappear.  As a tea, drink 1/2 to 1 cup three times a day until you feel better.

 

Note: Avoid motherwort if you are pregnant, unless a health professional recommends its use. Do not use in the first trimester. Do not attempt to treat heart conditions without medical supervision. If you have clotting problems or take medication to thin the blood, do not use motherwort without your doctor’s advice or permission.

Passion flower or Passiflora, is a vine known for its beautiful white flowers with purple, blue, or pink calyx crown blooms. The plant is native to North, Central, and South America. It was discovered by the West when Spanish explorers first ventured into Peru and came across the Aztec Indians, who were fond of using Passiflora as a sedative and analgesic.

Recent studies have renewed interest in the herb. Researchers don’t know exactly how passionflower works, but they theorise that compounds in the plant, known as flavonoids and alkaloids, regulate the neurotransmitters in your nervous system that reduce anxiety. (One of its active constituents includes harmine; the ingredient used as a ‘truth serum’ by the Germans in World War II, by virtue of its ability to relax the mind and create a contemplative state.)

 

Studies on passion flower are limited but promising. In a double-blind study published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics in 2001, 32 people suffering from general anxiety disorder were treated daily with 45 drops of passionflower liquid extract or 30 mg of oxazepam, a common anti-anxiety drug. After four weeks, both groups showed a significant decrease in their anxiety symptoms. But none of the people taking passionflower reported severely impaired job performance, while 44 percent of the patients taking oxazepam did.

 

In a study published in 2002 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, researchers gave passionflower extract to alcohol-addicted mice undergoing alcohol withdrawal. The herbal extract reduced the mice’s withdrawal anxiety by up to 90 percent compared to mice that received no treatment.

 

It seems that the constituents in Passion flower somehow decrease the activity of nerve cells in the brain, causing relaxation and is therefore helpful for anxiety and insomnia because of its calming effect. It is also effective in increasing the activity of feel good neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. This makes it anti-depressive, a useful alternative to St John’s Wort for those who can’t take it.

 

Stress and depression are on the increase today in our 24/7 wired world and the nerve relaxant, blood pressure lowering effects of Passiflora make it of prime interest to those vulnerable to stress symptoms. It can also be helpful during the menopause, when falling hormone levels can make women prone to anxiety and depression.

 

The overall effect of Passiflora, when used as a whole herb, is as a gentle but effective relaxant that calms the central nervous system with no addictive properties, so it is appropriate for a whole host of conditions, from sleeping problems to nerve spasms. In addition to being helpful for anxiety, stress, insomnia, and nervous gastrointestinal conditions, the passion flower is also commonly used for pain relief, digestive upsets, painful periods and haemorrhoids.

 

You can take Passion flower in capsule form or you can use the dried herbs. To make an anxiety-easing tea, pour 1 cup of boiling water over 1 teaspoon of the dried herb. Steep for 15 minutes, strain, and drink 1 cup twice a day.

 

Passionflower appears to be safe when taken in the recommended doses, but it may make you drowsy. Talk to your health care practitioner before using passionflower if you have a bleeding or clotting disorder or take sedative medications, including antihistamines and sleep aids; the herb can intensify their effects. Don’t exceed recommended dosages and don’t take the herb if you’re pregnant or nursing.

Because they tend to work gently without severe side effects, natural menopause herbal supplements have been on the rise, and many women have found relief from their menopause symptoms by using them. The main herbs used to treat symptoms of menopause are called adaptogens which means that if you have a low level of one hormone or have an excess of another the herb will have a balancing effect on your hormones and your body.

Agnus Castus

 

Agnus Castus is one of the most important herbs you can take at the menopause, especially at the peri-menopause, because it works as an adaptogen, which means it helps to balance your hormones. It appears to stimulate and normalise the function of the pituitary gland which controls and regulates the hormones in the body and is a potent remedy for mood swings and hot flushes.

 

Black Cohosh

 

Black cohosh is an herbal remedy that has been used for centuries in helping to alleviate menopause symptoms, especially hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. You probably heard about the negative reports on black cohosh but these need to be looked at carefully.  The European Medicines Agency (EMEA), reviewed all the evidence worldwide and concluded that there were only four cases where black cohosh might have caused a liver problem and this needs to be weighed up against an estimated 9 million treatment days of black cohosh used each year.

 

The National Institutes of Health in the US believes there’s no case to answer and their website states that black cohosh has few side effects and that ‘liver damage has been reported in a few individuals using black cohosh, but millions of people have taken the herb without apparent adverse health effects. There is no scientific evidence to show that the herb causes liver damage.’ 

 

Also worryingly, researchers have found that some black cohosh products on the market contain an Asian species of black cohosh which is cheaper than the North American black cohosh.  Compared with the species cultivated in North America, the Asian variety has different chemical properties and may have different effects on the body.  So make sure you get a high quality brand (I use an organic black cohosh combination in the clinic called Black Cohosh Plus, which also contains dong quai – see the Resources page).

Dong quai

 

This is actually a Chinese herb but it is widely available.  It can be used for long periods of time because it is a tonic herb. It nourishes the liver and is said to help ease menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes and vaginal dryness.  It is widely used among Chinese women because of its reputation as a libido and energy booster and has been dubbed “the female ginseng.”

 

Isoflavones

 

Another one of the most popular natural menopause remedies is isoflavones. The isoflavones contain phytoestrogens, which are thought to mimic the function of the female hormone estrogen, thereby possibly reducing hot flushes and some other menopause symptoms. I would suggest that, as the research stands only use the phytoestrogens in food form, such as soya, lentils, linseeds (flax), chickpeas etc and not as supplements.  (For more information on this see my book ‘The New Natural Alternatives to HRT’.)

 

Milk thistle

 

At menopause milk thistle can be an important herb because it helps boost liver function and makes sure old hormones are being excreted efficiently.  (Organic milk thistle is contained in the Black Cohosh Plus – see the Resources page).

 

Valerian

 

This herb has been used for thousands of years to ease insomnia and improve sleep quality.

 

Suggested supplement plan

 

• A good multivitamin and mineral supplement that includes boron, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B complex, magnesium and calcium (like MenoPlus)
• Omega 3 oils – like fish oil (e.g. Omega 3 Plus which contains good levels of both EPA and DHA)
• A combination of organic herbs e.g. black cohosh, dong quai, and milk thistle. 

 

WARNING:  Nutritional supplements are fine to take with HRT but I would not recommend taking herbs as well.  If you are taking HRT, you should not need to take herbs to help with the symptoms because the HRT should be doing that.  If the HRT is not working then you need to see your doctor about changing the dose or the product.