New hope for women suffering from menopause
Jan Roberts talked at the Natural Health Conference & Expo this month about natural ways to relieve the many symptoms of menopause, which includes using a new nutraceutical that provides an alternative to HRT.
Roberts says that a woman’s brain rewires itself at menopause, which is something that is poorly recognised by many people.
“Once a woman’s menstrual cycle ceases, her hormones no longer set her up every month to nurture - her whole mothering tendency flattens out. All of a sudden, instead of naturally wanting to look after her family, children, partner and more, she thinks to herself: ‘Ahh, now it’s my turn!’ This is a very real shift and not an imagined one. Many studies show that the brain does actually change.
“It can be quite confronting if a woman is not aware of this fact and where preventative medicine and complementary practitioners are able to provide valuable advice. They have the time to sit down with a woman and say : ‘Look, you’re not going mad.’”
Roberts believes that many woman do seriously think they are losing their mind at this stage of life because all of a sudden, the things that used to matter suddenly no longer seem important.
“Women need to acknowledge that their brain is changing, and when they do, their experience of menopause can be more positive than negative.
Roberts herself knows about those 35+ symptoms of menopause. These include hot flushes, night sweats, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, loss of skin and hair texture, sleeplessness, depression and loss of memory.
In the 60s, when she began her career as a pharmacist, she remembers that almost every woman of 45 and over was on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy), but these days it is recommended that woman should take it for no longer than two years.
“A lot of women nowadays don’t want to resort to HRT because of its increased risk of breast cancer and stroke. However, you can’t expect a drug or natural product to relieve all of the symptoms of menopause. Women do need to make an effort to address their lifestyle and dietary issues.
“There’s no doubt that there are lots of positive health-promotion measures, but those self-help steps need to be enhanced by products like our new one – Femmenessence, which can have a very powerful, supportive effect.”
Healing qualities of Femmenessence
Femmenessence is a patented combination of phenotypes of a natural product that grows in Peru. Five years of double-blind, placebo-controlled trials confirm the many benefits of this combination.
“A lot of practitioners will be familiar with Maca, which is a root vegetable that grows fairly widely in South America,” adds Roberts. “But Natural Health International has identified two quite distinct species of Maca. The one growing only above 4,000m actually has 13 different phenotypes, and combining several of these in different ratios gives distinct physiological effects that provide us with separate products for both men and women.”
“The one for women, that I will be discussing at the Expo, is our patented product known as Maca-GO, although Femmenessence is its trade name. Five years of clinical trials have shown that this is the only natural product to have a statistically significant effect on hormone levels. So for pre, post and currently menopausal woman (as well as practitioners looking for a serious alternative to HRT) we have something that has real credentials.”
She adds that Natural Health International has invested heavily in credible research but also in controlling and ensuring optimal conditions from the seed to the shelf.
“NHI’s approach is at the cutting edge for a natural products company - bridging the gap between supplements and pharmaceuticals. I believe that’s what practitioners are increasingly looking for. Natural products have a long history of use, but are now being called to account. People are saying: ‘OK, show us that these really work.’”
Femmenessence was launched more than 2 years ago in the United States and is expected to be launched in Australia during the early part of 2010, after it has received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration. There will be both a retail and a professional range.
The retail range is already being sold through all Whole Foods outlets in the US and the practitioner version, which includes a larger pack size, is available through two of the largest distributors to health professionals in the US.
The product comes in a capsule form, and contains the herb and nothing but the herb. “It’s totally organically processed,” adds Roberts. “cultivated and grown exclusively in the central Peruvian Andes at high altitudes, under harsh environmental conditions, and exposed to the full spectrum of solar radiation, low humidity and extreme temperature changes - all factors that appear to have a positive affect on potency. A patented pre-gelatinization treatment ensures the full spectrum of actives that are also highly bio-available.”
Australian company Ramsay Healthcare is the major investor in the product, which has had to undergo additional toxicity studies in Australia, even though they have already been completed in Europe and demonstrate no toxicity even at a dose exceeding 15g/kg body weight!
Successful trials
When the product was taken by hundreds of women in the clinical trials, Roberts says it had very positive results. “80% of woman had a significant reduction of symptoms within six to eight weeks. In fact, many of them experienced relief in as few as three days. With an adjustment of dosage, almost 100% of woman received relief of their symptoms.
“But more importantly, Femmenessence has a statistically significant effect on hormone levels in both pre and post-menopausal women. Remember that it is the decline in hormone levels that contributes to a woman’s increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and cognitive decline.This product can and should be be taken long term. I’ve been taking it myself for 3 ½ years and I wouldn’t be without it.”
Roberts will be speaking about this subject at 4.15 pm, Thursday, September 3rd, at the Natural Health and Conference Expo being held at the AJC Centre, Randwick, Sydney. She says that her talk is a great example of how useful the new format at the Expo will be.
“This show has always given people a lot of insight into new products coming onto the market. The main difference this year is the format of a more conventional conference. Whereas in the past, the exhibits have been the most important part of the show, this year, the speaking events will take centre stage.”
She adds that there will be more high calibre speakers at this particular Expo than ever before. “Visitors will be exposed to new information that will help them in their practice. In regards to my product, menopause is an area that hasn’t been well serviced in the past. But there is a huge opportunity for natural therapists to support women through this natural, but sometimes difficult phase of life.
“Prescriptions of HRT halved between 2001 and 2005 and I’m sure that natural therapists are being bombarded with woman looking for help. So for practitioners to have a new product that is supported by credible, clinical trials, I’m sure this is something they want to hear about.”
Roberts adds that women must be mindful of the connection between their body and mind. She says that when they ignore the changes that they are undergoing emotionally, they will be more likely to suffer some kind of physical ill effect.
In her talk, she will focus on the various areas requiring attention - diet, lifestyle, environment, exercise and finally the emotional change and how it must be heeded.
Having specialised in promoting the health of couples prior to conception for a large part of her working life, Roberts now feels passionate about supporting women through this transformative phase of menopause and ensuring that they maximise the potential of the next decades!
Hi…
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Indeed menopause is really cruel phase in one’s life, especially women. These information and tips would indeed be very helpful to lot of women at menopause.