According to Dr Chwan-Li Shen, Green Tea and Tai Chi enhance bone health and reduce inflammation in postmenopausal women.
Dr. Chwan-Li (Leslie) Shen is an associate professor and a researcher at the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and has conducted a study focused on postmenopausal women and investigating the potential for green tea to work synergistically with tai chi (an eastern fitness activity) in enhancing bone strength after the menopause.
She carried out a double-blind, placebo-controlled, intervention trial which involved 171 postmenopausal women with an average age of 57 years old, who had weak bones but not full-fledged osteoporosis.
The study lasted for 6 months, during which time blood and urine samples were collected and muscle strength assessed.
The results show that drinking about 4 to 6 cups of steeped green tea daily and doing tai chi, enhanced markers of bone health by the third and sixth month. A similar effect was found for muscle strength after six months. Participants taking tai chi classes also reported significant beneficial effects in quality of life in terms of improving their emotional and mental health.
What she found important was the substantial effect that both the green tea and tai chi had on biological markers of oxidative stress. Because oxidative stress is a main precursor to inflammation, this finding suggests that green tea and tai chi may help reduce the underlying etiology of not only osteoporosis, but other inflammatory diseases as well.
Dr. Shen and colleagues hope to soon complete a more long-term study utilizing more technically savvy measures of bone density.
In the meantime, I for one, will be enjoying my well earned cuppa green tea!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Does Menopause Trigger Hayfever?
Does menopause trigger hayfever? Whilst menopause does not trigger hayfever, some women do experience increased allergies as part of their menopause symptoms and this of course includes hayfever.
As women approach the menopause and their hormonal profile changes, some may begin to experience a heightened sensitivity to allergies that previously had only subtle effects, or new allergies might spring up seemingly out of nowhere.
The stress of menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and depression amongst others can leave you physically and mentally exhausted. This as well as the hormonal changes caused by the menopause can dramatically impair your immune system which in turn leaves you more susceptible to allergies including hayfever.
One trick I find that helps me with hayfever is to smear vaseline into the nostrils before being exposed to pollen etc. This traps the pollen before it has a chance to enter the body and for me, reduces their impact.
As women approach the menopause and their hormonal profile changes, some may begin to experience a heightened sensitivity to allergies that previously had only subtle effects, or new allergies might spring up seemingly out of nowhere.
The stress of menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and depression amongst others can leave you physically and mentally exhausted. This as well as the hormonal changes caused by the menopause can dramatically impair your immune system which in turn leaves you more susceptible to allergies including hayfever.
One trick I find that helps me with hayfever is to smear vaseline into the nostrils before being exposed to pollen etc. This traps the pollen before it has a chance to enter the body and for me, reduces their impact.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Hot Flashes Reduced by Picturing Images Associated With Coolness
A study by Baylor University study has shown that women going through the menopause who specifically pictured images associated with coolness during hypnotherapy had a dramatic decrease in hot flashes.
The results appear in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
"This is an interesting finding because it begins to shed light on what is it, specifically, about hypnotic relaxation therapy that reduces the hot flashes," said Dr. Gary Elkins, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences, who has conducted several studies on hypnotic relaxation therapy. "The finding may indicate that areas of the brain activated by imagery may be identical to those activated by actual perceived events. Consequently, it may be that while a woman suffering hot flashes imagines a cool place, she also feels cool rather than the heat of a hot flash."
So next time you feel a hot flash coming, picture yourself making a snowman surrounded by lots of wonderful, cooling snow!!
The results appear in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
"This is an interesting finding because it begins to shed light on what is it, specifically, about hypnotic relaxation therapy that reduces the hot flashes," said Dr. Gary Elkins, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor's College of Arts and Sciences, who has conducted several studies on hypnotic relaxation therapy. "The finding may indicate that areas of the brain activated by imagery may be identical to those activated by actual perceived events. Consequently, it may be that while a woman suffering hot flashes imagines a cool place, she also feels cool rather than the heat of a hot flash."
So next time you feel a hot flash coming, picture yourself making a snowman surrounded by lots of wonderful, cooling snow!!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Can You Go Through The Menopause At 28?
Yes, you can...Katy Hayward had hot flashes and irregular periods, but when she couldn't get pregnant, the doctors reassured her that she was in 'peak health'.
She insisted on seeing a specialist and at just 28, was told she had gone into early menopause.
In fact 1 woman in 1,000 goes through early menopause while still under 30 years old, 1 in a 100 whilst under 40 and 5 in a 100 when they are under 45.
Because of the loss of estrogen this condition causes, early menopause in women can lead to an increase in bone loss and fractures and more chance of having a stroke and heart attack.
Dr Beth Cartwright, from the Menopause Research Unit at Guy's Hospital London hopes to make things better for women like Katy, by undertaking a study, as there is so little known about the condition that they do not even know the best treatment regime.
If you're interested in taking part in this study, contact Dr Beth Cartwright, Menopause Research Unit at Guy's Hospital on 020 7188 3024 or email her at beth.cartwrightatkcl.ac.uk, replacing the at with @.
She insisted on seeing a specialist and at just 28, was told she had gone into early menopause.
In fact 1 woman in 1,000 goes through early menopause while still under 30 years old, 1 in a 100 whilst under 40 and 5 in a 100 when they are under 45.
Because of the loss of estrogen this condition causes, early menopause in women can lead to an increase in bone loss and fractures and more chance of having a stroke and heart attack.
Dr Beth Cartwright, from the Menopause Research Unit at Guy's Hospital London hopes to make things better for women like Katy, by undertaking a study, as there is so little known about the condition that they do not even know the best treatment regime.
If you're interested in taking part in this study, contact Dr Beth Cartwright, Menopause Research Unit at Guy's Hospital on 020 7188 3024 or email her at beth.cartwrightatkcl.ac.uk, replacing the at with @.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Phytoestogens Study receives $8 million to research its effects on health
A Study being conducted on the effects of phytoestrogens on health will get an $8 million boost from the National Institutes of Health. The Botanical Research Center which is based at the University of Illinois, will draw on the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of researchers to address the many unknowns associated with use of botanical estrogens.
These plants and plant-based compounds are often marketed as aids to prevent cancer, promote healthy aging or relieve menopausal symptoms. Researchers from Illinois, the University of Mississippi, Oregon State University and the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research will contribute to the five-year effort.
Many women take plant-based estrogens (also called phytoestrogens) that are advertised as natural - and, they presume, safer - alternatives to hormone-replacement therapy.
Foods, supplements and extracts made from soy, licorice root, wild yam and dong quai, for example, are believed to reduce the occurrence of hot flashes, improve sex drive, lower the incidence or prevent the recurrence of breast cancer, enhance mental function or treat other health problems.
Today, phytoestrogens are added to teas and energy drinks, used as food additives and marketed as nutritional supplements. The estrogenic components of the plants - such as the isoflavone genistein in soy - are often extracted and used in highly concentrated form.
Research into their efficacy and safety has yielded mixed results. Consumption of some plants or extracts appears to reduce the risk of some cancers or minimize some of the unpleasant symptoms associated with menopause, while others have no effect. Still other studies, some of them conducted at Illinois, have found that certain phytoestrogens may actually induce cognitive problems, increase the recurrence of breast cancer and interfere with breast cancer treatment.
"The types of botanical estrogens that are being marketed are getting more and more potent," said William Helferich, a professor of food science and human nutrition at Illinois and the director of the new center. "We want to see if they really are effective or detrimental."
The new grant supports three projects led by Illinois faculty. The projects will explore whether and how phytoestrogens from soy, licorice root, dong quai and wild yam affect various tissues, influence gene expression or other cellular processes, increase or decrease the growth and metastasis of breast cancer tumors, influence bone loss or alter the rate of cognitive decline in aging.
View the original article here
These plants and plant-based compounds are often marketed as aids to prevent cancer, promote healthy aging or relieve menopausal symptoms. Researchers from Illinois, the University of Mississippi, Oregon State University and the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research will contribute to the five-year effort.
Many women take plant-based estrogens (also called phytoestrogens) that are advertised as natural - and, they presume, safer - alternatives to hormone-replacement therapy.
Foods, supplements and extracts made from soy, licorice root, wild yam and dong quai, for example, are believed to reduce the occurrence of hot flashes, improve sex drive, lower the incidence or prevent the recurrence of breast cancer, enhance mental function or treat other health problems.
Today, phytoestrogens are added to teas and energy drinks, used as food additives and marketed as nutritional supplements. The estrogenic components of the plants - such as the isoflavone genistein in soy - are often extracted and used in highly concentrated form.
Research into their efficacy and safety has yielded mixed results. Consumption of some plants or extracts appears to reduce the risk of some cancers or minimize some of the unpleasant symptoms associated with menopause, while others have no effect. Still other studies, some of them conducted at Illinois, have found that certain phytoestrogens may actually induce cognitive problems, increase the recurrence of breast cancer and interfere with breast cancer treatment.
"The types of botanical estrogens that are being marketed are getting more and more potent," said William Helferich, a professor of food science and human nutrition at Illinois and the director of the new center. "We want to see if they really are effective or detrimental."
The new grant supports three projects led by Illinois faculty. The projects will explore whether and how phytoestrogens from soy, licorice root, dong quai and wild yam affect various tissues, influence gene expression or other cellular processes, increase or decrease the growth and metastasis of breast cancer tumors, influence bone loss or alter the rate of cognitive decline in aging.
View the original article here
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