Hormones and Your Health – Natural Solutions to Menopause Symptoms

Posted by Cathy on with 2 Comments

Hormones and Your Health – Natural Menopause Solutions

There is breaking news from the American Association for Cancer Research. A study presented in Chicago on March 31, 2012  proved long term hormone use dramatically increases a woman's risk factor for developing breast cancer.  Whether you use hormones or not (birth control or HRT) there are many great ways to reduce extra estrogen in your body.  

This video give you 6 easy tips to help you balance your hormones naturally.

 

Breaking News Hormones and Your Health

The study was conducted at Harvard Medical School where they studied over 100,000 registered nurses for approximately 25 years. The results found that the women who used any type of hormone therapy for more than 10 years had a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer. The longer your hormone use, the higher your risks factor.

I wanted to talk about this because so many women take birth control pills when they are young and HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for menopausal symptoms as they age.

Now we have this long term study showing the results of this hormone use. Doctors like Dr. Wendy Chen the lead researcher of the study, is saying  women should use the lowest dose of hormones needed for the shortest time possible.

The good news is there are many ways to balance your hormones and reduce the estrogen in your body. I want to give you a couple easy and natural tips on how to do this.

1. First, try to eat meat that is hormone free. Whether it's chicken, beef or pork, look for meat that says raised without hormones. The same goes for milk. Certified Organic milk  (or raw organic) milk is the only milk that does not contain hormones.

2. Add a powdered green supplement to your diet everyday. Something that contains the herb milk thistle and or dandelion root and this will help your liver process estrogen and remove it from your body.

3. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts and cauliflower all help reduce estrogen dominance. If these are not your favorite vegetables, you can take a supplement that does this is called indinol 3.

4. Drink filtered water is another good idea because there are large amount of hormones in our water supply.

5. Also reducing your caffeine intake will help balance your hormones and stop microwaving your food in plastic containers because this leach toxin that act as estrogen into your body.

6. If you are dealing with menopausal symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes, there are natural alternatives to HRT – Chinese herbs have been used for centuries and are a safe solution. Pacific Herbs sells a Menopause Relief Herb Pack that works fast for these symptoms and is made from herbs that have more than 500 years of use.  You can find Menopause Relief here.

I hope you will research the new study results for yourself and please pass on this information to other women.  It could be a life saver.

 

Study link:   http://www.abstractsonline.com/Plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?sKey=489622a8-6ba9-4309-b54c-6e00a5886d06&cKey=726a2cb6-a357-418f-8fe2-cc997d8ce387&mKey={2D8C569E-B72C-4E7D-AB3B-070BEC7EB280}

More studies on Estrogen:

It is generally accepted that high levels of estrogen are associated with cancer of the breast, uterus and cervix; with cystic breast disease, uterine fibroids and endometriosis; with heavy bleeding and premenstrual syndrome; with depressed thyroid function; and with fluid retention and weight gain. Some lesser known associations are the following, as reported in the Nutri-Spec Letter of Guy R. Schenker, DC (1-800-736-4320):

Estrogen levels increase under the stress of injury, surgery, exposure to cold, infection and fasting. (Am J Vet Res, Feb 1998; Keio J Med, Sept 1989; Prog Clin Biol Res, 1989; J Clin Endocrine Metabl, 1974; Am J Clin Nutri, 1989)

Postmenopausal women with higher levels of circulating estrogen experience greater cognitive decline. (J Am Ger Soc 1998, Vol 46, Pages 816-21)

Alcoholism is associated with abnormally high levels of estrogen. (S Gastroienterol, Oct 1988 German)

Estrogen exacerbates symptoms of allergies and asthma. (Rev Pheumol Clin, Oct 1999, Vol 55, No 5, Pages 296-300; Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, Sep 1998, Vol 81 No 3, Pages 243-6) One study presented evidence that the increasing incidence of asthma in children is due to the mother's oral contraceptive use prior to pregnancy. (Pediatr Allergy Immunol, Nov 1997, Vol 8, No 4, Pages 200-4.)

Estrogen can actually cause osteoporosis! (Menopause 1991 1(3):131-136) According to Dr. Schenker, between the ages of 21 and 40 there is a considerable increase in women's estrogen production. However, bone loss has been shown to actually begin around the age of 23 and progresses through the years when estrogen levels are actually rising. Weight gain patterns in middle age women can interfere with bone mass scans, leading to false conclusions about the effects of estrogen on bone health.

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Feel Compelled to include this information from Dr. John Foster MD

We are living in the age of estrogen. The food supply is laden with traces of herbicides, pesticides and petrochemical residues from plastics, all of which have estrogen-like, endocrine disrupting effects in animals and humans. These xenobiotics, or foreign biological substances, have been linked to abnormalities and cancers of human tissues that are hormone sensitive, including fibrocystic breast disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer and dysplasia, endometrial cancer, endometriosis and ovarian disease as well as prostatic hypertrophy and cancer.

How can we protect ourselves from these influences? Eating a whole food diet of organic or biodynamic foods, free of pesticides, is an important first step. Healthy water is the next. Municipal water supplies may be sources of many chemicals and water in plastic bottles can contain residues of polycarbonate plastics called phthalates, which are endocrine disrupters. It is important to drink only pure mineral water or water that has been treated by a reverse osmosis (RO) system.

Our bodies regulate and eliminate estrogens by the action of detoxifying enzymes in the liver. There are two pathways of estrogen oxidation and conversion, one of which converts it to a beneficial and non-toxic form 2-OH estrogen and another which converts it to the 16-OH estrogen form. The 16-OH form is carcinogenic and causes diseases of tissues that are responsive to hormones, including disorders and cancers of breast, uterus, cervix and prostate, and probably lung and colon. Xenoestrogens push the system toward the 16-OH pathway both directly and indirectly.

Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, bok choy, Brussels sprouts and cabbage contain a substance called indole-3-carbinol (I3C) which is activated and liberated when the vegetables are crushed in a wet environment, that is, when they are chewed, chopped or pounded. In the presence of stomach acid, I3C combines with itself to form DIM (di-indollyl methane). DIM induces certain P-450 enzymes in the liver to block the production of the toxic 16-OH estrogens and enhance the production of the beneficial 2-OH forms.

Studies have demonstrated that DIM reduces the incidence of fibrocystic breast disease, cervical dysplasia, endometriosis and prostate enlargement. In fact, the 2-OH form is not only benign but also enhances the process of apoptosis, the spontaneous death of damaged and cancerous cells. DIM also acts as an active surveillance for cancer cells. This is very exciting and while there is much to learn and more to say, I can state with assurance that this phyto-nutrient may be one of the most important protective substances of this new century.

It is very important to eat cruciferous vegetables every day for protection against diseases that may be induced by exposure to environmental estrogens. As raw cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens, it is best to eat them fermented, because fermentation neutralizes these thyroid-depressing substances. (Cooking also neutralizes the goitrogens, but also deactivates I3C.) In fact, low rates of breast cancer in Polish women have been attributed to their daily consumption of sauerkraut. (Science News 9/23/00)

The amount of vegetables needed to supply adequate DIM for full protection or as part of a program of cancer treatment is at least two pounds daily. Of course, it is not always practical or possible to eat such large amounts of pickled vegetables. Fortunately, DIM is available as a supplement. I recommend it to almost any patient over 40 and anyone with a family history of breast or uterine problems as well as cancer of the lung, colon or prostate. I also add DIM to any hormone replacement therapy program for an added safety factor to prevent the above diseases.

 

2 thoughts on “Hormones and Your Health – Natural Solutions to Menopause Symptoms”

  1. Rachel

    I am glad you made this study available.  I actually do all of the things you've recommend and have found that regular exercise, lowering the intake of processed foods, sugars, and acholol have been beneificial. The Menopausal Relief has been very helpful but I found that even with the use of this product I was having dryness and thinning skin issues especially vaginally. Due to this I recently started taking Premarin cream which works but I really don't want to take. Emerita has phytoestrogen cream of which I haven't tried yet. Do you have any suggestions on products that I could use?

  2. Cathy

    Thanks Rachel, Glad to hear Menopause Relief is helping. I do like Emerita’s products and would give their topical cream a try.

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