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Womens Natural Health News

Menopause is a natural occurrence in a woman's reproductive life. So why not treat it in a natural way? Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the standard treatment for menopause among healthcare providers; however there remains considerable controversy about the benefits and risks associated with standard HRT drugs.

For the past several decades, conventional medicine has treated hot flashes and other menopausal discomforts with estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). But because ERT is contraindicated for women with a history of cancer, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which combines estrogen with a synthetic progesterone, is often used instead. But many women don't want to take the potential increased risk of cancer associated with ERT, or they dislike the cyclical bleeding & significant side effects often caused by HRT.

Recent publicity concerning the health risks of synthetic hormone replacement therapy has led many women to seek more natural solutions. And with good reason. In areas of the world where soy and other estrogenic plants are part of the diet, breast cancer rates are much lower and menopausal symptoms are almost non-existent. Synthetic hormone replacement is not common because it is not needed......READ MORE

When PMS strikes, it feels like you've been hit you by a ton of bricks. You need to know you could spend up to 25% of your life suffering. . . . needlessly.

The migraine headaches, swelling, bloating and cramping can be enough to put any woman over the edge. Add insult to injury with depression and all-out physical and mental exhaustion. In fact, a study done by the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1991 revealed that more than 60% of chronic sufferers had experienced symptoms for 5 years or more.

Further, over 83% of the women polled visited their general practitioners, gynecologists, family planning clinicians and psychiatrists to no avail. The study also points out that "alternative medicine" is found to be more helpful.
....READ MORE

Womens Natural Health Articles

Exercise and Women's Breast Health

Most women are very concerned about breast health, and particularly about avoiding breast cancer. It's certainly an important issue to address because, "Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women. In 2003 (the most recent year numbers are available),
181,646 women and 1,826 men were diagnosed with breast cancer
41,619 women and 379 men died from breast cancer" 1

The good news for women is that there are things they can do to reduce their chances of contracting this disease. We know that regular exercise is extremely important for many reasons concerning our overall health: weight loss, cardiovascular strengthening, balancing blood sugars, and much more, but did you know that exercise might also help you avoid breast cancer?

My clinical experience brings to me women who are experiencing signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance and there is evidence that this estrogen dominance may lead to breast cancer over a period of time. Dr. John Lee states in his book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause:

"Since many women in their mid-thirties begin to have nonovulating cycles, they are producing much less progesterone than expected, but still producing normal (or more) estrogen....They develop signs of estrogen dominance relative to progesterone deficiency resulting in fluid retention, weight gain (especially around the hips and torso), depression and decreased libido." 2 But this extra estrogen could have a more ominous effect.

Dr. Bob Arnot, in his excellent book The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet, cites many good studies that associate high estrogen levels with a high risk of breast cancer:

"Researchers at NYU measured estrogen levels in women long before they ever developed breast cancer years later the NYU health study found that those post-menopausal women who developed breast cancer had a markedly higher amount of estrogen measured in their blood than those who did not have cancer."

Arnot also points out that exercise intercepts the estrogen pathway at several critical junctures. This results in a decrease in estrogen dominance. The more women exercised the less likely they were to get breast cancer. In America, a study at the University of Southern California of 1,000 women concluded that those who exercised 3.8 hours or more a week had less than half the breast cancer of those who remained inactive. 3

Here's what I recommend for my patients:
For young women-high intensity aerobic activity 4 or more hrs/week
For middle-aged women-moderate aerobic activity 4 hrs a week. Moderate intensity of exercise helps to stabilize insulin levels and lower body fat better than more intense exercise. Also, moderate intensity exercise may prevent adrenal fatigue in middle-aged women as compared to high intensity aerobic exercises.

Obviously, if you have had limited or no exercise recently you should start slowly and work up to the 4 hour/week mark. The important thing is consistency and persistence in following your exercise program. So what are you waiting for? Get moving and get (and stay) healthy!

1 Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/ accessed June 20, 2007.

2 Lee, John R., MD, and Hopkins, Virginia. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause: The breakthrough book on natural progesterone. New York: Warner Books; 1996.

3 Arnot, Dr. Bob. The Breast Cancer Prevention Diet. Boston: Little, Brown and Company; 1998.

Dr. Tina Marcantel is a naturopathic physician in Mesa, Arizona. Before entering medical school she was a registered nurse. Dr. Marcantel has over twenty-five years of experience in the health care field including diabetes management, women's health, weight loss, and mental health. She practices holistic, integrative patient care. For more information please visit her site at http://www.drmarcantel.com

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