Bio- Identical Hormones & Menopause Relief

Posted by Cathy on

Soy for menopause or bio-identical homrmones

 

 

The question many women suffering with menopausal hot flashes and night sweats are asking is whether bio-identical hormones such as progesterone cream and phytoestrogen (plant sourced estrogen) are safe and effective AS  the chemical hormones found in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs?

 

Many women today are being told “bio-identical” hormones are identical to those your body makes. Even though progesterone and estrogen bio-identical creams may be closer to what your body produces there are certainly risks in using any hormone therapy.   Some doctors believe the risks are just as great as taking an hormone replacement therapy drug (HRT) others believe the jury is still out because we have no long term data since these products are still very new to the market.  Risks may be tied to the dosage which varies greatly from women to women.

 

Bio-identical hormones made from plant sources may be perfectly safe in low doses, which is the way we would ingest these chemicals found in yams, soy beans and a handful of herbs but at higher doses may be harmful. Nearly every substance found in nature can be safe in minute doses yet toxic at a higher dose. Even water can kill us when taken in to large a dose over a very short time period.  Knowing what dose is right for your body can be tricky depending on blood, urine and saliva testing which may not give an accurate reading of circulating hormones in your blood which changes daily and even hourly.

 

Bio-identical hormones, make no mistake can be just as powerful and dangerous as taking a prescription hormone replacement drug.  Phytoestrogen  used in minute doses the way we find in nature may be completely safe and effective.  Asian women have a long history of eating soy beans nearly everyday of their life from childhood through adulthood and experience very few menopausal symptoms.  The isoflavones in soy are known to act as a hormone balancing chemicals.

 

So, which should you choose, bio-identical hormones or synthetic hormone replacement therapy for your menopausal symptoms?  How about neither!   There is a third option that women in Asia have used for centuries and the Western world is just beginning to see on store shelves.  Traditional Chinese herbs are another option for menopause symptom relief.   You can learn more about it here.

 

Bio-Identical Hormones and Menopause Symptom Relief

Posted by Cathy on

Soy for menopause or bio-identical homrmonesThe question many women suffering with menopausal hot flashes and night sweats are asking is whether bio-identical hormones such as progesterone cream and phytoestrogen (plant sourced estrogen) are safe and effective AS  the chemical hormones found in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs?

 

Many women today are being told "bio-identical" hormones are identical to those your body makes. Even though progesterone and estrogen bio-identical creams may be closer to what your body produces there are certainly risks in using any hormone therapy.   Some doctors believe the risks are just as great as taking an hormone replacement therapy drug (HRT) others believe the jury is still out because we have no long term data since these products are still very new to the market.  Risks may be tied to the dosage which varies greatly from women to women.

 

Bio-identical hormones made from plant sources may be perfectly safe in low doses, which is the way we would ingest these chemicals found in yams, soy beans and a handful of herbs but at higher doses may be harmful. Nearly every substance found in nature can be safe in minute doses yet toxic at a higher dose. Even water can kill us when taken in to large a dose over a very short time period.  Knowing what dose is right for your body can be tricky depending on blood, urine and saliva testing which may not give an accurate reading of circulating hormones in your blood which changes daily and even hourly.

 

Bio-identical hormones, make no mistake can be just as powerful and dangerous as taking a prescription hormone replacement drug.  Phytoestrogen  used in minute doses the way we find in nature may be completely safe and effective.  Asian women have a long history of eating soy beans nearly everyday of their life from childhood through adulthood and experience very few menopausal symptoms.  The isoflavones in soy are known to act as a hormone balancing chemicals.

 

So, which should you choose, bio-identical hormones or synthetic hormone replacement therapy for your menopausal symptoms?  How about neither!   There is a third option that women in Asia have used for centuries and the Western world is just beginning to see on store shelves.  Traditional Chinese herbs are another option for menopause symptom relief.   You can learn more about it here.

 

Acupuncture for Menopause Hot Flashes and Night Sweats

Posted by Cathy on

By Jennifer Dubowsky

A new study shows the benefits of acupuncture for relieving menopausal symptoms. The report, published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine, found that acupuncture reduced the psychological and physical effects of menopause.

The research included 53 postmenopausal women and assigned 27 of them to a five-week course of acupuncture, twice a week. The rest of the women got sham treatments. Those who received acupuncture showed more relief from their symptoms than the placebo group. Both their hot flashes and mood swings were less severe.  Plus the estrogen levels were significantly higher for the women in the acupuncture group compared to the control group.

The researchers suggested that acupuncture may offer an alternative for women who can’t or don’t want to use hormone replacement therapy to ease menopause symptoms.

Check out Menopause Relief Herb Tea for a healthy way to bring your body back into balance and be free from those annoying hot flashes and night sweats. 

Managing Menopause Treatment

Posted by Cathy on

Menopause Treatment with Chinese herbsAn article recently posted in  Time Magazine has me a bit bent out of shape.  It's titled, "Why Those Agonizing Hot Flashes May Not Be All Bad".  It tells women having hot flashes is not a bad thing because it's going to reduce their risk for breast cancer. 

Yet,  if you take a look at the study, that is not what it says.  The researchers were examining associations between menopausal symptoms and risks of different types of breast cancer among postmenopausal women.  This is yet another study for media to latch onto a claim, even when it's a wrong claim, it hangs around like a deadbeat renter you can’t evict.

That's not the only part Time misrepresented. The researchers even stressed that the implications of their findings, are far from certain.  “This is the first study to look at this,” said the senior author, Dr. Christopher Li of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “We tried to do the best we could. We want to see a replication of the results to see if they hold up before we can make any strong inferences.”

Oops. the Time article failed to mention that! 

When you are looking for a menopause treatment for those hot flashes, night sweats and anxiety feelings, look at natural remedies that have stood the test of time.  Proven effective through centuries of use, Chinese herbal formulas have been used longer than any other herbal medicine in the world.

When it comes to research, Chinese herbs have been the most researched natural drugs.  In fact, many pharmaceutical companies use the plant compounds from Chinese herbs to create new drugs.  

Menopause Relief is a simple easy way to manage your hot flashes and other uncomfortable symptoms. Drink a cup of tea each day and start feeling the natural relief from this time tested menopause treatment.  It taste good and it works.  Thousands of years of history stand behind our natural menopause remedy.  But if you need studies to tell you it works, we have those too.


Link to the study published in the Journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2011/01/14/1055-9965.EPI-10-0998.abstract?sid=ea773297-c910-4e33-9878-bdc99b1d5da7

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References/Studies on Traditional Chinese Herbs in our Menopause Relief formula

1, Tsuda T, Sugaya A, Ohguchi H, et al. Protective effects of peony root extract and its components on neuron damage in the hippocampus induced by the cobalt focus epilepsy model. Exp Neurol 1997;146:518-25. 

2,  Chen LC, Chou MH, Lin MF, Yang LL. Effects of Paeoniae Radix, a traditional Chinese medicine, on the pharmacokinetics of phenytoin. J Clin Pharm Ther 2001;26:271-8. 11015   Guo TL, Zhou XW. [Clinical observations on the treatment of the gestational hypertension syndrome with Angelica and Paeonia powder]. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi 1986;6:714-6, 707. 

 3.  Xie HJ, Yasar U, Sandberg M, Rane A. Paeoniae Radix, a traditional Chinese medicine, and CYP2C9 activity. J Clin Pharm Ther 2002;27:229-30. 

 4.  He X, Xing D, Ding Y, et al. Effects of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion on pharmacokinetic fate of paeoniflorin after intravenous administration of Paeoniae Radix extract in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 2004;94:339-44. 

5.  Harada M, Suzuki M, Ozaki Y. Effect of Japanese Angelica root and peony root on uterine contraction in the rabbit in situ. J Pharmacobiodyn 1984;7:304-11.

 6.  Anon. Monograph. Peony (Paeonia spp). Alt Med Rev 2001;6:495-9. 

 7.   Liang Xiao, Wang YZ, Jing Liu, et al. Effects of paeoniflorin on the cerebral infarction, behavioral and cognitive impairments at the chronic stage of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion in rats. Life Sci 2005;78:413-20 . 

8.  Maeda T, Shinozuka K, Baba K, et al. Effect of shakuyaku-kanzoh-toh, a prescription composed of shakuyaku (Paeoniae Radix) and kanzoh (Glycyrrhizae Radix) on guinea pig ileum. J Pharmacobiodyn 1983;6:153-60.

9.  Ohta H, Ni JW, Matsumoto K, et al. Peony and its major constituent, paeoniflorin, improve radial maze performance impaired by scopolamine in rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1993;45:719-23.

10.   Okubo T, Nagai F, Seto T, et al. The inhibition of phenylhydroquinone-induced oxidative DNA cleavage by constituents of Moutan Cortex and Paeoniae Radix.

11.  Biol Pharm Bull 2000;23:199-203.  Wang H, Wei W, Wang NP, et al. Effects of total glucosides of peony on immunological hepatic fibrosis in rats.

12.  World J Gastroenterol 2005;11:2124-9.    Qi XG. [Protective mechanism of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Paeonia lactiflora for experimental liver damage]. [Article in Chinese].

14.  Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1994;14:207-9, 195.  Liu C, Wang J, Yang J. [Study on activating blood and eliminating stasis of total paeony glycoside(TPG)]. [Article in Chinese].

15.  Zhong Yao Cai 2000;23:557-60.    Liapina LA, Ammosova IaM, Novikov VS, et al. [The nature of an anticoagulant isolated from peonies in the central zone of Russia]. [Article in Russian].

 16.  Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi 1990;10:101-2, 70. Kumada T, et al. Effect of Shakuyaku-kanzo-to (Tsumura TJ-68) on muscle cramps accompanying cirrhosis in a placebo-controlled double-blind parallel study. J Clin Ther Med 1999;15:499-523. 

 17.  Hyodo T, Taira T, Kumakura M, et al. The immediate effect of Shakuyaku-kanzo-to, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, for muscular cramps during maintenance hemodialysis.

18.  Am J Chin Med 2003;31:445-53.    Liu J. [Effect of Paeonia obovata 801 on metabolism of thromboxane B2 and arachidonic acid and on platelet aggregation in patients with coronary heart disease and cerebral thrombosis]. [Article in Chinese].

19.   Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi 1983;63:477-81. \  Yang HO, Ko WK, Kim JY, Ro HS. Paeoniflorin: an antihyperlipidemic agent from Paeonia lactiflora.