MenopauseRx News & Events Blog
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#10: This is not your grandmother’s menopause
At the turn of the 19th century, a woman’s average life expectancy was 48.3 years. Most women did not live beyond their childbearing years. Today, if you are 45 years old, you can expect to live another 35-40 years. Some would say that it’s not natural for a woman to live so many years without the benefits of the hormones they had when they were younger. Menopause is a natural part of life, not a disease; you can expect to stay fit and healthy after menopause.
#9: Know what’s happening physically
Estrogen is necessary for reproduction and provides you with feminine characteristics. When your ovaries stop producing the hormones necessary for pregnancy your periods stop as well. Menopause is merely your last menstrual period. For many women, the changes leading to menopause begin a few years before their last period, and during this time of hormonal fluctuation, they may experience hot flashes, sleep disturbances, night sweats, palpitations, headaches, mood swings, and fatigue.
#8: Menopause can affect sexual function
Women experience the effects of menopause in a variety of ways. Lack of hormones can affect the lubrication of the vaginal wall. As a result, you might experience vaginal dryness that makes sexual intercourse painful. You shouldn’t have to have pain with intercourse.
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By: MARILYNN MARCHIONE – AP Medical Writer
For women who have struggled with the symptoms of menopause but are fearful of taking risky hormone pills, there is at last a bit of hope. Hormone skin patches and gels, it seems, are far less likely than pills to cause dangerous blood clots. At least that was the finding from a recently published French study.
Patches and gels are already known to be effective for relieving the hot flashes and sleep-interrupting night sweats that plague many women. No one knows whether they will prove safer than pills in terms of breast cancer, heart attack or stroke risk. A large study currently under way may answer that.
But if they do, it may soften some of the backlash against hormones since a landmark study in 2002 frightened many women away from their use. Critics of that study have long contended that it is the type of estrogen or progestin, the dosage, and the method of taking the hormones that may affect the health risks.
The French study, while not the final word, is the strongest proof yet that this may be true, said Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She has no financial ties to hormone drugmakers and just published a book giving women advice on hormone use.
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GREEN BAY, WI, April 18, 2007-Many women are choosing dietary supplements for the management of menopausal symptoms – especially since serious health concerns have been raised about hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Remifemin® black cohosh extract, the most extensively researched, non-prescription menopausal therapy has been found to safely and effectively reduce hot flashes, night sweats and irritability. Now, a study published in the International Journal of Cancer: 120, 1523-1528 (2007), has shown that this proprietary herbal product lowers the risk of breast cancer by as much as 60%.
“The standardized Remifemin® black cohosh extract has antiestrogenic, antiproliferative and antioxidant properties,” said Dr. Eckehard Liske, Director of the International Medical Department, Schaper & Bruemmer GmbH & Co KG, Salzgitter, Germany. “Rebbeck’s research suggests that Remifemin® may help in reducing the risk of breast cancer.”
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(NAPSI)-Weak, fragile bones and susceptibility to fractures-these are some of the painful consequences of the debilitating bone disease, osteoporosis. Currently, 10 million people suffer from osteoporosis in the United States and another 34 million are at risk of developing the disease. The Surgeon General has named osteoporosis a national health threat and estimated that by 2020 one in two Americans over the age of 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis or low bone mass.
There are several risk factors associated with the development of osteoporosis, including inadequate levels of vitamin D, a nutrient essential to the body’s absorption of calcium. Recent research has uncovered that over 70 percent of women over the age of 50 have low levels of vitamin D, and even women being treated for osteoporosis have low levels of the important vitamin. To address the need for greater awareness about low levels of vitamin D, Spirit of Women Hospital Network has teamed up with Dr. Marie Savard, an internationally recognized women’s health expert, to launch a new vitamin D risk assessment.
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The American Heart Association has updated its recommendation regarding hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Their current recommendation states that physicians should not base the decision to use HRT based upon heart disease prevention. This recommendation is the result of a number of relatively recent studies refuting earlier data about the protective effects of HRT on the cardiovascular system.
Most gynecologists prescribe HRT for the treatment of menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and sleep disturbances. However, from 1995 until 1999 the American Heart Association had recommended that physicians consider estrogen for all postmenopausal women with cardiovascular disease. Read more…
By Monique N. Gilbert
Soy, and most soy-based products, are nutritional powerhouses. Soybeans
are the only plant food that has all of the essential amino acids our body requires, making it a complete protein. Soy foods do not have any cholesterol, and most are high in fiber. Soy also has many vitamins, minerals, and phytochemical compounds (like isoflavones) that work together to create numerous health benefits. Research shows that a daily intake of at least 25 grams of soy protein and 30-50 milligrams of isoflavones can improve and safeguard your health. This is the equivalent of 1-2 servings of soy foods a day. Here is a list of soy’s properties and how they can positively affect you. Read more…
You know how important exercise is and you really do want to get fit, but your schedule is already bursting at the seams, and you don’t think you could fit even one more activity.
As a busy mother of three young sons, I know how difficult it can be to fit a regular exercise routine into a full schedule. Yet, without a consistent exercise regimen, you may not have the energy to keep up with your responsibilities. Read more…