How folic acid can help with menopausal symptoms

Womens And Child Health

“There are so many positives about using the drug, it has very little side effects and it’s cheap. This is compared to the traditional method of using Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

“Although it may not work for all women, it may work for some. This may be the case particularly for women with breast cancer as they can’t have HRT.”

Ayman added: “The dosage of 5mg has to be prescribed by the GP as the tablets you see on the shelves of pharmacies or supermarkets are a much lower dosage and are recommended for pregnant women. You may try folic acid in the first instance if you do not wish to go on HRT. It may work for you.”

Folic acid or folate is one of vitamin B family is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and storage.

Research into the use of folic acid for women suffering from hot flushes and mood changes because of the menopause has shown how the drug may help ease symptoms.

Led by Mr Ayman Ewies, Consultant Gynaecologist and Deputy Director of Research and Development, he conducted a study whereby a number of patients were given 5mg of the drug whilst half were given a placebo.

Those taking the folic acid reported a real change in their symptoms when compared with placebo group.

Ayman explained: “Although the study demonstrated that folic acid had greater benefit in reducing hot flushes in postmenopausal women when compared with placebo, the difference did not reach statistical significance. This may be because a higher number of women should have been recruited to the study.