While some women glide through menopause, more than 85 percent experience one or more unpleasant symptoms, which can impact their physical and mental health, daily activities, and quality of life.
Hot flashes and night sweats are the most common of these, affecting 75 percent of women and the symptom for which most women seek treatment. Others include changes in weight and body composition, skin changes, poor sleep, headaches, joint pain, vaginal dryness, depression, and brain fog.
While menopause hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms, it is sometimes not recommended (such as following breast cancer, as there is conflicting evidence about the safety of menopause hormone therapy following breast cancer) or avoided by people, who may seek non-hormonal therapies to manage symptoms. In Australia, it is estimated more than one-third of women seek complementary or alternative medicines to manage menopausal symptoms….