Moms work hard! Their job descriptions include more than just loving, kisses and being passionate about their kids. There daily tasks usually include; cooking, cleaning, diaper changing, laundering clothing, which leaves most moms over-worked, sleep deprived and stressed-out. With her job of multi-tasking, most moms do not find the time for them to take care of themselves. Moms generally make sure their kids are well-rested, well-feed and well-dressed often forgetting about their own needs. Modern moms know that it is important to eat the right foods, drink plenty of water and exercise. Some moms can fit these ‘luxuries’ into their lives, while others can’t. But, even the mothers who find the time to take care of themselves often still feel overwhelmed, fatigued and stressed. What’s a mom to do? Well, the research that Dr. Israel Brekhman, MD did on adaptogens is something all moms should know about. Adaptogens are considered tonic herbs that can be taken daily, and safely used over a long period of time. Dr. Brekhman studied adaptogens for 45 years and was amazed at their ability to support the metabolic processes of the body, and help to restore balance. Adaptogens are unique herbal nutrients that help the body adapt to stress. All kinds of stress can be helped with adaptogens, whether the stress is from: physical demands, chemical or biological challenges, emotional upheavals or environmental toxins. And who couldn’t use a little extra help handling stress? Adaptogens are a great ‘mother’s little helper’ that can also increase energy during the day, strengthen endurance, help provide greater mental alertness, and assist the body in acquiring a deeper and more restful sleep. The good news is that they help restore strength after child birth (and it doesn’t matter whether that child birth happened 3 weeks ago or 15 years ago).

Three wonderful adaptogens are Eleuthero, Rhodolia and Schisandra. Although all adaptogens help the body handle stress, each adaptogens has different personalities. These adaptogens can be taken separately or together and are best taken in tincture form three times daily, with or without food.

  • Eleuthero: Tends to work best with ‘type-A personalities’ who don’t know when to take a break. It normalizes blood pressure, and helps to smooth out the peaks and valleys of stress.
  • Rhodolia: Is for over-worked individuals who have a tendency to feel depressed, and for people who have a feeling of ‘heat’ in their bodies.
  • Schisandra: Works as a mild stimulant, enhances work, and normalizes the nervous and immune systems.

Each of these herbs can be purchased or ordered from your local health food store.

When a baby is first born I usually advise the caregiver not use any creams or powders on the baby’s bottom because newborn babies should not get diaper rashes. The usual causes for diaper rash are yeast infections, food allergies, digestion problems, sensitivity to the diaper, and diarrhea. Therefore, if a baby does suffer from a diaper rash, it is the caregiver’s job to play the detective and try to determine its cause. Finding and getting rid of the irritant that is causing the rash is the top priority in preventing future diaper rashes—which is always our goal.

Often babies will get yeasty rashes after the mother or baby has ingested antibiotics—as is commonly the case when an antibiotic was taken to control strep B during delivery. However, if the rash is due to a food allergy, which can happen if the mother is breastfeeding, then the mother will need to figure out which foods she needs to stay away from. Because this is very difficult to determine, unless you’re willing to starve yourself and add only necessary foods slowly back into your diet, I will advise a mom to eat according to her blood type, which usually helps with this condition. If the baby is formula-feeding, which can also be the cause of an allergic diaper rash, then the mother will need to change formula brands in order to clear up her child’s rash. Another, often over-looked cause of diaper rash is sensitivity to the disposable diaper itself. Most of these diapers are filled with a gel that expands as the baby urinates, which can also be the source of an irritated bottom. Since different companies use different gels and perfumes, babies might get rashes from one diaper brand and not from another. Mothers are always surprised to see that if they change brands, often the rash resolves without any further intervention.

Helpfully, if your child does end up with a diaper rash, there are many natural cures you can use to comfort your child and assist recovery.

  • French green clay-which is often sold as a facial mask, is remarkably helpful for the yeasty variety of diaper rash. To accomplish this, the green clay is sprinkled over the rash during every diaper change. The green clay works to smother the yeast, preventing it from proliferating, while at the same time healing the skin.
  • Calendula Ointment– helps to heal diaper rash resulting from food allergies, digestive problems or diarrhea. Your goal with this treatment is to put a thick layer of the ointment between the skin and the offending stool—while the ointment creates a needed barrier, the calendula aids in healing the skin. It is important to note that calendula ointment is what is specifically needed and not calendula in the cream form.
  • Plantain oil– is particularly useful for a diaper rash that resulted from an allergic reaction. The plantain plant has anti-allergic properties and it will soothe and relive the inflammation associated with a rash. In addition to its use in alleviating diaper rash, plantain oil is also useful for mosquito bites and chaffed skin, so you will get plenty of use for this product. Unfortunately, plantain oil will not be found in your local health food store, so you will need to order this extraordinary product on-line. The best companies to order from, for the purity and potency of their herbal mixtures, are www.healingsporotsjerbfarm.com. and www.woodlandessence.com.
  • Homeopathic remedy Sulphur 6c– is good to use if the child’s bottom is very red and inflamed, and the topical remedies are not helping enough. The remedy Sulpher 6c is extremely curative in this matter, when taken three times daily, until the baby’s bottom is visibly healed. The homeopathic remedy is administered in the baby’s mouth and many homeopathic companies make the homeopathic granules the size of sand so it can safely be ingested by newborns.

The old statement “soft as a baby’s bottom,” should be experienced without the soreness of a red itchy diaper rash, swathed in powder—which does not begin to get at the cause of the irritation. Instead it should be our goal to clear up this problem for good, so that we can look at our babies’ bottoms with pride and joy—and perhaps a pinch or a nip!

So now that you have cleansed your soul on Rosh HaShanah and promised HaShem that this year you will perform more mitzvots, learn more Torah and will be a better person, what’s left?  Well if I may suggest, let’s work on protecting and healing the body that Hashem has lent you, to house your neshama for your visit here on earth (and may you be blessed for may happy years).

Let’s begin with some basics, and to do this we’ll compare the body to a favorite machine of ours—the car.  In order for your car to run properly it needs gas, oil, and other fluids.  But if your car sits for too long these fluids get thick and congeal and your battery probably dies as well.  The best way to keep a car intact is to make sure it has gas, clean oil and that it moves.   Both of these factors also work for our bodies.  In order to stay healthy, with plenty of energy, we need to eat beneficial foods (or gas), stay hydrated (radiator, brake and transmission fluids), consume good oils and move around, or else our battery dies.

A master herbalist I was once working with said that if your clients can change only four small things in their lives, they will be surprised at how much better they will feel in just a few weeks.  Here they are:

  • Make sure to drink filtered water every day, and yes, eight cups a day are required for proper hydration.  Many people suffer from chronic exhaustion due to dehydration.
  • Switch your oil to olive oil in as many of your foods as possible. The extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil is the healthiest, but it has a pungent flavor.  This form of olive oil is best used at room temperature over salads, soups or meat.  For frying and baking one should use the extra light olive oil.
  • Change your salt to sea salt. Regular salt is mined from the ground, but salt coming from the sea is richer in minerals.
  • Add berries to your diet.

Now let’s discuss the issue of exercise.  We know that there are those avid exercisers who passionately love going to the gym, and the hikers who get exhilarated climbing big hills, and you even have yogi’s who enjoy contorting their bodies into abnormal positions while trying to breathe deeply, and then there are some of the rest of us.  There exists a population of people who wonder if exercise means bending down to tie their shoes, or working their biceps mean opening the refrigerator.  While this is not altogether bad—and we should always be encouraging—it certainly isn’t sufficient.  The old saying is in fact true—that if you don’t use, you’re bound to lose it—meaning that things in your body, like a car, will not function properly unless it is moved.  Many of my clients say, “Hey, I have never moved my body much, so what could be the problem?”  Unfortunately, the problem is that as we age, circulation becomes more difficult because the heart is a muscle that needs to be kept stimulated, in order to maintain proper blood flow.  Moms also ask, “Hey, if I bend down to pick up my  kids’ toys and stomp up and down the stairs yelling at them isn’t that exercise?”  The answer is: perhaps a little, yes, but sadly a lot more no.  It will increase your circulation, but during stressful times your body produces a harmful chemical called cortisol, and your heart will not benefit from nervous movement in the same way as it does from endurance movement.  During endurance movement the body stresses physically, but the mind remains at ease!  Imagine now that you decided to walk three times a week, during the first ten minutes you might have nervous thoughts, “Are my kids okay at home,”  “Gosh I forgot to buy gefilte fish for Shabbos”.   Concerns like these will produce the hormone cortisol, but after the first ten minutes of nervousness, you begin to relax and feel the wind on your face, feel your muscles moving, and think of how great it is you are finally exercising.  Now your body will begin to produce the wonderful hormone of oxytocin, which will help heal both your body and your mind.

Ideally, your goal during exercise should be raising your heart rate for a steady twenty minutes, at least three times a week.  So if your only form of exercise is walking, then begin at a slow steady pace and gradually increase it to a slightly more aggressive speed; which you can maintain for a full twenty minutes.

It was many years ago that my teacher, the herbalist, demanded that her clients consume lots of berries, and she did this before all of the current studies have confirmed the amazing healing properties of berries.  Researchers Barbara Shukitt-Hale, Ph.D., and Marshall G. Miller have found that, “recent research increasingly shows that eating berry fruits can benefit the aging brain. To analyze the strength of the evidence about berry fruits, they extensively reviewed cellular, animal and human studies on the topic. The review concluded that berry fruits help the brain stay healthy in several ways. Berry fruits contain high levels of antioxidants, compounds that protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals. The two also report that berry fruits change the way neurons in the brain communicate. These changes in signaling can prevent inflammation in the brain that contribute to neuronal damage and improve both motor control and cognition.”

So, to recap, let’s drink water, change to good oils, use sea salt, eat berries and exercise.  That doesn’t sound too difficult does it? By taking on these little changes you can have a year where your soul, body and brain have the power and energy to accomplish all they need to, down on earth.

Today we women do it all—yes, you men also ‘do it all’—that’s just the way the world is today; keeping us constantly busy!  We work, parent, shop, cook, clean, and most of all, we get stressed!  Most adults know that we are supposed to find the time to take care of ourselves, but that doesn’t always happen.  We know we need to sleep, eat healthy food, drink water and exercise, but we usually find it difficult to include these necessities into our busy schedules.

Many countries have a rest period—a ‘siesta’ or a ‘tea-time’ in the middle of their work days. Imagine if we had the custom to stop the busy flow of our day and sit down to a relaxing cup of tea.  Imagine if that cup of tea was filled with calming medicinal herbs.  What would happen?  Wouldn’t we all become calmer, or feel less stressed?   The answer is emphatically yes!

When I first studied herbal medicine, ‘tea-time’ is what my teacher believed everyone should do at least once a day.  She taught us that certain herbal teas could help counter the terrible side-effects of chronic stress such as high blood pressure, headaches and digestive disorders.  She spent a lot of time teaching us how to make wonderfully relaxing herbal blends.  In my first few months of practice, I believed I could convince my clients of the need for this ‘tea-time’ ritual, but since most of my clients were habitually busy, running from one activity to the next, ‘tea-time’ was not going to happen for them in the foreseeable future.  Most of my clients didn’t even have time to wait for the water to boil, let alone have time to steep the tea.  So I re-evaluated what I had learned and began offering a ‘quicker’ solution for my clients—I taught them about ‘tinctured herbs.’  Tinctured herbs are herbs that have been steeped in grain alcohol, in order to capture and preserve their medicinal qualities within a liquid form that is both potent and easy to take.  All one has to do is put 25-35 drops into a small cup of water or juice and drink it—the alcohol has no effect.  An herbal tincture or mix could be kept in a small bag or purse and taken while driving the carpool, before a big business meeting, as you run out of the house, as you are preparing dinner, or anytime you are feeling stressed.  And the good news is that the entire process takes only about 30 seconds.

There are many soothing and calming ‘anti-stress’ herbs; so each person will require a different herb, or different herbal combination, depending on the source of their individual stress.  Some people need only a single herb to help ease the negative effects of stress, while others find that combining all of the herbs listed below makes them feel their best, and here they are:

  • Motherwort is my all-time favorite herb to help stabilize moodiness.  This is an herb that can be felt within twenty minutes after taking it.  It is an herb that can be used by women of all ages and stages of their lives.  Motherwort is wonderful for taking that ‘edge off’ of your feelings and is helpful if you suddenly feel as if that ‘black-cloud’ is descending.  It can be used prophylactically if you know you will be encountering a difficult time.
  • Skullcap is for nervous tension and also helpful with anxiety.  Skullcap, like motherwort is an herb you will begin to feel working within twenty minutes of ingestion.  It is best used before an intimidating experience, like a business meeting you have been anticipating for weeks, or right before it is time to put your children to bed.  Skullcap can be taken over a long period of time, or as needed in the moment.
  • Mimosa bark is purported to bring ‘joy to a person’s heart’.  In Italy it was customary to bring the one you loved a bouquet of mimosa flowers.  So, in a similar vein, why not treat yourself with the special present of mimosa bark if you are just feeling sad, moody and unloved.  Mimosa bark can be used occasionally as needed.
  • Fresh milky oats is a wonderful herb if you have been through long-term stress.  Oats can help with frazzled nerves.  This herb is best taken three times a day over a long period of time.  This is not an herb whose affects you will feel right away.  Think of fresh milky oats as a massage for your central nervous system.
  • Eleuthero is an herb called an adaptogen.   Simply stated, adaptogens are a family of herbs that heal the entire body.  Eleuthero is especially useful for type-A personalities who work too hard and become ‘burned-out.’  This herb will help balance one’s adrenal glands.  Eleuthero is best taken three times a day for a long period of time to feel its effects.

While it is always best to work with an herbalist who can take your history, understand your personal needs and create a personal blend, the herbs that I have listed are safe and can be experimented with freely.  Most  of these herbs combine with most conventional drugs, but it is best to check with an AHG herbalist if you are not sure.

Women at all stages of their lives get moody.  Moodiness can be seen in young girls as they enter puberty, women in their 20’s, 30’s, and still in older woman as they reach perimenopause and menopause into their 40’s and 50’s and 60’s. Indeed, it appears that women at all stages of life struggle with their moods. Some women handle their moodiness better than others, but as any man who has ever lived with a woman will confirm, the woman he loves is often moody.  Men can be moody also, but it just doesn’t seem to engulf them and take over their lives like it does for women.  Although women often attribute their moodiness to their menstrual cycles, they can also blame their moods on pregnancy, their postpartum stage of life and all their life changes, and they should.  The simple truth is that each of these changes brings with it a fluctuation in hormones, which does indeed affect their brains, and consequently the way they feel.

But why is it that woman tend to be moodier then men?  Current research has shown that women on an average make less serotonin (the happy chemical in the brain) than men. Scientists at the University of Montreal found that men’s brains, on average, make 52 per cent more than women. The reason might be tied to the differences in male and female sex hormones.  The way it works is like this: as a woman goes through her monthly cycles her estrogen levels raise and fall and low estrogen affects a woman’s moods because the brain needs estrogen to produce serotonin.  Most people don’t know that estrogen exists in the brain, but hormones, estrogen and serotonin, work in tandem because serotonin needs estrogen for its metabolism.  Therefore, as estrogen levels drop, so does serotonin.   So women’s fluctuating hormones definitely affect the stability of their moods.  Depending on how women react to the different hormonal patterns that exist, some women can be moody before their cycle, some after their cycle; while others feel imbalanced between their cycles.  It sometimes seems that just living as a female can be enough of an excuse for moodiness.   In the distant past, doctors used to describe women in their moody states as having ‘hysteria’, which is defined as,” unmanageable emotional excessesa.”  Wikipedia discusses that the history of the notion of hysteria, “can be traced to ancient times; in ancient Greece it was described in the gynecological treatises of the Hippocratic corpus, which date from the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Plato’s dialogue Timaeus compares a woman’s uterus to a living creature that wanders throughout a woman’s body, “blocking passages, obstructing breathing, and causing disease. The concept of a pathological, wandering womb was later viewed as the source of the term hysteria, which stems from the Greek cognate of uterus, ὑστέρα (hystera).”  The doctors of old were not aware of hormonal effects on the brain, so they blamed the uterus for women’s emotional upheavals.

So now that we know that monthly cycles and fluctuating hormones can directly affect our brains, what is a woman to do? Are there things a woman can do to help her better control her moods?  Fortunately, the answer is yes.  First, she can begin by charting her moods to help her anticipate and understand her unique mood-patterns.  The next step is to tune into her intuitive-self, to avoid those ‘triggers’ that can off-set her moods.  And, of course, she should know that exercising  will always help her stabilize her temperament, and that there are also herbal allies she can include in her life.

One of my favorite ways for women to understand their personal cycle of moodiness is by charting it.  To do this, keep a little calendar in your purse and two times a day chart what your mood is like.  Most women, once they tune into how they are really feeling and when they get moody, will begin to see a pattern to their moods.  Anticipating when moods could possibly be challenging, will give a woman the upper-hand in keeping her moods balanced; helping her to prevent inappropriate outbursts.  Many a woman will complain that her day starts out great and the next thing she knows is that her mood has changed, and it has changed the tone of the rest of the day along with it. What a woman needs to begin to do is to notice the physical triggers that affect her already sensitive, hormonal balance.  Is it that nasty co-worker’s comments that are triggering your bad mood, or is that daily call from your mother-in-law?  Although we can’t avoid all the triggers, there are many we can avoid if we begin to notice them, chart them, and realize the affect that they are having on us. For instance, if you shop at a certain grocery store where the clerk always annoys you, shop somewhere else, or if the sandwich stand you frequent has a nasty worker, get your lunch somewhere else.  Don’t let someone else’s offensive personality become a trigger that puts you in a bad mood.

Another tool we have within us is our intuitive-self.  Your intuitive-self is that little voice that comes into your head and sends up the red-flags, warning you that a situation or person can have a negative effect on you. Most women are so busy trying to do the socially correct or nice thing that they often wipe out that intuitive feeling and just push through any disturbance.  But when we just push-through things, it often leaves us feeling angry or frustrated, and that can disrupt the delicate balance of our hormones.

It is very important throughout the day to take a moment to take a few deep breaths and really ‘check-in’ on yourself, to see how you are feeling.  Are you feeling frustrated or mad, are you feeling hurt or overwhelmed?  Once you clarify what you are feeling, you have the ability to choose whether or not those feelings will overtake you, affecting your body.  Dr. Judith Orloff, a psychiatrist who teaches her patients about their power to control the energy they take in from other people and helps them to understand the energy they give off to other people, teaches us that, “The main source of happiness and well-being comes from the heart, that energy center or “chakra” located in the mid-chest that is the source of loving-kindness and compassion. When we begin to open this area, the sweetness of this energy flows forth in our bodies to lessen fatigue and buoy our mood. A technique I suggest for opening the heart is simple. Get in a quiet place. Take a few steady, deep breaths. If thoughts intrude keep focusing on your breath. Then picture an image that is loving and positive. It may be a child’s face, a beautiful flower, a waterfall. Hold that image for a few minutes and feel the positive energy of the heart open and flow through you.”  This may seem like a silly idea if you are beginning to feel ‘hormonal’ or ‘moody’, but the idea of breathing and taking the moment to try and shift your energy, works wonders for many women. This exercise can actually stop the chemical reaction that begins to occur when your stress hormones begin to kick in. This is a wonderful tool that can help bring you back to your center, or personal place of control. Taking that moment to acknowledge your feelings can help prevent things from building up and not allow your mood to explode.

Is it really fair to let your moods affect other people?  If you are tracking your moods and you begin to feel as if ‘that mood’ is soon approaching, try your best to temporarily separate yourself so that your personal energy doesn’t offend anyone.  It is perfectly okay for you to feel moody, but it really isn’t fair to expose others to it.

There is another method of mood control you may want to explore and that is the world of botanicals. There are many herbs that can help us balance our hormones and brain chemistry, and generally help to relieve the stress that our bodies accumulate as a result of our moodiness.

  • Motherwort is my all-time favorite herb to help stabilize moodiness.  This is an herb that can be felt within twenty minutes after taking it.  It is an herb that can be used by women of all ages and stages of their lives.  Motherwort is wonderful for taking that ‘edge off’ of your feelings and is helpful if you suddenly feel as if that ‘black-cloud’ is descending.  It can be used prophylactically if you know you will be encountering a difficult time, or if you look at your calendar and know that your menstruation is approaching.
  • Chaste berry is a fabulous herb if your menstrual cycle is not regular, but changes from month to month.  Often extreme moodiness happens when a woman is anticipating her menstruation and it is delayed.  Often during that ‘waiting time’ a woman feels edgy and agitated.  Chaste berry is not a fast acting herb and it usually takes about three months to help regulate a cycle, but chaste berry is worth the wait.  Once a woman’s cycle is regulated she usually feels more control over her emotions.   
  • Skullcap is for nervous tension with anxiety.  Skullcap, like motherwort is an herb you will begin to feel working within twenty minutes of ingestion.  It is best used before an intimidating experience, like a business meeting you have been anticipating for weeks, or right before it is time to put your children to bed.  Skullcap can be taken over a long period of time or as needed in the moment.
  • Fresh milky oats is a wonderful herb if you have been through long-term stress.  Oats can help with frazzled nerves.  This herb is best taken three times a day over a long period of time.  You will not feel the effect of oats right away, but be assured that the herb will be doing its job.  Think of fresh milky oats as a Band-Aid for your central nervous system.
  • Mimosa bark is purported to bring ‘joy to a person’s heart’.  It was an Italian custom to bring the one you loved a bouquet of mimosa flowers.  So, in a similar vein, why not treat yourself the special present of mimosa bark if you are just feeling sad, moody and unloved.  Mimosa bark can be used occasionally as needed.
  • Eleuthero is an herb called an adaptogen.   Simply stated, adaptogens are a family of herbs that heal the whole body.  Eleuthero is especially useful for type-A personalities who work too hard and become ‘burned-out.’  This herb will help balance your adrenal glands and will help bring physical tone back into damaged areas that stress has caused.  Eleuthero is best taken three times a day for a long period of time to feel its effects.

A woman who suffers from moodiness should not forget the necessity of exercise and its powerful effect on our hormones and our brain chemistry.  In a study led by Dr. Jeremy Sibold, Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation and Movement Science at the University of Vermont, Burlington states, “Moderate intensity aerobic exercise improves mood immediately and those improvements can last up to twelve hours.” This study looked at a twenty-four-hour window to see how long that ‘feel-good’ effect could last. They studied forty-eight healthy men (don’t forget men can get moody also) and women from approximately eighteen to twenty-five years of age and had them initially complete a mood survey. The participants were divided into two groups, an exercise group that rode a stationary bicycle for twenty minutes at moderate intensity, and a second group who were sedentary. The members from both groups repeated the mood survey one, two, four, eight, twelve and twenty-four hours later. The study found that the mood of the exercisers was better than that of the sedentary participants, both immediately after the workout and for up to twelve hours later!  The results are obvious—exercise is an inexpensive tool that can help balance our moods.

We may have been created with a propensity toward moodiness, which might be difficult for many women to control, but at least we have tools that can help us find a balance and govern our moods, rather than just be a victim to our hormonal swings.

Change is difficult for most people, but change can also be exciting.  Most women as they approach their forties feel stable and take pride in having successfully made it through their preteen years, teen years, and childbearing years and begin looking forward to aging gracefully.   Many have successful careers; many have teenage children or children that are already grown. Most women are married or have had at least one, or a few successful long-term relationships.  Their world seems somewhat established and predictable and then along comes these wild capricious hormones that can suddenly turn your world upside-down!  You can feel like a teen-ager again, taking things too seriously, randomly breaking out with pimples, and feeling as if you are on an emotional roller-coaster.   Your menstrual cycle can become erratic and unpredictable coming more frequently or lasting longer, with more cramping and raging emotions.  I remember longtime client of mine walking into my office in tears.  She was a school teacher, with a good marriage, had proudly married off two of her children, and was coping well with her remaining two teenage daughters.  Her life was organized and ran smoothly and going then suddenly, out of the blue, she was sure she was having an emotional break-down.  She was moody, getting her period every couple weeks, was impatient, easily agitated, having random panic attacks and began experiencing migraines!  She questioned what was happening to her and was afraid she was on the road to a nervous breakdown.  Being responsible she made an appointment her family doctor who said she was just ‘stressed and over-worked,’ so offered her tranquillizers to help her sleep more deeply at night.  He also referred her to a neurologist for her headaches.  The neurologist stated that she was just ‘stressed-out,’ handed her strong medication for her headaches and referred her to a psychiatrist.  The psychiatrist said she had unresolved anger problems and gave her a prescription for a psychotropic medication and also referred her to a gynecologist.  The gynecologist handed her a prescription for birth control pills to regulate her cycle and suggested a family therapist.   She was devastated and didn’t know where to turn.

She walked into my office and put the four different prescriptions on my desk and beckoned my opinion.  She was not a person who regularly took medication so to begin taking four medications all at once was daunting for her.  I looked into her eyes and asked her if any of her doctors spoke to her about perimenopause?   She peered at me through tearful eyes asking, ”Peri-what?” With a look of terror in her eyes she questioned, “Is it curable? Can I be a normal wife, teacher and mother again?”  “Yes,” I said as a look of relief and joy filled her eyes.  “Let me explain what is going on….”

Perimenopause is the normal stage in a woman’s life that precedes menopause.  It usually lasts somewhere between a few months to ten years, with the average time frame of about four years.  Perimenopause is the time when the woman’s body is transitioning from a period of fertility to a time of infertility.  The Mayo clinic defines perimenopause as, “the menopausal transition, it is the interval in which a woman’s body makes a natural shift from a more-or-less regular cycles of ovulation and menstruation toward permanent infertility, or menopause.  Woman start perimenopause at different ages.  In your 40’s, or even as early as your 30’s, you may start noticing the signs.  Your periods may become irregular—longer, shorter, heavier or lighter, sometimes more and sometimes less than 28 days a part.  You may also experience menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems and vaginal dryness.  As you go through the menopausal transition, your body’s production of estrogen and progesterone fluctuates. These hormonal fluctuations are at the root of the changes your body goes through during perimenopause. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause which is the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs.”

Most women will experience one or all of the below symptoms during perimenopause.

  • Hot flashes
  • Breast tenderness
  • Worsening of premenstrual syndrome
  • Decreased libido
  • Fatigue
  • Irregular periods
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Urine leakage when coughing or sneezing
  • Urinary urgency
  • Mood swings
  • Difficulty sleeping

Herbalists do not look at perimenopause, or menopause for that matter as a negative time, it is a powerful time for woman as they journey toward becoming a ‘wise-woman.’  In days of old, the ‘older-women’ in the clan were known as the ‘wise-women’ and those elders were revered and honored.  The ‘wise-women’ were the decision makers and the younger women summoned their guidance.  Susun Weed, the herbalist, teaches that during a woman’s childbearing years her energy, is centered around their pelvic area and their power is being pulled down and out of their bodies, firstly with their monthly menstrual cycles, then with childbirth.  When women begin to leave their childbearing years and enter their next stage of life their energy is no longer centered in their pelvic are, rather, being transferred and lifted toward her brain helping her develop into her wise woman stage, hence, hot flashes.  Susun Weed believes that older women become deeper thinkers and become more intuitive and brain scanning is now confirming her beliefs. Christiane Northrup a gynecologist and researcher theorizes that the female brain gets an intuitive boost by the hormone changes that take place at menopause.  Northrup suggests that the LH and FSH hormones, which are only high during ovulation in younger women, remain high for postmenopausal women.  There is some evidence that these two neuropeptides stimulate whatever brain function is responsible for intuition, making postmenopausal women more consistently intuitive.    Their body may be slowing down but their brain (with a proper diet, exercise and sleep) can become sharper and more intuitive.  According to Dr. Brazeltine a neuropsychiatrist, “women’s intuition is likely more biological than mystical”. It is a time that the body and soul is preparing for the second phase in a woman’s life.

If our goal during our perimenopausal period is to mold ourselves to become the wise-centered-balanced woman how do we get there?  How can we gracefully exit out the other side to this place of being “wise?”

The way we become ‘wise-women’ is to tune into how we are really feeling and not worry about what people around us will feel.  Say what you feel (just try and say it as nicely as you can).  Take up new hobbies (even if you feel you do not have the ‘time’), be adventurous, see new places, try new foods, go to art galleries, buy a new perfume, take classes at your local college, and wear a new color dress.  But watch out, you can I still become pregnant during perimenopause!  So, if a baby is not in your plans for your middle years, you will need to continue birth control until you have gone at least 12 months in a row without having your period.

Daily suggestions to keep you stable emotionally and physically are:

  • Drink more water
  • Try to get to sleep earlier (often women wake up very early and find it difficult to go back to sleep)
  • Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
  • Meditate
  • Take deep breaths throughout the day

The following herbs have been used for centuries to help ease woman’s symptoms and help women adjust to their new lives.  The herbs can be used one to four times a day and are best used in tincture form (herbs soaked in grain alcohol.  The usual dose is 25-40 drops three times daily diluted in water or juice.  You can use the herbs singly or a few herbs mixed together.  It is best to work with a herbalist who can analyze your specific symptoms and make a blend that will best fit your personal needs. When you find the herb or herb combination that works for you your symptoms will be less severe and manageable. Companies such as Herbalist and Alchemist, Herbpharm, and Gaia have pre-made herbal combinations that are very well produced herbals.  Or you can try the single herbs yourself and create your own combination.

  • Sage-used to help relieve nervous tension.
  • Black Cohosh is helpful alleviating many symptoms including hot flashes, and is specific for hormonal depression.
  •  Motherwort-is used for emotion swings such as moodiness and sadness.
  • Skullcap-is used for nervous tension and anxiety.
  • Chaste berry– Is an over-all toner for the hormonal system; this herb is excellent for restoring and regulating hormonal balance.
  • Red Clover– hot flashes, osteoporosis, and improves cardio-vascular health.
  • Cramp bark/black haw mixture-used for cramping and PMS symptoms.

So enjoy this time of change and experiment with the herbs listed above.  You will find that a combination of these herbs will help assist your body in handling and enjoying this time of change in your life.

Menopause symptoms can turn your life upside down and finding relief is often a challenge.

Following are a few natural remedies to help you relieve certain menopause symptoms, like hot flashes, night sweats, and breast tenderness.

Black Cohosh

This wonderful herb has been made popular by perimenopausal (defined as the ten year period before menopause kicks in) women and menopausal women. When taken regularly, black cohosh can reduce the intensity and frequency of hot flashes, reduce headaches, calm nerves, increase energy, alleviate water retention and help treat incontinence. It is also a great aid in helping to combat menopausal depression. The herb needs to be taken regularly to be most effective and the suggested frequency is to take black cohosh three times a day.

Menopause Symptom Relief

Breast tenderness:  Take a cabbage leaf and crunch it in your hand.  Put it in your bra for 20 minutes to reduce inflammation-cabbage has an anti-inflammatory and cooling affect.

Hot flashes:  Take red clover tea (contains a high level of phytoestrogen that helps regulate the biochemistry in a females body) or oat straw tea (excellent source of calcium, iron, phosphorous and B vitamins) – both teas are high in the nutrients and vitamins women are usually low in during menopause.

Herbs that help:

Chasteberry: regulates hormones and helps consistent menstruations and moods.

Sage (liquid form): helps with irritated nerves and headaches that you get when not menstruating.

Mother’s wart: helps with gloominess and relieves depression and nervousness.

Q. My periods have become so erratic. Is there anything I can do to help regulate my cycle?

A. Having irregular menstrual cycles is normal before actual menopause sets in. Peri-menopause can last up to 10 years before the menstrual cycles cease. Many women feel more balanced with an herb called Chasteberry or Vitex. This herb is best taken in tincture form (liquid, not pill form). It is best taken three times a day. With vitex, woman feel their peri-menopause symptoms are lessened and more predictable. This herb can also help with menstrual cramps, spotting, hot flashes, skin problems, and water retention. Chasteberry is a slow-acting herb and works best if taken over a longer period of time, but the effects are long-lasting.

Q. I feel very nervous and irritable lately. My periods are erratic but so are my moods. I feel high-strung and ready to scream at everyone over every little thing.

A. There is a wonderful herb available to woman during their menopausal years and that herb is called Garden Sage. Garden Sage is best taken in tincture (liquid) form. This herb should be taken three times a day diluted in a little water or juice. If you are having a calm day you will not need to take it, but when the agitation begins take as long as needed. The herb is calming and balancing. It also helps with depression, dizziness, headaches, and hot and cold sweats.

Q. What is the difference between elder berry and elder flower?

A. Elder berries are a wonderful antioxidant. They are rich in vitamin C, anti-inflammatory and taste great! The flowers stimulate the immune system and help with upper respiratory infections. They are also a natural anti-histamine and help with nasal and sinus congestion. These two herbs are great in herbal mixes for children, and help with winter colds and flus, and also seasonal allergies.

Q. What is skullcap herb used for?

A. Skullcap is known as a nervine which means it helps calm the nerves. Skullcap soothes and relaxes the system without making one sleepy. This herb is used for children, adults and seniors. It helps with nervous tension, nervous excitement, anxiety, restlessness and stress. It’s used with teenagers before and after stressful tests, toddlers adjusting to a new school setting, parents after a long day of work, and seniors who need to relax after years of hard work. Skullcap in tincture (liquid) form tends to be the best way to take this herb. This herb can be taken regularly and over a long period of time.

Motherwort is my all-time favorite herb to help stabilize stress. This is an herb that can be felt within twenty minutes after taking it. It is an herb that can be used by women of all ages and stages of their lives. Motherwort is wonderful for taking that “edge off” of your feelings and is helpful if you suddenly feel as if that “black-cloud” is descending. It can be used prophylactically if you know you will be encountering a difficult time, or if you look at your calendar and know that your menstruation is approaching.

Chaste berry is a fabulous herb if your menstrual cycle is not regular, but changes from month to month. Often extreme moodiness happens when a woman is anticipating her menstruation and it is delayed. Often during that “waiting time” a woman feels edgy and agitated. Chaste berry is not a fast acting herb and it usually takes about three months to help regulate a cycle, but chaste berry is worth the wait. Once a woman’s cycle is regulated she usually feels more control over her emotions.

Skullcap is for nervous tension with anxiety. Skullcap, like motherwort is an herb you will begin to feel working within twenty minutes of ingestion. It is best used before an intimidating experience, like a business meeting you have been anticipating for weeks, or right before it is time to put your children to bed. Skullcap can be taken over a long period of time or as needed in the moment.

Fresh milky oats is a wonderful herb if you have been through long-term stress. Oats can help with frazzled nerves. This herb is best taken three times a day over a long period of time. You will not feel the effect of oats right away, but be assured that the herb will be doing its job. Think of fresh milky oats as a Band-Aid for your central nervous system.

Mimosa bark is purported to bring “joy to a person’s heart”. It was an Italian custom to bring the one you loved a bouquet of mimosa flowers. So, in a similar vein, why not treat yourself the special present of mimosa bark if you are just feeling sad, moody and unloved. Mimosa bark can be used occasionally as needed.

Eleuthero is an herb called an adaptogen. Simply stated, adaptogens are a family of herbs that heal the whole body. Eleuthero is especially useful for type-A personalities who work too hard and become “burned-out.” This herb will help balance your adrenal glands and will help bring physical tone back into damaged areas that stress has caused. Eleuthero is best taken three times a day for a long period of time to feel its effects.