The philosophy of most nutritional companies and consumers is that if a small dosage is effective, more must be better.  Researchers in Europe, especially in Germany, have made a science of botanical medicine. They have been able to determine exact levels needed to be effective with many botanicals.

Researchers studied small dosages of certain herbs and slowly increased the dosages until they found a diminishing return of effectiveness. The research on black cohosh found an effective dosage to reduce hot flashes, night sweats and other uncomfortable feelings with 13 mg of black cohosh extract. Increasing the dosage beyond 13 mg did not give any further benefits. They continued the research and found that increasing the dosages actually cancelled out further benefits.

In talking to the researchers, they shared with me their surprise that they could find black cohosh supplements on the market in the U.S. as high as 500 mg per dosage.  In their research analysis, they found that 500 mg would be ineffective.