Although red clover is a legume, you don’t eat it the way would a soybean. That said, if you’ve spent any time at all in health food store, then you know there is no shortage of ways to ingest this plant. From teas,
to infusions, to various dried red clover leaf products, there appears to be a wide variety of choice.
Unfortunately, choosing a red clover product is not quite as easy as it looks. A variety of factors including varying levels of the key isoflavone
constituents, as well as the conditions under which the plants are grown, when in their life cycle they are harvested, and the portion of the plant that is used in the red clover preparation (the leaves vs. the flowers vs. a combination of both) can impact effectiveness to an important degree. For this reason many believe the most reliable and the most effective form of red clover comes not as a food but as a supplement. And among those available, the one on which most studies have been done is “Promensil”.
Each tablet of Promensil is standardized to contain a total of 40 mg of the four key isoflavones, (genistein, daidzein, formononetin and biochanin A), plus another form of weak plant estrogen called coumestrol - and
all come directly from the red clover plant, with no chemical synthesization.
Thus far, research on more than 1,000 women worldwide shows it’s a formulation that appears to work. In at least four of those studies – conducted by Tufts University School of Medicine, NYU School of
Medicine, and Oxford University in England – women using Promensil experienced a significant reduction in hot flashes and night sweats.
In another study published in the European menopause journal Maturitas in 2002 researchers from the Netherlands found that taking 80mg of
Promensil daily significantly reduced menopausal hot flashes when compared with placebo during a 1 year clinical trial. By the end of the 12 months, the women taking the red clover compound saw a 44 percent reduction in their hot flashes compared to almost no reduction in the placebo group.
More recently a study also published in Maturitas in 2006 reviewed 17 published clinical trials on red clover and concluded that not only was it effective in combating hot flashes, the more hot flashes a woman
had, the better the product worked. Perhaps even more important is researching showing that while Promensil acts like an estrogen in terms of mediating menopausal symptoms, it does so without increasing
breast tissue density or the thickness of the uterine lining - both of which can occur with traditional estrogen therapy. And that means Promensil is not likely to increase the risk of cancer in these areas.
Other studies have suggested red clover may also have a positive effect on cholesterol, bone density and memory –acting much like estrogen to protect a woman’s bones and heart, but again, without any of
the side effects.
RED CLOVER: HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED
If you are using Promensil as your main source ofisoflavone, experts suggest one 40 mg capsule daily for mild to moderate symptoms, with up to 2 capsules daily for severe symptoms.
There is also an extra strength 80 mg capsule for easy once a day dosing.
If hot flashes are worse during the day, take Promensil with breakfast; if night sweats and night flashes are a bigger problem, take it at bedtime.
You should see results in 2 to 5 weeks.
The newest red clover product, called Promensil Vitality combines 40mg of isoflavone with 500 mg of calcium and 3.5 mcg of vitamin D for extra bone
health.
For more information on Red Clover
Precautions - plus the latest data
on a variety of all natural
treatments for menopause visit
www.TheHotFlashSolultion.com