Saturday, July 13, 2013

Oxytocin and Weight Loss: A New Study Reveals Indicators for Possible Breakthrough


Weight loss is one of the most challenging issues for many people. There are so many suggested weight loss formulas and diets, that it is not surprising people become confused over the subject. However, an exciting new animal study has found that the hormone, oxytocin, could be a potential breakthrough weight loss treatment.

New findings

Oxytocin, a reproductive hormone, has been found to regulate food intake and energy metabolism, according to the study[1], which was presented at the Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting on June 24, 2012, in Houston. The study's leaders presented how oxytocin helps initiate uterus contractions in women, and stimulates the milk-producing glands during childbirth. Previous research by the same medical team had also found a link between oxytocin and the body's control over energy intake and use.

"These findings reveal novel anti-obese and anti-metabolic-syndrome effects of oxytocin," said Yuko Maejima Ph.D, an assistant professor in the research department at Jichi Medical University in Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan. "Thus, our results provide an avenue for developing an oxytocin-based effective and safe treatment of obesity."

Oxytocin dose led to reduction in food consumption

The study used a group of animals, which were fed a high fat diet in order to reach a certain weight that classified them as obese. The animals were then given an injection of oxytocin for a 17-day period, and were administered further oxytocin through implanted mini pumps for a 13-day period.

The research team found that by administering oxytocin injections, they reduced the amount of food the animals wanted to eat. This led to a loss of body weight during treatment, and for nine days after treatment.

The mini pump administration method also had a number of positive effects on the animals: it reduced liver fat, abdominal fat and improved glucose tolerance. All of these factors are major contributors to the risk of serious heart and blood problems in humans. In addition, the mini pump procedure was found to decrease the size of the animals' fat storage cells.

Safe treatment

The most significant finding was that all of the above were achieved without causing any harm to the animals; blood pressure levels remained the same throughout the procedure, suggesting that the same treatment could be both effective and safe in humans.

Maejima said: "The finding that peripheral oxytocin treatment has no effect on the normal blood-pressure levels or the locomotor activity of this mouse model suggests that oxytocin may not influence the cardiovascular system or emotions."

This study was funded by several significant organizations in Japan, highlighting the strong belief in oxytocin's potential as a breakthrough treatment for weight loss and control in humans. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan; Ichiro Kanehara Foundation; Suzuken Memorial Foundation; Itoe Okamoto scientific award SHISEIKAI; Mochida Memorial Foundation for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; and Takeda Science Foundation all invested in the research.

Major global problem

Obesity remains one of the most harmful causes of numerous diseases in humans, such as heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes. It affects people from all over the world. Figures from the World Health Organization indicate that there are currently in excess of 1.4 billion overweight adults in the world, and a worrying 500 million of these people are classified as clinically obese. As rates of obesity have doubled since 1980, the condition remains a huge global problem that is responsible for thousands of premature deaths. The news that oxytocin could be an effective and safe treatment for the condition is a massive breakthrough for the medical industry and could be the solution to many peoples' problems.

[1] http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120625152312.htm

Bioavailable Hormones: Saliva Hormone Testing


When considering the use of bioidentical, or natural hormones, the first step is usually to test the levels of hormones in your body. Hormone testing, which recently has become mainly done through saliva testing, is done to determine whether or not your hormone levels have dropped due to aging, or menopause. These hormones that they test and are able to give you these answers are called bioavailable hormones, or sometimes referred to as free hormones. These hormones are hormones that are the unbound, biologically-active portion of hormones in the bloodstream. Bioavailable hormones work with your body on a cellular level.

Hormones are able control their own levels through a process called binding, which will leave them inactive. When hormones are released into your bloodstream, 90-99% of them will bind to protein, and these are considered bound hormones. These hormones then provide your body with a type of reservoir of circulating hormones, even though they are inactive, or they cannot bind with receptors to create a response. They are already performing their necessary duties. The hormones that do not bind with proteins (the 1-5%), are left as "free hormones", and are then free to bind with your body's receptors and immediately begin working with your body. Bioavailable, or free hormones are the only hormones that can still bind to proteins and fulfill necessary duties.

Since the hormones are able to monitor their individual levels on their own, it helps to control the levels of bioavailable hormones that are available to your receptors. Other glands in your body will readily release other hormones in order to keep the hormonal balance in your blood stable. When the hormones in your bloodstream bind to proteins, it's because this is your bodies natural way to prevent over-stimulation of the receptors.

It used to be that in order to test hormone levels, it was through bioiavailable hormones in the bloodstream. Testing this way was not very accurate and the costs for the testing wasn't feasible to all patients. Saliva testing has now been labeled a much more accurate way of measuring levels of bioavailable hormones. The timing of the testing can be closely monitored in order to take a sample at an optimal time. Saliva also gives a better reading of hormones that have been absorbed into the tissue. Saliva hormone testing is vastly used today in clinics treating patients with bioidentical hormones. Saliva test kits are even available for home use where you send in the sample for your results.

Testing bioavailable hormones is necessary in finding the best combination of hormones for you, and saliva testing has greatly advanced this practice.

Saliva Home Test Kits are available on my site:
http://bioidenticalmedicaldictionary.com/products.htm

The Skinny on the Anti-Estrogen Diet


Estrogens are a group of hormones that play an essential but complex role in the growth and development of both men and women. Hormones carry information from one group of cells to another. In the human body, they influence almost every cell, organ, and function. They regulate our growth, development, metabolism, tissue function, reproduction, and the reaction our bodies have to these foods, our moods, and our reactions. Our bodies are fine tuned machines. We produce the hormones that we need. When we add more estrogen than we need and more calories than we need, we get those added fat cells.

How do we add extra estrogen in our bodies? There are two ways. One, through our diet. A list of foods that are estrogen-producing is fairly long but include processed and packaged foods. Animal flesh, especially if it has been injected with hormones to make them plump and juicy for market, and certain fruits and vegetables. The second way to get added estrogen into your body is through environmental influences. Things like plastic, shampoos, make-up, cleansers, and pesticides from fruit and vegetables; just to name a few.

How do we add extra calories? Your body thinks that if we eat it, we must need it, so lets store it in those fat cells until we do need it. Problem is, with the lifestyle we have today, we never do need it. This promotes us getting fatter and fatter. Depending on a person's genetic influences, lifestyle choices, and nutritional intake; men tend to store their body fat around their bellies and chest. Women tend to store it around their hips, buttocks, thighs, bellies, and on the back of their arms.

The best way to expend these added calories is through exercise. Common sense tells us that if we increase our daily activity we can dissolve some of the calories we ingested. Making small lifestyle changes is a great way calories add up. As an example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or parking in the last space instead of the first space. All these little changes add up when it comes to burning calories. Another change would be to walk or ride your bike for 20 minute intervals one or two times during the course of your day. This helps relieve stress too. Other activities that can help you be pro-active include washing your car, mowing your lawn, or painting your room.

Well, what if you are eating the right foods and exercising and still having a time of losing weight and that stubborn fat? What then? The problem then lies in your metabolism and the functioning of your organs, tissues and blood. One problem may be insulin resistance and/or spiking insulin which stresses your liver. Metabolic toxicity can lead to blood sugar disorders, elevated cortisol, increased serum lipids, and enlargement of tissues. Now what can we do to optimize their function? We take supplements. Supplements that will help the thyroid and adrenal glands rev up your metabolism to burn calories efficiently. A multi-vitamin with iron to cleanse your blood and tissues and a supplement to delete the excess estrogen in your body.

So, in order to lose weight and be healthy, we need to maintain a healthy diet with proper nutrition and practice a regular exercise routine. It is best to eat organic foods, drink clean water, avoid foods or liquids packaged or stored in plastic and take supplements. Minimize your exposure to environmental estrogen and avoid fluctuating your weight.

The Deadly Dangers of Stress


We are more under stress today than we have ever been and unfortunately repeated stress can kill you. When you are stressed, the hormone cortisol is produced by the body. Cortisol is designed to make you operate at "higher than peak" efficiency is as part of the fight or flight mechanism. When in need, the hormone is produced; the body reacts to move out of that situation, after which the production of cortisol ceases. Cortisol is only meant to be released in small quantities at a time at specific instances. However, when we are under stress, cortisol is released for longer periods of time, which can have dangerous consequences for long-term health.

For most of us, stress is just part of life and is something that we just have to live with. However we do not realize what this sustained amount of stress can do to the body and how it can lead to serious illness such as diabetes. Diabetes occurs when insulin in the body is no longer able to process sugars that are ingested. After a while, as sugar levels rise, the danger imposed on the sufferer becomes more and more serious, often leading to coma and even death. For many diabetes sufferers, carrying around a supply of insulin is essential to keep the sugar at manageable levels.

Probably the most common consequence of stress is high blood pressure. People who suffer from high blood pressure over a sustained period of time are at serious risk of heart failure. The valves contained in the heart operate a particular pressure. When blood pressure is too high for sustained periods, these valves become damaged and can only be repaired by surgery when the damage has been detected. Unfortunately for many unlucky victims, the damage to the valves is not detected until the person has experienced a heart attack.

The biggest reason for stress today, is the ever-increasing speed at which we live our lives. This stress is set to continue as more and more demands are placed on us and the only way to survive this, is if we learn to manage our stress in such a way that it does not impact on our health in any substantial way. But before we can do this, we need to understand how stress impacts on the body, the chemical reactions that take place, and the serious consequences for our long-term health.

To fully comprehend stress and how it impacts on us, we need to understand how stress is linked to toxicity, and how toxins can make you sick. If we can understand this relationship, then we should be able to manage our stress levels much more effectively, thereby substantially lowering the risks of developing chronic disease. Life is not going to slow down, but if we can arm ourselves with the right tools to deal with the stresses, then we should be able to live healthier and happier lives. If we understand the impact of stress on our lives, then we have already won half the battle.

Endometriosis After Menopause


Endometriosis is a condition that may be quite troubling and bothersome for those suffering from it. The symptoms of the condition may be most prevalent in younger women during their reproductive years, women may still experience symptoms of the condition following menopause. The condition is marked by tissue similar to that of the uterine lining that may appear in other parts of the body in which it does not normally appear. This may include the walls of the abdominal cavity, the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, bowel, bladder and other organs in the vicinity.

As women with endometriosis may be at a higher risk of certain conditions including autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia, or even ovarian cancer, it is important that women with this condition seek regular annual checkups and submit to various tests recommended by the physician to test for these or other problems that may be associated with the condition.

Endometriosis is a condition that is influenced by the production of estrogen, so it makes sense that as estrogen levels begin to decline during menopause, the symptoms of the condition should become less pronounced. Remember, though, that even though periods are no longer present, small amounts of estrogen are still produced by the ovaries, thus the condition may persist.

Some of the symptoms of endometriosis may include pelvic pain that is often associated with the menstrual period. Of course, women who have gone through menopause will not have periods, but may continue to experience symptoms of the condition. Other symptoms may include pain during intercourse, pain during bowel movements or urination, fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, bloating and nausea.

Treating this condition may involve the use of pain medications or hormone therapy. Women are strongly encouraged to consult their doctor before beginning any treatment program. The physician may recommend over-the-counter pain medication, or may recommend other methods of treatment to help the individual find relief. In some cases, a hysterectomy may be recommended to remove the uterus and cervix and both ovaries. Of course, this is something that the patient will discuss in great detail with the doctor.

This condition may be very difficult for those suffering from it and finding effective relief is important to many. While symptoms may lessen after menopause, women may still find themselves negatively affected by the condition. Taking warm baths or using a heating pad to relax the pelvic muscles may be one home remedy that women may try to relieve symptoms of the condition.

Treating Menopause With Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy


Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) has been proposed as a good alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy is primarily used in the treatment of menopause in women. Because the therapy is prescribed and implemented under the guidance of one's personal physician, the specific combination of hormones in BHRT are specifically catered to every individual patient.

When a physician feels his or her patient can benefit from Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, the doctor prescribes specialized medications containing estrogen, progesterone, or other hormones that are exact chemical duplicates of hormones produced by women, primarily in the ovaries. Some patients today hold the opinion that all drugs used in hormone replacement therapies expose menopausal women to unnecessary side-effects. However, this is not true. Because they are identical to the hormones that are present naturally in the human body, treatments that effectively balance their levels in women can have countless beneficial effects, both physically and psychologically.

Menopause is the reproductive change in women past a particular age- the onset of which differs from culture to culture, depending on factors such as dietary practices, stress levels, and genetics. During the process of menopause, women have progressively less frequent periods, eventually stopping altogether in the later stages. Aside from rare cases, menopause is a natural effect of the aging cycle, usually beginning after the age of 45. Menopause occurs because the woman's ovary stops producing estrogen and progesterone, which are the hormones that regulate the female menstrual cycle. Various symptoms associated with menopause are hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, vaginal dryness, mood swings, trouble focusing, and decreased sex drive. Many of these symptoms can be alleviated with treatment that combines lifestyle changes with clinically-proven hormone replacement therapies such as Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Aside from providing relief from the extremes of the unpleasant effects experienced by women during menopause, BHRT has also been shown to prevent or treat conditions such as osteoporosis that can have adverse effects on a woman's health. The estrogen and progesterone related symptoms of menopause are significantly lower after administering BHRT in pre-menopausal and menopausal women. Perhaps the greatest advantage of bio-identical treatments to standard hormone replacement therapies is that they have been shown to cause significantly less side-effects that can take away from the comfort and productivity of a patient's day-to-day life. When compared with HRT, BHRT patients demonstrate less undesirable responses such as decreased energy, weight gain, and propensity for mental effects such as depression or increased anxiety. Since Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy employs more natural treatments than its counterpart, the new therapy is more in-tune with intricate design of the human body. By ensuring a healthier balance of the naturally-occurring hormones in the body, BHRT is a more comprehensive approach to treating menopause which focuses on the unique relationship between the physical, psychological, and environmental factors that affect the female life-cycle.  

In conclusion, Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy has been approved by many physicians and health-care associations as a viable means of treating hormone-related menopausal symptoms in women. More importantly, since menopause often causes negative side-effects such as weight gain, decreased sex drive, and psychological disorders, the use of BHRT can drastically help prevent these from taking away from a woman's quality of life. The amount of weight gained and instances of depression or increased anxiety experienced by pre-menopausal and menopausal women who undergo BHRT is much less than women who are administered HRT or women who are not opting for any form of menopause symptom alleviating therapy.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Hormone Imbalance in Women


Aging is difficult enough for women without having to deal with declining hormones. Women often complain of a diminished sense of wellbeing, chronic fatigue, and a loss of libido just to mention a few symptoms of hormone imbalance.

For many women there is a tremendous void in treatment of menopausal symptoms. Hot flashes, mood swings and low or no sex drive are just the tip of the iceberg. Some earlier hormone imbalance symptoms of estrogen deficiency are frequent waking at night. Many others are present, including "mental fogginess." A woman's short-term memory retention may be dwindling and her concentration and focus isn't as good as it used to be. Frequently, women may experience some loss of energy to the point that they actually slide into symptoms of chronic fatigue. In addition, women may experience some mood swings and irritability, and at the extreme may actually develop feelings of depression. With the loss of energy and chronic fatigue, females find themselves unable to exercise as much as in the past, or to recover as quickly when exercising. Women often find themselves increasing weight gain in spite of attempts at exercising. One hormone imbalance symptom that is not frequently discussed is the loss of sex drive and diminished libido. Not only is energy level and sense of wellbeing diminished, but anticipation and enjoyment of sexual activity is waning as well.

All of these symptoms are the result of a hormone imbalance deficiency state, not a "normal aging process." Restoring your normal balance of hormones will go a long way toward making you feel like a younger, healthier, happier woman again.

10 Self Questions to determine if you may have Hormonal Imbalance:

1. Do you have hot flashes?

2. Do you have a lack of energy?

3. Do you have restless sleep or sleep disturbances?

4. Do you have a diminished sex drive?

5. Have you noticed a decreased "enjoyment of life"?

6. Are you moody or easily irritated?

7. Do you have difficulty concentrating, or have short-term memory loss?

8. Have you noticed muscle loss?

9. Do you feel fatigued often?

10. Do you have bladder leakage?

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement therapy increases female and male libido, decreases menopause, increases weight loss and more with an anti-aging hormone imbalance health procedure. Bioidentical hormone is the chemical makeup of the replacement hormone and is exactly the same hormone that the human body produces.

Natural Hormone Replacement With Bioidentical Hormones


Most of us know that we are supposed to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and take supplements. However, most of us do not know that even a healthy lifestyle cannot prevent our body's deterioration from unhealthy levels of hormones.

Few of us realize that our hormones decline with age - irrespective of our lifestyle -and that many of our diseases and daily aches and pains are in fact caused by hormonal deficiencies.

Most of us do not realize that hormonal deficiencies are often the cause of many illnesses

and misery that are either:

(1) unrecognized and untreated by conventional (pharmacological) medicine;

(2) treated incorrectly with dangerous drugs that address symptoms not causes; or

(3) diagnosed as depression, bi-polar disorder, add.

As we age, our hormones decline. This is a fact that can be shown with lab testing. With that decline comes reduced energy, increased body fat, lower sex drive, increased risk of heart disease, cancer, PMS for many ladies, disabilities, aches and pains, etc. Conventional medicine considers this progression a normal part of aging. Wellness medicine, sometimes referred to as Anti-aging medicine or preventive medicine, offers bioidentical hormones to prevent and treat these conditions.

Current worldwide medical research has shown that bioidentical hormone replacement slows both the deterioration and symptoms associated with aging, and enhances the immune system. This field of medicine is becoming popular among individuals who seek answers not found in conventional medicine.

Through research journals, scientific studies, clinical experience, conferences and personal experience, our professional staff stays current in biodentical hormone therapy and preventive medicine. Almost daily, researchers are making breakthroughs, which we evaluate and make available to our clients.

Is Wild Yam Natures Progesterone?


Dioscorea villosa, commonly known as wild yam, is a tuberous vine native to North America and parts of Central America. It was used by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations for pain relief and birth control and has also been given the names colic root and rheumatism root, demonstrating this early use of the plant. However, whether it is nature's progesterone or not is another question that requires close analysis.

These Central American civilizations, of course, did not understand the reason why they were effective. Some of the symptoms treated can be caused by the menopause, and the wild yam is believed to contain natural forms of progesterone that can alleviate some of the adverse effects of the menopause on the body. Like most plants, they also likely act as anti-inflammatories, so relieving the pain of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

Like any natural remedy, wild yam had its adherents and its detractors, though in recent years the plant has been used as the raw material for the production of cortisone and a form of progesterone: or at least so it is claimed, so let's have a closer look at these claims and determine whether or not wild yam is indeed nature's progesterone.

The human body uses organic compounds called hormones to regulate many of the chemical activities of the body. The hormones catalyze the chemical reactions and changes needed for the proper functioning of our bodies. Hormones are produced in small chemical factories dotted throughout our body called glands. Each gland is devoted to producing a specific hormone, or a range of them, and each hormone is designed for a specific purpose.

Each has an associated hormone 'receptor' at their targeted destination that fits the hormone like a jigsaw piece. When it turns up, the hormone attaches to the receptor and the reaction proceeds. That might be the initiation of energy production in cells, the activation of certain genes or even the stimulation of hair growth by the follicles or of the libido and the natural desire to procreate.

Hormones are manufactured from only three constituents: proteins, amino acids and cholesterol, and the steroidal sex hormones are created from cholesterol. Therefore, don't reduce your cholesterol level too much!

Prior to puberty, all of the sex hormones are manufactured by the adrenal glands, and after puberty by the ovaries in women and the testes in men. Progesterone is produced initially, and is then used as the building block for all the other sex hormones (hence the prefix 'pro'). In women these are the estrogens and in males the androgens. Progesterone is made from the start of the menstrual cycle, and after day 12 they have reached a high enough level to halt ovulation. Progesterone levels continue to rise for about 8 days, and then if fertilization has not occurred, the progesterone levels trigger menstruation, and the lining of the womb is detached and expelled.

During certain phases of the menstrual cycle, the levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone drop off, although the exact reason for the many and varied symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) are still unknown to a large extend. There appear to be several contributing factors, though estrogen and progesterone certainly appear to be two of the major ones. We shall concentrate here on the progesterone factor because that is what wild yam is claimed to address.

Although the main function of progesterone is to generate estrogen and testosterone, to restore the libido after menstruation, and maintain the integrity of the lining of the uterus and aid in gestation, it has many other purposes such as in thermogenesis (burning of body fats), protection against osteoporosis and is also believed to have a natural anti-depressant action. These are all supported by the symptoms that appear when the body is low in progesterone levels: depression, sudden increase in body fat, mood swings, loss of sex drive and a susceptibility to weak bones if the deficiency is long-term.

In other words, women that usually suffer from PMS, also generally suffer low progesterone levels. It is believed in some quarters that a progesterone deficiency causes an excess of estrogen that leads to these symptoms in addition to heart disease. No one really knows for sure, but a deficiency of progesterone seems to be the determining factor.

Women with menstrual problems continue to be issued with prescribed synthetic progesterone even though they do not have the same effect as natural progesterone. They can also lead to some unpleasant side effects such as fluid retention, strokes, jaundice, blood clots and depression: some of the symptoms it is intended to alleviate. Some take borage or evening primrose oil for the GLA that helps some of the effects, but this is taken to counter the over-production of the hormone prolactin in some women prior to menstruation, not a deficiency of progesterone.

Wild yam does not cause these symptoms, and is claimed by many to be very effective in alleviating the symptoms of PMS. The problem with the artificial forms of progesterone is that the liver's job is to destroy foreign hormones, and send them to the digestive tract for expulsion. Natural hormones are not affected in this way, even if they come from a non-human source.

The chemical diosgenin in wild yam is very similar in structure to progesterone, and is believed to be the active principle. It is claimed that it can be used to produce not only progesterone but also other related hormones. However, some medical authorities and practitioners dispute this claim, and there is still a question as to how wild yam works. Because it does work, many people swear by it and claim that they could not live without it.

This is especially true of those that suffer from the more severe effects of PMS, and since wild yam does not work for everybody, it could be connected with the severity of the condition and the symptoms. Whichever is true, there appears to be little doubt in the eyes of those that use it as a cream that wild yam is indeed nature's progesterone.

Robin McGraw Gives Personal Guidance to Women


What's Age Got To Do With It?
By Robin McGraw
Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 9781400202140
218 Pages

I really didn't know what What's Age Got To Do With It? By Robin McGraw was going to cover, so when I realized that it included a lot of information on hairstyles, makeup, clothes, I put it aside at first. When I review this kind of book, I read it differently-I take it a chapter at a time...and I'm glad that I did! There is a wealth of material available to the readers and I recommend that this book be purchased for your personal library so that it can become a permanent resource for you. The emphasis on achieving and maintaining good health will make this a valuable reference for women at any age.

Many will automatically recognize Robin; however, if you don't, she is the wife of Dr. Phil McGraw and she attends every show! You will most definitely see her as she and Phil leave together. Beautiful Woman! Because she is beautiful, and because of her active role in this show, she receives a lot of feedback, questions and comments from fans of the show. My guess is that, by now, she has her own base of fans.

What's Age Got To Do With It? is all about women. Readers will quickly grasp that Robin has a great passion to help women and enthusiastically answer their questions. In fact, the book evolved out of the many emails she received and many are included in the book. Each chapter includes a personal narrative by Robin, giving lots of background about her personal trials and mistakes, which help to lend credibility and warmth-being willing to admit to having made bad hair decisions, and having to live with them, for instance, is not something we women normally are willing to do-we want to forget our mistakes! Each chapter also includes submitted questions that are answered by the set of experts who have assisted her in writing the book. And spotted throughout are "Robin's Rx boxes which contains interesting little tips.

I found the chapter on hormones the most beneficial; however, each woman is bound to discover something meaningful to her as she discusses women's issues from head to toe! Here are some highlights that I especially found beneficial:

"I wanted to share what I was learning and help them [women] understand that taking care of yourself and becoming an active manager of the body which God has give you isn't selfish-it's essential. (p. 4)

Women need "me-time" and must ensure it happens!

Exercise can reduce risk of major diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, etc.

A surprising side effect of too much sugar? Wrinkles!

A sample menu for 14 days is included!

Examine skin each month for brown spots and follow up if needed!

Read about/research bio-identical versus synthetic hormones!

Deflate puffiness around eyes by . . .

Big purses (and backpacks for kids) are not always healthy-they can create back, neck and shoulder strain!

Find clothes that are both fashionable...and comfortable!

Learning to listen to God.

Accept your age and work to keep your body God's temple.

It is not selfish to be an active manager and nurturer of what God has given you.

If you see anything in this review that you find interesting...then I have no hesitation. Buy and add this book to your personal reference library! What's Age Got To Do With It? by Robin McGraw is sensitively written so that you feel like you and Robin are discussing personal issues-and she's not going to embarrass you, 'cause she's be telling her own stories right along with you. It's time to read this if you are 20 and above!

Restoring Balance With Progesterone Cream


Women often think of menopause as a long process that unfolds over several years. However, it is actually a point in time reached when 12 full months have passed without a menstrual cycle. The word, "perimenopause" defines the years leading to actual menopause. Perimenopause begins much earlier than you may expect, typically between your mid 30's and late 40's. Since the average age of menopause is 51, this symptomatic time of fluctuating hormones can span many years and be quite challenging.

About 5 - 15 years before menopause, women experience seemingly normal cycles, however ovulation has not actually occurred. Known as anovulatory cycles, the body does not produce progesterone in the absence of ovulation. After years of working in harmony, the fine balance between estrogen and progesterone is lost, signaling the onset of perimenopause. As anovulatory cycles increase, progesterone levels continue to drop allowing estrogen to become unopposed and in excess. The world renowned Dr. John R. Lee, MD identified this as "estrogen dominance."

Estrogen dominance contributes to many symptoms during perimenopause including mood swings, reduced sex drive, weight gain, sleep disturbances, irritability, fuzzy thinking and heavy, prolonged periods. An excess of estrogen causes uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts while increasing your risk for breast, ovarian and uterine cancers. In younger women, estrogen dominance is linked to endometriosis and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) causing infertility, while low progesterone levels are associated with early miscarriages.

Since hormones play a vital role in every woman's health and well-being, restoring balance is essential.
In the past, women looked to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to achieve hormonal balance and prevent age and hormone related health conditions. However, between them, synthetic estrogen and progestins have 120 possible risks and side effects. HRT not only fails to provide the heart and bone health benefits promised, research shows that these synthetic hormones promote breast, ovarian and uterine cancer, and cause blood clots, strokes and high blood pressure.

The most healthy, natural way to restore hormonal balance is by replenishing healthy progesterone levels with bio-identical, USP progesterone cream. The term bio-identical refers to progesterone that undergoes a special laboratory process, making it identical to the progesterone naturally produced in the body. When
applied topically, bio-identical progesterone cream absorbs directly into the blood stream. It safely and effectively nurtures the entire endocrine system, has a calming effect on the nervous system, and maintains the proper function of other vital hormones and every organ in your body.

Known as the "master hormone," progesterone is the only hormone that has the ability to convert into other hormones as needed, taking the guesswork out of achieving balance. The adaptogenic way that progesterone identifies and responds to the specific needs of your unique body is amazing. It boosts testosterone levels to revitalize your sexual energy, and as estrogen levels begin to drop, it stimulates estrogen receptors to help prevent bone loss, heart disease, memory loss and other health conditions associated with estrogen deficiency.

Not all bio-identical progesterone creams are created equal. Many don't provide an adequate amount of progesterone and some utilize ingredients known to be carcinogenic and disruptive to the endocrine system. It is important to remember that what you put on your skin goes directly into your bloodstream. Organic Excellence offers the purest, highest quality progesterone cream available in the marketplace.

Chemical and fragrance free with the added benefits of certified organic herbs, the Organic Excellence
Progesterone Creams are formulated to meet the strict criteria outlined in Dr. Lee's best-selling book, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" and contain approximately 500 mg. of USP progesterone per ounce.

We offer two different progesterone creams to meet your specific needs. Most women find our Progesterone Cream WITHOUT phytoestrogens highly effective during PMS, perimenopause and menopause. For menopausal and post-menopausal women experiencing multiple hot flashes each day, our Progesterone Cream WITH Phytoestrogens is a great choice for safe and effective relief.

Weighing HRT Advantages and Disadvantages


Menopause leaves some women unaffected, but the majority of females who experience it suffer from severe symptoms which they long to get rid of. Eventually, women tend to become interested in considering the advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

This course of treatment has been chosen by many women to control menopause symptoms. Still, some points need to be clear when weighing HRT advantages and disadvantages. While HRT can be a good thing for a large number of women, it can just as easily be a nuisance for others. HRT can increase your risk of getting breast cancer, but at the same time, it is very important to help maintain your bone density and help prevent certain types of heart disease. In adding it all up, it may deliver too many side affects which can have a negative effect on a woman's life.

Menopausal symptoms are the product of the cessation of estrogen production. Therefore, a lot of women opt to replace the lost estrogen through HRT in order to decrease these symptoms. Yet the effects of hormone replacement are uncertain in the long run, and many women are unsure of whether this is a good option for them.

There are two sides to the debate on hormone replacement therapy. It has been proven that HRT is a credible solution in helping to minimize symptoms like hot flashes, insomnia, and vaginal dryness. Yet there are those who believe that women who do not exhibit any symptoms of menopause experience decreased physical performance and reduced energy levels when using HRT.

Due to concern over risks of developing cancer, many women choose not to use HRT. Often, they opt to take other steps to lessen their risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. In the meantime, studies are ongoing to verify the usefulness of hormone replacement therapy over a long period of time.

Once taking into consideration HRT advantages and disadvantages, many women and their doctors agree that HRT's helpful effects on cardiovascular illness, osteoporosis, and overall quality of life offset the danger of developing cancer. But others are worried about the negative effects that long-term use of HRT might have. These women deliberately work to improve their coronary health and strengthen their bones by keeping physically active, selecting foods wisely, not smoking, and using nutritional supplements or remedies.

Once you have studied the advantages and disadvantages of HRT, finally it is only you who can decide whether to go for HRT or not. Hormone replacement therapy has been linked to reports of health dangers in the last several years. If you have been given a prescription by your doctor, you might decide instead to use an alternative form of treatment, such as utilizing a natural type of estrogen. A natural approach that includes a healthy diet, stress management, and natural progesterone supplementation will alleviate hot flashes, night sweats, and other menopause symptoms, and may even get rid of them entirely.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Home Remedies for Eye Care, Weak Eyesight and Eye Infection


Eyes are the most significant sense organs of the human body that also form an integral part of the beauty. Beautiful eyes draw other's attention easily and leave a long lasting impression. Women are passionate in decorating the eyes by kohls and eyeliners to make them look more attractive. It require special care and attention amidst the regular hectic schedule. Any problem in the eyes can make life miserable and provide enough hindrance to the daily activities. Care should be taken to protect the eyes from any infection, poor vision and myopia through diet and other self care methods. Some problem develop with aging, which is normal but regular eye care habit prevents the severity of those problems.

Symptoms

Most commonly observed symptoms are -

1. Poor vision
2. Unable to read properly
3. Redness
4. Pain and itching

Causes of eye problem

1. Infection in the eyes.
2. Deficiency of Vitamin A.
3. Development of myopia and short sightedness.
4. Poor lighting during reading.
5. Working for long hours in a computer.
6. Formation of cataracts due to aging.

Home Remedies

For maintaining a good health of the eyes, the following simple home remedies are highly effective.

1. Cleaning the eyes regularly by splashing water 3-4 times a day prevents all sorts of eye infection.

2. Pain in the eyes due to long hours of computer work can be reduced by blinking the eyes 5-6 times.

3. Exercising the eyes by rotating the eyeballs in clock wise and anti clockwise direction for 10-15 times provides relaxation.

4. Inflammation and swelling of the eyes can be reduced by simply placing used tea bags over them for half an hour.

5. Potato is very effective home remedy in curing mild eye problems. Placing potato slices over the eyes for 10-15 minutes, removes tired looks from the eyes and restores the glow.

6. Similar application with cucumber slices also produces the same effect.

7. Regular intake of food enriched with Vitamin A and C improves vision and prevents eye problems.

8. Including spinach in the diet is beneficial.

9. Applying few drops of eyebright herb is effective in treating different eye conditions.

10. Regular intake of walnuts reduces the weakness of the eyes.

11. Application of 2-3 drops of rose water daily has a soothing effect on the eyes.

12. A paste of grounded almonds, fennel seeds and sugar candy is prepared and stored in a glass container. Taking 10 grams of this paste with milk, every night, helps in treating myopia.

Bioidentical Hormones - What Are They?


Bioidentical hormones are often touted as the natural alternative to HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) which is the synthetic version of a female's hormones. Bioidentical refers to the progesterone and estrogen that is supposedly identical to the hormones a female's body produces. When a women enters menopause or experiences some other hormonal depletion, many doctors will prescribe hormone replacement therapy as a treatment to the varied symptoms that can accompany hormonal deficiencies.

Because of the dangers associated with HRT, many women have searched for an alternative, which to date, has been bioidentical hormones. This type of hormone compound is usually made in pharmacies that specialize in producing compounds that are regulated for each woman's identical hormone level. Pharmacies that process these compounds are not federal or state regulated so it's never certain as to the quality and consistency of dosages.

The baby boomer generation of women has been the biggest reason for the demand of a more natural way to replace depleting hormones at menopause. Also, this generation is more demanding of natural alternatives to synthetically derived treatments and want a more natural approach that may promise less side effects. The celebrity driven bioidentical conversation has also fueled the demand as many women see famous people who look 20 years younger than their real age.

Some issues to think about when considering the use of natural hormones is the fact that even though bioidenticals are naturally derived, they are still hormones that can affect the body in not only positive but negative ways as well. Also, for women who are impressed with various celebrities who recommend these treatments as a new fountain of youth, remember that celebrities have unlimited access to cosmetic surgeries and other physical assistance to help them achieve the illusion of looking younger.

It is true that natural hormones do not have the synthetic makeup of HRT compounds, but there are still risks as well as benefits associated with their use. Before making your decision about hormonal issues, it is wise to consult with one or more healthcare professionals who can provide a detailed plan for your best health.

Steps to Overcoming Estrogen Dominance and Slowing Symptoms of Aging


Hot flashes or flushes are described as a sudden feeling of warmth or heat within the body and often with associated sweating. A hot flash can be an intense feeling of heat usually in the upper half of the body but can be experienced in the lower half as well.


The exact cause of hot flashes isn't known but they do know that factors affecting the regulatory area of the brain, the hypothalamus, regulates body temperature. When the brain senses an increase in body temperature it will release chemicals which cause the blood vessels in the skin to dilate in an attempt to release the heat. It is said that estrogen and testosterone allow the body to tolerate changes in core body temperature, therefore, as these hormones decrease in peri-menopause and menopause so does your body's ability to tolerate increased heat.


In my opinion this is only part of the problem. I believe it is more of an imbalance in the hormone family than just a decrease in estrogen and testosterone. In some women, when estrogen is balanced with progesterone, hot flashes decrease or stop altogether. Knowing what is out of balance will help you determine why you have hot flashes in the first place. Hot flashes are not normal, they are one of your body's very intelligent ways of communicating a larger problem.


Lifestyle, stress and dietary habits play a huge role in the occurrence and frequency of hot flashes and night sweats. Known hot flash triggers are:


Caffeine


Physical, Emotional & Dietary Stress


Alcohol


Nicotine


Over the Counter Medications


Prescribed Medications


Obesity


Spices


Physical Inactivity


Heat


Know what your triggers are and attempt to avoid them as much as possible. Avoid closed, hot rooms and lower the temperature in your surroundings. Dress in layers and do not wear synthetic clothing as they trap the sweat. Cotton clothing allows your skin to breath. Increase your exercise routine to 30 minutes per day and get sound, quality sleep. Decreasing stress is a no-brainer but not so easy to do. Practice stress reducing techniques and mindfulness. Absolutely avoid processed foods including; boxed and canned goods, fast foods, enriched breads, sugars, sodas, etc. These non-foods put undue stress on your digestive system and ultimately your endocrine system (hormones).


So what's the problem with (HRT) Hormone Replacement Therapy? Most of us have heard the stories, read the articles and have seen the warnings. The possible side-effects of HRT are just a bit too scary for me. Breast and/or uterine cancer, heart disease, blood clots, and stroke being the most prominent. Unfortunately, some of you have even experienced one of these yourself. And, watch out ladies, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy can be dangerous as well. Natural progesterone cream is sold over the counter and being used without knowing one's hormone levels. Hormone creams and gels must be used very carefully and monitored closely with appropriate testing. One of the many problems with using the transdermal creams and gels is that they are absorbed into the subcutaneous fat tissue where they build up and can eventually saturate the tissue and over time start to spill back into the system creating an overdose of the 'free fraction' of the hormone in the body. At this point your cells will down-regulate (not accept) the hormone and you will once again have the symptoms of deficiency while you actually have too much of the hormone in your system. Routine (serum bound) blood tests cannot accurately monitor the use of transdermal creams and gels. Testing must be performed in the free state, otherwise a person will be profoundly overdosed with 'free' hormone levels by the time the blood tests detect any significant changes. I have witnessed many a website advising the use of creams and gels without regard to the individual's symptoms, history or tested levels. This is totally irresponsible and a major problem for women looking for an end to the sometimes debilitating symptoms of menopause. When administering a hormone in a 'free' form you must test for and monitor the hormone in a 'free' form (saliva or serum free). Since hormones are interactive, the problem doesn't end here. Depending on the hormone being overdosed, multiple other imbalances will stream into the system. Hormones given in amounts that exceed normal physiologic needs will cause receptor cell down-regulation (the cells will not accept the hormone once the liver can no longer clear the excessive levels). In addition, Brain, HP (hypothalamus/pituitary) dysregulation is created and atrophy of the gland as well.


DHEA is also sold over the counter. You can literally go into a health food store and buy a bottle of 25 mg capsules of DHEA. Women should not take DHEA unless absolutely necessary. Women are especially sensitive to DHEA and will not tolerate DHEA if not needed, or if given in too large of an amount. In fact, the majority of men do not need 25 mg DHEA daily. What's the big deal? DHEA can boost estrogen levels or testosterone levels and for women that could mean facial hair, deeper voice, not to mention dys-regulating the steroid hormone family even more. Hormones are very powerful messengers in very tiny amounts. Start playing with the numbers and you could be creating some very serious health problems for yourself. This goes for the men as well. For men, when taking DHEA in higher than needed amounts it will convert to Estrogen.


OK, now that I've gone on and on what are some of the solutions? Medically, I've seen recommendations for prescription drugs such as Effexor, an anti-depressant which has been successful in relieving hot flashes in low doses. The two problems I see here is that #1, it is not solving the problem and #2, there are side-effects to every medication known. You're putting a band-aid on the problem and worse than that you will, in all probability, have a known or unknown side effect from the medication. They are now performing clinical trials on the drug Menerba. From what I can gather it is a plant based drug with 10 or 20 herbs, licorice being the major player. Hmmm, maybe I'll just try some licorice?


Let's look at some of the herbs that may be of value here:


Tribulus -


Indicated for hormonal support. Tribulus is known to boost male and female fertility and libido, enhance athletic performance, stamina and endurance, restore and build vitality, relieve menopausal symptoms and is helpful in male menopause.


Black Cohosh -


Is specific for menopausal symptoms such as reproductive problems, especially when accompanied by pain: amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, uterine pain, ovulatory pain, post-partum pain, testicular and prostatic pain, and menopausal symptomotology such as anxiety, depression and insomnia. It is mildly useful for hot flashes and is more effective when used with Chaste Tree, Motherwort, Licorice, and Dang Gui. Black Cohosh is contraindicated in pregnancy & low blood pressure.


Sarsaparilla -


This herb is getting a lot off attention for its' role in decreasing hot flashes. Although a cooling herb Sarsaparilla is more specific for inflammatory conditions of the skin, connective tissue, and bowels. That being said, it does clear blood heat and is used with other herbs to reducef hot flashes.


Red Clover -


The isolated isoflavones are being used to treat menopausal symptoms. Since it is a cooling herb it can help reduce hot flashes.


Licorice - Contains isoflavones and is used for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. More effective when used with Chastetree, Black Cohosh, Motherwort, and Sage. High doses of Licorice is contraindicated in people with high blood pressure.


Soy - I'm going to be very opinionated here. I don't believe soy is meant for human consumption, there is a tremendous amount of controversy about the efficacy of soy and about the fact that is does not digest in the human body. BTW, soy is not an herb.


Wild Yam - What can I say, some experts swear by it and others say that is has no real benefit for menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes.


When using herbs be sure to purchase your herbs from a known and reputable source. Do a bit of research to be sure the herb is not contraindicated with any medications and/or physical challenges you may have.


No matter how long you have been suffering with hot flashes and/or other symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause, it's not too late to stop hot flashes now. The good news is - You can begin by knowing your triggers and avoiding them. Eat a healthy well balanced diet. Find a qualified herbalist or hormone specialist and discover your hormonal levels so that you can begin the balancing act for a healthier and happier you.


Cure Uterine Fibroids by Reducing Estrogen and Balancing the Hormones


Many women of childbearing age suffer with fibroids and fibrocystic breast disease. For many the condition will prohibit planning a pregnancy.

Many post-menopausal women are taking estrogen replacement drugs that help control hot flashes and mood. However there are so many research studies implicating estrogen replacement with an increased risk of cancer, it hardly seems worth it to use this treatment to control hot flashes.

Many post-menopausal women are surprised to learn that despite their wise refusal of estrogen replacement, they too are estrogen dominant, and this excess estrogen in fueling the growth of fibroids and fibroid cysts in the uterus and breasts.

So what do you do? It you are on oral contraception or any type of hormone contraception (i.e, DeproProvera, etc.), discontinue it and use an alternative that is hormone free. If you are currently on estrogen replacement, tell your doctor that you want to discontinue it. (Later you can explore bio-identical hormone replacement with a qualified practitioner.)

Avoid drugs that contain hormones such as cortisone and prednisone. Avoid hydrocortisone cream.

Avoid estrogen-rich foods such as: soy products (tofu, soy yogurt, soy milk, etc.), flax seeds and flax oil, canola oil (from the rapeseed) as well as all seeds, pods, and beans. Think of every seed, pod and bean as a mini uterus ready to reproduce and consequently high in estrogen. Yes, many of these foods are famous for their nutritional value. However, for the individual with fibroids these foods will fuel the growth of the tumors. Soy in particular is everywhere in processed food products.

Avoid the so-called "women's herbs or herbal formulas" as these contain herbs known to be high in phytoestrogens. This can be the ultimate in irony as many natural approaches to treating fibroids recommend herbs that will in the short term have a positive effect, but in the long term fuel the growth of fibroids due their high content of estrogens.

Avoid herbicides and pesticides. These chemicals are known as xenoestrogens since they mimic the activity of natural estrogen. Stay away from golf courses, commercial farms, pest control sprays, fuel and solvent fumes. Always soak fruits and vegetables in a sink of water and a tablespoon of 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide or a mixture of one half vinegar and water for 20 minutes, followed by a thorough rinse. Seek out my article on identifying estrogenic foods and herbs.

Metabolizing excessive estrogen is possible with a specific herbal formula developed by an oncologist with training in Chinese medicine (check below) and the use of a pure progesterone cream. Progesterone supplementation via a transdermal cream is an easy and powerful way to recover from the estrogen dominant condition that causes the growth of uterine fibroids, fibrocystic breasts and endometriosis. Progesterone quite simply puts excessive estrogen into balance. However, many formulas contain ingredients that are estrogenic in a misguided attempt to improve on pure progesterone. Read labels!

Estrogen is stored in body fat. Body fat is most often the result of a lower metabolism due to a sluggish and toxic liver. Excessive estrogens are contributing factors to weight gain. When the liver fails to eliminate estrogens efficiently, the excessive estrogens stimulate fat cell production from the lower abdominal area to the knees where estrogens are more concentrated.

Estrogens also bind to sodium which retains water and leads to weight gain. Chinese bitters can be helpful in detoxifying the liver and increasing the flow of bile. However, the fast track to a more functional liver can be realized by engaging in a series of liver-gallbladder flushes to remove the cholesterol pellets that clog the bilary ducts of the liver and impede the flow of bile. The easiest and most effective L-G flush uses an ozonated olive oil product, Olive Gold 03.

The best natural treatments for uterine fibroid tumors address the cause and the symptoms of the problem. Fibroid tumors develop due to excessive estrogen. The fibroid tumor is the symptom and product of the cause. Since fibroids are composed of fibrin, the same material of scar tissue, taking a professional strength systemic enzyme formula will dissolve the fibroid and remove this tissue altogether over time. When combined with the hormone balancing strategy this protocol offers the best natural approach to defeating uterine fibroids once and for all.

How a Compounded Prescription Can Work For You


Compounding a prescription specifically to a unique patient's needs can be easy or complex -- depending on that patient's needs. A compounded prescription can be be something as simple as a pill crushed in a mortar and pestle to create a liquid solution, or as remarkable as a transdermal cream that can be rubbed on the skin. Every year, compounding pharmacists learn more and more about their trade, and compounded prescriptions become more and more useful to the patients who need them.

What's a compounded prescription, you ask? It's medicine that's been altered from its original form to fit the specific medical needs of individual patients who may react negatively to commercial medications or have special needs. It isn't a new drug -- just a modification of an existing one.

A compounded prescription can take many forms:

A Different Dosage Strength. Pills generally only come in a set number of dosage strengths, and if you need something that isn't commercially available, you may think you're out of luck. But a compounded prescription can address this problem easily -- compounding pharmacists regularly create specific dosage strengths for specific customers.

A Different Flavor. Kids generally don't like the taste of medicine. But a good compounding pharmacist can make a new compounded prescription for your child -- one that tastes better. Your pharmacist can simply alter the flavor, or create an entirely new form of your medicine that your child will love -- like gummi bears or lollipops. The same goes for your pets -- medicine can be compounded into a meat paste or liquid that they'll beg for.

A Different Method of Administration. If the flavor can't be changed, your pharmacist may need to change how the medicine is administered, such as turning it into a gel or cream. Changing the method of administration is a key component of both pediatric medicine -- where kids react badly to taking pills orally -- and sports medicine, where pharmacists must prevent side effects from occurring on the field.

A New Course of Treatment. If you and your doctor have decided that you're ready for a course of bio-identical hormone replacement, or if you need nutritional supplements, your compounding pharmacist can help recommend what you need.

Skills Of A Compound Pharmacist Are Needed


With such various people in the world that have personal necessities and needs, everyone do not react the same to all sort of medicinal drug. Most of the people have particular conditions that keep them of eating medicine using conventional manufactured pharmaceutics. The type of medicine needed by a specific patient is sometimes not manufactured by conventional medicine companies and a patient may require the drug using a different method than conventionally ordered. When this occurs a pharmacist must utilize his compounding skills to set the medicine in a usable form to fulfill the particular individual patient requirements and here we need the skills of a compound pharmacist. Pharmacy compounding is as an ethical drug is custom made by a pharmacist.

In 2004, to organize the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board (PCAB) main pharmacy associations united with the U. S. Pharmacopeia. PCAB Accredited compounding pharmacies are needed to have particular educating in methods of compounding. A skilled Compound pharmacist provides flexibility for patients who take their medications changed in some way. Generally, the prescription comes from doctor, only it is the compounding pharmacist who just has the knowledge to produce the right formula, without changing its gains.

Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) also known as bio-identical or natural hormone therapy is basically the use of doses of hormones that have an equal chemical structure as the hormones naturally produces by human body. BHRT is used to cares for the symptoms of menopause, post-menopause and pre-menopause. BHRT is linked with pharmacy compounding, saliva or blood testing and efforts to reach a targeted level of hormones the in body.

Esterone, estradiol and progesterone are the particular hormones used in BHRT, available in FDA approved products and as pharmacy compounded products which have not been sanctioned for use in United States and Canada. Because of the process of compounding Bio-identical hormones may also show surplus risk. Also, the efficacy of saliva testing has not yet been authoritatively proven, and to reach target levels of hormones the long-term effects of using blood testing have not been explored.

Pharmaceutical compounding allows compounding pharmacists and physicians to customize a personalized prescription for the particular requirement of their patient by mixing multiple drugs in. In Canada compounding pharmacies provide many formulations and medications to meet their customers particular demands. Their extremely skilled pharmacists work in collaboration with dentists, physicians, Veterinaries and chiropodists. Vets have to deal with different issues; they help to solve these troubles for animals.

These pharmaceutical obey Canadian Standards intended for Pharmaceutical Compounding. They produce quality compounded preparations for over 35 years. These Compounding Pharmacies in Canada supply the highest level of customer service and good quality products and help Physicians and Patients solve medication problems. There are many veterinary pharmacies in Toronto, specialized in veterinary medicine.

There specialists can fulfill all pharmaceutical demands. Compliance can be bettered with compounding of veterinary medications. Their aim is to aid pet possessors save money on their pet's prescriptions while still supplying the best medication for pets.

For high-quality health care, Toronto researchers keep making staggering discoveries in most competitive and quickly changing areas of modern health care research. As the risk of cancer increases with the quantity of alcohol took, the City of Toronto help to restrict approach to alcohol. Working with Public Health, the City of Toronto support public exposure of accurate and current info to the public related to the connection between drinking and cancer by: explicitly distinguishing alcohol as a cause of cancer.The skills of a compound pharmacist cover a wide range of things involving this field of work.

Forget Your Age: Combine Bioidentical Hormones and Yoga


If you've recently been diagnosed with a hormonal imbalance by bioidentical doctors, you've probably been told that you need to take up a moderate exercise program in order to bring balance back into your life. Perhaps (if you're a woman) you've sought out bioidentical hormone replacement therapy as a menopause treatment. Perhaps you're looking at testosterone replacement therapy to bring back the vigor of your youth. Whatever your situation, if you're looking into bio identical hormones, you should also look into a yoga program. Yoga and bio identical hormones can work together to slow the aging process and reduce the risk of inflammatory diseases at the same time.

Consider judging your age in terms of the flexibility of the spine instead of years! If you take up the practice of yoga, you can stop counting years and instead start working on your flexibility. Yoga has been shown to diminish the body's inflammatory response to stressful situations, which slows the aging process and reduces the risk of arthritis, heart disease, and other diseases that involve inflammation. Yoga offers individuals the opportunity to work into the aging process, taking a proactive approach. If you've started bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, yoga will complements the efforts you're making to create balance in your physical body.

Yoga has a relaxing effect on the body as it tones and stretches muscles and massages the internal organs. Yogic exercises coordinate the breath with movement, which can change the way a person approaches stressful situations. When you feel angry or sad or stressed, the rhythm of your breathing changes. Most of the time, people don't think about the rhythm of their breathing. It can, in fact, be hard to tune into your breathing when you first start practicing yoga. But yoga's emphasis on breath and balance can make it easier for you to control negative emotions when they occur in your daily life.

It doesn't matter whether you're male or female, if you've sought out natural hormone replacement, you could benefit from yoga as well. Yoga can help you approach life with balance and stability, turning back the clock as you slowly subtract stressful situations from your life. As you make progress toward a more youthful balance of hormones using bioidentical hormone replacement, an energetic and enthusiastic outlook on life will begin to take shape as you tone and stretch your body using yoga. If you like the way you feel taking bioidentical hormones, go that extra step and start a yoga program too. And start increasing the flexibility of your spine and forget your age!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Why Do You Have Uterine Fibroids After Menopause?


Uterine fibroid tumors affect millions of women and in many cases cause symptoms so severe that many will relent and undergo one of the surgical procedures to have them removed.

Most women are told that they can avoid surgery if they are willing to live with the fibroids until they go through menopause. There is a direct relationship between hormones and fibroid growth. Since reproductive hormone levels drop after menopause, this assertion makes sense. Many women do experience diminished symptoms. However, some women do not.

Why is this so? To better understand the condition it is important to recognize the role estrogen plays in the fibroid story. Excessive fibrotic tissue is the result of only two causes: trauma (such as scar tissue build up from an injury) and unopposed estrogen dominance.

This is the all-too-common situation found in most middle aged adults today. High levels of estrogen dominate the receptor sites of cells and do not allow "parking spaces" for other hormones. In men this means a reduction in free testosterone. This can lead to among other things, prostate problems. In women progesterone levels fall off (as well as testosterone too) because the parking spaces are filled by the over abundant level of estrogen. This causes fibrotic diseases such as fibroid tumors and fibrocystic breast disease. Progesterone acts as a natural antagonist to estrogen.

It is true that for post menopausal women, levels of estrogen have dropped. However, the hormone levels are less important than the ratio of estrogen to progesterone. Even if the estrogen level is one third of what it used to be, if the ratio of estrogen to progesterone continues to be out of balance, one can remain estrogen dominant after menopause and continue to grow uterine fibroid tumors and have fibrocystic breasts.

Nature demands that all things remain balanced. The problem is that there are many sources of estrogen in our lives that place us at risk for becoming estrogen dominant. Here are some of the culprits for post-menopausal women with fibroids:

1) Estrogen replacement drugs. Estrogen dominance is also strongly associated with cancer. Most women are warned about the increased risk of breast cancer when they seek estrogen replacement. Estrogen replacement is safe when the bioidentical form of estrogen (estriol) is used in place of the synthetic forms of estrogen found in most pharmaceutical formulations.

2) Estrogen rich foods. The top two foods to avoid are flax and soy products.

3) Corticosteroid medications. These cortisone meds are steroids used as anti-inflammatories, but they play havoc with hormone levels.

4) Herbicides, pesticides, the fumes of auto exhaust as well as many chemical solvents. These compounds are known xenoestrogens. They mimic the activity of natural estrogen.

The best natural treatment approach focuses on addressing both the cause and the symptoms of uterine fibroids. Specific supplements metabolize excess estrogen and potent systemic enzymes lyse away the fibroid tumors -- essentially digesting them.

Since fibroids are composed of fibrin, the same material of scar tissue, taking a professional strength systemic enzyme formula will dissolve the fibroid and remove this tissue altogether over time. When combined with the hormone balancing strategy this protocol offers the most rapid natural approach to defeating uterine fibroids once and for all.

Urinary Incontinence and How to Stop Leakage Brought on by Menopause


Menopause can bring uncomfortable symptoms such as incontinence in several different forms. Even younger women experience occasional bouts of urinary leakage during pregnancy, after childbirth, and sometimes even during sex. But menses seems to bring out more occasions of uncontrollable incontinence.

This inability to control your bladder can happen when you put pressure on yourself by wrenching your gut due to laughing or yelling, sneezing and coughing. The condition worsens if your bladder is full. Incontinence can also feel like a strong, uncontrollable urge to pass urine resulting in continuous leakage. Sometimes the sound of running water can trigger this urge.

There is also overflow incontinence. No matter how many times you frequent the restroom and urinate, there are always some urine leaked. This is a result of function of the nerve supply to the bladder being impaired and the consequence is a distended bladder that leak when over filled. Women with this condition do not feel the urge top ass urine. Delaying the need to pass urine can cause this type of incontinence.

If you experience continuous incontinence, there is leakage of urine more or less all of the time without warning. Although this type is uncommon it is caused by abnormalities in the urinary tract which may be congenital or resulting from childbirth, or from surgery such as hysterectomy and medical treatments such as radiation.

Bouts of incontinence can also be due to menopause, specifically hormonal imbalances. Producing less estrogen can cause the lining of the bladder to weaken, causing irreparable control of bladder movement. The older we get, the harder it is for us to hold back our urine - bladders get weaker and reaction times become slower.

Depending on the type of incontinence you are experiencing, your doctor may recommend from several types of treatment. Antibiotics are sometimes required to treat infection. Drugs can be taken that control abnormal bladder contractions or to create contraction in an over distended bladder.

Balancing your hormones with either HRT or natural, bioidentical replacement therapy can significantly relieve stress incontinence. And, of course there are the traditional pelvic floor exercises and kegels to strengthen the muscles surrounding the urethra and vagina. In more severe cases, surgery may be required or electrical stimulation of the muscles around the bladder. This is definitely one your need to work out with your doctor.

Fertility and Stress - How Hormonal Balance and Stress Are Central


Stress plays a significant role in conception. This is the recent findings about the connection of stress and infertility. According to research, stress brings about a number of physiological effects which affect the process of conception. But can stress really affect conception? IT CAN, but not directly!

Undeniably, many couples in the globe are having a hard time conceiving. In fact, many are getting stressed in finding the best and affordable fertility available. Some couples even travel abroad just to acquire affordable fertility treatments. Little did they realise that their quest for fertility treatments actually increases their stress level which reduces their possibility of conceiving.

Theories Linking Stress and Conception

One study concluded that pregnancy is more likely to occur in months when couples feel good and relaxed. On the other hand, pregnancy is less likely to occur in months when couples are tensed or anxious.

According to research, some cases of infertility results from high level of chronic stress. It is further claimed that a significant reduction in stress level results to an increased blood flow to the uterus. This can significantly affect the probability of conception.

It was further found out that women with the highest levels of stress have ovulated 20% lower eggs compared to women that have low levels of stress. In effect, women who have ovulated the less number of eggs are less likely to conceive.

What Science Has To Say

Stress disrupts the harmonious hormonal communication between the pituitary gland in the brain, and the ovary. According to science, stress can affect the part of the brain which regulates the production of hormones.

Stress actually affects the hypothalamus which regulates the hormones necessary for egg production. Hypothalamus also plays a vital role in regulating the production of testosterone hormones.

The hypothalamus is responsible for the production of gonadotropin-releasing hormone which triggers the pituitary gland to produce follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone thereby results to ovulation.

A body under stress usually causes the hypothalamus to release corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), a protein responsible which inhibits the transmission of GnRH signal to the pituitary gland. This leads to a reduced production of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone thereby resulting to non-ovulation, and delayed, irregular and even absent menstrual period.

Aside from affecting the sperm quality, stress can also elevate the frequency of uterine contractions which can affect the success of implantation. It even affects motility and sperm count.

In one study, it was claimed that when the body is under stress, it releases more of stress hormones. To increase the production of stress hormones, higher level of cholesterol is needed. In the long run, continuous production of stress hormones in the body results to a reduced production of sex hormones.

This results to hormonal imbalances which can lead to infertility, low libido and irregular menstrual cycles. In severe cases, high level of stress results to the suppression of menstrual cycles. Stress can also activate the pituitary gland to increase its production of prolactin. According to research, increased production of prolactin results to irregular ovulation. This reduces the woman's probability of getting pregnant.

Also, when the adrenal gland keeps on producing higher levels of cortisol hormones, it inhibits the production of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) which is necessary for the production of reproductive hormones including testosterone, estrogen and progesterone.

Stress and Infertility- Determining The Link

Stress causes infertility, and infertility causes stress. Stress can cause infertility as it affects the ability of the reproductive organs to produce healthy eggs and sufficient amount of good quality sperm. On the other hand, constant failure to conceive increases the level of stress. The cycle continues thereby reducing the couples' probability of having their own children.

Stress Management- Vital To Achieve Higher Conception Rate

Managing stress is vital in increasing your chance of conceiving soon. Stress is best managed by eating nutritious foods, exercise and gentle yoga stretching. Reducing the level of stress actually helps in eliminating depression, anger and anxiety.

As these negative emotions are reduced, your chance of getting pregnant increases significantly. In the long run, reduction in stress level results to improved health of eggs and sperm, normalized menstrual cycles and increases the possibility of conception.

How to Improve Your Health Naturally With Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy


How a big disaster starts.

One small change in the way you feel every day may portend your health disaster. Sometimes your symptoms are so small and seem so unimportant that you don't pay attention. But they are really warning symptoms of what could possibly be a disaster.

You are in your 40s or 50s. You have everything you were dreaming of: beautiful kids, a wonderful spouse, big house or apartment and a wonderful job or business. Everything is going smoothly. And you think, that it is time to relax and enjoy life. Suddenly you feel like you are on fire, you turn red and start sweating. And it happens at the worst time, while you are in bed with your beloved or speaking to one of your customers. A few minutes later the hot flush is gone, but it comes back again and again and again. But now, you are waiting for it every minute, and it makes you crazy.

You notice that you forget where you left your keys and credit cards, you started forgetting about your appointments and now you need to make a shopping list, which you never did before. Then you start yelling at your loved ones - your children and your spouse without reason and you do not understand why. You feel like you cannot control yourself any more. When it comes to sex, you are not enjoying it any more. It's become painful now, but avoiding it is now causing more problems with your spouse.

One problem after another comes into your life...one new alarm after another goes off. The final disaster in your life has happened -- you are not yourself anymore.

One tiny emotional failure in your relationship can lead to drama in your life, but the measurement of this failure was inconspicuous and you hardly noticed it in the beginning. You were together with your spouse and kids for many years but suddenly a strong turbulence is shaking your lives. Your relationships have started to go disastrously wrong.

One after another, the autopilots in your lives shut off and what used to always work isn't working anymore. Quickly, you are being sucked into the waves, with no way to save yourself.

You're screaming out and crying for help, but there's nothing ahead but despair. The life you worked so hard to get is now sinking.

It's at about the age of 40 that everything begins. You want to give all your love to your spouse and your children. Instead you have a mood swing and shout at them making them unhappy. You start arguing more with your spouse, start passing up on invitations to go out with your friends because you are tired. But you used to always be the first one there.

Then it was Sunday. Sex time! It's a duty and routine now. Suddenly this day felt like a chore for you. You do not have the fantasy and energy that you had before.

Suddenly, you start feeling Hot... hotter!! And then sweating, you realize you are suffering from hot flushes!

You are not feeling pleasure and emotions like before. Finally, after the chore of sex is over, you try to fall asleep, but now you cannot. Your spouse is angry with you because you are keeping him or her awake. Finally at four o'clock in the morning you fall sleep, only to have to wake up in two hours. You wake up in the morning very sleepy and tired, cannot open your eyes and now you feel like you need your morning coffee. You go to the bathroom to take a shower, look at the mirror and you see wrinkles on your face, wrinkles that you didn't see before. You start putting creams and make up to cover them but every time gets more difficult to cover them and you feel like you are losing control of your life.

You go to your primary care physician, then to a psychiatrist, but do not get any answers. But you need an answer now, because you are not yourself any more. You were at a point in your life, finally, where you were happy with your work, with your status in life, with your family life, with your sex-life. Everything was running smoothly. For the past 40 or 50 years, you have treated your body right, and it, in turn has treated you right.

Until you start noticing little changes creeping in. Wrinkles? A little, for now. Mood swings? Slightly harder to deal with. Loss of energy? Causing a kink in your plans. Loss of libido? Bringing some major tension into the house. Is it the beginning of a disaster? What's going on with your health?

Could it be one simple test that can prevent the disaster? Could your disaster start even before your first symptom?

Going through menopause or andropause is like trying to cross a stormy Atlantic ocean in a tiny boat. But nobody prepared you for this at all!

What Official Medicine can do for you to get your life back.

No one is able to explain to you why you are suffering and what needs to be done. To your anger, your doctor, whom you love very much, says, that everything is OK with you. It is just aging, which is normal. But you know something is disastrously wrong. You have to get the answer now or you may die.

Official Western medicine does not give an answer to this question. "There are no lifestyle changes, surgical procedures, vitamins, antioxidants, hormones, or techniques of genetic engineering available today with the capacity to repeat the gains in life expectancy that were achieved during the 20th century " according to demographer S. Jay Olshansky of University of Illinois in Chicago as well as 51 longevity experts in their position statement in 2002.

That is why I had to launch my own investigation, based on scientific studies and my own experience. I did not have a choice but to do it, because I was going through andropause myself.

My investigation was based on facts and common sense, not controlled studies. This method was used by doctor James Lind in about 1750 when he discovered how to fight scurvy. Six groups of two sailors were used. And one group which was given oranges and lemon - improved. The same method was used by doctor Edward Jenner in 1796, when he invented vaccination.

What would happen to the mankind if they would require double blind controlled studies to prove that vaccination is working for smallpox and lemon for scurvy? We would be dead. If the treatment is really working you do not need double blind controlled studies to prove it.

It is like your keys for your home door. It is either fits or not. You do not need double blind controlled studies to figure this out. Normally an investigation like this is done by a group of scientists. And it should be financed. Usually it is a big pharmaceutical company that invests money in the scientific study. And they did it before: they created drugs that mimic human hormones.

How they created a fake to poison you.

Because natural substances like hormones cannot be patented, they had to come up with something else. Instead of the most important women's hormone estrogen they offered modified horse estrogens to produce "estrogen" for our women. Instead of the second important women's hormone progesterone they offered drugs, that sound like natural progesterone, but actually are synthetic -- Progestins. Why would they name the synthetic stuff like natural?

In the beginning everybody was happy: patients, because they felt better, doctors, because it was less work for them, pharmaceutical companies, because they were getting money.

Until Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study came out.

Synthetic and semisynthetic hormone mimicking drugs Premarin and Prempro were jewels in the crown of the pharmaceutical company Wyeth. Their sales almost reached 1 billion dollars in 2001 1. But even Big Pharma could not conceal the WHI damaging conclusions. What they found was that synthetic or semisynthetic hormones are linked to many life-threatening conditions like cancer and blood clots.

They are linked to cancer. They can cause blood clots. Low testosterone and decreased libido as well as gallstones are the complications of synthetic hormones, etc.

But the drugs were on the market already. And they were very profitable. So what they had to do was to warn patients about the risks, but continue to sell the drugs. Who wants to stop money coming? But how did it happen that FDA approved drugs with life threatening side effects?

It is 2009. New York Times magazine Reporter Natasha Singer is looking into hormone replacement therapy drugs. But she is not interested in how those drugs were approved. After the scandals with Troglitazone or Trovan nobody is excited about it. She was interested in a much more important thing: how it happened that doctors recommended harmful drugs. What they found was: it was ghostwritten medical papers, signed by doctors, that created medical " consensus".

Can We Trust Such "Scientific" Articles?

I still remember my 27 year old female neighbor, who died because of a clot in her legs that went to her lungs. She was on birth control pills. Since then I decided not to advise traditional synthetic hormones to my patients.

So I arrived to my first solid conclusion: no synthetic or semisynthetic hormones, because:

But do you need hormones at all? May be you can get back your life with diet and supplements? Or may be all you need to do is to bring your cholesterol down? Yoga? Meditation?

I still remember my first patient, suffering from heart attack: gasping, cold sweat, fear in his eyes and death imprinted on his face. Or one of my cancer patients suffering from

excruciating pain. Or Alzhemer's patients, who know about their problem and are ashamed of it. Maybe all we need to do is to get treatment for heart, cancer and dementia?

Why Eskimo do not have heart attacks

During my medical training I was told many times, that heart attacks are due to high cholesterol. What I did not know was about the Danish Eskimo study.

Danish scientists Bang and Dyerberg discovered that Eskimos almost never die of heart attacks, the number one killer, despite the fact that they did not have that low cholesterol.

So it was not actually cholesterol, that kills! And they knew about it since the 1970s! It must be something else. What about cancer? What about Alzheimer's? Swedish scientist from University of Lund Staffan Lindeberg, MD went to Kitava Island in New Guinea to study its 24,000 people population. What he found was that they do not have heart attacks! No cancer! No diabetes! No Alzheimer's! But they die healthy on average at the age of 45 9.

So it is not cholesterol, it is not cancer, it is not dementia, that kills! But what is it then? I was at a dead end. And there was no help in sight. Do you think that Big Pharma will give away money to figure out how to get you better naturally?

Then I made my major breakthrough.

Seeing is believing. Have you ever seen a person who looks twice as young as her real age? I did. She had beautiful skin and shiny eyes. Her dress could not conceal gorgeous curves of her body. Her voice was getting to the bottom of everybody's heart. She looked like she was in her early 30s. In fact she was in her 60s. Her name was Suzanne Somers. Her Fountain of Youth was Bioidentical Hormone Replacement.

After many years in medical field, I had to admit that nothing like that could be achieved with traditional medicine. So maybe what she is doing is right? Maybe what she is saying is correct: "It is not your cholesterol, it is not your blood pressure, it is your hormone decline, that kills you."

Really? How about heart attacks, cancer and Alzheimer's? When you develop chest pain when you are 20, it is pulled muscle. But if you have chest pain in you 70s -- it's a heart attack.

If you lose your key in your 20s, you'll just get a new one. But if you lose your keys in your 70s -- it's Alzeimer's. And you are right: we usually do not have heart attacks, Alzheimer's or cancer in our 20s, when our sex hormone levels are high. But we do have them when our sex hormones are down.

Why?

Because mother nature does not need us that much after we cannot make babies any more. We need to free the space for young individuals, who can. Remember, that there is almost no menopause in the animal kingdom. Fortunately, there is a loophole for humans: menopause and andropause.

Mother nature's concept was simple: to ensure that humans are superior in survival compared to any other species in the world. Therefore humans needed more than simple estrous cycle in animals. It was menopause in females and andropause in males, that changed everything.

Normally a fertile woman has her ovaries with plenty of eggs that are released in cycles. To get pregnant in the beginning of her menstrual cycle she produces sex hormone Estrogen, which makes the follicles with eggs to grow. When the egg is big enough, it is Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Luteinizing Hormone surge that, along with Estrogen, make the follicle break -- a process called ovulation.

Then ovaries start producing another sex hormone Progesterone. Freed egg is then going to the uterus that is already prepared by Progesterone. If there is a sperm there, then pregnancy commences. If not, then egg is going out and Estrogen and Progesterone production ceases, uterus lining is gone, blood vessels become open and menstrual bleeding starts. Then the Estrogen production starts again, and uterus lining is restored. Bleeding is over, and woman is ready for another cycle. These cycles continue, until there are no more eggs in woman's ovary. When there are no more eggs, periods stop and menopause begins. Sounds simple. But there is a problem here: an average woman has about 1 million eggs, but she uses only about 400.

Why are the rest of her eggs wasted? Instead of using those eggs, women go into menopause and men go into andropause.

Why would mother nature invest in longevity but not in fertility? The reason why still remains the mystery.

Maybe it is because mother nature wants a postmenopausal woman to take care of her daughter's children so that she can make more babies? This is what Grandmother's theory is saying. Or maybe that is because older males can compete with youngsters to

make competition more tough because older males are more experienced and sophisticated? This is what the Patriarch hypothesis is saying.

It does not matter why nature decided to give us menopause and andropause. What matters is: we do have a loophole to live longer. The only thing we have to do is to pretend that we are still young. But how?

How to Pretend to Be Young

1930, Canada, McGill University, Department of Biochemistry.

A young Chairman, Professor Dr. James Collip, who just co-discovered Insulin, was thinking how to get relief of menopausal disaster. After series of experiments and failures he eventually found the solution. What he did was: he extracted estrogen from the urine of pregnant women and gave it as a menopausal remedy. And it did work. Because giving natural hormones of fertile women to postmenopausal individuals was a signal to their bodies that they are still fertile. That is how we can pretend that we are still young. Have you ever run out of gas? Certainly. But you did not think, that it is the end of the world, and your car is not going to run anymore. What you did was: you went to a gas station and filled up the tank, right?

Same here: because you ran out of eggs or sperm, you just need to fill your body with hormones, which are exactly the same as your own. But what hormones exactly we are talking about here? Mainly Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone.

Have you ever seen a picture of Marilyn Monroe? Sure. And you admired her, right? What you did not realize was: she is the perfect example of a woman, full of Estrogen: confidence, strong desire to have sex, big breasts and low waist to hip ratio. That is why estrogen is sometimes called "Marilyn Monroe Hormone".

Estrogen plays a critical role in a human's body. It is responsible for breast development, vagina lubrication, burning fat, maintaining your bones, skin and vessels, bringing your good cholesterol up and bad cholesterol down, etc. Because it works as an antioxidant, it protects your brain. No estrogen -- mood problems, memory problems, etc. But estrogen alone is not enough.

Confidence and strong sexual desire should be balanced, otherwise they will go too far. And the hormone, that does the job is Progesterone.

Have you ever seen pregnant women? They are calm because they have plenty of Progesterone. Do you know, that a cup of milk in the evening may help to get better

sleep? What you do not know is: milk contains Progesterone, that may help you to calm down, along with calcium and milk protein Casein. Also what you should know, is that Casein in your stomach is broken to CasoMorphin which is an Opioid ( like a street drug )?

Of course Progesterone is not Morphin, but it calms down, normalizes blood pressure, works as a natural diuretic and antidepressant. Its main job is to balance Estrogen. Did you know, that Progesterone is not only a sex hormone? It is also a Neurosteroid, that is produced in your brain and is necessary for its normal function. But again, Estrogen and Progesterone are not enough. There should be something, that gives us the energy and sense of well-being, as well as ability to maintain our muscles, mental and muscle energy and libido. It is hormone Testosterone that does the job.

1889, Paris, France. Aging former Harvard professor and now Professor of Experimental Medicine of College de France Doctor Charles -- Edouard Brown -- Sequard, is looking for an elixir of youth. He is a shrewd observer and a talented scientist. His name is immortalized in the modern neurology by the spinal cord damage syndrome, bearing his name. But he was aging as anybody else. He was desperately looking for a remedy, and he found one, later called Brown-S矇quard Elixir. What he did was: he self injected an extract from guinea pigs testicles. According to him his vigor was back, his sense of well-being was back. His Elixir was Testosterone. It was the famous medical journal, The Lancet, that first published his observations.

Do you think he was prized for his discovery? Actually his colleagues were laughing at him. It took them 40 years to rediscover the importance of Testosterone. Now we know, that it is not only for sex drive, erections and muscles. It is also to maintain you bones and protect you from Diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease etc.

Bottom line: we need all of them: bioidentical Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosteone ( women and men -- both ).

Are Bioidentical Hormones officially recommended?

Not a single other treatment ignited so many debates and controversy, as Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy ( BHRT). The official medicine including FDA, International Menopause Society, American Medical Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Mayo clinic, Endocrine Society, etc., is saying, that Bioidentical Hormones carry the same risks as synthetic hormones and there is no evidence of any other benefits of Bioidenticals.

I wonder, why so perfect a consensus is about it. Recently two branches of Government Research were trying to figure out if Chronic fatigue syndrome is associated with with exotic XMRV virus. One group (Harvey Alter, FDA and National Institutes of Health) found that yes, another group (William Switzer, CDC) found that no.

If the scientists, who use the same methods and testing the same virus, cannot come to the same conclusion, then how could they be so unanimous in much more complicated subject as Bioidentical Hormones?

Also, the FDA is saying that risks of Bioidenticals are the same as synthetic. Based on what? Did they test Bioidentical Hormones? Not that I know of. They assumed, that Bioidenticals work the same as synthetic, which we know are harmful.

It is like saying that one dollar bill has the same value as 100 dollar bill, because they are the same size.

On the other hand the proponents of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy are saying, that Bioidenticals are safe and have no side effects.

Two French studies, published in 2008, suggest, that Bioidenticals are safer, that conventional BHRT. According to Dr. Kent Holtorf's literature review "Physiological data and clinical outcomes demonstrate that bioidentical hormones are associated with lower risks, including the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, and are more efficacious than their synthetic and animal- derived counterparts. Until evidence is found to the contrary, bioidentical hormones remain the preferred method of HRT. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to delineate these differences more clearly."

Even some prominent clinicians have to admit publicly the advantages of Bioidenticals. According to Dr. Christine Derzko, Chief of Endocrinology at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, "Despite the weak evidence, some promising preliminary data are emerging, suggesting that pharmaceuticals containing BH ( Bioidentical Hormones -- Sergey Kalitenko ), estradiol and progesterone, have equal (and in some cases, lower) risk compared with other CHT ( conventional hormone therapy -- Sergey Kalitenko ).

Normally we need controlled randomized studies of the efficacy and safety of Bioidentical Hormones. But there is no such study in sight. Do you think Big Pharma will invest money in something, that cannot be patented and therefore will unlikely to be profitable?

But what do we do, if we do not have long term studies so far? Let see what experts say: " I always tell clinicians, that until we have definite randomized trial data -- which we may never have -- whatever patient wants to do is the correct decision", -- says Dr. Speroff, who is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Oregon Health and Science University and a sub-specialist in reproductive endocrinology - one of the most respected OB -- GYN doctors in the US,

He is the founder and recently stepped down as director for the Women's Health Research Unit at OHSU. Doctor Speroff has gained prominence in the area of women's health throughout his publications, national and international lectures and extensive work on clinical trials.

But do Bioidentical Hormones really work? Do they really prolong life? Or may be they are another myth? I was desperately looking for the answer, but could not find the right one.

How they found longevity secrets.

My next breakthrough came unexpectedly -- from Blue Zones study.

Because official medicine does not give us the longevity prescription, not doctors, but National Geographc reporter Dan Buettner decided to look for the areas on Earth, where people live longer, than in the other areas. And he and his group found such areas.

To get the truth about longevity secrets he and other members of his expedition went to identified Blue Zones: Sardinia, Italy: Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California, US; Nicoya, Costa Rica. They decided to learn from real people, not from theory, how to live longer. But what did they find?
Longevity lessons from real long living people for Blue Zones:

1. Get enough sun exposure.
2. Eat nuts and tomatoes
3. Be social.
4. Restrict your calorie consumption.
5. Move naturally.
6. Drink enough water.

Sounds like nothing unusual. But somehow together they worked much better than any other protocol suggested. What was the secret behind Blue Zones lessons?

The solution came unexpectedly. While investigating about tomato benefits, I learned that the most valuable their component antioxidant lycopene is going to the testes, adrenal glads and liver. Looked like tomato are protecting endocrine glands from oxidaive stress, but for what? To make sure that they make enough hormones! And I said to myself: "Gee! Maybe it is all about hormones!"

Being social means less stress and hence less harmful cortisol, and therefore more another steroids like estrogen, progesteone and testosterone. Calorie restriction is proven to raise Human Growth Hormone (HGH) levels. Sun exposure is about vitamin D, which is considered more as a hormone now.

Forget for a second about Blue Zones. The longest living person on Earth Jeanne Calment, who lived for 122 years and 165 days, was riding a bicycle at age 100 and broke her hip at age 114. This means, that she had enough Estrogen to maintain her bones!

Another centenarian, from Nicoya, named Rafael Angel Leon Leon, had multiple girlfriends until age 94, then he married a woman, who was 40 years younger then he was! Nobody marries an older person who cannot have sex! Therefore Mr. Rafael Leon had enough testosterone to have sex!

Looks like longevity is all about hormones. But what about safety?

It is like trying to answer the question if drinking water is safe. Yes, but in moderation. If you drink it too much your brain will swell to the extent that you may die.

Obviously estrogen itself is not a problem, because your body cannot produce poisonous hormone. The problem comes when it is too much estrogen, that leads to increased cancer risk or it is converted into poison, that causes cancer.

Normally the main body estrogen - estradiol or E2, is removed from your body very fast by 2 ways:

1. It is converted into 2 OH estrone, which is benign.
2. Estradiol binds to bile in the gut, becomes water soluble and then is eliminated via

kidneys. So estradiol is removed. No poison made. Danger is over.

But on 3 conditions:

1. Your body knows what to do with hormone.
2. There are enough enzymes to do the job.
3. Your gut functions properly and does not have wrong bacteria in it.

If even a single condition is not met -- you might be in danger.

Your body does not know that to do with synthetic and semisynthetic estrogens. Therefore instead of 2 OH estrone they are transformed into 4 OH estrone, which leads to free radical formation and therefore cancer.

Bioidenticals mostly do not have this problem, but what if your body does not have enough enzymes? Or your gut is not functioning properly?

Fortunately we can monitor what your body is doing with estrogen and most of the time make it right.

Bottom line is simple:

Get more energy, better sleep, mood, productivity and sex life with Hormone Balancing. You can get better with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy ( BHRT ), but be aware of the risk involved. Doing nothing does not bring you anywhere. What can help you is finding the root cause of your problem and solving it.

Bioidentical Hormone replacement is very effective and reasonably safe.

To me it is more than using Bioidenticals, it is about using a holistic, individualized approach instead of standard protocols. To me it is about using natural remedies instead of potentially toxic drugs. To me it is about finding the root cause of your problem, instead of just treating your symptoms. Now it is your turn to decide what is right for you.

Blue Zones check list -- how to live longer:
1. Get enough sun light to get plenty of vitamin D, but not too much. Monkey on the beach sunbathing?
2. Restrict your calorie intake, your but still get enough calories to fight infection or stress.
3. Eat plenty of tomatoes.
4. Move naturally. Remember monkey in the gym?
5. Eat handful of nuts regularly.
6. Drink enough water.
7. Be social.

My suggestions:
1. Have enough sleep (at least 8 hours a day).
2. Follow Paleolithic diet -- avoid processed food!
3. Balance your hormones!