From the monthly archives:
Remember “Our Bodies Ourselves” ? I was still a teenager when the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective published this landmark book. It was the beginning of the feminist movement and it was the first book that talked about women’s health, reproduction and sexuality openly and honestly. It was a big deal and everyone I knew had a copy on their bookshelf. It has since been translated and/or adapted into 20 languages. [click to continue…]
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Our bodies go through a lot of changes during our middle years. Some of these can be attributed to fluctuating (in our 40s) or decreasing (in our 50s) hormone levels and some can’t. However, according to the Harvard Women’s Health Watch report on Menopause, the four most commonly reported changes include:
Mood changes and depression
Insomnia or other sleep problems
Cognitive or memory problems
Decline in sexual desire and/or function
The domino effect of sleep deprivation can potentially cause all of these symptoms so it is understandable that these complaints would be at the top of the list.
Other changes that often occur, but cannot be positively attributed to hormonal changes include:
Weight gain
Urinary incontinence
Heart palpitations
Dry skin and hair
Headaches
If you’re noticing changes - however vague– in your own body, you can check out a published list of 35 symptoms of Menopause, which was compiled by a group of women for Project Aware.
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Last month, I wrote about the FDA’s action restricting certain compounding pharmacists from dipsensing bio-identical hormones containing estriol - a form of estrogen. Wyeth, the biggest seller of prescription menopause hormones (Premarin and Prempro), had petitioned the FDA in April, 2006, to take this action complaining that many compounders make false claims about the drugs’ safety. The FDA says the two actions aren’t linked, but I say, what a coincidence! [click to continue…]
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Vitamin D is one of 13 vitamins our bodies need to function properly, according to the American Dietetic Association. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin that promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and helps deposit these minerals in bones and teeth to make them strong. It’s so important to our well-being that a group of prominent scientists have formed The Vitamin D Council, a non-profit organization with a mission to educate the public and professionals about Vitamin D deficiency and its numerous associated diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, depression). [click to continue…]
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I mentioned several weeks ago that I had begun a daily regimen of Black Cohosh, Flax Seed and Fish Oil. I’m happy to report that the hot flashes that I had been experiencing for more than a year have completely stopped. Based on everything I’ve read, I attributed this to the Black Cohosh, while the Flax Seeds have undoubtedly benefited me in other ways. But a new study suggests that it could have been the flax seed after all. [click to continue…]
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In my interview with Shaila Schwartz, a Naturopathic Doctor in San Francisco, I asked her about botanical medicines that she has found to be most helpful with her patients. Her response follows: [click to continue…]
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