Menopause Support

Menopause Support: Key Ingredients

Evidence tier: Limited to Moderate, by ingredient

What it is: A multi-ingredient formula that combines traditional botanicals for the menopause transition with vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B6, and a probiotic blend. The research below is for individual ingredients. The formula as a whole has not been studied.

What the research shows: The evidence varies a lot from one ingredient to the next, so we show all of it, strongest first:

• Red clover (Moderate): a meta-analysis of 8 randomized trials (1,043 women) found red clover extract reduced hot flushes by about 1.7 per day compared with placebo. The effect was clearest at 80 mg/day or more of isoflavones over 12 weeks. The authors called for more well-designed studies.
• Maca (Moderate): a placebo-controlled crossover trial in postmenopausal women found maca was associated with improvements in psychological symptoms and measures of sexual function.
• Ashwagandha (Emerging): a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 100 perimenopausal women found better scores on a standard menopause symptom scale, including hot flushes and mood, after 8 weeks of root extract. It is a single trial.
• DHEA (Limited): a Cochrane review of 28 trials found DHEA did not improve quality of life, had uncertain effects on menopausal symptoms, and may slightly improve sexual function.
• Black cohosh (Limited): widely used, but a Cochrane review of 16 trials (2,027 women) found no significant difference from placebo in hot flush frequency.
• Dong quai (Limited): a 24-week placebo-controlled trial in 71 postmenopausal women found it no more helpful than placebo.
• Wild yam (Limited): the one controlled trial tested a topical cream, not a capsule, and found little effect.

We have not reviewed menopause-specific research for the formula's remaining botanicals.

Typical study dose: 80 mg/day or more of red clover isoflavones for 12 weeks; 3.5 g/day of maca for 6 weeks; 600 mg/day of ashwagandha root extract for 8 weeks; a median of 40 mg/day of black cohosh. These describe what the studies used, not a recommended amount. In this formula, these botanicals sit inside three proprietary blends (600 mg, 495 mg, and 450 mg) shared among 14 ingredients, and individual amounts are not listed on the label. The maca and ashwagandha study amounts are larger than the entire blends that contain them. The formula does list its vitamin D: 60 mcg per serving.

Kanadys W, Barańska A, Błaszczuk A, Polz-Dacewicz M, Drop B, Kanecki K, Malm M. "Evaluation of Clinical Meaningfulness of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.) Extract to Relieve Hot Flushes and Menopausal Symptoms in Peri- and Post-Menopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials." Nutrients, 2021. DOI: 10.3390/nu13041258.

Brooks NA, Wilcox G, Walker KZ, Ashton JF, Cox MB, Stojanovska L. "Beneficial effects of Lepidium meyenii (Maca) on psychological symptoms and measures of sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women are not related to estrogen or androgen content." Menopause, 2008. PMID: 18784609.

Gopal S, et al. "Effect of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract on climacteric symptoms in women during perimenopause: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study." Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, 2021. PMID: 34553463. DOI: 10.1111/jog.15030.

Scheffers CS, Armstrong S, Cantineau AEP, Farquhar C, Jordan V. "Dehydroepiandrosterone for women in the peri- or postmenopausal phase." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011066.pub2.

Leach MJ, Moore V. "Black cohosh (Cimicifuga spp.) for menopausal symptoms." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2012. PMID: 22972105. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007244.pub2.

Hirata JD, Swiersz LM, Zell B, Small R, Ettinger B. "Does dong quai have estrogenic effects in postmenopausal women? A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial." Fertility and Sterility, 1997. PMID: 9418683.

Komesaroff PA, Black CVS, Cable V, Sudhir K. "Effects of wild yam extract on menopausal symptoms, lipids and sex hormones in healthy menopausal women." Climacteric, 2001. PMID: 11428178. DOI: 10.1080/cmt.4.2.144.150.