natural menopause
Scientists have devised a way of testing for the bone disease osteoporosis simply by scanning a patient's fingernail.
Both fingernails and bones contain a crucial bonding substance which helps give them strength.
The team, including University of Limerick experts, say low levels in the fingernail indicate low levels in bone.
The idea has been nominated for the Medical Futures - Innovation Awards, due to be announced later this year.
Osteoporosis is a weakening of the bones that can lead to breaks which are difficult to heal.
This test could be a low cost and simple way of assessing someone's risk and if they need to go for further checks according to Mark Towler.
It affects one in three women and one in 12 men and is responsible for 200,000 broken bones per year in the UK - and 40 deaths a day.
The first clue the fingernail could play a role in diagnosing the disease came when a doctor noticed his osteoporosis patients had floppy nails.
Mark Towler, a lecturer in materials at the University of Limerick was asked to look at the properties of nail and bone.
Dr Towler checked the nails and bones in 10 people with osteoporosis and 10 without.
He found that levels of disulphide bond - needed to bind one protein molecule to another - were lower in people with osteoporosis.
The researchers went on to look at another 200 people, who were also given bone scans - the conventional way of assessing if someone has a risk of osteoporosis.
Everyone shown by the scans to have osteoporosis was also found to have low levels of disulphide bond.
Dr Towler said "People are usually referred to hospital for bone scans if their doctors feel they have risk factors, such as being post menopausal, or if they smoke.
This test could be done in a GP surgery, or someone could send off a nail for testing."
Good news for us women going through the menopause, as this would be a cheaper, easier, time saving and no hassle way of testing.
natural menopause
Friday, May 12, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Vitamin E for Hot Flushes
natural menopause
Hot flushes and those dreaded night sweats!
As many as 75% of menopausal women experience hot flushes. They vary in intensity and frequency and may recur over months, or even years.
This refers to the dilation, or relaxation, of the tiny blood vessels near the skin, leading to a rise in skin temperature and flushing of the skin.
Increased heart rates, headaches, dizziness, weight gain, fatigue or insomnia may accompany hot flushes.
Vitamin E (200-600iu per day) has long been established for helping many menopausal problems especially hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations and vaginal dryness.
The combination of bioflavonoids, especially hesperidin, together with vitamin C (at about 1000mg of each per day) can also be useful for flushing and other circulatory problems.
Natural sources of vitamin E are plant oils (hemp, olive), seeds (linseeds, hemp seeds, sesame), wholewheat products (wholemeal bread, cereals), tinned tuna and asparagus.
Apparently it doesn't always work, but if you've tried all else, like I have, it's definitely worth a try!
natural menopause
Hot flushes and those dreaded night sweats!
As many as 75% of menopausal women experience hot flushes. They vary in intensity and frequency and may recur over months, or even years.
This refers to the dilation, or relaxation, of the tiny blood vessels near the skin, leading to a rise in skin temperature and flushing of the skin.
Increased heart rates, headaches, dizziness, weight gain, fatigue or insomnia may accompany hot flushes.
Vitamin E (200-600iu per day) has long been established for helping many menopausal problems especially hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations and vaginal dryness.
The combination of bioflavonoids, especially hesperidin, together with vitamin C (at about 1000mg of each per day) can also be useful for flushing and other circulatory problems.
Natural sources of vitamin E are plant oils (hemp, olive), seeds (linseeds, hemp seeds, sesame), wholewheat products (wholemeal bread, cereals), tinned tuna and asparagus.
Apparently it doesn't always work, but if you've tried all else, like I have, it's definitely worth a try!
natural menopause
Monday, March 27, 2006
Feeling Depressed.....
I haven't posted for a while, because I've been feeling really down lately.
I can't take any of the herbs for menopause as I'm allergic to them, but have been using high doses of vitamins and theanine to manage the menopause.
But I guess it's the combination of the long winter this year, a couple of colds and an ear infection that have ground me down.
I've also been feeling sorry for myself, and so much want to find the woman that I was again. I just seem to have lost that spark.
So, I have decided to take St John's Wort in the hope that it will give me that extra helping hand to pull myself out of this.
I started taking it a couple of weeks ago and will keep you informed of it's efficacy.
Apparently it takes about six weeks to work it's magic!
I will try and put up a description and how to take it etc on my Natural Menopause site when I'm up to it.
Bon Courage to all those going through the same thing.....
natural menopause
I can't take any of the herbs for menopause as I'm allergic to them, but have been using high doses of vitamins and theanine to manage the menopause.
But I guess it's the combination of the long winter this year, a couple of colds and an ear infection that have ground me down.
I've also been feeling sorry for myself, and so much want to find the woman that I was again. I just seem to have lost that spark.
So, I have decided to take St John's Wort in the hope that it will give me that extra helping hand to pull myself out of this.
I started taking it a couple of weeks ago and will keep you informed of it's efficacy.
Apparently it takes about six weeks to work it's magic!
I will try and put up a description and how to take it etc on my Natural Menopause site when I'm up to it.
Bon Courage to all those going through the same thing.....
natural menopause
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Don't Let Yourself Go
Natural Menopause
There are so many things to deal with and worry about that it's very easy to let yourself go during the peri menopause and menopause.
My excuses were,
- I'm just so tired my least important priority is what I look like.
- my self-esteem was so low that I thought, "what's the point, I'll never look good"
- I felt so depressed and low that I didn't feel like dressing up.
- I felt sad at getting older and looking at the mirror just reminded me that I was getting older.
But believe me, it is worth making that effort to look as good as you can.
It will lift your spirits and make you feel better. You will feel like doing things, going out and meeting people, all which will impact the above points and make them better.
So when you wake up in the morning, even if you are not going anywhere, put on your gladrags, put some make up on, stand straight and hold your head up high.
Have a great day!
natural menopause
There are so many things to deal with and worry about that it's very easy to let yourself go during the peri menopause and menopause.
My excuses were,
- I'm just so tired my least important priority is what I look like.
- my self-esteem was so low that I thought, "what's the point, I'll never look good"
- I felt so depressed and low that I didn't feel like dressing up.
- I felt sad at getting older and looking at the mirror just reminded me that I was getting older.
But believe me, it is worth making that effort to look as good as you can.
It will lift your spirits and make you feel better. You will feel like doing things, going out and meeting people, all which will impact the above points and make them better.
So when you wake up in the morning, even if you are not going anywhere, put on your gladrags, put some make up on, stand straight and hold your head up high.
Have a great day!
natural menopause
Friday, March 03, 2006
Menopause Symptoms - Two is Better Than One!
Natural Menopause
Two is better than one...
Pairing up two commonly used herbal medicines is "very effective" for easing physical and psychological symptoms of menopause, German researchers report.
St. John's wort is widely used to treat mild to moderate depression, while women have traditionally taken black cohosh for menopausal complaints.
To see if a fixed combination of the herbal medicines could offer an alternative to hormone replacement therapy, the researchers studied 301 women who had been experiencing menopausal symptoms for at least three months, along with depressed mood.
Half took the St. John's wort and black cohosh combo, while the other half took placebo pills.
After 16 weeks, women who took the two-herb combination showed a 50 percent reduction in symptoms such as hot flashes and sweating, compared to 19.6 percent for those on placebo. Scores measuring depression fell by 41.8 percent among women on the herbal medicines, compared to 12.7 percent for those on placebo.
The improvement in menopausal symptoms was similar to that seen among women taking hormone therapy for three months, Gruenwald and his team point out. They conclude that the treatment is safe and effective for easing both depression and menopausal complaints.
SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, February 2006.
Natural Menopause
Two is better than one...
Pairing up two commonly used herbal medicines is "very effective" for easing physical and psychological symptoms of menopause, German researchers report.
St. John's wort is widely used to treat mild to moderate depression, while women have traditionally taken black cohosh for menopausal complaints.
To see if a fixed combination of the herbal medicines could offer an alternative to hormone replacement therapy, the researchers studied 301 women who had been experiencing menopausal symptoms for at least three months, along with depressed mood.
Half took the St. John's wort and black cohosh combo, while the other half took placebo pills.
After 16 weeks, women who took the two-herb combination showed a 50 percent reduction in symptoms such as hot flashes and sweating, compared to 19.6 percent for those on placebo. Scores measuring depression fell by 41.8 percent among women on the herbal medicines, compared to 12.7 percent for those on placebo.
The improvement in menopausal symptoms was similar to that seen among women taking hormone therapy for three months, Gruenwald and his team point out. They conclude that the treatment is safe and effective for easing both depression and menopausal complaints.
SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, February 2006.
Natural Menopause
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