There are a variety of natural options to treat unpleasant menopause symptoms.

© Monkey Business Images | Dreamstime.com

If you’ve started to experience symptoms of hot flashes, mood swings, and night sweats, don’t be discouraged; although these symptoms of perimenopause are all too common, it doesn’t mean that you have to suffer. There are a variety of natural options to treat unpleasant symptoms. Pycnogenol, an extract from the bark of French maritime pine, is one such effective remedy. Take advantage of the pycnogenol benefits for perimenopause that will help you get through menopause with as little discomfort as possible.

What is Pycnogenol?

Pycnogenol is a plant extract, taken from French maritime pine bark. There is a long list of potential pycnogenol benefits, including blood pressure reduction, preventing oxidative damage and degenerative diseases, relieving muscle soreness, and treating asthma.

Pycnogenol Improves Perimenopause Symptoms

Perimenopause is the stage a woman goes through when she begins to approach menopause. Common symptoms of perimenopause include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, and loss of libido. Supplementation with pycnogenol seems to improve many of these.

Women who received 100 mg of pycnogenol twice daily reported significant improvements after only one month in all perimenopause symptoms measured, including mood disruptions, hot flashes, night sweats, memory and concentration problems, sexual behavior, and sleep disturbances. After six months, the results were ever greater. The study also found reductions in LDL values and antioxidant status._[1]

Another study in 2011 found symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irregular periods, loss of libido, and vaginal dryness to be significantly improved in women taking 100 mg daily._[2] Pycnogenol may be particularly effective in improving chronic insomnia associated with menopause._[4]

Dosage

For perimenopausal symptoms, try taking 100 to 200 mg of pycnogenol daily. Pycnogenol benefits other aspects of women’s health as well. For those women who have yet to reach the state of menopause, pycnogenol can help treat dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation, at a dosage of 100 mg daily._[5]

Share Your Experience

Have you ever used pycnogenol? Did it help you relieve some of these perimenopause symptoms? What other pycnogenol benefits have you experienced? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This article was originally published in 2015. It has since been updated.

[1] Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2007;86(8):978-85.

[2] Panminerva Med. 2011 Sep;53(3 Suppl 1):65-70.

[3] J Reprod Med. 2013 Jan-Feb;58(1-2):39-46.

[4] Menopause. 2014 Oct 27. [Epub ahead of print]

[5] Int J Womens Health. 2014 Dec 11;6:1019-22.