LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

menopause

Progesterone Relieves Menopause-Related Symptoms – (07-03-00)

by

Progesterone Relieves Menopause-Related Symptoms

This article is glowingly in favour or natural progesterone, stating that it is superior to artificial progesterone. So why hasn’t this been plastered all over the news??

J Women’s Health 2000;9(4):1-7 At doses of 100 to 400 mg q.d., 80% of the subjects reported excellent satisfaction with the new HRT regimen, and more than 65% reported improvement over the previous regimen. Vasomotor symptoms were improved in 50% of the subjects, anxiety and depression in 45%, and somatic symptoms in 32%. The subjects also reported improvements in sleep disturbance, menstrual problems, cognitive difficulties, and sexual functioning. The authors conclude, in the May issue of the Journal of Women’s Health, that “quality-of-life effects of natural progesterone are superior to MPA-containing regimens. These benefits combined with the positive effects on lipoproteins suggest that a micronized progesterone regimen may offer a wider spectrum of benefits for postmenopausal women.”

Caution Urged on Soy-Based Menopause Remedies – (05-02-02)

by

Caution Urged on Soy-Based Menopause Remedies

Remember what I said about natural medicine being held to a higher standard than traditional medicine? Here we have a researcher saying that we are not fully informed on how soy works in the human body and so we need to be careful with its use. A little reality check for the author–a large chunk of the drugs listed in the PDR have “mechanism of action unknown” on them and yet we throw these about like candy. But soy, with literally centuries of use, needs to be approached with caution. I would have to add that using soy supplements that have the percieved active constituents concentrated is probably not the best way to approach the use of soy in a healthy lifestyle.

British Endocrine Societies’ annual meeting in Harrogate, Yorkshire Apr 08 – So little is known about how plant oestrogens act on the human body that sales of soy supplements as a “natural” alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) must be questioned, a researcher reported on Tuesday at British Endocrine Societies’ annual meeting in Harrogate, Yorkshire. Soy has been widely promoted as a natural alternative to HRT. Soy contains genistein, a plant oestrogen that has similar but weaker effects as the oestrogen found in women. But Dr. Saffron Whitehead, reader in reproductive physiology at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London, said new studies on human cells have shown that genistein and other phyto-oestrogens may also block the enzymes that make these hormones. This could explain why the incidence of breast cancer, which in many cases is dependent on oestrogen, is about two thirds lower amongst Japanese and Chinese women who consume diets rich in soy compared with women living in England, she told her colleagues. Dr. Whitehead’s team examined the effects of phyto-oestrogens on human ovarian cells obtained during procedures for in vitro fertilization. The results showed that several phyto-oestrogens, including genistein, inhibited the conversion of androgen to oestrogen. The researchers believe this could be significant in postmenopausal women because as ovaries cease to function in menopause, oestrogen converted from androgen becomes the only source of oestrogen. “This finding is potentially important to the phyto-oestrogen story,” Dr. Whitehead said in a statement. “We really don’t know how phyto-oestrogens act in the human body. They could be weak oestrogen mimics, oestrogen blockers or enzyme inhibitors. “If they do stop the natural production of oestrogens, we should consider whether soy supplements be sold as a natural alternative to HRT.”

Natural Menopause Treatment for Hot Flash Relief

by

It’s inevitable as a woman ages: the production of hormones changes and you’re searching for that natural menopause treatment that will provide hot flash relief.

You’re pretty sure Satan just sat down in the cubicle next to you, but no one else seems to have noticed that the temperature gauge is now reading Kelvin instead of Fahrenheit.

Unless you’ve just swallowed 1500 mg of niacin in a single dose, the is likely the dreaded menopausal hot flash.

Many accept that these are just a part of the menopausal transition.  But your best friend laughs at you bathing in an ice bath because she never experienced menopausal flushes.  You’ve also heard that Asian women generally have less problems with hot flushes than American women.

As unfair as this sounds, is this really true and, if so, is there really a reason why some women experience dramatic menopausal hot flashes and some barely notice the transition?

Certainly a quick Internet search for hot flash relief will lead you to a long list of natural menopause treatment supplements typically containing herbs like black cohosh or soy isoflavones.

Off course, if “natural” is not your speed, you can always rely on the time tested hormone replacement therapy (HRT).  Of course, while it may have been “time tested” is was never actually “research tested” until the Women’s Health Initiative discovered that it was causing much greater harm than benefit.  The 40 years of so of the untested HRT use in women is about as close as we can get to an epic failure of the medical process as possible.

Back to the hot flash relief topic.

Overall, it’s clear that not every women has the same experience as it relates to menopausal hot flashes.  This particular article may begin to explain why.

And it all boils down to our old friend prediabetes.

Researchers looked at the frequency of hot flushes as it related to a marker of insulin resistance (called HOMA, or homeostasis model assessment).  The higher the HOMA, the more prediabetic someone is.  Here are the findings:

  1.  In women experiencing 1-5 hot flashes per day the HOMA index was 237% higher
  2. At 6 or more hot flushes per day it was 591% higher.
  3. Hormone levels of estradiol (e2) or follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) did not affect the results.

Overall, this is really NOT good.  Based on this, if you are experiencing more frequent hot flashes, it may mean that you are on a full sprint towards developing diabetes.

What this means is that natural menopause treatment for hot flash relief is not going to come in a bottle.  Rather, you need to evaluate your entire lifestyle and make healthier changes to protect your heart and protect against diabetes as you age.

If you experienced severe hot flashes during menopause, what did you find that was able to help?

Weight Gain During Menopause–The Hard Truth

by

It is almost a mantra for women to complain of weight gain during menopause. But are we putting the cart before the horse? Could our view be all wrong?

Before I say anything else, let me just remind everyone of that famous saying…

“Don’t shoot the messenger”

Everyone has heard a 50-something women complain about weight gain associated with menopause.  But is this just an old wives’ tale, or does menopause truly lead to weight gain in some (if not most) women?

First, let’s drop a bombshell that rarely gets discussed.

Menopause may not be related to a woman’s ovaries and their production of estrogen (specifically E2 or estradiol).

I would say that this information has the potential to blow apart the hormone replacement industry, but the news is a little late since the Women’s Health Initiative already did this when the trial was stopped early in 2002 because the data was suggesting that HRT was killing women faster then it was saving them (Wwow!  What a unique story in mainstream medicine!).

 So if it’s not the ovaries, what is it?

The adrenal glands are two small glands located just above the kidneys and, while small, have a massive role to play in our health.  In women, they are responsible for a large chunk of her circulating hormones throughout her life, NOT just post menopausally.

This means that, in a healthy functioning woman with her adrenal glands doing what they are supposed to be doing, even in the peri and post menopausal times there can be circulating levels of some hormones near to that in her youth.

Current research suggests that the adrenal glands may be critical for a healthy menopausal transition and NOT the ovaries (although the ovaries may play a role in triggering the adrenals to pick up the slack).

So why is this a problem?  Because in today’s stressed out society, our adrenals glands are beat up.  During stress, the adrenals glands do a great job of keeping up.  However, driven to work harder over the course of decades leaves them barely able to keep up with demands.

Imagine that your adrenal glands have been overworked for 30 years because you are a stress monster and spend an extra 20 minutes every morning worried about what you are going to wear before you even begin to face the trials and tribulations of the day.  They’re wiped out.

Along comes the early stages of menopause and the trigger goes out from the ovaries for the adrenal glands to pick up the slack.  Ain’t going to happen.  And you’re left with a menopausal transition rife with problems, hot flashes, bone loss and the rapid development of prediabetes.

NOT because of menopause, but because of the 30 years of abuse you’re done prior to that.  Menopause is just when it all comes crashing down.

Luckily, if you have a provider wizened enough to recognize the problem, there are solutions for adrenal problems.  Controlling stress on the front end through exercise, yoga and meditation are important.  In addition there are natural adrenal support supplements that can work very well at helping the adrenals recover from abuse.

One thing is for sure–they do not recover on their own.  They’re going to need supplemental help.

So what does all this have to do with this particular article?

Researchers looked at weight gain and menopause through the lens of the chicken and the egg.  Does weight gain precede menopause, or does weight gain happen before menopause, potentially even triggering the transition?

As I mentioned before, I’m just the messenger.

According to this study, the weight gain preceded the change in hormone levels.

If the weight gain is from menopause, this is the easier answer.  It suggests that there is little women can do; that the process is near inevitable (except for 20 years ago–then they would’ve recommended hormone replacement therapy to keep you in a horse-urine induced youth).

As with much else, the responsibility lies within us.  The good news is that means that we can make choices to improve our health and ease the transition into the postmenopausal period.

What did you find that helped with your own experience of menopause?