Understanding natural hormone replacement – the notion of hormone replacement therapy does not really begin to describe how herbal and natural remedies work for menopause. The emphasis on replacing hormones only addresses the fact that levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease at this time of life.
Certainly, there are plenty of foods and plants that can help to maintain levels of these hormones, or at least ease the decline, which in some women is sudden and can cause discomfort, and many of these come in the form of natural progesterone cream.
However, natural hormone replacement therapy and herbal medicine, where the practice of polypharmacy, or the combining of several herbs in one formula, addresses the whole picture of individual health, can do far more than simply supply extra hormones. A herbal practitioner can make an assessment of the individual woman in all her complexity and provide support for her whole system, perhaps targeting those organs or systems that have taken the toll of general wear and tear. In doing so, natural hormone replacement through herbal medicine contributes not merely to the reduction of symptoms of menopause, but to enhancing her level of health and vitality, which surely is the birthright of any woman at any age.
Support From Natural Hormone Replacement Therpy
It is not widely known, for example, that the liver and the adrenals, in particular, have vital roles to play at the time of menopause in a woman’s life, and if these have become depleted, they will inevitably contribute to problems during menopause. Healthy adrenals will take up some estrogen production at menopause, thus to some extent cushioning the drop in estrogen produced in the ovaries. The liver, on the other hand, has been found to be an important factor in treating hot flushes. No one is quite sure why this is; except that it seems to have a role to play in temperature regulation.
Even when adjusting hormones with natural hormone replacement therapy, herbs can do more than simply supply extra. Some herbs can affect the pituitary, the master endocrine gland in the brain, thus influencing the output of certain hormones. This approach is one of the best natural hormone replacement treatments in any imbalance of the female hormone system and will usually form the basis of a herbal hormone therapy formula.
Natural Hormone Replacement Combats Bone Loss
Then there is the matter of bone loss: this, too, can have a variety of influences. Once again, in addition to using natural hormone replacement therapy for treating the hormone levels, herbs and foods can help in supplying additional calcium and can also improve the absorption and utilization of calcium via the digestive system.
A natural hormone replacement therapy or herbal menopause treatment can thus address and adjust many different aspects of the body, targeting both ‘routine’ and specific requirements, and so create greater harmony throughout the whole system.