The big event: master perimenopause the natural way. (Healthy Lifestyles).

Ask herbalist Susun Weed what to take for your perimenopause symptoms, and you're apt to get an interesting response. "Did you take anything for puberty?" she asks.

Weed, director of the Wise Woman Center in Woodstock, New York, believes perimenopause--like puberty--should be experienced as a natural stage of life and not treated like a disease. If, however, you need relief from hot flashes, headaches and other discomforts associated with perimenopause, Weed recommends an herbal rather than a medical approach.

Weed's response to perimenopause is just one of many. Opinions vary widely on what to do during this transitional period. A physician may suggest hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or, at the very least, a regimen of diet, exercise and nutritional supplements. An herbalist, on the other hand, might suggest enriching your body with naturally brewed teas and elixirs, but otherwise accepting the symptoms as they come--much like a preteen girl deals with acne flare-ups or her monthly menstrual cycle.

No matter what course you choose, perimenopausal treatments work differently for different women. The first treatment you try might not be the one that works best--or not work at all. "As varied as our genetic code is, it's that kind of response you get with perimenopausal women," says Fort Wayne, Indiana, obstetrician and gynecologist E. Conrad Hicks. Hicks prescribes over-the-counter treatments as well as natural products for perimenopausal patients. "Some patients are only going to consider natural treatments," he says.

Like many physicians, Hicks has reservations about natural remedies because the government does not regulate them as tightly as conventional medications. He has found success, however, with a supplement containing black cohosh and vitex, also known as chaste tree berry. These herbs can help reduce the fluctuations in estrogen levels common in perimenopause, and Hicks reports an 80 percent success rate in patients who take the supplement.

Potent Potables

Weed is an outspoken advocate of incorporating herbs into your diet as you pass through your post-menopausal years in optimal health and comfort. In her book, New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way: Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90, Weed suggests these herbs: