Although menopause is part of a normal phase in a woman’s life, it can have a wide range of symptoms (hot flashes, changes in mood, vaginal dryness, depression, headache, trouble sleeping, anxiety … ). Now, research suggests that fennel may help alleviate these symptoms, with little to no side effects.
At this stage in a woman’s life ( mid-40s-mid-50s ), the risk of health problems, such as heart disease or osteoporosis, can also increase.
Doctors often recommend hormone therapy to control menopausal symptoms, as well as to preserve bone density. However, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) cautions against the health risks of this therapy; risks including heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer.
Due to these side effects, many women turn to plants such as red clover or soybeans due to their high content of phytoestrogens, chemical compounds similar to estrogen produced by the human body , but which in this case are found in plants. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) stated that the efficacy of phytoestrogens in relieving menopausal symptoms is inconsistent.
However, recent research suggests that fennel phytoestrogens help control postmenopausal symptoms and pose no adverse effects.
Fennel experiment
The researchers conducted a randomized, triple-blind trial (that is, the scientist who analyzed the data also did not know details about the experiment or its participants); that is, the details of the study are kept secret from the participants, those administering the intervention, and the committee of researchers in charge of evaluating the results.
The experiment involved 90 Iranian women, aged 45 to 60 , who lived in Tehran, where the average age at which women reach menopause is earlier than that of American women, for example. In Iran the mean age for the onset of menopause is 48.2 years and in the USA it is 51 years.
The volunteers received capsules with 100 milligrams of fennel twice a day for a period of 8 weeks. The participants were divided into two equal groups: one group received the treatment and the other group a placebo.
Using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the researchers compared the results of the group that had taken fennel with those of the placebo group at intervals of 4, 8 and 10 weeks after the start of the experiment.
The results revealed that fennel was “an effective and safe treatment to reduce menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women without serious side effects “, as in the fennel treatment group, a Friedman test revealed significantly lower scores at 4 , 8 and 10 weeks, compared to the baseline. In the group that took the placebo, the same test found no significant difference.
“This small pilot study found that, based on the Menopause Rating Scale, consuming fennel twice daily as a phytoestrogen improved menopausal symptoms compared to an unusual minimal effect of placebo,” explains JoAnn Pinkerton , leader of the work.
The study has been published in the journal Menopause.
