Having worked in the herbal health field for years, I've served a lot of women dealing with menopause concerns.

One of the biggest menopause concerns is hot flashes and to deal with hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, women who wanted a natural and less dangerous relief from hot flashes have turned to red clover.

Red Clover is a common plant here in the United States. There's a field of it growing behind my house in fact. The bees I've often seen foraging on the red clover plants.

On the health end of things, red clover has been used for many years as a natural way to relieve hot flashes & menopausal symptoms.

Today, a common explanation as to why red clover eases symptoms of menopause is that it contains phytoestrogens, a type of plant based chemical, which might act like estrogen or which might actually block estrogen's effects on the body(?Red Clover : Uses and Health Benefits,? n.d.)⁠.

That ingesting red clover might produce an estrogen like effect in the body may seem promising, but it doesn't look like red clover is an effective replacement for estrogen replacement therapy as some studies seem to indicate that red clover is no more effective than placebo for hot flash reduction(?8 Natural Ways to Ease Menopause Symptoms,? n.d.)⁠.

So perhaps red clover isn't effective in relieving hot flash symptoms. But it must be considered that most studies to date involving the effects of red clover supplements on relieving hot flash symptoms have not involved a significant number of participants.

Also, we must consider when looking at studies involving herbs, the nature of the herb preparation used. Was it fresh? Did it contain high levels of bioactive ingredients?

8 Natural Ways to Ease Menopause Symptoms. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 25, 2009, from www.webmd.com/menopause/guide/8-natural-ways-to-ease-menopause-symptoms.

Red Clover : Uses and Health Benefits. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 25, 2009, from www.enotalone.com/article/9384.html.