Can This Mexican Yam Help Solve the ‘Menopause Puzzle’?
For women facing the rite of passage of menopause and the attendant hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and brittle bones, the search for safe natural alternatives for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is a real priority.
Since the Women’s Health Initiative Study and Million Women Study, HRT has been abandoned by millions of women worried about the cardiovascular side-effects. However...
For generations menopause was managed naturally and creams applied to the skin may be an age-old solution
The cool touch of an ointment with special therapeutic ingredients from herbal extracts can be enough during the worst moments.
Mexican wild yams, a key component of Progesterone Plus, can be said to have revolutionised modern medicine. They achieved worldwide prominence last century when scientists searched for a steady supply of raw materials to synthesise sex hormones.
The tubers of Mexican wild yam (Dioscorea villosa, D. floribunda, D. mexicana) were found to contain diosgenin, a starting material for hormone manufacture. By the 1950s, scientists at the pharmaceutical company Upjohn had found a way to convert diosgenin to progesterone, then to hydrocortisone and finally to cortisone.
At one stage, Mexican wild yams provided up to 90% of the world’s raw material for steroid drug production but this has fallen to due the rapid increase in global demand and simultaneously reduced supply from Mexico. Now most hormones, such as the progesterone used in the oral contraceptive pill, are derived from female urine or soybeans.
However, traditionally, wild yams were already used for food and medicinally, where they were believed to have antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and relaxing effects.
To complement the diosgenin in Progesterone Plus, other soothing herbal extracts traditionally used for women’s health are added. These include chamomile, famous as a herbal tea for mild tension and stress and as a cream for skin inflammation; burdock root, used in skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis; black cohosh root, now supported with high-level evidence as an effective treatment for menopausal symptoms; and Siberian ginseng, a traditional Asian remedy for helping the body adapt.
These ingredients are combined in Progesterone Plus with skin-friendly natural oils from jojoba––most similar to human sebum skin oil––avocado, safflower and almond. Aloe vera gel, extracted from the succulent cactus and used as a treatment for burns, plus vitamin E as a preservative and moisturiser, make Progesterone Plus the ideal soothing agent for periods of hormone imbalance.
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