Menopause means you can kiss your periods and PMS goodbye and usher in the next phase of your life.
Of course, this hormonal shift also comes with challenging physical, mental, and emotional changes—including hot flashes, mood changes, body aches, and low energy.
However, it’s not all bad news. There are natural herbal remedies available, including black cohosh, that are effective for menopause. They balance your hormones and alleviate symptoms of menopause without further disrupting your wellbeing.
In contrast, hormone replacement therapy, commonly advocated as the go-to treatment for menopause, can carry adverse side effects, including headaches, mood swings, gut pain, body aches, heart attack and cancer.
That’s why we want to take a deeper look at how using black cohosh during menopause can help you:
- Feel less of the body discomfort and pain caused by menopause
- Sleep better and feel more rested
- Avoid drastic mood changes linked to menopause
1 – Eases the Discomfort of Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
Hot flashes are almost synonymous with menopause and are most commonly caused by the drop in estrogen that occurs at this time.
The connection between estrogen levels and hot flashes makes black cohosh, an estrogen modulator, effective in easing this symptom.
The sensation of suddenly being dropped into a furnace, or being drenched in sweat, isn’t just uncomfortable during the day. It’s also linked to poor sleep.
It’s common to startle awake at the beginning of a hot flash and fail to regain sleep thereafter.
Although hot flashes can make you feel self-conscious when they occur during the day, it’s more common for them to cause disruption at night as they make sleeping difficult.
Beyond daily discomfort, the resulting long-term sleep disruption can severely impact your daily life and worsen menopausal mood swings.
How Hormonal Balance Uses Black Cohosh To Ease Hot Flashes
Many women who seek to manage these menopausal symptoms turn to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Though effective, HRT isn’t an option for women at risk of:
- Breast cancer
- Stroke
- Gallbladder disease
- Liver disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Blood clots in their veins
In the following table, we compare the benefits and risks of black cohosh vs. hormone replacement therapy to help you see the difference:
| Remedy For Menopause Symptoms | Benefits | Risks |
| Black Cohosh |
|
|
| Hormone Replacement Therapy |
|
|
This is where natural hormone supplements, such as Bust Bunny’s Hormonal Balance and Breast Enhancement, come in.
Both natural supplements contain black cohosh, found to be effective in managing menopause symptoms, including:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Insomnia
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Palpitations
Fun fact: Bust Bunny’s Hormonal Balance was born of the desire Shawn (the Bust Bunny founder) had to ease his mother’s menopausal symptoms.
Seeing his mother go through the torture of hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause took him back to the lab and his biochemistry roots to find a natural solution for her.
“This product has minimized the number of hot flashes I experience and it hasn’t even been a month yet. I will definitely continue taking this!”
J. Berg, United States.
2 – Lightens the Load of Menopausal Mood Swings and Anxiety
Mental health and female reproductive hormone levels are deeply interconnected. That’s why irritability, fatigue, mood swings, aggression, and depression are common in menopause, as these hormones, progesterone and estrogen, fluctuate.
Consequently, modulating estrogen with black cohosh may ease menopausal mood changes.
Let’s delve deeper into the connection between estrogen, your brain and your mood.
How Estrogen Levels Affect Your Mood
As estrogen levels drop, they negatively affect the release of serotonin. Serotonin contributes to feelings of happiness, optimism, and satisfaction in the brain.
The less serotonin there is, the more likely you are to feel down in the dumps.
But wait, there are more interconnections between low estrogen and menopausal mood swings.
Estrogen plays a key role in energy production in the brain. Lower estrogen, therefore, also contributes to the feelings of fatigue and brain fog that are common in menopause.
To top it off, lower estrogen levels cause hot flashes, as we discussed earlier. Combined, the daily disruption and poor quality of sleep can cascade into anxiety and mood swings.
So, what can you do about it?
How Black Cohosh Improves Your Mood
Research shows that black cohosh significantly reduces mood swings, depression, and anxiety in women going through perimenopause (the transition period) and menopause.
Black cohosh is an estrogen modulator, meaning that it restores balance to estrogen levels, thereby reducing the negative impact menopause can have on serotonin production.
“I’ve had improved sleep, less severe mood swings and less cramping. I’ve also had less water retention, which is great! Overall, a wonderful product and I would recommend it.”
Courtney, United States.
Lifestyle Changes to Alleviate Menopausal Symptoms
Finally, in the Bust Bunny spirit of valuing natural health alternatives, let’s explore a few lifestyle adjustments you can make to support the energizing and mood-enhancing effects of black cohosh.
You can:
- Eat a Mediterranean diet rich in phytoestrogens (plant-based estrogens) to bolster your body’s fluctuating hormones. Suitable foods include flax seeds, sesame seeds, berries, legumes, apricot, melon, and whole grains.
- Practice good sleep hygiene, meaning:
- Avoid watching television and using devices just before bed.
- Maintain the same bedtime.
- Develop a relaxing bedtime routine e.g. reading, journaling or meditating.
- Stop caffeine intake 5–7 hours before your bedtime.
- Exercise moderately at a regular time each day.
- Exercise relieves stress and helps you maintain a healthy weight, thus easing symptoms like anxiety and low energy.
- High-intensity workouts, such as sprinting, squats and jumps aren’t advisable since they can raise your core temperature and worsen hot flashes.
- Instead, moderate exercise. A 30-minute brisk walk or yoga are perfect during menopause.
3 – Relieves Joint and Muscle Pain for Comfort and Easier Movement
How often do you hear about older women suffering from joint pain or hip problems? There are twice as many women as there are men suffering from osteoarthritis.
Loss of estrogen during menopause deprives your body of its anti-inflammatory effects. This leaves you at a higher risk of developing joint damage and pain common during menopause—both linked to inflammation and aging.
What does this look like? You’re more likely to feel joint pain when you wake up, or experience prolonged muscle and joint pain after activities you used to do easily, like gardening or working out.
What Black Cohosh Does to Ease Aches and Pains
Introducing an estrogen modulator, like black cohosh, into your health supplement rotation may reduce these aches and restore the mobility and energy you’re used to.
This use of black cohosh isn’t new. In fact, Native Americans used the plant to ease rheumatic pain—pain related to joints, tendons, ligaments, bones, and muscles.
Aside from its potential as an estrogen modulator, research has also shown that black cohosh binds to central opioid receptors in the brain. Therefore, it acts as a pain relief agent, blocking the pain receptors in your brain.
This may go a long way in easing joint pain associated with menopause.
Precautions When Using Black Cohosh
Black cohosh is safe when taken in the appropriate dosage of 20 mg twice daily. The duration of usage is typically six months to one year.
That said, avoid black cohosh if you have:
- Liver disease: Black cohosh may negatively affect the liver, although research is ongoing to determine the correlation, if any exists.
- Hormone-sensitive conditions: Black cohosh acts as an estrogen modulator, which may worsen hormone-sensitive conditions, such as fibroids, endometriosis, and uterine and ovarian cancers.
- A high risk of breast cancer: Although further research is necessary, women who have a strong family history of breast cancer should be cautious about taking black cohosh because of its potential effects on estrogen.
Additionally, black cohosh may sometimes cause stomach upsets and a general feeling of heaviness.
Of course, taking larger-than-recommended doses will cause more severe side effects, including dizziness, headaches, giddiness, nausea, and vomiting.
If you experience abdominal pain, dark urine, or jaundice, stop taking black cohosh and seek medical advice.
Fortunately, there are no known interactions between black cohosh and any medications. However, as with all herbal supplements, you should always consult your physician before adding black cohosh to your health regimen.
Take Back Your Menopause Years With Black Cohosh
Black cohosh has helped to relieve menopause symptoms, such as pain, hot flashes, and mood changes, for hundreds of years. It is a safe and low-risk supplement that can help you reclaim your body from the trials of menopause.
If you’re ready to care for your body with a clean, non-GMO black cohosh extract that contains no additives or fillers, try Bust Bunny’s Hormonal Balance or Breast Enhancement supplements.
Manufactured in the United States in an FDA-compliant facility, they provide you with a natural alternative to manage your menopause symptoms.
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