Wild Rose College and Wholistic Clinic

(06/07/1999), Canada - The complexity of the female system is both wondrous and poetic. A woman, during her reproductive years, has a constant orchestration of female hormones flowing through her body. The endocrine system doesn`t just produce hormones on an on-off basis, similar to turning a tap on and off. Hormones are in a constant dance with each other, raising and lowering in levels in response to the receptivity of the glands. This dance of the hormones creates the menstrual cycle. If the dance is too slow, the cycle is long; if too fast, the cycle is short. The average cycle is 28 days, the same as the cycle of the moon, thus many cultures have called the female cycle the `moon cycle`. The most important thing to acknowledge is that the female cycle is a continuous dance, not an on and off event.

If an individual takes hormone replacement therapy, may it be for birth control or post menopausally, she is not interacting in this dance. The dance then becomes more like a march. A march with an unaltering rhythm set onto a specific date, directed by someone in a research lab. Even though there are times when there may be specific health benefits from taking hormone replacement therapy, compromises are being made. As a practitioner of Natural Healing, my job is to try to help people find the rhythm of the dance that is best suited for them. I find that less than 10% of women who take hormone replacement therapy receive any real health benefits from it. However, by using botanicals and nutritional substances, we can often help a person become more coordinated in her own dance.

There has been a great trend recently towards finding botanical substances that can work as hormone replacements. As yet, nothing has been found to be truly estrogenic in its non-synthesized state. In fact, we may be missing the larger picture by doing this. Even though there are many products containing herbs which are promoted as estrogenic on their labels, estrogenic hormones do not actually appear as such in the plant kingdom. Yes, female hormones can be made from some of these herbs in a laboratory, but the human body cannot convert the given botanical substances into these hormones. Besides, is that what we want to do anyway?

Many cultures around the world have taken another approach to this process. By using herbs that can aid in the orchestration of the dance, the desired results are usually achieved. Two of my favourite herbs for this orchestration are Dong Quai from the Orient and Vitex from Europe. I most often use Dong Quai, as I have found it most reliable. Other practitioners prefer Vitex.

In the Orient, personalities are given to herbs to help students learn their properties. Dong Quai can be considered an ``Empress Herb``. As an Empress Herb, it is seldom used alone. You can imagine how upset an Empress can get if she doesn`t have her ladies-in-waiting! She, of course, needs support staff. Now, when choosing support staff for an Empress, you have to be very careful. You need to choose only the best. Each lady-in-waiting needs to have good strengths and qualities. It is equally important not to have a lady-in-waiting who is too strong - imagine the problems that might arise if a lady-in-waiting was at the same station as the Empress! It just wouldn`t work! For this reason, I have found that Vitex and Dong Quai do not work very well together. I like to choose the `lady-in-waiting` support herbs from another group. The herbs I most often choose to use with Dong Quai are: Blue Cohosh, Black Cohosh, Blessed Thistle and Raspberry leaves.

Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis), sometimes considered ``female ginseng``, has many positive effects on the female system. I like to use it as a guaranteed potency of 1% ferulic acid. In the Orient, Dong Quai is commonly used for menstrual irregularities, for menopause and for recuperating after childbirth. It has also been shown to be very helpful for women coming off hormone replacement therapy. Dong Quai goes far beyond being a ``female herb`` though. It is quite appropriate for building up the system after illness, fortifying the blood, and enhancing metabolism and oxygen utilization in the liver. Dong Quai has also been shown to slow down male-pattern baldness, strengthen the heart, prevent atherosclerosis, prevent lipid deposits, function as an anti-bacterial agent, and work as a calming agent.

Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) and Blue Cohosh (Caulopyllum thalictroides) help support the nervous and glandular systems. Both of these herbs (along with Blessed Thistle (Centaura benedicta) are emmenagogues, used both to build up and regulate the female reproductive system. Raspberry leaves have often been considered ``a woman`s best friend``, helping a woman through pregnancy and aiding in a quick, less traumatic delivery. It also has a toning effect on the female system.

These above herbs, used in combination, may be used to regulate hormonal fluctuations such as those occurring at puberty, after pregnancy, during menopause, upon cessation of birth control pill usage or after a hysterectomy. They have also been found to be very useful in alleviating discomfort due to menstrual cramps, and reducing edema and depression associated with the menstrual cycle.

I usually make the above formula up in single zero capsules and suggest 2-3 capsules; 2 -3 times daily, depending on the severity of the condition. If we can gently help the body to go along with its natural rhythm, we can usually feel much better.

One of the most common times to choose hormone replacement therapy is post menopausally. Contrary to popular opinion, a woman doesn`t just stop releasing hormones after menopause. Throughout a woman`s reproductive years she is depositing concentrated amounts of female hormones in the cellulite areas of the body, such as hips and breasts. When a woman moves into the phase of life after the reproductive years, she will `time- release` the accumulations from the reproductive stage. Again, I have found the above herbs quite suitable for helping a woman through menopause and to learn a new dance. After menopause, it is rare that a woman needs the above formula.
There are several foods that can help a woman go through menopause and remain healthy after it. The two most prominent foods are soya-based foods, especially tofu, and cold water fish (not shell fish).

If we can gently help the body to go along with its natural rhythm, we can usually feel much better.