Life does not end at Menopause
It is estimated that worldwide there are about 800 million menopausal women, of whom 600 million are not receiving HRT and as menopause is not considered a disease, it is nonetheless associated with it a number of symptoms that make the quality of lives of women bad. A high percentage of them do not go to the doctor to seek treatment, largely because they think they are inevitable.
Menopause symptoms
Young women, between 40 and 50 years with a professional and social life are very active wrapped in a spiral of symptoms that disrupt the normal development of their business. Of all those who are associated with menopause, perhaps the most striking and distressing are hot flashes. This sensation of heat and suffocation, common in women who are in menopause, occurs in any situation and produce an upset hard to conceal.
In recent years, interest in natural products, when is about our health care, has taken an extraordinary relevance. While the use of medicinal plants is increasingly prevalent, we must not forget that these are products that must comply with a comprehensive health monitoring.
Sometimes these medicines developed from herbs have become an effective alternative to drugs that were being administered regularly. This is the case of combined phytotherapy, which has become an effective substitute in cases where the administration of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is contraindicated for the treatment of menopausal symptoms.
In addition to excellent results obtained, Phytotherapy combined (Soy + Red Clover) lacks the unwanted side effects that are caused by the HRT can be administered to a much broader range of patients.
Phytotherapy or Common medicine
The use of these plants can also be a dangerous weapon if it falls into the hands of amateurs. It is important to remember that not all diseases can be cured with plants and all plants are not healing, so it is essential to have the supervision of a physician, who is qualified to prescribe treatment, and a pharmacist which, when dispensing the product, is the person who ensures their compliance with the prescription of the specialist.
Moreover, aware of the possibilities that plants can provide the pharmaceutical industry has also been involved in this stream. The laboratories have been developing a range of products based on the use of plants as active ingredients; they offer every guarantee of scientific research and the application of more stringent controls of production.
Remedies that came from East
While East is known and has relied on the healing power of plants for over 2000 years, the policies followed in the West have been the opposite. Due to the difficulty of obtaining and using medicinal plants in modern Western cities and the lack of scientific studies endorsing traditional practices, little by little it was relegating its use for the benefit of the medicines produced artificially.
It was not until the mid-70s when the World Health Organization created the Program for Promotion and Development of Traditional Medicines. This was the starting signal for thousands of researchers launched the study and restoration of traditional medicines.
In recent decades, phytotherapy in the West has evolved to become an option accepted by the scientific community, so that pharmaceutical companies have incorporated into their programs as another line to develop.
Phytotherapy combined
This "professionalization" of the treatment is beneficial to consumers so that both the way of ingesting the active ingredients of plants as the appropriate dosage for administration, are carefully controlled to optimize results and minimize risks.
An example of this "perfect marriage" between science and nature is combined in phytotherapy. This term comes to defining the coexistence of soy with red clover, as drug, in one product.
Already known for years that the beneficial effect of soy can treat symptoms of menopause, but the study and conducting scientific tests have wounded many to conclude that its impact could be improved.
Both the soy and red clover contain phytoestrogens. These plant are natural substances with estrogenic activity and has been shown that the combination of both enhances its properties, providing clear benefits for the health of postmenopausal women.
After several months of treatment, these natural compounds, usually well tolerated, produce a significant reduction in hot flashes, sweating, mental symptoms, reduced levels of total cholesterol, LDL-C and increased HDL-C, besides having a positive effect on vaginal cytology.
Given that the treatment with HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is contraindicated in many cases, mainly because it produces unwanted effects, the count on this alternative offers a way out for both doctors and patients. We must consider that it is a symptom that affects most women at one point in her life when still young and a social life and very active, unwilling to interrupt their usual pace for this trouble.
Conscious Phytotherapy
This antagonism between the two options seems to have come to an end and has reached a middle ground, which combine the benefits of medicinal plants with empirical knowledge of modern medicine.
As consumers, we should demand the conduct of clinical trials substantiating the effectiveness of the products offered for sale and are clearly different food supplements from genuine medications. These latter are the only ones who can provide assurance to be beneficial to our health, both by the dosage of components such as health checks to which they are subjected.
This is essential to follow instructions from a medical professional and understand that although plants are active in any event, they must be purchased and ingested with medical supervision and pharmaceutical company.