Maca is a root-like vegetable shaped like a radish that grows high in the Andes mountains. The natives use it as both a food and medicine. Maca has found its way to the USA where many thousands of women are using it because of its unique ability to improve libido and stop hot flashes, night sweats and fatigue.
It is important to remember that Maca does not itself contain any hormones, but its action on the body jolts the pituitary gland into producing the precursor hormones which ultimately end up raising estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels, as well as helping to balance the adrenal glands, the thyroid and the pancreas. This occurs naturally while increasing energy.
Maca has been used by Peruvians for countless centuries, from before the time of the Incas. Seldom does an herb used by native people for thousands of years come to our attention and it seems so important to health that we wonder how we ever got along without it before.
It has been claimed that Maca improves menopausal symptoms. That it significantly reduces hot flashes, tender breasts, night sweats, sleeplessness, emotional upsets and vaginal dryness.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Why women feel great after the menopause
They've been through the menopause. So where are the Zimmer frames and tracksuit bottoms? New research shows that most women feel better than ever after 'the change'. No wonder, says Virginia Ironside - it's all that free time and uninhibited sex!
I was delighted and encouraged to read this article in The Independant on the 1st Feb 2006.
Here is an excerpt:
"I can still remember the time when 30 seemed over the hill. And when I was 30, 40 seemed pretty ancient. But when I was 40, all I could see was a terrible brick wall ahead, with the dreadful word "MENOPAUSE" written on it in jagged letters. Naturally, no one pre-menopause dared even consider what might lie over that wall. A graveyard full of skulls and crossbones? A field full of ancient people on Zimmer frames with pee pouring down their legs? At best, it was just a sea of asexual oldies, all wearing trackie bottoms, with frightful short haircuts and no make-up who lived their lives in motorway service stations, set in a land of aches and pains and poverty, all marinated in bitterness and complaints.
Now there's no question that during the menopause things can feel grim. Hot flushes, children leaving home, desperate feelings that it's "too late" to do anything you wanted to, but once over that, most women find that life post-menopause is one of nature's best-kept secrets. According to a survey commissioned for Health Plus magazine, 72 per cent of women think they are "just as attractive as before", 82 per cent feel "as feminine as before", eight out of 10 say they now have an overwhelming "sense of freedom" and six out of 10 women say they feel "better than ever before". They also feel an average of 10 years younger than their real age."
I was delighted and encouraged to read this article in The Independant on the 1st Feb 2006.
Here is an excerpt:
"I can still remember the time when 30 seemed over the hill. And when I was 30, 40 seemed pretty ancient. But when I was 40, all I could see was a terrible brick wall ahead, with the dreadful word "MENOPAUSE" written on it in jagged letters. Naturally, no one pre-menopause dared even consider what might lie over that wall. A graveyard full of skulls and crossbones? A field full of ancient people on Zimmer frames with pee pouring down their legs? At best, it was just a sea of asexual oldies, all wearing trackie bottoms, with frightful short haircuts and no make-up who lived their lives in motorway service stations, set in a land of aches and pains and poverty, all marinated in bitterness and complaints.
Now there's no question that during the menopause things can feel grim. Hot flushes, children leaving home, desperate feelings that it's "too late" to do anything you wanted to, but once over that, most women find that life post-menopause is one of nature's best-kept secrets. According to a survey commissioned for Health Plus magazine, 72 per cent of women think they are "just as attractive as before", 82 per cent feel "as feminine as before", eight out of 10 say they now have an overwhelming "sense of freedom" and six out of 10 women say they feel "better than ever before". They also feel an average of 10 years younger than their real age."
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Confirming That Menopause Has Taken Place
It’s not always easy to confirm that the menopause has actually happened.
Of course, irregular periods and the occasional hot flush are a sign that changes are taking place,but timing the actual menopause is not so simple.
And it is important to know - not just for preventing symptoms in the most
appropriate way, but also for contraception.
A truly menopausal woman will be infertile and will have no need of contraception.
However, most doctors advise menopausal women under 50 to continue with
their contraception for two years after their last period, and for one year if they are over 50.
Even identifying the last period can be difficult for a woman either still taking
the Pill (as bleeding still occurs every month) or who has just started Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT) for the relief of early perimenopausal symptoms.
Most doctors will evaluate a woman’s menopausal status according to her
symptoms (hot flushes, for example), pattern of periods, and medical record.
It is possible to take a blood test to measure levels of a reproductive hormone known as FSH.
However, while elevated FSH levels may be a sign of the menopause, the test is
not always accurate and results can’t be guaranteed.
Surgical removal of the ovaries for various medical reasons will, of course, create an immediate menopause, whatever the patient’s age, and all the symptoms and risks associated with a natural menopause will apply to these women.
This is also the case in those rare instances of premature ovarian failure, when
the hormonal system fails at an early age and the ovaries lose their normal function.
The outcome, however, is still the same - menopausal symptoms and an
increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke.
Of course, irregular periods and the occasional hot flush are a sign that changes are taking place,but timing the actual menopause is not so simple.
And it is important to know - not just for preventing symptoms in the most
appropriate way, but also for contraception.
A truly menopausal woman will be infertile and will have no need of contraception.
However, most doctors advise menopausal women under 50 to continue with
their contraception for two years after their last period, and for one year if they are over 50.
Even identifying the last period can be difficult for a woman either still taking
the Pill (as bleeding still occurs every month) or who has just started Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT) for the relief of early perimenopausal symptoms.
Most doctors will evaluate a woman’s menopausal status according to her
symptoms (hot flushes, for example), pattern of periods, and medical record.
It is possible to take a blood test to measure levels of a reproductive hormone known as FSH.
However, while elevated FSH levels may be a sign of the menopause, the test is
not always accurate and results can’t be guaranteed.
Surgical removal of the ovaries for various medical reasons will, of course, create an immediate menopause, whatever the patient’s age, and all the symptoms and risks associated with a natural menopause will apply to these women.
This is also the case in those rare instances of premature ovarian failure, when
the hormonal system fails at an early age and the ovaries lose their normal function.
The outcome, however, is still the same - menopausal symptoms and an
increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke.
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