Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, and Menopause
-By Martha Serrie Benedict

For hot flashes and night sweats Tien Wang Bu Hsin Wan, vitamin E, evening primrose and borage oil are very helpful. Eating soups made with organic bone broth, saffron, and leafy green vegetables and egg drop is delicious and tonifies Yin and Yang as well. Yoga stretches and brisk walking or dancing are great ways to move the body. California Poppy or Passion Flower helps with sleeplessness. So does Women's Precious. Clary sage, blessed thistle and Black Cohosh are useful for estrogen depletion. Using soy products and milk thistle helps tie up estrogen, clear the liver and de-conjugate hormones. Yoni Oil is excellent for vaginal dryness, increasing sexual interest, and improving urinary incontinence symptoms by 20%. Magnesium glycinate, 1-4 grams per day, encourages relaxation. MSM assists in over two billion chemical reactions daily in our bodies. For depression I find four grams of inositol more useful than samE. For memory concerns use Ginko, Gotu Kola or Memory Tonic. For minerals, use Herbal Minerals or a dulse seaweed source.

Menopause and Testing Yourself

Test your thyroid function using early morning basal temperature. According to Broda Barnes, M.D., this is a more reliable indicator of thyroid function than a blood test. Use exercise, glandulars, and seaweed to help. Most women I treat for hormone problems have low or low-normal thyroid function. This may not be so surprising considering how much heart energy women put into their families over their reproductive years. Now it is necessary to turn the table or face an unpleasant painful older age.

Have a baseline bone density test. If you fall short give a serious commitment to weight training. I wear my gardening belt around my waist to carry two or three extra pounds. Don't go overboard as you can damage your shoulders, neck, and hips by being too strenuous. Salutations to the sun for five minutes every morning get the yang chi moving and protect the joints.