on your back. Always use a lubricant when making love — macadamia
oil is very good, or use olive oil. Other estrogenic herbs are hop stro-
bilus, red clover fl ower, parsley leaf, and fennel seed.- If there are any deep-seated problems, it is advisable to cleanse both
your liver and your colon.
natural healing
Take up new pursuits and do other creative things with your
life — perhaps painting, gardening, or sewing. Indulge your life and your
body. Soak in essential-oil baths and listen to music. Take up meditation
and tune in with your new life phase. Enjoy your sexuality in its new
maturity. Exercise: do keep moving as this is vital for healing all organs and
for systems to work properly.
hormone replacement therapy (hrt)
HRT can work for many women. But unlike herbal treatments that can
eventually be stopped, HRT can only be leveled off to a maintenance
dose that simply protects calcium stores and maintains hormone levels,
once severe meno pausal symptoms have been assisted at a higher dose.
The onset of menopause has only been put off! All of the hormones used
in HRT are synthetic and therefore do not have the natural “cutoff
switches” available in herbal hormone precursors. Even the so-called
natural versions like Premarin (made from urine collected from pregnant
mares kept in confi ning pens) can cause blood clots. For those prone to
liver disease, thrombosis, or heart disease, HRT carries the same risks as
the contraceptive pill, and American research announced in summer 2002
has now confi rmed all this.
Progesterone cream is another alternative that is available by
prescription. It is made from soybeans. Read Marilyn Glenville’s book
Natural Alternatives to HRT for a valuable insight into this product. For
many reasons, she does not advocate its use, though I know other natural-
healing therapists who do and who personally fi nd it works well. I rely
solely on herbs. A practitioner can help anyone who wants to come off
HRT slowly, but the transition requires professional supervision to make
it painless and easy. HRT side effects are numerous, and I have seen many
women presenting many alarming symptoms without realizing that the
HRT was to blame. They include weight gain, anger, aching joints, fl uid
retention, abdominal and leg cramps, migraine, loss of appetite, bingeing,
and depression.
152 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition