Balance
Clinical Applications
- Helps Maintain a Healthy Menstrual Cycle
- Promotes Healthy Progesterone to Estrogen Balance
- Supports Normal Prolactin Levels
- Promotes Healthy Testosterone Levels
Up to 3 out of every 4 women experience hormonal changes during their childbearing years. The female cycle is based upon biological rhythms involving the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovaries, uterus and biofeedback loops from the adrenal and thyroid glands. The monthly cycle consists of three phases: the follicular phase, the ovulatory phase and the luteal phase. Since a healthy menstrual cycle depends on hormonal balance and normal levels of prolactin, disruptions in the rhythm of these organs will result in challenges to the normal cycle.
Balance addresses the need for healthy hormone levels with a robust natural formula that helps maintain a healthy menstrual cycle, as well as healthy progesterone-to-estrogen balance and optimal prolactin levels. The main ingredient in Balance is chaste berry extract, or Vitex, which has a long history of use in gently supporting hormone balance and has an excellent safety profile. Each capsule includes 200 mg licorice root extract, 200 mg Paeonia lactiflora root extract and a 20 mg clinical dose of chaste berry extract to promote overall female hormone balance.
Chaste Berry Extract
Often used alone for menstrual support, chaste tree berry has a long history of providing effective support for healthy menstrual cycles. A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study randomized 162 female patients (18-45 years) to either placebo or different doses of a chaste tree berry product (8, 20 and 30 mg) over 3 menstrual cycles. Symptom severity was assessed by patients using scales for irritability, mood alteration, anger, headaches, bloating and breast fullness. They found that the treatment was well tolerated and improvement in total symptom score in the 20 mg group was significantly higher than in the placebo and 8 mg treatment group. In another randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, 134 patients answered a self-assessment questionnaire about their mood and hormonal discomfort. After receiving 40 drops of Vitex extract or matching placebo, for 6 days before menses for 6 consecutive cycles, significant improvement was found among those who used Vitex extract compared with placebo. Similar results were found in a third randomized trial of 178 women given Vitex over 3 cycles.
Licorice and Peony
Widely used together in clinical trials to help maintain normal DHEA, prolactin and prostaglandin levels, licorice and peony help support healthy progesterone secretion and estrogen balance. Studies have shown this combination of botanicals supports normal DHEA-S levels, decrease prostaglandin production and normalize prolactin levels.
Licorice root extract is also important in supporting adrenal health. Glycyrrhizin and its metabolites are known to slow down enzymes that convert cortisol to its inactive form cortisone. The similarity in structure of glycyrrhetic acid to that of cortisol accounts in part for the glucocorticoid activity of glycyrrhizic acid. Licorice has also been found to reduce serum testosterone by blocking 17-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 17-20 lyase, making it useful in protocols for balancing testosterone levels.
Suggested Use:
1 capsule per day or as recommended by your health care professional.