After the recent scares in the media about the risks associated with HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) there is a strong case for using alternative medicine to balance the body, especially when you get to supply your body with plant hormones rather than ones derived from horse’s urine. Recent research has highlighted the side effects of taking HRT to include breast cancer and heart disease. HRT has also been linked to gallbladder diseases.

Menopause is the point at which a woman stops ovulating and menstruation ceases, indicating the end of fertility. Many years before the menopause, levels of estrogen production slow down. This can start fifteen years before the menopause and is called the ‘circadian’. Apart from being a sex or reproductive hormone, estrogen acts on many organs and systems in the body. Cells in the vagina, bladder, breasts, skin, bones, arteries, heart, liver, and brain all contain estrogen receptors and require this hormone to stimulate these receptors for normal cell function. Estrogen is required to keep the skin healthy and contributes in the bone formation process.

Many women experience few if any symptoms during this time but others may suffer from some or all of the following; anxiety, hot flushes, dry skin, fatigue, feelings of bloating, headaches, heart palpitations, insomnia, irritability, decreased interest in sex, loss of concentration, vaginal dryness and weight gain.

Twenty five per cent of women go through the change without as much as a night sweat so not all menopause experience has the commonly known symptoms so it is possible to just sail through if you are in that lucky quarter.

Supplementation with vitamin E has been known to be effective since 1954 and reports from several authors say vitamin E eradicates most of the menopausal symptoms. Gamma-oryzanol, a nutrient derived from rice bran has been shown to be effective in treating symptoms of menopause. A daily dose of 20 milligrams reduced symptoms by 50% in 67% of the women studied.

When the menstruation stops altogether most of the acute problems a woman will face are over and a new balance between hormones is established. This is the stage when she may be vulnerable to potentially serious health problems such as cardio vascular disease, osteoporosis and vaginal atrophy.

Osteoporosis in particular is a major problem for women with an estimated 80% of all the 250,000 hip fractures that occur in the US being due to osteoporosis.

Many GPs have recommended hormone replacement therapy HRT to control sever symptoms caused by estrogen deficiency in menopausal and post menopausal women. Basically a molecularly similar estrogen is taken by the woman but this estrogen is synthetic and only close to the natural estrogens produced in the body.

Japanese women generally experience far fewer symptoms of menopause than western women. An article in The Lancet reported that the reason may be that Japanese women consume more phytoestrogens or plant estrogens. Plant hormones are very similar in chemical design to human hormones and may provide a safe alternative to the HRT that is being offered to women up to now. These estrogen like compounds are found in foods such as soybeans, tofu, miso, flaxseeds, pomegranates and dates. When these plant estrogens are eaten they act like the estrogens produced in the body. Plant hormones can be used in childbirth to start the contractions of labour!

Half of all postmenopausal women between the ages of forty five and seventy five show signs of some degree of osteoporosis. There is a connection being drawn to the possible cause of such high levels of the condition in these women. Forty per cent of all post menopausal women have a change in their stomach pH balance. In these women their stomachs become alkaline as opposed to being acidic. This cause’s poor absorption of calcium as it needs to be converted from the form we ingest, which is calcium carbonate, through the acidity in our stomachs to calcium citrate. This is the form of calcium the body finds most absorbable.

This may go some way to explaining why there is such and increase of osteoporosis in post menopausal women and perhaps that we should readdress the need for HRT to combat osteoporosis and instead focus on bringing the stomach back to acidity or giving these women calcium carbonate supplements. You can make calcium citrate by crushing up a calcium carbonate and mixing it cider vinegar.

In Chinese medicine menopause is looked at as a period in which the energy of the kidney is declining. For the Chinese doctor the kidney has a corresponding emotion, tissue, sensory organ and element. These are respectively, fear, bone, ear and water. The adrenal glands on the top of the kidney are responsible for producing the hormones that the ovaries used to produce. Chinese herbal medicine is one of the best ways of treating the menopause as the approach is holistic and this appeals to the condition as it very much a mind body spirit imbalance. The herbal formulas that the Chinese doctor will give will replace the estrogens that you are now not producing with plant estrogens. One of the formulas in Chinese medicine acclaimed for its beneficial effects for the menopause is called four things soup.

StarGate Nutrition is really helpful for the menopause as your system changes. Packed with all the vitamins and minerals you need in a safe form, you are guaranteed not just quality but also peace of mind because you are safeguarding your health.

Copyright Ralph Quinlan Forde 2007

www.stargatenutrition.com

www.fireheartbliss.com

ELIMINATE MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS THROUGH MOTHER NATURE’S WAY

For some women, it is good news because finally they are rid the burden of the monthly period and childbearing is a thing of the past. And a good help can now be found easily and affordably.

What if you could learn how to easily eliminate menopause symptoms through all 3 stages including peri-menopause, menopause and post-menopause and do it without taking traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?

What is menopause?

Menopause is the time when her monthly period permanently stops. Be positive that it can be done with such easy ways you will never have to sweat. Menopause is an episode in a woman’s life that is unavoidable. The fourth stage is post menopause which comes after the last menstruation period. There is no definite age in a woman as to onset of the menopausal period.

COMMON SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE:

Weight gain, due to slow metabolism. Menopause makes sleeping very uncomfortable because of heavy night sweats that you can barely understand why you have them, having a hard time to focus  yourself on things you usually do, daily routine activities become harder to finish than usual, unexplainable weight loss or weight gain, un-pretty bloating sensations and gaseous pass, severe uncontrollable mood swings, unclear reasons of sudden burst of crying, diminishing self-esteem. The decreased or loss of interest in sexual activities, mood swings, hair loss and skin dryness are due to hormonal changes within the body.

HOW TO CONQUER MENOPAUSE:

To cope with mood swings:remember that moods and emotions are affected by hormone changes.

You will learn the connection between menopause and other health-related problems including increased risk for heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis. Take it from here and see for yourself. HOW TO CONQUER MENOPAUSE will teach you how to deal with each sign and symptom with no complexities.

Try it now and you will not regret it ever. Primarily, learn the symptoms. Go over all the symptoms of menopause and try to understand and learn to manage them to your advantage. The Traditional hormone replacement therapy include animal and invented molecules  that are similar but not identical to human hormones.

Wouldn’t you rather go natural?

Not only will it make your daily life easier, it will also help your lifestyle. Your success does not mean that you will stop; continue improving your health by active exercise, refrain from smoking, proper nutrition and diet and a regular doctor’s checkup.

Menopause is the permanent shutting down of the female reproductive system, a considerable length of time before the end of the lifespan. Menopause occurs in a variety of animals, including humans. It is usually a natural process. The word consists of two Greek words meno (month) and pausis (a halt).

In adult human females who still have a uterus, and who are not pregnant or lactating, post menopause is identified by a permanent (at least one year’s) absence of monthly periods or menstruation.

In human females, menopause usually happens more or less in midlife, signaling the end of the fertile phase of a woman’s life. Menopause is perhaps most easily understood as the opposite process to menarche, the start of the monthly periods. However, menopause in women cannot satisfactorily be defined simply as the permanent “stopping of the monthly periods”, because in reality what is happening to the uterus is quite secondary to the process; it is what is happening to the ovaries that is the crucial factor.

For medical reasons, the uterus must sometimes be surgically removed (hysterectomy) in a younger woman; her periods will cease permanently, and the woman will technically be infertile, but as long as at least one of her ovaries is still functioning, the woman will not have reached menopause, because even without the uterus, ovulation and the release of the sequence of reproductive hormones will continue to cycle on until menopause is reached. But in circumstances where a woman’s ovaries are removed (oophorectomy), even if the uterus were to be left intact, the woman will immediately be in “surgical menopause”.

The menopause transition, and post-menopause itself, is a natural life change, not a disease state or a disorder. The transition itself can be challenging for a number of women, but for others it is not difficult.

Age of Women for Menopause

The average age of menopause is 45 and 55 years. In some cased the last period occur which is between the ages of 55 to 60 is called as “late menopause”. There may be an early menopause which is in the age of 40 to 45. Rarely the ovaries stop working at a very early age, anywhere from the age of puberty to age 40, and this is known as premature ovarian failure (POF), also commonly referred to as “premature menopause”. Premature menopause is diagnosed or confirmed by measuring the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH); the levels of these hormones will be abnormally high if menopause has occurred.

Social and psychological significance

The stoppage of the female reproductive system in a particular age of life leads to the third part of a woman’s life, which is known as the “third age”. The menopause change is a major life change, similar to menarche in the magnitude of its social and psychological significance.

The causes of menopause

The causes of menopause can be considered from complementary proximate (mechanistic) and ultimate (adaptive evolutionary) perspectives.

Proximate perspective

It is a natural or physiological menopause which occurs as a part of a woman’s normal aging process. This is the result of the eventual atresia of almost all oocytes in the ovaries. This causes an increase in circulating follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels as there are a decreased number of oocytes responding to these hormones and producing estrogen. This decrease in the production of estrogen leads to the perimenopausal symptoms of hot flashes, insomnia and mood changes, as well as post-menopausal osteoporosis and vaginal atrophy.

Menopause can be surgically induced by bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries and both fallopian tubes). It is conjunction with hysterectomy. Cessation of menses as a result of removal of the ovaries is called “surgical menopause”. The sudden and complete drop in reproductive hormone levels usually produces extreme hormone-withdrawal symptoms such as hot flashes, etc.

As mentioned above, removal of the uterus, hysterectomy, does not itself cause menopause, although pelvic surgery can often precipitate a somewhat earlier menopause, perhaps because of a compromised blood supply to the ovaries. Removing the ovaries however, causes an immediate and powerful “surgical menopause”, even if the uterus is left intact.

Cigarette smoking caused the decreasing the age at menopause by as much as one year, and women who have undergone hysterectomy with ovary conservation go through menopause 3.7 years earlier than average. However, premature menopause (before the age of 40) is generally idiopathic.

Ultimate perspective

Possible effects of per menopause, the menopause transition time as the body responds to the rapidly changing levels of natural hormones, a number of effects can appear. It is however worth pointing out, that not every woman experiences bothersome levels of these effects, and even in those women who do experience strong effects, the range of effects and the degree to which they appear is very variable from person to person.

Menopause Effect

Treatment

Perimenopause type is a natural stage of life, its not disease or a disorder and it needs no medical treatment. In this case those cases where the physical, mental, and emotional effects of perimenopause are severe, and disrupt the everyday life of the woman, then medical treatment may sometimes be appropriate and helpful.

Hormone therapy is a process to reduce the time or increase the hormones. There are several types of hormone therapies, with various side effects. Hormone replacement therapy or HRT, known in Britain as Hormone Therapy or HT, and the SSRIs appear to provide the most reliable pharmaceutical relief.

Menopause is a critical stage of women’s life as it brings different kind of medical complications and the hormonal changes in the body. The sudden changes in the body make most of the women vulnerable to disease like osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease, which decreases the density of the bone mass. In order to provide some relief to the women suffering from osteoporosis, an effective medication is available in the form of Evista. Evista is a medication which is mostly used to prevent osteoporosis in post menopausal women and it works by affecting the bone formation cycle and breakdown in the body. It also reduces the risk of invasive breast cancer in post menopausal women. To get relief from post menopausal problem and disease such as osteoporosis, one can buy Evista and live a healthy life.      Evista, a FDA approved medication is considered as a safe and trusted drug for the treatment of osteoporosis and is presently taken by almost half a million women in the U.S for the treatment of osteoporosis and thinning of bone. Evista is a beneficial in numerous ways to women who have reached menopause. To have best effect of Evista, supplemental calcium or vitamin D should be added to the diet if daily intake is inadequate. Researchers have proved that Evista lowers the rate of breast cancer in women. It works like the Estrogen hormone and is effective in two ways. Buy Evista to reduce bone loss and also to increase the bone density. Moreover, unlike Estrogen, Evista does not affect the uterus and breasts of the women, thus, it does not increase the risk of breast and uterus cancer. Manufactured by Eli Lilly, Evista is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), which belongs to the benzothiophene class of compounds. SERM helps in controlling breast cancer by blocking estrogen receptors in the breast. Evista is the only second drug, which is approved by FDA that reduces the risk of breast cancer. Evista is not advised if one has been victim or have had a history of given diseases such as blood coagulation problems, stroke, cancer, significant increase in triglycerides and liver malfunctions. If taken in unavoidable condition then special check is maintained on the patients to find out the reaction of drug in the patient’s body. One should buy Evista only if it is prescribed by a registered medical health care provider. There are various online drug stores that offer Evista at quite cheap price and one can easily and cheaply buy Evista from any of these drug stores.

Menopause is a profound life change that invites us into a healthier lifestyle.  With the end of our periods we are reminded that we are aging.  Hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and other aggravating symptoms force us to look for medical and natural remedies.  At the same time, our children may be leaving home, one of our parents may be ill, or there may be challenges in our marriage.  We may be at the peak of our career, thinking about retiring, or increasingly stressed by the pressures of balancing home and work responsibilities.

All of these challenges can come together at menopause inspiring us to find ways to relieve stress.  A healthy lifestyle helps us to weather the storm and is crucial for preserving strength and well-being.  Women who maintain a healthy lifestyle during menopause and post-menopause often feel healthier, stronger, and happier than they ever did before.  Some specific benefits are:

Many of the ingredients of a post-menopause lifestyle are not new to us.  The gift of menopause is the incentive to maintain this healthy lifestyle.  Following are the essential ingredients for well-being during menopause and beyond:

Once you are living a healthy lifestyle, the rewards you experience will motivate you to keep it up in post-menopause.  Discover and remind yourself of your personal incentives and rewards.  Whether you are looking to ward off symptoms and diseases or wanting to feel young and energetic, the healthy post-menopause lifestyle is your solution.

Brittle bone disease syndrome also known as osteogenesis imperfecta. Osteogenesis imperfecta” means imperfect bone formation. People with this condition have bones that break easily, often from mild trauma or with no apparent cause. People with OI are born without the proper protein (collagen), or the ability to make it, usually because of a deficiency of Type-I collagen. People with OI either have less collagen than normal or the quality is poorer than normal. As collagen is an important protein in bone structure, this impairment causes those with the condition to have weak or fragile bones.

Osteogenesis imperfecta usually begins either in utero or in infancy, is classified into four types. Low levels of collagen characterize Type I brittle bone disease. This type is the most frequently occurring and the least severe. Bones are likely to break easily before the onset of puberty. Type II brittle bone disease is extremely severe, with most affected children dying before age one. The bones are usually severely deformed and lung development is not normal. Type III, conversely, allows the body to produce enough collagen. This type of brittle bone disease is progressive, with few symptoms shown in babies.

People with Type III may have a normal lifespan, but their life will be significantly impacted by progression of the disease. Type III – 50% of individuals have bone fractures before birth; the rest have bone fractures shortly after birth; shortening of limbs and progressive deformities; facial abnormality; hearing not affected. Type IV brittle bone disease is also characterized by poor quality collagen but tends to be a milder form. Bone breakage is common before adolescence, like in Type I. In fact the disease follows an almost identical course to Type I. Treatments are aimed at increasing overall bone strength to prevent fracture and maintain mobility.

There have been many clinical trials done with the drug, Fosamax, a drug used to handle women experiencing brittleness of bones payable to osteoporosis. More success was seen in the tablet kind versus the IV kind, but success was yet seen. Bone infections are treated as and when they happen with the proper antibiotics and antiseptics. Physiotherapy used to strengthen muscles and better motility in a mild style, while minimizing the danger of crack. Spinal fusion can too be performed to rectify scoliosis, although the implicit ivory fragility makes this procedure more complicated in OI patients.

The medical definition of Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone. It is described that the bone mass and density have decreased thus making the bone high-risk to fracture. This kind of disease is caused by the bone tissue that is deteriorating resulting for bones to become brittle and vulnerable to rupture. Osteoporosis post menopause occurs commonly in older women who have been through menopause.

The vital part of our system is the skeleton. It serves as the framework of our body that keeps us to stand erect. Our bone is made up of collagen protein and calcium phosphate. These two main components are essentially working together to keep the bone hard and strong. Our body before it reaches the age of 30 undergoes the so called balance of weakening and mending. However, our body’s ability to repair drops as we become old. Unfortunately, women suffer most with Osteoporosis.

Generally, Osteoporosis occurs to women who are in their menopausal stage. To date, there are already millions of women who are diagnosed with this predicament. Every year the number of women with Osteoporosis increases, thus all women must be cautious of their health and must take care of their bone. There are some identified causes of this disorder.

The two main causes of Osteoporosis are as follows:

1) Number one factor is the menopausal effects fasten together with a woman’s age. Women in menopausal stages are going through hormonal imbalance that eventually affects the bone, thus Osteoporosis post menopause can usually happen in older women.

2) Number two factor is pointed to genetics. Women who have older generations who went through Osteoporosis are prone to suffer the same ailment when they get older.

Take the multi-vitamin for women, so you can prevent Osteoporosis post menopause before it strikes you.

Dealing With Post Menopause Problems

The term post-menopausal sometimes needs a little clarification. It is usually applied to women who have completed the menopause, meaning they have not had a period for over twelve months. This can be due to a natural menopause, or a surgery induced menopause. Women who are taking hormone replacement therapy are not considered to be post menopausal as they may experience symptoms of the menopause when they stop this treatment.
Common post menopausal problems can be experienced any time from the onset of the menopause onwards. After the menopause, women never really stop being post menopausal. Most of the physical and emotional problems that women encounter after the menopause are caused by decreasing hormone levels, particularly estrogen.
Conditions relating to the vagina and bladder are often experienced post menopause because these parts of the body require estrogen to remain healthy. Thinning of the tissue in these areas can cause incontinence, bladder infections, growths or polyps in the uterus, and vaginal dryness, as well as an increased risk of uterine cancer.
Other serious physical conditions linked to post menopausal women are osteoporosis and heart disease. Osteoporosis is common as women begin to lose bone density more rapidly due to reduction in estrogen. Risk of heart disease is increased due to atherosclerosis, or the hardening of their arteries.
Emotionally, post menopausal women may experience depression, fatigue due to insomnia, hot flashes and night sweats, and a reduction in self confidence and libido. Although these emotional responses can be triggered by hormonal changes, they may also be related to other factors. Reaching the menopause, and the changes happening in her body, may make a woman feel old, unattractive and worthless and these feelings can trigger depression and lack of sex drive.
So what can post menopausal women do to limit these common problems? Exercise is one crucial way to control these conditions. While we are not talking about running marathons, some exercise such as walking, gardening and light aerobics can have a wide range of benefits.
Exercise keeps bones, joints and cartilage healthy, guarding against osteoporosis as well as arthritis. It reduces the risk of heart disease by stimulating circulation, controls weight, and enhances emotional wellbeing.
Maintaining a healthy diet is another way for post menopausal women to remain problem free. They may want to think about supplements such as vitamin D and calcium to guard against osteoporosis. Not smoking may not only put off the menopause by a couple of years, it will also reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Using progesterone creams may keep the vagina and bladder area healthier, and make intercourse more comfortable and therefore more appealing.
There are many problems associated with post menopausal women, but by exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy lifestyle they don’t have to mean a huge decrease in quality of life.

What is Brittle Bone Disease?

Brittle bone disease, or Osteogenesis Imperfecta, is a disease that affects the bones. It is the bone disease which can be held accountable for causing most childhood bone fractures.

Brittle bone disease also causes adults to experience bone fractures. You may be interested in learning more about the causes, symptoms, prevention and treatment options for this bone disease.

Generally, the condition which causes brittle bones is hereditary, which means that it is passed on from generation to generation. Although it is usually an inherited health condition, it is possible for someone to develop this condition even though they have no family history of it.

The gene that brittle bone disease affects is the one that plays a role in the production of collagen, which plays a very significant role in bone protection.
One of the main symptoms of brittle bone disease is being short and slightly curved over. Some of the other common symptoms of people with this health condition include a tint of blue to the white area of the eyes, scoliosis and hearing loss at a young age. People with brittle bones are also very likely to experience a bone fracture.

Currently, there is no known way to prevent brittle bone disease. However, there are preventative steps that those with this bone condition are recommended to follow in order to keep it under control. A well balanced diet, exercise and a multi-vitamin which consists of Vitamin D and Calcium are recommended to people who have brittle bones.

While there is no known treatment option for brittle bone disease at the moment, the same medications that are used to treat osteoporosis are often recommended to sufferers. The same natural prevention methods (well balanced diet, exercise and vitamin supplements) are generally used as a way to treat brittle bone disease.
Much like osteoporosis, brittle bone disease is a serious bone condition that should not be taken lightly. If you think that you or your child may have this bone disease, it is important to seek a doctor’s evaluation. The sooner that you can begin working on prevention and treatment, the better off you will be.

And if you’d rather not take drugs there are some very good natural and organic supplements available to tackle brittle bones.

Osteoporosis is a word you surely have heard before, when you reach a certain age (some call it middle aged) and your physician has started to discuss this problem with you. Osteoporosis is a disease in the bones, which causes bones to be more fragile and brittle and more likely to break. Through Osteoporosis the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced and several other factors in the bone material are changed.. For women, Osteoporosis is defined as a BMD that is greater in standard deviation from the average bone mass value than 2.5.

Should your physician ever talk about established osteoporosis, than he talks about a BMD with 2.5 or greater deviation and the occurrence of a related bone fracture. Often women that are past the menopause are more likely to have osteoporosis. Sometimes, Osteoporosis will occur in men and women before that age due to certain hormonal issues. Typically osteoporosis fractures occur in the hips, spine and even the wrist bones, however the disease can affect any bone in any part of the body.

First, gather some other quick facts about osteoporosis right here. Did you know that on the age group over 50, one in four women and one in nine men are diagnosed with the disease? In twenty percent of the hip fracture cases related to the disease people die and in fifty percent, people will have a disability after the fracture.

In many cases, osteoporosis could have been prevented. One way to help preventing osteoporosis is exercising all throughout your life. Starting in the early adolescent’s years to build the bone and strengthen the bones through exercise is one great step towards better bone health. Keeping up your exercise throughout your life will increase your strength and reduce bone loss. So one excellent thing you can do for your children in their develpmental years is to get them in the habit of regular exercise.

A healthy diet right from the start is also a very good addition for many reasons. Bones need Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Calcium to form properly and to stay healthy plus a healthy diet can help prevent bone loss and therefore prevent osteoporosis.

Very important for many women to know is that osteoporosis is negatively affected by smoking, drinking coffee and alcohol. Therefore a healthy lifestyle is one of the best choices you can make in your life. Smoking is directly linked as one of the causes for bone loss and osteoporosis (plus of course numberous other illnesses and diseases). If your life style is not one of the healthiest ones, do not worry, you can still turn around and change your life style. In some of the more severe cases, medication is available. Osteoporosis can be treated with bisphosphonates and several other medical treatments.

Important to know for women is that almost any fracture due to osteoporosis and bone loss results in a major surgery and if your hip and spine is affected, prolonged hospital stays, disability and lifetime pain will be with you for the remainder of your life. One of the many reasons why the disease is higher in women after the menopause years is the estrogen level. Estrogen is needed by the female body to reproduce, to be able to get pregnant. Menopause changes the estrogen level in a woman’s body and this is closely related to the increased start of osteoporosis in those years.

If osteoporosis runs in your family or if you are worried you might be a candidate for osteoporosis, make sure to start up all the preventative measures right away. Exercise with good judgment and live a healthy lifestyle. Smoking and alcohol are considered not good for you whether you have osteoporosis or not and therefore it is recommended not to do either one. If you are having trouble eating a healthy balanced diet, consider vitamin supplements as you preventative measures.