Truth and Lies about Menopause Herbs by Brian B. Carter, MS, LAc

Menopause Herbs Don't Work?

by Brian Benjamin Carter

A couple years ago, a study of herbs and other natural remedies for menopause got a lot of press. Particularly of note were its assertions that black cohosh is the only herb shown to help in menopause.

We could incorrectly assume then that no herbs help for menopause. However, there are some problems with that conclusion. Let's take a look at them:

1. Most herbs have not been subjected to RCT's (Randomized Controlled Trials, medical science's most advanced study design).

2. RCT's are not the only kind of study that provides reliable information.

3. Herbs are hardly ever prescribed alone. Research should be conducted on time-tested herbal formulas for menopause - not single herbs.

4. American researchers tend to ignore or discount research done outside the U.S.

5. Researchers' own biases affect their conclusions... no study is perfect. Researchers may have little trouble finding reasons to throw out a study whose conclusions threaten their beliefs.

Ok, then...

1. Which herbs have been subjected to RCT's?

A quick search of MedLine for "herb randomized controlled trial" yields only 13 results for 11 herbs and herb formulas (note that searching for just herbs alone yields more than 2300 studies):

St John's Wort, Black Cohosh

Bing gan tang, Yi zhu tang, Yi Er Gan Tang (Hep C)

Phyllanthus, 'Jianpi Wenshen recipe', Fuzheng Jiedu Tang (Hep B)

Polyporus umbellatus polysaccharide

Echinacea (Common cold)

Ginger (Nausea)

'AM' a Ugandan herb remedy (Malaria)

I know this is not the full list of well-studied herbs. The groundbreaking 1998 Journal of the American Medical Association issue on alternative medicine included the first RCT faithful to the principles of chinese herbal medicine, a study of herbs for IBS.

In the November 2002 review of menopause treatments, only 10 of the 29 studies (RCT's) they reviewed studied herbs. Of those, only two - black cohosh (sheng ma) and dang gui - are chinese herbs. There are many chinese herbs and herbal formulas for menopause that have not been studied in RCT's.

2. RCT's aren't the only kind of study.

Go to Page 2

BIO:

Acupuncturist, herbalist, and medical professor Brian B. Carter founded the alternative health megasite The Pulse of Oriental Medicine (http://www.PulseMed.org/). He is the author of the book "Powerful Body, Peaceful Mind: How to Heal Yourself with Foods, Herbs, and Acupressure" (November, 2004). Brian speaks on radio across the country, and has been quoted and interviewed by Real Simple, Glamour, and ESPN magazines.

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