Menopause Education: Breast Cancer Risk, Hot Flashes, HRT and Weight Loss

Posted by 360admin | Posted on 15-02-2011

Category : Facts

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As always, I want to keep everyone up to date as to what is happening in women’s health studies and news. Many of these we review in detail on our weekly blog talk radio show, Thursdays at 2:30 pm EST.

Blog Talk Radio – Magnificent Menopause and Beyond

1.  Hot Flashes Reduce Breast Cancer Risk - A study published in the Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, January 2011 concluded that after following 2,000 women in the United Kingdom, women who were prone to hot flushes had up to 40 percent less of oestradial and a lower risk of breast cancer.   So I guess girls, you are going to have to evaluate whether hot flashes are a good thing or not.

2.  Vibrational Exercise Increases Bone Density and Increases Weight Loss – It has long been promoted that whole body vibration training is beneficial for weight loss, increasing muscle, relieving back pain, alleviating stress and arthritis and increasing bone density.  Individuals stand on the platform for 2-10 minutes to reap the benefits.  The philosophy is that vibrational training puts the muscles in a situation where they must expand and contract continually which pumps extra oxygen into the cells.  One good thing is vibrational training is being used with many athletes and NASA.   So it must do something.

3. HRT and Breast Cancer Risk -  A study published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that the earlier a women took HRT, the higher at risk she was of developing breast cancer.  This study was questionable since it was an observational study in which women made the decision of when to take hormones if at all.  It does bring up a good point, that if you are taking hormones, the lowest dose for the shortest amount of time is imperative.  One last thought, the study did not state whether the HRT was oral or transdermal.  I suspect it was oral, since we currently do not have a lot of studies looking at the impact of transdermal treatment.

4.  Cinnamon Promotes Weight Loss and Blood Sugar Control - this is not the first time that a study like this has surfaced.  This Scandinavian Study showed that if individuals ingested 1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon a day it lowered blood sugar levels after eating a meal.    Some say it has thermogenic effects and promotes weight loss.   If nothing else, it does seem to benefit blood sugar levels.  The initial study was published in Diabetes Care journal in 2003.

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Fibroids and Sexual Abuse Link

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Posted by 360admin | Posted on 19-11-2010

Category : Emotions, Facts

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Expert’s Name: Gail Edgell

This study just confirms what Eastern medicine has said for years. Emotions play a role in women’s health. You see, the uterus, like any other organ is located in an “emotional center” of the body. It has been thought that a woman with unresolved emotional conflict has a greater chance of developing female complications and even disease. Estrogen dominance is also another known cause of fibroids.

Over 68,000 premenopausal women were studied in which 65 percent of them reported physical or sexual abuse as a child or teen. The results were published in the journal Epidemiology indicated that fibroids “increased from 8 percent to 36 percent” with mild to severe abuse in childhood. This even held true if the woman did not experience abuse in their adult years.

Dr. Northrup notes in her book Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom that the abuse itself is typically not the cause. Instead, it typically occurs when a woman begins to develop as an individual and form her own identity and opinions separate from her family. This is the time when she realizes that what happened in childhood is not acceptable. She has been violated.

So what does Eastern Medicine believe?

You may or may not of heard about energy chakras in the body. There are actually seven different energy systems. These energy centers connect to our emotions, hormones and nervous system. Each of the chakras is associated with an organ system.

All of the unresolved stresses in our early physical life related to people, events, memories and experiences pull energy from the first three chakras which are located in the lower half of the body.

Again, a great book referencing the emotional centers is by Dr. Northrup – Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom.

So how do you heal energy chakras?

First, you have to believe that chakras exist and these emotional centers can be healed.

And my best advice is stop at your local bookstore and find a book that resonates with you on the subject. I referenced Dr. Northrup’s book above that discusses several healing options.

I would love to hear your feedback.

One last thought about this study. How many women on the street have been sexually or physically abused? It could be the same percentage as in this study? I guess we truly do not know.

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Job Stress in Women Increases Heart Risk

Posted by 360admin | Posted on 16-11-2010

Category : Facts

Tags: , , ,

Menopause and Heart Disease
Expert’s Name: Gail Edgell

When a woman goes through menopause, heart disease risk increases due to decreasing estrogen levels. Now another study has surfaced from the American Heart Association stating that job stress adds to this risk. There was a “40 percent increased risk for overall cardiovascular disease and an 88 percent increased risk for a heart attack.”

These numbers are astounding when you think that 20,000 women were studied for over 10 years. So what was there definition of job strain or stress? Job insecurity, jobs with little or no creativity (decision making) or highly demanding jobs. Average age of the participants in the study was 57.

As you know I stress meditation, deep breathing, yoga for women in their menopausal years and this is just another indication that it is imperative to take care of you.

Even finding a creative outlet may be of help when minimizing your stress levels. Remember, it does not have to be hours a day, even 10-20 minutes a day will help to re-center the body and mind.

To read more details of this news post go to www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/15/earlyshow/health/main7056053.shtml

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