Menopause Is Coming - Be An Informed Consumer

Menopause is a natural part of life and does not necessarily require treatment. You need to be informed of your options. Symptoms and health risks associated with low estrogen can be treated, often, in natural ways that don't include drug related risks.

Definition
When a woman's menstrual period ceases, and the ovaries permanently stop releasing eggs, a woman has entered the time in life called menopause. It is considered complete when a woman has been without her period for a full year. Menopause can occur anytime between the ages of 40-58, however, the average age is 51 years old.

The Cause
Menopause is a natural part of life and is a gradual process. The ovaries begin producing lower amounts of hormones prior to menopause during a phase called perimenopause.

If menopause occurs before the age of 40 it is called premature menopause. Premature menopause can occur naturally but can also be the result of several conditions, including:

* Family history of premature menopause
* Autoimmune diseases
* X-chromosome abnormalities
* Medical treatments (pelvic surgery, surgical removal of ovaries, chemotherapy,
or pelvic radiation therapy)
* Medications that lower estrogen levels
* Smoking

The Risk Factors
A risk factor is something that increases your chance of getting a disease or condition. Since menopause is a natural process associated with aging, there are no risk factors, but risk factors for premature menopause include:

* Family history of premature menopause

Symptoms
A number of physical and emotional symptoms may occur as menopause approaches. Women entering menopause often experience:

* Irregular menstrual periods
* Hot flashes and night sweats
* Disturbed sleep patterns, insomnia
* Anxiety
* Depression
* Dry skin
* Irritability
* Vaginal dryness and pain with sexual intercourse
* Difficulty concentrating
* Trouble remembering things
* Diminished interest in sex
* Frequent urination or leaking of urine
* Headaches
* Achy joints
* Fatigue
* Early morning awakening

The Diagnosis
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history, and perform a physical exam. Blood tests, a pelvic exam, and a Pap smear may also be performed. Natural menopause is usually diagnosed when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 12 consecutive months.

If a woman had a hysterectomy before menopause, and no longer has periods, menopause may be suspected. It can be confirmed by an FSH test. This test is considered the most accurate for the diagnosis of menopause. It is the measurement of follicle stimulating hormone. High levels of FSH (greater than 40) may indicate menopause.

Treatment
Menopause is a natural part of life and does not automatically require treatment. Symptoms and health risks associated with low estrogen can be treated. These include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and osteoporosis.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
Be sure you completely understand the benefits and risk before starting HRT.

A number of different types of hormones are available. These include natural, synthetic, and plant-derived estrogens and progesterone. Combined therapies may include combinations of estrogen and progesterone; or the addition of small amounts of male hormones. Hormone preparations are available as tablets, gels, skin patches, vaginal rings, vaginal tablets, injections, and pellets inserted into the skin.

There is significant scientific evidence that the global health risks associated with combined estrogen and progesterone HRT on a long-term basis (more than 3-5 years) outweigh the benefits for many women. The average age of the women in these research studies is over 60 years old.

Use of combined HRT at the time of menopause (around age 50) may pose less risk. Also, most of these studies used conjugated estrogens and medroxyprogesterone. Other evidence suggests that use of estradiol and natural progesterone may pose less risk.

Phytoestrogens
A high intake of phytoestrogens (or plant estrogens) may help menopausal women. Phytoestrogens are found in soybeans, black cohosh, whole grains, legumes, tempeh, and flax seed. They are also found in concentration in capsule form. Phytoestrogens may reduce the risk for diseases associated with estrogen.

Healthful/Helpful Diet
Diet can play an important and beneficial roll. A healthful diet during menopause can improve a woman's sense of well-being, and may also reduce the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. The diet should be low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, calcium, and vitamin D. Low-fat does not mean no-fat. Some fats, especially the Omega-3 fats are essential.

Limit Caffeine and Alcohol
High use of caffeine or alcohol is never a good choice. Cutting back on caffeine and alcohol may reduce symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, and loss of calcium.

Quit Smoking
There are no health benefits derived from smoking. Giving up smoking can reduce the risk of early menopause, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Regular Exercise
A healthy lifestyle should embrace regular exercise. It may reduce hot flashes. Weight-bearing exercises such as walking, climbing stairs, and resistance exercises such as lifting weights help strengthen bones and decrease the risk of osteoporosis.

Stress Management
Stress management may help ease tension, anxiety, and possibly other menopausal symptoms. Deep breathing, massage, warm baths, and quiet music are relaxation techniques that may lessen stress.

Over-the-Counter Medications
Moisturizers and lubricants are used to help vaginal dryness.

Non-hormonal Medications
Certain blood pressure medicines (like "Catapres" and "Aldomet") taken in lower doses than are used to treat high blood pressure have been somewhat helpful in relieving some menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.

SSRI medications (serotonin reuptake inhibitors like "Prozac", "Paxil", and "Effexor") have shown a modest benefit on hot flash severity scores. These medications should not be used if you are taking tamoxifen to reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Prevention
Menopause does not need to be prevented. It is a natural biological event.
If you smoke, quitting could slightly delay the onset of menopause.

Do you realize you are what you eat?

Each time you sit down to a meal you are making a life – death decision. Does that sound scary? I hope it does because whatever you are eating determines whether you will be healthy or unhealthy. This has been proven over and over again that you are what you eat. Now granted you may eat some things periodically that are not good for you but it's not wise to continue to do so day after day.

I've heard some of my friend's say. " I eat whatever I want, If I can't eat what I want I just as soon die." Well some of them have died and others have some serious illnesses or diseases. So I believe this is a very foolish thing to say. Why would anyone want to subject their bodies to foods that cause discomfort and health problems?

It's really amazing how many natural things are available to help us be healthy and keep us healthy. Yet this information is not widely known by the general public. Most doctors don't tell you. The drug companies sure won't tell you. You very seldom ever hear it or read it in the press either

I never became as conscious of my health or my wife's health until she was diagnosed with breast cancer about four years ago. Even though we believed we were eating healthy we didn't realize that some foods we were eating were not very healthy to eat. That's when I met a naturopathic doctor and got more advice. I even started doing some research on my own too.

Wow! Did I get a terrific education on health matters. Since then I have kept up my research and education even more intensively now. I learned that food can be your "Miracle Medicine" More than 9,000 scientific studies have proven beyond doubt that food is your best medicine.

I know you have heard the famous saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" I never knew how true this was until I started my research. Apples have been proven to be potent weapons against cancer, heart disease, asthma, and type 2 diabetes.

Strawberries and raspberries contain a compound called ellagic acid. One of the best cancer fighters Mother Nature ever created. When eating these fruits this compound enters the bloodstream to help vanquish cancer cells on contact. By eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast or eating pears you can regulate your cholesterol. They can help keep your LDL (bad) cholesterol below 130 and HDL (good) cholesterol above 65.

It's also helpful to consume foods that contain soluble (dissolves in liquids) fiber, such as beans, barley, oats, peas, apples, oranges and pears. Soluble fiber reduces the absorption of cholesterol from the intestines into the bloodstream.

There is virtually a cure or prevention for every disease or illness. So for anyone who has not learned the benefits of healthful eating let me encouraged you to start your own education on the subject today. You can find a lot of good information on the Internet. There are also health newsletters you can subscribe to. And many books on all kinds of health issues are widely available today.

It's sad that most people are not getting honest answers about their health. It's sad people are swallowing large amounts of worthless prescription drugs that are sometimes causing more serious ailments then before they ever started taking them in the first place.

So I guess the only thing to do is to keep preaching good health ideas to people I know and meet. I'll also continue spreading healthy information in my bimonthly newsletter and the articles I write and submit to directories. Hopefully someday if there are enough of us preaching healthy information wherever we can we will eventually convince people that they truly are what they eat.

My Atkins Diet Story

Do You Want To Lose Extra Weight? Try Atkins Diet!

The Atkins Diet, created by Dr. Robert Atkins, is based on the theory that consuming too much carbohydrates, especially the refined carbs as those found in white bread, sugar and high-fructose corn syrups, is responsible for the high incidence of obesity-causing metabolic disorders amongst the Western population - and lifestyles based on too little physical activity only adding to the problem of obesity and diabetes.

The other unique feature of Atkins Diet is that saturated fats are not considered the main nutritional culprits - it is the trans-fats found in hydrogenated oils that need to be shunned along with carbohydrates. Thus, Atkins Diet is one that is drastically restricted in carbohydrates and is relatively rich in proteins and saturated fats.

Dr. Robert Atkins formulated the Atkins 's Diet sometime in the sixties. The inspiration was an article featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Atkins adapted these ideas to formulate a diet and tried it on himself, and the results were startling. He treated thousands of overweight patients and expounded his diet in a series of books. The rest is history.

The logic behind Atkins 's Diet is quite simple: your body fulfills a major part of its energy requirements by burning carbs as fuel. And so, if you deprive it of carbs by substituting them with proteins and fats in your diet, the body would run out of fuel and, therefore, be forced into fat-burning mode (ketosis).

All the energy requirements of the body would then be met with by burning the stored body fat, leading to rapid fat loss and weight loss. When the body is in the state of ketosis, one also tends to feel less hungry and so consumes less calories than what one would normally do.

There are four phases in Atkins Diet: (1) Induction, (2) Ongoing weight loss, (3) Pre-maintenance and (4) Lifetime maintenance.

The Induction phase is the most restrictive phase, with the allowed intake of carbohydrates being restricted to a meager 20 net grams/day. This is required in order to push the body into a state of ketosis. A multivitamin supplement is highly recommended during this initial phase.

In the following phases the intake of carbohydrates is then gradually increased (up to a reasonable amount, though still far lesser than the average carbohydrate consumption), but sooner or later the body gets have used to a low-carbs diet.

Foods Recommended in Atkins Diet

1. High-protein foods such as meat, fish and eggs are a must. However, they must not be breaded, nor should they be consumed along with sauces, which are high in carbohydrates.
2. Low-carb vegetables/fruits are fine too. Some examples of such vegetables are spinach, herbs, celery, radish, sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and Avocado. For a comprehensive list of low-carb veggies/fruits, you can always run a check on the Internet.
3. Cheese - all kinds of cheese can make a part of Atkins Diet. Butter is good too, but you shouldn't go overboard.
4. Olive oil is the preferred choice amongst cooking oils. Trans-fats have to be strictly avoided. But nuts are great.
5. As far as drinks go, Atkins Diet recommends 8 glasses of water a day. Drinks with sugar content are a big no-no - and that includes sugared tea and coffee. Diet sodas are okay though.
6. Psyllium comes highly recommended, as it is rich in fiber.
7. Sugar is out, while sugar substitutes are okay - but must be taken in limited amounts.

Many people follow the Atkins Diet and many results that have been published in esteemed review journals have spoken in favor of this diet, as they haven't observed any serious side effects. But some controversies and questions still remain, e.g., whether it would be suitable for people having kidney problems. So, before latching on to Atkins Diet diet, it is best to consult your doctor first.

Using Health Vitamin As An Alternative For Children's Well Being

Children are not known for their love of healthy eating, and this is where a health vitamin comes in handy. Try as we might to make sure they're getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diets to keep them topped up with all of the key vitamins, it can be a constant battle.

If your kids look at vegetables like some kind of evil presence, you may need to find other ways to make sure that they are getting the vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy and develop normally. For many parents, the easiest way to do this is with a health vitamin supplement.

The market is packed with health vitamin options. Some are better than others depending on your child's age and diet. For infants, the only realistic option is a liquid vitamin mixture.

Babies can hardly by expected to swallow a pill and aren't likely to do much better with a chewable until they have all of their teeth. Liquid vitamins don't keep their potency for long after the packaging is opened, so keep them in the refrigerator and don't hold on to them past their expiry dates.

Young children can be enticed to take their vitamins in a variety of ways. Many companies make chewable tablets which look and taste a lot like candy. Popular characters from the Flintstones to Bugs Bunny or even Pokemon give the vitamins a kid-friendly look. Getting to choose from a range of characters can actually make your child excited about taking a health vitamin.

The sweet taste makes these go down a treat, but be sure that your children understand that the vitamins are not actually candy and they shouldn't ever have more than one per day. (If your vitamins seem to be disappearing too quickly, keep them out of reach with your other medications so that the kids can't help themselves to extras.)

If you don't want to give your kids a sugary children's supplement, or would prefer not to spend the extra money on them, you can use the non-chewable adult tablets. Adult health vitamin pills can be split in half to provide a lower dose.

If your child is too young to swallow a vitamin whole, try grinding it into a powder and mixing it with some applesauce or honey to disguise the taste. Some parents find that mixing the ground vitamin tablet into a glass of fruit juice does the trick.

Once your child is old enough to start learning to swallow pills, you may find that you need to provide a bit of incentive. The first few tries to introduce a health vitamin this way are likely to lead to some bitter experiences!

A small, cash reward for a successful attempt is one way to motivate your kids to keep trying. Another is to offer something sweet, like honey, after the pill has been swallowed. This will get rid of any lingering aftertaste from the pill.

Getting kids to eat right is a challenge for most parents. But a simple multivitamin can provide the peace of mind that your children are getting the nutrients they need. Getting them to take a vitamin supplement using any of these easy methods gives you one less struggle in your day

What Are The Causes Of Childhood Obesity

Today, the rise in childhood obesity has several causes. The main cause of obesity is certainly children eat too much and/or not perform regular exercise or being generally inactive. The extra calories that are not able to burn up through exercises or physical activities will translate into fat, and when this fat becomes excessive and more, one will become obese. This difference results in weight gain and will vary from children to children that was due to few factors such as genes, health issues, physical inactivity as well as psychological issues also contribute to weight gain and may be what the causes of obesity are. Even though the main cause of obesity is underlying disorders, nevertheless, it is also closely related to people lifestyles as well.

Poor eating habits and food choices

Today, the way we prepare food and the no of time per day is totally different as compare with our ancestors did in the old time. During the old time, everything need to be cooked from scratch, but now with the help from modern equipments, the time and effort to prepare food became simple and faster. This is one of the reasons why now fast food restaurants dominate our diets.

By study how the children eat today; you will know what the main cause of childhood obesity is. Small changes in their daily diets can have large help enabling you to prevent childhood obesity. The best healthy choices of food include vegetables and fruits instead of sugary snacks. The most popular choices include carrot and bananas, celery sticks, apples and even salads that include a large variety of vegetables. By helping children understand and choosing the correct and better foods during the childhood time, definitely will ensure that they make the correct choices as they move into adulthood.

Bad behavior is also one of the causes. This group of children eats food that is low in nutrition and high in fat. This group of children eats fast food meals, rich desserts and drinks with a lot of sugar. They also usually overeaten, and the food that they consume has many empty calories. In other words, the food that they eat does not provide enough nutrition for a children needs. This same group of children eats lots of sweets food which in general have empty calories.

Lack of Exercise

Lack of regular exercise is a factor that has contributed to this being one of the causes of childhood obesity. Children who spend a lot of time watching TV programs will have a greater risk of child obesity than those who go outside playing or sporting. This is typically true when the children are eating fast food while watching television or playing video games.

In the pass, children like to play sports more often, enjoy outside activities as forms of entertainment and walk to school. But now a day, children are completely opposite from the pass. The sports our children like to do these days include watching television, playing computer game, surfing internet, chatting, and any game they choose while exercising only their mind, head and hands only. When you combine the poor choices in food and the lack of exercising, there is a high chance that childhood obesity will end up lead to disease.

Genetics

Genetics and DNA have been found to be a contributing factor in the causes of childhood obesity. Unfortunately, some children are naturally predisposed to obesity. These children are born with genes that cause them to put on weight more quickly than other children. The children with certain genes end up storing the fat more easily than other children. There is not much that these children can do about their genes, but there are steps that they can take to conquer the obesity.

Children parents can also aid in determining your chances of dealing with childhood obesity. If children parents had a problem with overweight, chances are the children will deal with the same issues. This makes it very important that you keep an eye on your children and their action and habits. Our DNA can not be changed. We can do some small changes in other areas that can make a great deal of improve on your child obesity. Some small changes, such as walking to school, playing outdoor games rather than letting children stay at home and avoid exercise. The simple and regular exercise can help your children avoid childhood obesity.

Psychological issues and Stress

Some study say that about 10% of people that are mildly obese was cause by psychological or stress problems. Some children have a difficult time dealing with stress so they use food as a comfort when they feel, and many children are prone to eating in response to negative emotions like being bored, feeling anxious or being angry.

Each child has to contend with different factors in their lives. The causes of obesity are can also be viewed as being weakness, a lack of willpower or a lifestyle choice of overeating and not exercising enough.

Environments

The environment too plays a role in the causes of obesity. The family home is an important place to learn about proper nutrition and enough physical activity. Attitudes, Habits, and beliefs about food selection and how to spend family leisure time are critical factors to forming a healthy relationship with food. Children spend a lot of time in school, their food choices at school become important and it was influenced by the school eating environment.

Modern lifestyles have improved our quality of life but also contribute greatly to physical inactivity. Cars are used for short trips, and the number of walking trips the average American children takes each year have decreased. Today only about 10% of public school students walk to school compared to the large no of student a generation ago.