(NC)—When women were told in 2002 that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increased their risk of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer, it sent them looking for safe alternatives to treat menopause symptoms and many discovered the herb black cohosh.

Now women are being told black cohosh isn't safe either, that it's estrogenic and disrupts hormones.

Black cohosh is not estrogenic and has no effect on hormones. It is the most researched herb for the treatment of menopause symptoms and has been shown to help reduce or eliminate hot flashes, profuse perspiration, night sweats, headaches, PMS, painful menstruation, sleep disturbances, thinning of the vagina, vaginal dryness, nervousness, irritability and loss of concentration.

A study published in the March 2003 issue of the gynecological journal, Maturitas, showed that black cohosh helped reduce the symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats in women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer taking the drug tamoxifen. The researchers stated black cohosh is a safe, effective treatment for hot flashes in those women studied, proving black cohosh is not estrogenic.

Look for a menopause formula at your local health food store that contains black cohosh—it is safe and effective.

- News Canada