Many women turn to herbal preparations for hot flashes and sweats. But in the Öko-Test test, dietary supplements in particular performed poorly: 15 out of 17 received an overall rating of “unsatisfactory”, the remaining two received a “poor” rating.
Hot flashes can occur suddenly: the face becomes hot, the skin turns red, and a breakout in sweating follows shortly afterwards. If the symptoms occur at night, they can disrupt sleep and cause fatigue and problems concentrating the next day. Dry mucous membranes, incontinence or psychological problems can also be associated with menopause. It’s no wonder that many sufferers are looking for uncomplicated help – and come across numerous herbal preparations in drugstores and pharmacies.
Öko-Test tested 23 products: 17 dietary supplements and six pharmacy-only, over-the-counter herbal medicines. Among other things, benefits, ingredients, warnings, advertising statements and packaging were assessed. The medicines cost between 35 cents and 1.52 euros per highest recommended daily dose, and the nutritional supplements cost between 12 cents and 1.20 euros.
Öko-Test preparations for menopause: Buy test results as an ePaper
Three herbal medicines perform well
According to Öko-Test, the overall effectiveness of herbal medicines is well documented. Three preparations containing black cohosh extract received an overall rating of “good”: “Their approval is based on product-specific studies and/or a monograph from the HMPC Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA),” explains Öko-Test.
According to Öko-Test, there is no “very good” for the evidence of effectiveness because some of the underlying studies no longer correspond to current scientific standards.
At 35 cents per highest recommended daily dose, “Dr. Böhm Black Cohosh 6.5 mg film-coated tablets” is the cheapest of these three products with a test rating of “good”.
Dietary supplements are almost completely unsuccessful
For the 17 dietary supplements, the result is significantly worse: 15 received an “inadequate” rating, two received a “poor” rating. No dietary supplement performs better than “poor”. Among the products with the test rating “unsatisfactory” are well-known brands such as:
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Aktiv-Meno soy isoflavones + calcium + D3 from Doppelherz aktiv
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Femibion Menopause Hot Flashes by Femibion
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Mivolis Meno Active by dm
Öko-Test sees a possible, but only partially proven, benefit for isoflavones from soy or red clover for healthy users from at least 30 milligrams per day. The benefits of many other plant substances, such as hops, have not yet been sufficiently proven. Öko-Test critically evaluates mixtures of several important plant substances because possible interactions are difficult to assess.
According to the testers, added vitamins and minerals do not provide any automatic benefit. Öko-Test devalues such additives because there is no general recommendation from German-speaking nutritional societies about taking certain vitamins and minerals during menopause. The dosage of vitamin B6 in several products was higher than the maximum dosage recommended by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.
Öko-Test preparations for menopausal women: Buy test results as an ePaper
Warnings are often missing
In 15 of 17 preparations with certain vitamins, minerals, isoflavones or other phytoestrogens, at least one required warning was missing. This includes information about medical advice, possible illnesses or a limited duration of use. Öko-Test also criticizes talc for three herbal medicines; Titanium dioxide is also devalued in two film-coated tablets.
Utopia conclusion: seek medical attention for complaints
Utopia says: If menopausal symptoms bother you, you shouldn’t choose just any remedy, but rather seek gynecological advice. Tell your doctor if you are taking dietary supplements so that possible drug interactions can be taken into account. The Öko-Test test speaks more for tested herbal medicines than for untargeted dietary supplements – but does not replace individual advice.
You can read all the details and test results in Öko-Test issue 10/26 and online at ökotest.de.
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