Wild Medicine | Herbal Tea for Perimenopause: Natural Support for Bloating, Mood, and Hormonal Shifts

Toni Keniston
May 22
3 min read

Safety Note: Always double-check your plant identifications and herbal recipes before use. We are beginner-level foragers and wildcrafters sharing what works for us, but your body and your land may ask for something different. Consult a trusted herbalist or healthcare provider if you’re unsure, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, on medication, or managing a health condition. Your safety matters and the plants want you well.

A hand holds a plate with assorted herbs on leaves. Text: "Wild Medicine: Herbal Tea." Images show tea brewing, ginger, and lemon.

Tea for the Threshold: Supporting Perimenopause with Plants and Patience

There are only three species in the world that have grandmothers.Most animals just keep reproducing until they die — whether that’s a few minutes (like the mayfly) or well into old age (like elephants). Or, like most men.

But human women? At some point, we stop—yet we keep going.

There’s a theory called the Grandmother Hypothesis that tries to explain this. And the answer it offers is simple but powerful: kinkeeping.

Our bodies stop focusing on reproduction so we can help the next generation rise. We become guides, protectors, story-holders. We carry wisdom and hand it down to the next generation, a feat human males have not yet mastered. And in doing that, we live longer.

It’s kind of a quiet miracle, when you think about it.

A New Chapter I Didn’t Expect (Yet)

Ginger and lemon on a wooden cutting board with a glass teapot in a cozy kitchen. Warm lighting enhances a fresh, calming mood.

I remember my mom blaming menopause for just about everything. Mood swings, hot flashes, exhaustion, flare-ups. If something was off, “it’s menopause” was the answer.

It was an enigma. There is no education around that time of life and even as my mother traversed it, she didn't know what was happening or how to support it.

But here I am—36, still raising babies, and noticing the changes.My cycles shifted wildly — sometimes 8 days, sometimes 31. Anxiety crept up. Sleep got patchy. I’d feel completely unregulated and not know why.

I went to the doctor, ran some tests, and got a clean bill of health. What I’m experiencing isn’t something wrong. It’s just the beginning of perimenopause. And it’s showing up early.

So instead of panicking, I decided to lean in. If this is my threshold, I want to walk across it on purpose.

Halle Berry Called It “Second Puberty”—And Yeah, It Tracks

In Halle Berry’s Masterclass on menopause (highly recommend, by the way), they call perimenopause “second puberty.” And that makes so much sense to me.

Our bodies are changing again, just like they did in our teens. Our hormones are recalibrating. Our cycles are shifting.

But instead of preparing us to carry life, this phase prepares us to carry wisdom.

It’s less about something ending, and more about the beginning of something else.

And for me, that means slowing down enough to actually support myself through it — not just cope, but care.

Why I Started Making This Tea

I didn’t want to jump straight into pills or prescriptions. Certainly, I'm not against them but I've had bad experiences with hormonal birth control in the past and as I said, I'm still young. I feel the first part of the tide arriving to shore but I know it will be a season of storms and not a single one to endure.

I wanted to start with something gentle. Something sacred. So I did what I always do when things feel off—I turned to the Great Mother.

This tea came together slowly, intuitively. It’s not a magic cure or a “cleanse” or a quick fix. It’s just... supportive. It helps with bloating and irritability. It gives me something grounding in the mornings. It turns “ugh, I feel off” into “okay, I’m holding myself.”

I brew a little perimenopause tea hot to sip while it’s fresh, and then I drink the rest iced throughout the day. I make the blend dry in a big jar, and add fresh lemon and ginger when I brew it.

It’s simple. It’s steady. And it helps.

I'm still in the middle of my Mother years but the Crone calls on the wind, inviting me to age with grace and dignity. For now, gentle support is great and when the time comes where I may need to reevaluate, I will do that too.

It's the good thing about changing, always something new to choose.