Sage

Shop Sage at Holland & Barrett

You will no doubt have heard of sage, in one form or another, as it has a wide variety of uses. Sage is a herb and there are an impressive 900 different varieties, including common sage, white sage and woodland sage. You may well have seen it on the supermarket shelves or else in the local garden centre.

Common sage (Salvia officinalis) is the type of sage which is most frequently used and it has one of the longest histories of any culinary herb.

Common uses for sage

Sage can be used in cooking, as it goes well with pork and chicken recipes. Or it can be used to flavour stuffing or even pasta. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in beauty products and cosmetics. Sage is also available to drink as a tea and for use in aromatherapy, as an essential oil.

Sage can be burned. Native Americans have burned sage, using ‘sage wands’ for centuries and the tradition is part of a spiritual ritual, which is supposed to cleanse a person or a space and to dispel negative energy.

Sage for the menopause

The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally. Women can experience irregular and less frequent periods for months or even years before they stop altogether. During the menopause, the levels of the hormone oestrogen in your body start to naturally decline. Unfortunately this can cause a range of symptoms which can be quite unpleasant. These include hot flushes, excessive sweating and night sweats.

Every woman experiences the menopause differently so some may really suffer from these symptoms, whilst others will not have as many. But it is thought that up to 80% of women experience the most common symptoms of night sweats, hot flushes and mood swings. Sage has been used traditionally as a herbal remedy in products like A-Vogel Menoforce Sage Tablets, to help relieve some of these symptoms, based on traditional use only. However, more research is needed to determine sage’s health benefits.

Sage supplements

Nature’s Garden Sage Leaf 100 Capsules 285mg is a dietary supplement, which should be taken with meals, in the morning and the evening. These rapid release capsules contain sage leaf, which has been sun dried, in order to preserve its natural goodness.

Sage drops

If you find taking tablets difficult then you might want to try A Vogel Menosan Sage Drops. Simply mix 15-20 drops with water and drink three times daily. This supplement contains extract of organically grown fresh sage herb. Pretty sage advice if you ask us!