According to a Stanford University School of Medicine research survey, few menopausal women are consulting their doctors before opting to use herbal therapies and soy products to treat their symptoms.

Due to concerns about health risks associated with hormone therapy, a growing number of women are turning to alternative therapies to relieve such symptoms as hot flashes, headaches, mood swings and sleep disruptions.

While hormone therapy is still considered to be the most effective way of treating menopausal symptoms, physicians should learn more about alternative herbal products to help menopausal patients in choosing safe, effective methods of treating their symptoms.

"We're not promoting the use of these alternative therapies," said lead author Jun Ma, MD, PhD, research associate at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. "We're just saying that the demand for these therapies is growing and that physicians should be prepared to talk to their patients about it."

This survey finding appears in the May/June issue of The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.

Read more at Stanford Medical News.