Ginseng: Alternative Treatment for Menopausal Symptoms :: Medicine Medical Drugs Essays

Ginseng: Alternative Treatment for Menopausal Symptoms By the time women reach their late forties or early fifties, their ovaries begin producing less and less of the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone, resulting in the uncomfortable symptoms commonly known as menopause. During menopause, a woman will usually experience many symptoms which will greatly interfere with her quality of life - hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, lack of concentration or irritability, and interrupted sleep. Once her menstrual cycle has completely ended, other bodily changes occur, such as thinning of the bones, often resulting in osteoporosis, and less pliant blood vessels, placing her at risk of heart disease. Many women turn to estrogen replacement therapy as a means of finding relief from the burden of menopausal symptoms because of its high efficacy and other beneficial properties. Estrogen replacement has been shown to significantly reduce the frequency of hot flashes, and patients receiving this treatment reported improved sleep quality and sense of well being. It has also been found to decrease sleep latency and increase REM sleep, thereby reducing insomnia and subsequent fatigue (Ginsburg, 1994). Although estrogen replacement has produced drastic improvement in women's menopausal hindrances, some women are ineligible or uncomfortable with the idea of taking hormones and opt for a natural solution - ginseng. Ginseng - the Natural Alternative Ginseng, the root of the Araliaceous plant, has been used for several thousand years in the Orient as a tonic and restorative. Pharmacological investigations by Western pharmaceutical firms, encouraged by the growing interest in herbal remedies in the West, show that ginseng acts as an adaptogen, meaning it can bring abnormal physiology into balance by helping the body increase resistance against noxious or stressful physical, chemical, or biological influences (Chong & Oberholzer, 1988). Ginseng's potential capacity to increase nonspecific resistance to various stressors is the reason it has been used as an alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms. It is important to remember that the effects of ginseng will vary different individuals depending on diet, lifestyle, exercise and other drugs. In other words, an individual's health and hormonal regulation will essentially determine the effects of ginseng (Bahrke & Morgan, 1994). It is possible for some individuals to respond to ginseng, while others will show no response at all. Ginseng and Hot Flashes Hot flashes are experienced by 60 - 85% of menopausal women and they may occur infrequently, or as frequently as 20 times a day (Ginsburg 1994).