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Menopause, Black Cohosh, and You

Black cohosh is a plant that’s native to North America. Products like black cohosh extract and cohosh black tea are often found in health food stores. They’re marketed as an all-natural treatment for unpleasant menopause symptoms, like hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

What is Black Cohosh?

Black cohosh is a type of buttercup. It’s also known as snakeroot, rattleroot, bugbane, rattleweed, rattletop, bugwort, and macrotys. It's sometimes seen growing in people’s back yards.

One of the reasons why black cohosh is also called bugbane and bugwort is because Native Americans used black cohosh for repelling insects. They also used black cohosh extract as a remedy for women’s reproductive problems, like menstrual cramps and hot flashes. Some Native American peoples also used black cohosh for labor pain relief and to prevent miscarriage.

Black Cohosh for Menopause

Menopause can be a tough time in a woman’s life. If you’re a woman nearing her mid-forties or early fifties, you’ll have to look out for symptoms like menopause weight loss, irregular periods, and other signs that say your body won’t be capable of normal reproduction anymore.

During menopause, your body chemistry changes dramatically, and these changes can turn your life upside-down, with symptoms ranging from mood swings, hot flashes, sleeping problems, vaginal dryness, and reduced sex drive. If you want relief from these symptoms, you have a lot of different options to choose from. One menopause remedy that has withstood the test of time is black cohosh.

Cohosh black extracts are believed to have anti-inflammatory, sedative, and analgesic properties. But just because black cohosh can be an all-natural alternative for treating menopause symptoms doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. Black cohosh side effects are still not completely understood, and you should take it with a measure of caution.

Black Cohosh Side Effects and Risks

The black cohosh side effects include indigestion, headache, nausea, perspiration, vomiting, heaviness, weight gain and low blood pressure. Additionally, ingesting too much can also lead to other, more serious and unpleasant side-effects like seizures, visual disturbances and irregular heartbeat.

Aside from all of those possible black cohosh side effects, cohosh black extracts contain small amounts of salicylic acid. This means that people with allergies to aspirin or salicylates should avoid black cohosh altogether.

Since black cohosh is a plant that belongs to the buttercup family, anyone who has shown signs of being allergic to buttercups should also stay away from black cohosh. Other people who should avoid taking black cohosh -or at least consult a health professional before even considering it- are those who have a history of blood clots, stroke, common seizure, or liver disease.

With Black Cohosh, Err on the Side of Caution

As with all alternative forms of treatments, if you want to take black cohosh, you should consult with your physician, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions. This is even more true if you have a family history of hormone-sensitive conditions, like breast cancer.

If you want to take black cohosh for menopause, or have a cup of black cohosh tea for labor pains, you should be aware of the possible risks. At the end of the day, though, taking a black cohosh extract to alleviate menopausal symptoms is a choice that only you can make.

The previous article is on Losing Weight After 40.

Other wiki resources: increase metabolism; losing weight; black cohosh