Menopause brings with it many symptoms, and hot flashes are among the most common. According to the Mayo Clinic, 75 percent of women say they experience hot flashes--intense feelings of heat strong enough to leave you flushed and sweaty--at some point during menopause. If hot flashes are bothering you, herbal treatments might provide relief, but you should always check with your health care provider before making herbs part of your self-care regimen.
Black Cohosh
Researchers studying the benefits of black cohosh for menopausal symptoms have found contradictory evidence, but it does help some women, according to a report by the North American Menopause Society, or NAMS, published in More magazine. According to NAMS, a combination of black cohosh and St. John's wort may help relieve the symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes. Unlike some other menopausal remedies, black cohosh doesn't appear to have an estrogenic effect--a plus for some women, since high estrogen levels may increase a woman's risk for some types of cancer, including breast and uterine cancer. You should check with your doctor before using black cohosh because it presents a small but serious risk of liver problems.
Red Clover
Red clover contains isoflavones, botanical chemicals that create effects similar to estrogen. Since many menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, are associated in part with the slowdown in estrogen production that takes place during menopause, some researchers theorize that restoring previous estrogen levels may alleviate some of those symptoms. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, extract of red clover has proven the most useful version of the herb in scientific studies, but studies haven't conclusively proven red clover's benefits for menopause.
Chaste Berry
According to Project AWARE, the Association of Women for the Advancement of Research and Education, chaste berry gets its hot flash treating power from its ability to affect luteinizing hormone, or LH, and follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, levels in the body. Project AWARE says chaste berry is one of the four best herbs for treating hot flashes, but it usually takes at least several months and often as long as a year to see improvement.
