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Asian Herbal Secrets for Women's Health
Female village herbalists, or Bidan kampung, play a major role in Malay and Indonesian traditional medicine for centuries and have developed specific remedies for female complaints and maintaining youthfulness and vitality. Specific herbs have enjoyed a long tradition of use for women in all stages of life; during their reproductive years, during the transition stage into menopause and into their senior years. A woman's reproductive years involve a complex balance of hormones that control the menstrual cycle, in a rhythm of approximately 28 days. When the hormonal changes that occur before menstruation result in distressing symptoms, it is referred to as pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). Many symptoms that occur before and during menstruation are also aggravated by stress, overwork, being overweight and imbalanced diet. Herbal medicine is especially used during this period of life and following childbirth to strengthen the womb and accelerate wound healing, for excessive menstrual bleeding and cramps, to relieve PMS, stomach ache and white discharge and to enhance fertility. Today science has revealed that many Asian cultures and diets possess potent phytoestrogens plants (see article below) that have been responsible for the lower incidence of hormonal related problems in some Asian cultures. The most important of these herbs have been shown to possess diverse properties such as maintaining energy, improving breast size and freedom from many ailments even in the senior years. Senduduk (Melastoma sp.) and Kachip Fatima (Labisia sp.) are perhaps the most sought after female tonic herbs from the Malaysian rain forest due to their unique astringent, antioxidant and energizing properties. The functional food plants; Turmeric and Ginger are also very important due to their tonic, pain relieving, liver detoxifying and antispasmodic effects. Senduduk Plus Capsules with Kacip Fatima - the jungle phytoestrogen Senduduk Plus is a combination of 4 standardized extracts; Melastoma malabathricum, Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale and Labisia herb (Kacip Fatima).
Recommended Uses: Traditionally used for Women's Health. Approved by the Malaysian Ministry of Health MAL05092324TC
Kacip Fatima Blend Herbal Tea with Pueraria mirifica
The Science Behind Phytoestrogens, Pueraria and Female Health By Benjamin Drewe, Medical Herbalist Estrogen is a hormone that serves as a chemical messenger in the body. For women, it helps control their menstrual cycle, breast development, maintain healthy bones and a healthy heart. From puberty to menopause, the ovaries produce estrogen. The five-year period of bodily transition before full menopause is called “peri-menopause.” During this period, estrogen levels in the body can fluctuate unpredictably while ultimately declining. These fluctuations cause a variety of uncomfortable symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and vaginal thinness. Women may also notice decreased libido, a decrease in arousal and orgasmic response, fatigue, weight gain, joint pains, mood swings, sleep disturbance, and hair loss. It also marks the beginning stages of an increased risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Once menopause sets in, the ovaries no longer make estrogen. Instead, body fat becomes the primary source for estrogen. In the female urinary system, estrogen deficiency has been linked to the reduction of total vaginal and periurethral collagen content. The urethra shortens and its lining becomes thinner as the level of estrogen declines during menopause and these changes decrease the ability of the urinary sphincter to close tightly. Therefore, menopause and low estrogen levels have been associated with several urogenital complaints including stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urgency, recurrent infection and genitourinary prolapse. Pueraria mirifica – nature’s most safe and effective phytoestrogen Phytoestrogens from specific plants have been proven to bring some degree of relief for these symptoms. However, despite the increased sales in phytoestrogen products in recent years, especially those containing soya phytoestrogens, many have reported that the positive effects are too slow or only very mild. This is because some phytoestrogens work better than others. Recent scientific studies have shown that the most potent and safe phytoestrogen found in nature comes from a tropical rain forest plant in Southeast Asia called Pueraria mirifica that has been used for centuries by both women and men in Thailand. The key ingredient in Pueraria mirifica is a unique phytoestrogen named miroestrol. Miroestrol is similar to the safest human estrogen estriol. Miroestrol is 3000 times stronger than the estrogenic activity exhibited by soy isoflavones (genistein). In addition to miroestrol, Pueraria mirifica contains substantial amounts of other phytoestrogens including daidzein, genistein, puerarin, and mirificin. When miroestrol enters an estrogen receptor it modulates the effect on the receptor, either increasing its effects when the estrogenic activity is low or diluting its effects if the receptor estrogenic activity is high. What is important to understand is that miroestrol has no effect on estrogen levels in the body itself, as it only influences the estrogen receptor. There are actually three types of estrogen found in humans: estrodial, estrone and estriol. Of the three, estriol, which is produced in high levels during pregnancy, and in small amounts in non-pregnant women, is the weakest. Its weakness, however, is actually its strength. Clinical trials have shown no links between estriol and cancer, and women who have taken it reported few side effects compared with those who took estrodial or estrone as hormone replacement therapies. This is why estriol has sometimes been referred to as “the friendly estrogen.” However, miroestrol, which functions in the same way and provides the same benefits as estriol, is found only in Pueraria mirifica and has also been shown to be completely safe in clinical trials. Once again, it is important to emphasize here that Pueraria mirifica does not make the body produce more estrogen. It doesn’t need to as mirosterol is performing the same function on the cell receptors without the harmful side effects. Mirosterol is the key compound that sets Pueraria mirifica apart from any other plants or herbal remedies. Pueraria also contains many other phytoestrogens that have also been shown to have beneficial health effects. Among them are the isoflavones and coumestans. Isoflavones also compete with estrogen for the same cell receptors. Isoflavones are what makes soy such a healthy food. Two of the most beneficial isoflavones found in soy are also found in Pueraria mirifica: genistein and daidzein. In addition, Pueraria mirifica has its own unique isoflavones named puerarin and mirificin. The safety of Pueraria mirifica has been extensively studied. While hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is now in decline because of its links to cancers, the same is not true for Pueraria mirifica. The reason is that in hormone replacement therapy, estrogen is added to the body after it has naturally stopped producing it. Estrogen aids cell division. Cancerous tumors are cells that are dividing and replicating at a pace that is out of control. As Pueraria mirifica does not induce the body to produce more estrogen after it has stopped doing so naturally, this risk does not exist and scientific studies have confirmed this. Northern Thailand, where Pueraria mirifica has been used as a traditional medicine for centuries, has the lowest rate of breast cancer in the world and low rates for other cancers as well. Pueraria mirifica may be of assistance to:
Recommendations: In traditional Thai herbal medicine, menstruating women are recommended to take Pueraria mirifica for three weeks per month and stop for one week from the beginning of menstruation. These herbs are not required for women under 21 years of age or during pregnancy.
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