Herbs

@kezmusc there’s a lot about Black Cohosh on the Herbs app and cautions go wider than breast cancer 

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.

@kezmusc .Both articles discuss only one ingredient Black Cohosh.

On Herbs app professional part says people with Er+ breast cancer should not take it

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.

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.

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. 

Bollocks

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???????

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