Herbs for Hot Flashes

What herbs are best for hot flashes?

Some recommendations to diminish hot flashes from Rosemary Gladstar, in "Herbal Healing for Women" (available at Richters) are:1)Ginseng, to normalize the body's response to hot and cold; 2) several cups of Sage tea a day, 1 tablespoon of fresh sage to a cup of boiling water, covered and infused for 20 minutes; 3) a tea made from 2 parts sage, 1 part blue vervain, 2 parts motherwort, 2 parts blessed thistle, one half part rosemary, one quarter part ginseng. Take 1 teaspoon of these dried, mixed herbs to a cup of boiling water, cover and steep for 30 minutes Drink in small amounts as needed throughout the day, for example one-fourth of a cup every hour.
Amanda McQuade Crawford, in "Herbal Remedies for Women" (Prima Publishing) describes a British study which shows that foods rich in phytoestrogens (plants that exert estrogenic effects) such as soy flower, red clover sprouts, flax seeds, dates and pomegranates, making up 10% of the diet, provide the estrogen required to alleviate menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.