Herbs

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  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    edited June 2018
    @kezmusc Seriously :#
  • kmakm
    kmakm Member Posts: 7,974
    @melclarity Mostly good news, so yay Mel. You must have magnificent legs with all this exercise you're doing! :p
  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    I was just looking at things to help fluid retention- came up with dandelion - out it in the app and apparently don’t use I’d u have hormone sensitive cancers as it may promote growth  :s  maybe grape seed extract or I’ll have to eat more potassium rich foods even though I already do. 
  • Patti J
    Patti J Member, Dragonfly Posts: 589
    No amount of herbs or other potions are going to do any of us any good if shop assistants and the public in general don't stop coughing into their hands! 
    I have just been to my local post office to pick up a parcel. The woman serving me coughed twice into her hand then handed me a pen to sign for my parcel. I asked her if she wouldn't mind coughing into her  arm. I told her that I  was on chemotherapy. 
    Grrr... I have a cold at the minute.
  • Kattykit
    Kattykit Member Posts: 252
    I was at the checkout and the guy there was coughing and spluttering all over my groceries, I ended up in hospital with pneumonia for 2 weeks as my neutrophils were already low.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • kezmusc
    kezmusc Member Posts: 1,553
    Morning everybody,


    I have been looking into a supplement called "Happy Hormones".  This was recommended to me by a friend who had a horrible time going through natural menopause and found them very helpful.  I am somewhat sceptical as to how much  benefit these or any types of supplements have in the big scope of breast cancer, but I am grasping at straws to get this thing under control and do have an open mind if someone can give me some kind of proof.  so here's what I've been told.

    I have quizzed my pharmacist about black cohosh and red clover before and she rang "Swisse"  and they advised that as there hadn't been huge amounts of research regarding phytoestrogens and AI or Tamoxifen they would advise not to take it.


    Here is a list of the ingredients.

    Each 3.5g of Happy Hormones powder contains:

    Vitex agnus-castus (Chasteberry) ext equiv to dry fruit 101.15mg, Lepidium meyenii (Maca) tuber powder 178.89mg, Gymnema sylvestre (Gymnema) ext equiv to dry leaf 420mg, Dioscorea oppositifolia (ChineseYam) ext equiv to dry root and rhizome 187.25mg, Rubus idaeus (Raspberry) ext equiv to dry leaf 149.8mg, Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Chinese Liquorice) ext equiv to dry root and stolon 1.24g, Actaea racemosa (Black cohosh) ext equiv to dry rhizome 50.5mg, Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) ext equiv to dry root 105mg, Salvia officinalis (Garden sage) ext equiv to dry leaf 320mg, Passiflora incarnata (Passion flower) ext equiv to dry flower 291.83mg, Trifolium pratense (Red clover) ext equiv to dry leaf 236.46mg.

    They have an assessment page to see what you should take, but of course, some of the questions are irrelevant if you are dealing with chemo induced menopause and HT. So I emailed them to see what there response was. This is a copy of the email I received yesterday.


    My
    name is Lauren Jane, I am one of the Naturopaths here at Happy Healthy You.
    Thanks for your message.




    Taking hH with tamoxifen is fine, do start on a low dose for instance 1/2 tsp
    or 2 capsules to begin and monitor yourself always. As a rule take your
    medications 2-4 hours away from your HH.




    To give you a little more information as i am sure you doctor would also have
    questions -




    HH contains standarised herbs, which will help to regulate the health of the
    glandular system (endocrine system). Yes, HH contains plant based oestrogen
    (phytoestrogens) however there is much confusion about what these do. Phytoestrogens
    are the beneficial oestrogen which work to block the negative environmental or
    synthetic oestrogen (xenoestrogens) and thereby down regulate there
    concentration in the body. The way that the uptake of phytoestrogens works is
    via hormonal regulation to the brain, this occurs due to the other synergistic
    herbs in the formulation (Vitex, Black Cohosh) which work on the master control
    mechanisms in the brain to increase or decrease the amount of oestrogen
    contained in the body. An example of this is in the case of perimenopause when
    the body is naturally starting to decrease its production of oestrogen such as
    in the ovaries. If you take a phytoestrogen herb the body will be able to
    initiate a better production of healthy oestrogen in the ovaries to decrease
    low oestrogen symptoms such as hot flushes. On the opposite spectrum of this is
    a situation of oestrogen excess such as endometriosis. If a woman with this
    tissue overgrowth conditions takes a phytoestrogen herb it works to down
    regulate the amount of oestrogen the body produces and improve the removal of
    the oestrogen from the body. So I hope that this helps to explain to you that
    phytoestrogens work to regulate hormones to find a balance. Yes HH contains
    phytoestrogens however this doesn’t necessarily mean it will increase
    oestrogen, unless via feedback mechanism (hormonal communication) the body
    requires it.




    You may also benefit from reading these two articles -




    https://happyhealthyyou.com.au/blogs/articles/turmeric-and-breast-cancer

    https://happyhealthyyou.com.au/blogs/articles/natural-ways-prevent-breast-cancer

    I trust this answered your question. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you
    have any other queries.




    If your doctor has questions about black cohosh which is in the products you
    can always share these articles too -
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18066117/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21231853/


    Thoughts???????


  • Zoffiel
    Zoffiel Member Posts: 3,374
    Bollocks
  • Kiwi Angel
    Kiwi Angel Member Posts: 1,952
    So it replaces one oestrogen with another “healthy” oestrogen?? Hmm @kezmusc like u I’m pretty sceptical with herbs unless they are things I’m deficient in. 
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    Red clover and Black Cohosh were the menopause supplements popular when I went thru menopause 20 years ago. I found much relief from hot flushes etc with Remifemin which is refined Black Cohosh.
    However I’d be very wary about taking a phytoestrogen if you had Er+ breast cancer as the hormone therapy is designed to knock off the oestrogen that caused the cancer.Maybe as a start check the Herbs app to see what it says about the ingredients and definitely talk to your oncologist before going down this path.
    I tend to agree with @Zoffiel and think it may be just a marketing ploy on behalf of the company.I seem to remember major concerns from the medical profession years ago about Black Cohosh but not sure why as Remifemin was hugely popular esp as serious concerns were being raised about HRT.
    I also remember similar concerns about soy milk which also supplied phytoestrogens.
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    Just been on the Herbs app .Black Cohosh recommended only to be used under medical supervision.Also said to interfere with Tamoxifen and chemo drugs on the professional part of the app.
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    On Herbs app professional part says people with Er+ breast cancer should not take it
  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    @kezmusc .Both articles discuss only one ingredient Black Cohosh.
  • kezmusc
    kezmusc Member Posts: 1,553
    Bollocks @Zoffiel ...yep, that was my first thought. 

    I am skeptical which is why I listened to the pharmacist and the drug company the first time around.  I think the black cohosh has been linked to liver problems or something...can't remember. Just thought I would get the other side of the story. Mostly I get the answer "we don't know" That's the first time anyone has actually said it's ok.

     Marketing?  Probably.  It's dear as poison and as soon as you inquire about it you get a thousand ads and emails.

  • Romla
    Romla Member Posts: 2,092
    @kezmusc there’s a lot about Black Cohosh on the Herbs app and cautions go wider than breast cancer