RED CLOVER

Red clover or also meadow clover (Trifolium pratense) is a well-known medicinal herb of our ancestors. For a long time, the dried flowers were only used to modify the taste and aroma of herbal tea mixtures. Today it is used as a food supplement because of its high content of natural substances called phytoestrogens, which are related in structure to female sex hormones, also known as isoflavones. These phytoestrogens are rarely found in the diet and in small amounts. They exhibit estrogenic activity and are associated with a number of positive health effects during the menopause. Such as improving mood, suppressing flushing, improving sleep, preventing bone thinning, promoting cardiovascular health and improving libido.

We refer to menopause as the period of transition between a woman’s childbearing years and the beginning of her senile years. It is the period between the ages of 45 and 60.

Menopause refers to the brief period of last bleeding, still controlled by ovarian function. The period we consider normal is between 40 and 53 years. For us, the average age is 51.2 years.

It can be taken as a supplement after the age of 35 to improve psychological stability, for a better quality sex life as well as to delay aging and be more satisfied with oneself or for premenstrual pain, regardless of age.

Women experience the menopause more violently than men, unfortunately, this is largely due to the subconsciousness that has been cultivated in them since the time of their great-grandmothers that the transition is something terrible, that there are a number of unpleasant problems that accompany it. In the recent past, women have had the perception that they can no longer be sexually active after transition. Today’s women can not only continue to be attractive and sexually active after the transition, but they can also remain healthy with little or no difficulty if they incorporate important elements into their diet.

Climacteric problems such as hot flashes, sweating, insomnia, etc. are treated by many women with hormone replacement therapy. If you are one of these women, or want to be, then you should also know that recent medical research suggests that long-term use of hormone therapy (more than 5 years) increases the risk of breast cancer, among other things.

More women these days are addressing these issues with another alternative. This alternative may be substances called phytoestrogens, which are very close to human sex hormones. The most effective of these are isoflavones. They are on the market in the form of dietary supplements: soy, flatworm, lentils, flax and isoflavones from red clover.

Both soy and flatworms, or lentils and flax, are cheaper (sometimes genetically modified), but because they have only 2 isoflavones in them, they also have weaker and slower effects. Much better known in Europe is red clover, which contains 4 isoflavones, which are also much more “digestible” for us (the European population), but more importantly more effective. Of course, it can also be obtained through food, where it is digested together with fats in the intestines. If we add the positive effect of red clover extract on the prevention of breast cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, red clover comes out very favourably.

It is possible that women will say that they tried natural preparations some time ago and that they hardly worked at all. That could happen. Some time ago, only natural products of the so-called first generation, based mainly on “bee” products, were on the market. However, these products have now been surpassed and the third generation of products, led by isoflavones, whose effectiveness is already respected by a part of the medical community, has come to the rescue. At the 11th World Congress on Menopause in 2005, the professional community made their position on red clover clear, confirming that it is much more than a mild alternative for transition difficulties.

In the laboratory of Prof. Jungbauer at the Biotechnology Faculty of the University of Vienna, preparations for the “treatment of menopause syndrome” have been systematically investigated in recent years. The preparations tested showed significant differences in effect, with the best-ranking preparations containing red clover extract.

For an even greater effect of the isoflavones, it is beneficial to combine them with vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, where there is additional protection against osteoporosis and the venous system.