Hot flashes · Black cohosh, dong quai, red clover, chasteberry (formula)Hot flashes fell 73% and night sweats 69%, and hot flashes stopped completely for 47% of women vs. 19% on placebo. 50 women, Israel, 3 months. The formula also contained milk thistle and American ginseng. Rotem & Kaplan, 2007 →
Hot flashes · Soy isoflavonesAcross 17 trials, hot-flash frequency fell 20.6% and severity 26.2% compared with placebo. Taku et al., 2012 →
Hot flashes & night sweats · Red cloverHot flashes, night sweats and overall symptom scores fell more than with placebo. 109 women, Austria. Lipovac et al., 2011 →
Hot flashes · Red clover (fermented)Skin sensors recorded fewer and less intense hot flashes than placebo. 62 women, Denmark, 12 weeks. The preparation included probiotics. Lambert et al., 2017 →
Hot flashes · Dong quai + chamomileHot flashes fell 90–96% compared with 15–25% on placebo, with better sleep and less fatigue. 55 women, Israel, 12 weeks. Kupfersztain et al., 2003 →
Hot flashes · LicoriceHot flashes became less frequent and less severe than on placebo. 90 women, Iran, 8 weeks. Nahidi et al., 2012 →
Sleep & low mood · Soy isoflavonesAt 25 mg a day, insomnia scores fell from 5.0 to 3.2 (36%) and low-mood scores improved, both more than on placebo. 87 women, Japan, 8 weeks. Hirose et al., 2016 →
Sleep, anxiety & low mood · SageSleep, nervousness, anxiety and low mood improved compared with placebo. 66 women, Iran, 3 months, 300 mg a day. Zeidabadi et al., 2020 →
Fatigue & sleep · SagePsychological symptoms, sleep quality and fatigue improved compared with placebo; total symptom scores fell 39.2%. 80 women, 4 weeks. Sponsored by the extract’s maker. Salvia officinalis trial, 2021 →
Anxiety & low mood · Red cloverAnxiety scores fell 76% and low-mood scores 78% while taking red clover, far more than on placebo. 109 women, Austria, 90 days. Lipovac et al., 2010 →
Anxiety · ChasteberryAnxiety, hot flashes and total menopause scores were lower than on placebo. 52 women, Iran, 8 weeks. Naseri et al., 2019 →
All symptoms · Red cloverMenopause symptom scores fell from 20.4 to 10.1, compared with 20.8 to 17.2 on placebo. 72 women, Iran, 12 weeks. Shakeri et al., 2015 →
Quality of life · Dong quai + astragalusHigher doses brought bigger improvements in psychological and physical quality of life. 60 women, Hong Kong, 12 weeks. Dang Gui Buxue Tang trial, 2013 →
Tension & sleep · Yam extractTotal menopause scores improved, including tension, nervousness and insomnia. 50 women, Taiwan, 12 months. Hsu et al., 2011 →
Low mood · Soy isoflavonesLow-mood scores improved more than on placebo, a small effect. 84 women, Brazil, 16 weeks, at 120 mg a day. Brazilian trial, 2006 →
Memory & focus · Soy isoflavonesBetter picture recall, attention and planning than on placebo. 33 women, UK, 12 weeks, at 60 mg a day. Duffy et al., 2003 →
Memory · Soy isoflavones (review)Pooling 16 trials and 1,386 adults, soy showed small but significant benefits for overall thinking and memory. Cui et al., 2020 →
Each study tested a specific extract, dose or combination that may differ from Women’s Balance. They’re listed so you can read the research yourself.