Menopause is a fact of every woman’s life. Sometime between the ages of 48 and 55 most women experience menopause, with the average age being 51. One solution for women seeking relief from menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy. There has been some concern, however, that these therapies can increase the risk of cancer and heart disease. There are also natural or homeopathic remedies available. One of these is Red Clover, which has been accepted as an herbal medicine that relieves some of the symptoms and the severity of symptoms of menopause. Red Clover contains estrogen-like substances called isoflavones.
New research indicates that Red Clover taken in fermented form as an extract is more effective yet. Of concern was the fact that Red Clover taken in pill or capsule form was not being absorbed by the body. In its natural state, the isoflavones in Red Clover are connected to sugar molecules which are not easily digested in the human body. When that same Red Clover is put through a fermentation process, lactic acid breaks the isoflavones away from the sugar, thereby increasing its bioavailability.
An ecological farmer and business owner Michael Mohr Jensen actually initiated the interest in testing fermented Red Clover. He patented a fermentation process and sells his product “Herrens Mark”.
Researchers at Aarhus University/Aarhus University Hospital undertook the work with Norman Tandrup Lambert’s Ph.D. project leading the way. The study included 60 women with menopausal symptoms. Half of the women in the study were given 150ml of Red Clover to drink daily for 3 months, the other half were given a placebo. Instead of relying on “self-reporting” for data, this research used technology to monitor symptoms using skins conductors to detect hot flashes and DXA scans to measure bone density in the spine and hips.
Results of the study showed a significant improvement in the group taking the fermented Red Clover extract.
The researchers agree that their findings indeed help Michael Jensen’s company but believe that sound research actually should lead to improved products in the marketplace.
