Menopause, or the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, is a natural biological process, not a medical illness.

Even so, the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, sap your energy and – at least indirectly – trigger feelings of sadness and loss.

It doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to have:

* annoying mood swings including crying jags
* being prone to anger most of the time
* hot flashes during the day
* night sweats and wet sheets at night
* an inability to focus
* a significant loss of short-term memory
* uncomfortable gas and bloating
* abnormal weight gain

You can ease into it and you can breeze through it.

Caution-Always check with your medical adviser before taking supplements of any kind.

4 mg daily of extract of rhubarb to minimize hot flashes.

Some studies show that taking 60 mg of soy everyday for three months can reduce hot flashes and menopause night sweats by up to 45%.

Remifemin, a black cohosh extract has been shown to act as a mild estrogen like compound.

For thinning bones, try Vitamin K and cook with mushrooms. Mushrooms contain bone building Vitamin D. Get some sunshine daily but don’t overdo.

To ward of moodiness or the blues, get up and move. Exercise is know to boost production of serotonin, norepinephrine, two mood enhancers.

Reduce stress. Use deep breathing, meditation, relaxation CDs. They help by easing anxiety.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found. that few women are consulting their doctors before opting to use herbal therapies and soy products to treat their menopausal symptoms,

“We’re not promoting the use of these alternative therapies, ” said lead author Jun Ma, MD, PhD, research associate at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. “We’re just saying that the demand for these therapies is growing and that physicians should be prepared to talk to their patients about it.”

The study appears in the May/June issue of The Journal of the North American Menopause Society. The study was funded by GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, which had no role in the study design, data collection or preparation of the manuscript for publication. The pharmaceutical company manufactures the herbal product RemiFemin Menopause.

The study was based on a 2004 online survey of a random sample of 781 U.S. women between the ages of 40 and 60. Because the sample size was small, Ma cautioned that the findings may not accurately represent all women, but said the data provide useful insights into women’s attitudes toward menopause treatments and how much physician guidance they have received in deciding which therapies to use.

Dr. Ma suggested that physicians know enough about alternative menopause therapies to put them in four categories: those that have data suggesting some effectiveness, those that have data demonstrating concerns about side effects, those with neutral data and those lacking any data.

“It’s OK to tell patients that little is known about a product, despite any anecdotal stories they may have heard. Anecdotal stories should not be taken as a substitute for rigorous clinical evidence,” Ma said.

Author’s note:  Never self diagnose nor treat any symptoms.  Better to be safe and consult with your medical adviser.