By Cathy Margolin
on April 21, 2010
A study involving nearly 3,500 women in several countries suggests natural herbs may be more effective in relieving menstrual cramps than drugs, acupuncture or heat compression.
Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal.
Who writes The Cochrane Library Journal? An international not-for-profit and independent organization, dedicated to up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of health-care readily available worldwide.
Who is Cochrane Collaboration? Watch video
The Cochrane Collaboration produce and disseminates systematic reviews of health-care interventions and promote the search for evidence in the form of clinical trials and other studies of interventions. The Cochrane Collaboration was founded in 1993. They publish the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews quarterly as part of the Cochrane Library.
Women looking
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By Cathy Margolin
on March 16, 2010
I having been surrounded (quite literally) for the past three days by so called “healthy products”, everything from fortified lolly pops, safer nail polish to every type of infused water possible. I had three days of endless conversations with wellness experts from around the world, Naturopaths, Dieticians, Chiropractors, Acupuncturists, Herbalists, Homeopaths and Bio-Chemists to name a few. Every health professional I spoke to had the same resounding theme, the key to better health is not in any one of these hot new health products that you’ll find at the Natural Products Expo and later on a store shelf. It’s not about curing a disease, it’s about PREVENTING it in the first place. The key is and always has been about PREVENTION.
So how do you PREVENT disease? It’s actually not that difficult. Everyone can do it.
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By Cathy Margolin
on February 16, 2010
A very important study was just released from Harvard School of Public Health by the National Institute of Health. This study on women’s health confirmed that combination hormone therapy used commonly for symptoms due to menopause increases a women’s risk for heart disease.
“New analysis from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) confirm that combination hormone therapy increases the risk of heart disease in healthy postmenopausal women. Researchers report a trend toward an increased risk of heart disease during the first two years of hormone therapy among women who began therapy within 10 years of menopause, and a more marked elevation of risk among women who began hormone therapy more than 10 years after menopause. Analysis indicate that overall a woman’s risk of heart disease more than doubles within the first two years of taking combination HT.”
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By Cathy Margolin
on February 11, 2010
The perfect follow up to my Chinese medicinal wine article is the topic of herbal aphrodisiacs. An aphrodisiac can be anything that arouses or intensifies sexual desire. Throughout the centuries Chinese emperors had concubines to keep happy, or was it the reverse? Either way preserving one’s stamina and sexual vitality was of the utmost importance to one’s health and herbs were considered a source for the proverbial “fountain of youth”. The Chinese have worked on perfecting herbal formulas for sexual enhancement over the last two thousand years.
Ginseng is probably the most well known of the herbs used throughout the centuries. Yet a Chinese herb formula with ginseng will often be more potent than any given single herb. A formula for sexual improvement is always designed to build both yin and yang energy from a Chinese medicine viewpoint. All natural aphrodisiac formulas
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By Cathy Margolin
on December 30, 2009
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is the most common disorder for women during their reproductive years, but it doesn’t have to be. Asian cultures have been using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat the hormonal imbalances that accompany menstrual cycle related symptoms for centuries. Chinese medicine calls this an imbalance of Qi in the reproductive and other related organs. Acupuncture and herbs can re-establish the flow of Qi and bring a balance to the body allowing the body to function optimally without hormone regulators such as a birth control pills.
Often the underlying problem with PMS is the hormonal imbalance. Estrogen levels are commonly to high in relation to progesterone levels. What’s causing this imbalance? The most common cause is our diets. Hormones are sensitive and overeating and obesity often lead to conversion of androgens to estrogen by aromatase. High fat diets, refined sugars and
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