The pains of menopause are merely as big as that of any other emerging disease; and for your information, menopause itself is not a disease that demands a cure but how to relief the associated symptom is the in thing. Pain is pain and a reliever must be found at all costs. It is inauspicious the westerly culture is very diffident and looks at the loss of eggs as the beginning of the end of life; infact many women in other cultures don’t experience much of a change justifying aesculapian attention at all. Instead this period is embraced as a momentous gain to the society and the many changes go assets to the immature generation in reding and training on many facts about life.

In brief these are the pains: absence of calmness at night, sweat may be present; insomnia, night menstruation hot flushes alternating with chills confused menstrual cycle, mood swings, hot temperament, etc. Now what should be prescribed to relief all these pains is the issue. The answer is left to dietary supplements mainly. It goes without saying phytoestrogens are the main initiators of this dynamic scene of pumping estrogens back to the blood. These plant hormones at no time have been studied extensively than this time when menopause is sending shockwaves and degrading women. The sources are varied and supply remains abundant in Soya, black cohosh and red clover. These hormones besides boosting estrogen generation, so as to balance off the normal sex hormones, works also on bad cholesterol thus providing the heart with cover against cardiovascular diseases associated with menopause too. In all treated cases using phytoestrogen secreting plants, hot flushes die a natural death.

We can not forget food supplements especially the good quality multi vitamins and mineral rich capsules synthesized purposely for this provision. Any with vitamin C is excellent because the bioflavonoids with time have been confirmed as agents working to rearward hot flushes. It has antioxidant properties; it also rejuvenates collagen fibers of the skin thus reinvigorating the vagina walls to resume normal functions of lubrication. Vitamin E is a sex vitamin; it works directly on hot flushes and vaginal dryness; it is usually applied directly on to the internal walls of the vulva during the night for a specific period. Continuous use of this vitamin also reduces chances of heart attacks and associated ailments. Vitamin B is usually served as vitamin B complex and as the name suggests, it is known to outshine by handling stress and anxiety symptoms really well.

Menopause often causes tension and anxiety with resultant disaster if not sorted on time. There is another group of food that is called essential fatty acids; which mean a lot especially when you come to discover what it means when you don’t have. Absence of these fats mean lifeless hair will attempt to shine; there will be dry skin and eyes, no motivation and the like. Other elements that count in this line are magnesium, calcium and zinc. All support stability and restoration of bones incase they are becoming fragile as years go ahead. Other plants that deserve mention include Agnus castus, Ginkgo biloba etc.

Women are unique individuals each facing different health issues affected by diet, environment, heredity etc. However they generally fall into three age categories.

Women’s Health Age 20-35

Although women in this age group generally have fewer health problems than their older sisters they usually experience higher levels of stress compared to older women. The challenges of balancing children, career, and personal life can be stressful. During this demanding time in a woman’s life it is essential to make sure that you receive the proper nutrients to meet the energy levels your busy schedule demands. Doing so will keep you healthier now and build a good foundation for a healthy future.

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is certainly true in the area of skin care. Now is a good time to start taking care of your skin to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles down the road. A little sun is healthy, but too much can set the stage for skin cancers of all types.

Speaking of pounds, maintaining a healthy weight now will make staying healthy in your future years easier. Losing a few excess pounds is easier now than in midlife. Exercise and a diet full of nutritious foods is the best way to do this.

Women’s Health Age 35-50

As women enter their 30’s they begin a slow process of ending their reproductive years. This is known as perimenopause. Actual menopause is reached when your body has not experience your monthly cycle for one year. Perimenopause can last up to ten years. Every woman’s body is different and the duration and intensity of perimenopausal symptoms varies. If you experience at least 3 of the following symptoms you are probably entering perimenopause: moodiness, irritability, menstrual changes, sleeping disturbances, bloating/water retention, hot flashes, mild to moderate depression. Studies have shown that consuming phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) in addition to a healthy diet and lifestyle can reduce the severity of menopausal symptoms.

This is also the time when laugh lines and crow’s feet begin to show up, along with the dreaded double chin. As your skin ages collagen and elastin begin to break down, causing it to lose its firm supple appearance. New skin cell production begins to slow down and this may lead to a dry, dull complexion. Your scalp also is aging and this may lead to dull, brittle, even thinning hair.

Women’s health 50 and beyond

The major concerns for this group are heart health, keeping bones strong, and preserving healthy joints. It is vital to supply your body with the nutrients it needs to help prevent osteoporosis and heart disease.

Your skin will have matured as well. It now takes your skins cells twice as long to replace themselves as it did at age 20. Oil production decreases, leaving your skin significantly drier. Skin becomes thinner with age, making wrinkles, dropping, and irritation more likely. Years of sun exposure can make the skin tone uneven.

One way to be sure to get the nutrients you need is to take a good multi vitamin. This should be made of all natural ingredients, and cold-processed to retain enzyme activity. Make sure that your vitamin provider does clinical studies to prove delivery of the nutrients in their product, and is willing to publish the results.

Vickie Blair

http://www.vitamins4maxhealth.com/WOMENS_HEALTH

There is a wide incidence of women in the Western world who experience breast changes that are a direct consequence of their menstrual cycle and it is believed that as high as 70 percent of women are so afflicted. These women may find their breasts have become very uncomfortable due to their becoming tender, swollen or lumpy. This is one of the many women’s health issues that need to be studied and understood if one is to be able to treat the ailment and provide much needed succor to the patients. It is important to find an explanation for the condition and know which natural and medical treatments are available for this women’s health issue.

Breast Health: The Facts

Broadly speaking, women’s health issues can be categorized into several important concerns, of which include: breast problems, cystitis, endometriosis, fibroids, heavy periods, hysterectomy, irregular periods, menopause, miscarriage, no periods, osteoporosis, ovarian cysts, PMS, polycystic ovary syndrome, pregnancy, prolapse, thrush and vaginal infections. Women also face problems such as weight control and infertility.

In the case of breast cancer, one can safely say that it is widely prevalent in women living in the United States. This means that such an important women’s health issue needs to be better understood and this involves knowing the stage of the disease, new diagnostic methods versus recurrence, the woman’s age as well as prior treatments. Mostly, different women would respond to the crisis of having breast cancer in different ways but what is most important is for them to know and obtain as much information as possible so that they are better educated about the disease.

It is important that this women’s health issue be taken notice of, and a study of the risk factors involved with contracting breast cancer needs to be undertaken as some factors may have stronger links to breast cancer than others. These important risk factors are: gender, age, personal history of breast cancer, family history of cancer, high breast tissue density, breast hyperplasia, long term estrogen exposure, menopausal hormone replacement therapy, not having children or having first child after age 30, exposure to radiation, Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, genetics as well as diet, environment, and smoking. There is no denying the fact that breast cancer is an important women’s health issue for which no amount of research and development can be said to be enough.

One of the advantages of reaching midlife is that we are finally finished with all those issues that make childhood and adolescence such a pain in the neck, such as needing set bedtimes as well as  regular dental and eye checkups; having to worry about using protection during sex and about cigarette smoking; getting all those shots to prevent diseases and wearing helmets to prevent sports injuries; needing to eat all our vegetables and avoid sugar as well as not missing gym class. What a relief to let these issues fade right along with our memories of tetherball on the school playground!

Not so fast. Would it surprise you to know that you still have to be aware of each and every one of the above so-called “child/adolescent” health issues?  

For instance, what about set bedtimes? The obvious reason that we needed enforced, regular  bedtimes each night was so that we would get enough sleep. Being tired and sleepy the next day in school caused everything from lousy concentration to crabby moods. Now that we’re in midlife, many of us believe that sleep is no longer an issue. This is not the case at all. It’s still essential to our health and wellbeing. Recent studies have shown that not only do sleep disturbances often indicate a serious health problem, but that lack of sleep can actually cause health problems, such as weight gain. Polls have shown that nearly two thirds of adults over the age of sixty-five have sleep complaints, but that less than 15 per cent of them have been formally diagnosed with a sleep problem. Why? Because we don’t mention sleep problems to our health care providers. Our mothers were right — we still need to be concerned about our bedtimes.

Once we’ve gotten the glasses we need and all our baby teeth are gone, we no longer need to get regular eye and dental checkups as we did in our younger years, right? Again — no. Although our vision does remain stable from young adulthood until we need bifocals, there are common eye diseases that begin to occur in midlife, and that can lead to blindness if not diagnosed.  And even though we no longer have our baby teeth,  other dental issues take the forefront upon reaching midlife, such as gum inflammation which has been shown to be associated with diabetes and heart disease. So, continued regular dental and eye checks are as important as in our younger years. 

And what about sex at midlife and beyond?  We’ve moved from groping and being groped in the backseat of the car to more sophisticated maneuvers in a comfortable bed, and finally, finally no longer have to worry about pregnancy. So we don’t need protection; or so many of us think. Although it’s true that once menopause arrives one can’t get pregnant (warning: make sure you have completed menopause before assuming this as diagnosing menopause can be tricky),  protection is still needed during sex because of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Yes, we can still get those, and in some cases are even more prone to becoming infected after menopause, even after a hysterectomy. And even though we’re past the childbearing years and our reproductive organs seem to have no further use, we still need regular pelvic exams and Pap smears. It is also important at that exam to discuss with our healthcare providers the need for testing for STIs; if there is a new partner or the worry that the current partner is not monogamous, this testing is a must.

STIs are not the only threat held over from our adolescent years; so is cigarette smoking. Many women in midlife think that there is no reason to stop smoking cigarettes at this age, since they wrongly assume that the damage is already done from all the prior years of smoking. This is not the case. No matter how many years one has smoked, stopping can prevent further damage to the heart, blood vessels, and lungs, and in some cases can reverse some of that damage.  

Also relevant to the lungs is the fact that asthma can begin in midlife, where once it was thought to only begin in childhood.  The two major causes seem to be occupational exposure to substances that damage the lungs, and the recreational exposure to air pollution by adults who run predominantly outside. So, a new onset of shortness of breath at this age — even if it occurs only with exercise — does not necessarily mean heart disease; remember that we can develop asthma now.

Did you think you were finished with all those horrible shots you had to have in childhood and adolescence? Sorry, you’re not. There is a recommended immunization schedule for adults in midlife and beyond, just as there are for children. At certain ages over 50 and at certain intervals, you’ll need shots against the flu, certain types of pneumonia, tetanus, and in some instances, shingles and hepatitis.  Ask your primary care provider about these.

And did you pack away your helmet when you gave away your bike with training wheels? Probably ok to have done this since now you will need a bigger size helmet. But you do need a helmet. A recent report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that sports-related injuries in the Baby Boomer population was on the rise, with over 1 million injuries in this age group in 1998 alone, most of the injuries being due to bicycling and basketball.  The same report said that the many head injuries associated with bicycling were probably due to the fact that Baby Boomers use helmets less than younger people do.

The fact that exercise and proper nutrition are as important in midlife and beyond as in childhood may not come as a surprise. Regular exercise at this age has been shown to increase longevity and wellbeing, postpone and possibly prevent dementia, strokes, heart disease, and diabetes, and aid in the treatment of depression. Important to know as well is that several different types of regular exercise are recommended at this age, including aerobic (cardio) exercise, weight-bearing exercise or strength training, and exercises to improve balance and flexibility.

What we eat as we get older is every bit as important as it was in our younger years. One particular healthy way of eating, the Mediterranean diet, has been shown to stave off dementia, prevent heart disease and diabetes, maintain a healthy cholesterol level, and improve longevity. One study showed that this diet even improved sexual function in certain women! This diet is exactly as expected given its name: lots of natural whole foods, like vegetables, fruits, and nuts, lots of fish and olive oil, moderate amounts of wine, and limited amounts of foods containing refined sugar. Controlling the portions of the foods we eat is even more important at this age. Our metabolic rate decreases with age, making it easier to gain weight while eating the same amounts of food as in our younger years.  

So, as you are rummaging through your mother’s attic looking at your old dolls, baseball bat and Ouija Board, and breathing a sigh of relief that you no longer have to worry about being picked for a baseball team or that your best friend copied your paper doll’s dress, don’t get lulled into complacency about your health. Although you once may have thought that taking care of yourself  health-wise would get easier as you get older, you know now that that’s not true. Make your appointments for regular checkups, get more than 5 hours of sleep a night, use protection when having sex, particularly with a new partner, stop smoking no matter how old you are, get the recommended immunizations, be careful and wear your helmet and seatbelts, and exercise regularly and eat well. Your mother’s recommendations from your childhood continue to apply!

©2008 Janet Horn, M.D.

Author Bio
Dr. Janet Horn is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, with training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She spent many years on the fulltime faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she published articles in medical journals on her research interests, including sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and women’s health. She was also the primary author of several chapters in medical textbooks.  She started her solo private practice in 1990 while continuing to teach as an Associate Professor of Medicine on the part time faculty at Hopkins. She has been selected by Baltimore Magazine as one of the “Top Doctors in Baltimore” and by the Maryland Daily Record as one of the “Top 100 Women in Maryland.”   She is included in the books Consumer’s Guide to Top Doctors (in the US) and Best Doctors in America, Southeast Region.  She is the co-author of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife and Beyond, which will be available this September from New Harbinger Publications.

As men age, most start suffering a decrease in sex drive. This isn’t as normal as you’d think, men still usually feel as much sexual desire as they did in their middle age. There’s more to this then simply just getting older.

There are many factors that could be to blame, both physical and emotional. Most problems of low libido are mental rather than physical. Stress is the number one cause behind low libido. Any other negative feelings, like guilt or depression, can also be at work.

As men age they lose 10% of testosterone a decade. Many men lose more than this, resulting in a male form of menopause. Millions of men are going through this right this minute without even realizing it. Most of these men are just convinced that they’re just experiencing growing older. There are many other ways that your body is affected by a dip in testosterone, such as a decrease in bone density, an increase in body fat, and balding, but it’s really what it does to a man’s sexual health that he really starts to take notice in.

The male orgasm is a complex experience. The major function of the male orgasm usually includes the ejaculation of sperm. Male orgasm happens at the peak of sexual pleasure, when the various muscle groups contract simultaneously lots of contractions of the pubococcygeus muscle occur along with contractions of the anal sphincter, rectum and perineum, and the ejaculatory ducts and muscles around the penis. The contracting muscles are the key to delivering the load of semen. The first few contractions are intense and close together, occurring at about 0.8 second intervals. As orgasm continues, the contractions reduce in intensity and duration and occur at less frequent intervals.

There’s no need to feel embarrassed or shy if you are concerned with a sexual health issue. Most men are. Yes, it’s true, women love to feel that it’s large, and harder, it turns them on. The penis has two paired cylinders called the Corpora Cavernosa that, when aroused, expand and fill with blood creating the hardness of your erection.

The capacity of your Corpora Cavernosa to fill with blood during arousal limits erection length and thickness, and these functions can decrease as you age. Many factors come into play when it comes to enjoying a fulfilling sexual lifestyle. A lot of men suffer from performance anxiety. They fear weak erections, insignificant ejaculation, short penetration and disappointing orgasms. They feel like there letting down their sexual partner, and themselves. Sex becomes a task, a painful experience that slowly breaks down self confidence away and inhibits you even further from performing sexually.

If you’re ready to reignite your ability to perform sexually, enhance the appearance of your organ and maintain a powerful erection, then Vialis is for you. This is a rapid development that incorporates the hyper exotic aphrodisiac sex enhancer, Black Diamond Truffle. This pheromone rich, underground wonder is thought to be nature’s premier testosterone booster. It also contains avena sativa, clavo huasca and horny goat weed, all proven botanical extracts that support your experience.

Written by Chicagohealers.com practitioner  Dr Marilyn Mitchell, MD, BHSP -

Midlife and menopause changes are unique because they are often profound and so unexpected. As healthy adult women, we do not expect to have such disruption in our physical, mental, and emotional bodies. Some women feel like they are “not themselves” as they experience sleep disruption, hot flashes, labile emotions and personality changes. From a purely physiologic standpoint, the ovaries are beginning to decrease their functions of producing hormones and ovulating. This transition is rarely smooth. From an energetic standpoint, a woman experiences major shifts in the auric field, energy templates, and chakra systems that support the body. It is difficult to imagine empowerment when there is so much disruption going on.

How do we listen or even consider empowerment when there are changes happening on so many levels? The first step is to acknowledge that this is a time of great change and learning. The old patterns of daily living, thinking, and coping may be outmoded at this time. Gentleness with yourself is important. Next, develop a plan for moving through this transition with grace. Be flexible with your plan.

Guidelines for an empowerment plan through midlife/menopause:
Physical: First, get as comfortable as you can. It is difficult to think about any other aspects of transition when you are having symptoms, and are perhaps sleep deprived.
1) A holistic practitioner can help with remedies for sleep, hot flashes, mental clarity and other symptoms. These may include dietary changes, supplements, herbals, acupuncture, and natural bioidentical hormones.
2) Include exercise in your daily routine, especially an activity like yoga, tai chi or stretching for developing and maintaining strength, flexibility and inner connection and mindfulness.
3) Re-evaluate your diet and supplements to be sure you are supporting yourself nutritionally, as our needs change during this transition.

Spiritual/Energetic: Strengthen your connection to inner wisdom. Evaluate your choices about life and health based on this inner guidance.
1) Take time to stop and meditate at least 5-10 minutes twice a day for relief from mind chatter and an opportunity to listen within. Take mini breaks during the day to breathe consciously for one minute.
2) Acknowledge 5 things you are grateful for each day. This will attract more gratifying things into your life.
3) Schedule an energy healing to support your transition and bring more alignment on the physical, emotional and energetic levels.

Mind/Emotions: Listen to your emotions as guidance, and choose thought patterns that support you.
1) Connect with support that is healthy for you: friends, family, a support group, health practitioner, counseling. Be aware that your support may come from places or people other than those we usually count on. As we change, those around us may have to adjust, too.
2) Educate yourself about the changes you are experiencing through reading, seminars, discussions with your health care provider.
3) Evaluate everything you hear/experience through your inner guidance and emotions, to be sure it resonates for you. Be open to changing your mind, as the Wise Woman may have a new perspective.

ChicagoHealers.com mission is the education and advocacy of natural medicine and a holistic lifestyle.

Please give credit to the original author when republishing all or part of any article.  Also, kindly link back to www.ChicagoHealers.com

http://www.chicagohealers.com/2009/10/health-during-menopause/
Dr Marilyn Mitchell, MD, BHSP -
http://www.chicagohealers.com/womens-health-hormones-fertility-gynecology/marilyn-mitchell/

ChicagoHealers.com mission is the education and advocacy of natural medicine and a holistic lifestyle.
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