Natural Relief of Hotflashes with Wild Yam Capsules

About Hot Flashes - Hot flashes are often the first sign of impending menopause occasionally beginning as early as a symptom of perimenopause and symptoms may last for up to 10 years after the actual occurrence of menopause. Up to 75% of all women experience hot flashes sometime during the menopausal process and it is the symptom that most often drives women to seek medical assistance. Hot flashes occur because of a developing imbalance of hormone levels as the female sexual organs cease functioning leading to a loss of progesterone and estrogen. Hot flashes may be combined with other related symptoms such as flushing, racing pulse, anxiety, dizziness and headache. Hot flashes are often accompanied by sweating as the attack subsides and night sweats are a frequent, irritating result.

Hormone Treatment

Traditionally in western medicine, all symptoms of menopause including hot flashes have been treated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) using an estrogen/progesterone combination or estrogen alone. HRT has come under recent scrutiny with conflicting research results indicating that it may not provide organ protection as originally thought and that it may increase the risk of cancer. In addition, HRT is known to have adverse effects such as bloating and an increased risk for high blood pressure and clot formation leading to stroke. Physicians are often reluctant to prescribe hormones during the perimenopausal period. Any of these issues may prevent use in some women and cause them to seek alternatives such as self treatment with wild yam supplements.

Wild Yam

Wild yam, also known as Chinese yam, sweet potato vine and in Chinese medicine as Shan Yao has been in use for thousands of years by the native peoples of Asia and the Americas to treat a variety of female such as menopause along with other conditions such as arthritis and digestive disorders. It is a naturally occurring vine like plant from the genus Dioscorea. Its primarily active ingredient is a phytochemical known as diosgenin which is chemically similar to naturally occurring hormone precursors present in the human body.

Diosgenin, though similar in chemical structure to hormones, will not be converted to progesterone or estrogen in the body but may act similarly to progesterone and estrogen as used in HRT by combining with specific hormone receptors to minimize or eliminate symptoms such as hot flashes. Wild yam also contains a number of other phytochemicals which may play a large part of its activity

Though wild yam extract creams are available, many of these also contain actual progesterone which has been chemically synthesized and the primary effects of these creams come from the progesterone and not the wild yam extract. Consequently, wild yam capsules are the most reliable way to use wild yam supplements. Wild yam capsules can be purchased at most health food stores and at some large grocery stores, drug stores and discount stores with large natural therapy sections.

References:

Mayo Clinic: Hot Flashes

American Cancer Society: Hot Flashes

Prescription for Herbal Healing, Phyllis A. Balch, CNC, 2001