We are all hard-wired with a protective stress response system and the parts are:

* the part of the brain called the hypothalamus (part of the brain)

* the pituitary gland (the master gland)

* the adrenal gland which lies on top of the kidneys

These parts of the stress response system are collectively called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). They act in concert to protect the body when it’s exposed to stressful experiences.

Each part releases chemicals specific to its function that act throughout the body. In the aging body, the adrenal gland’s output of DHEA and its sulfate form, DHEAS, decreases, leading to a condition called “adrenopause.”

The decreased output of these compounds in advancing age has been correlated with a wide range of health problems. These compounds are steroids and are involved in the maintenance of:

* musculoskeletal stability

* immune system function

* cardiovascular system maintenance

The body’s sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone, are manufactured from DHEA. Since DHEA output declines with age, companies have been manufacturing DHEA supplements for years. They claim benefits of fatigue relief and anti-aging for people who use this supplement form. In addition, the following conditions represent some that are supposedly helped by supplementation:

* type II diabetes

* loss of body fat and muscle

* osteoporosis

* bone loss

* HIV

* diabetes

* kidney disease

* anorexia nervosa and bulimia

Medications and drugs can act as stressors to the body. With increased use of medications during the aging process, one’s ability to deal with stressful exposures lessens. Medications decrease DHEA output and functional capacity is reduced. One outcome is that the stress of menopause demands too much of the body and increased fatigue is the result.

DHEA supplements were made a prescription product in 1985 but were reintroduced as a nutritional supplement with the passing of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994. Studies on the effectiveness of DHEA on many parameters of health are conflicted.

DHEA is made naturally in the body, but DHEA supplements can be made in the laboratory from a chemical substance called diosgenin, found in soybeans and in the herb, wild yam. Wild yam creams applied to the skin are used for menstrual problems. But the body cannot convert wild yam to DHEA and this step must be done in the lab.

A breakdown in DHEA production represents a reduction in the optimal function of normal body functions. I see this as a part of the whole. With normal aging there is a reduction in normal functioning in many part of the body. So, the shotgun approach of supplying one or two supplements when maybe hundreds are needed is limited in scope.

Importantly, a program that stimulates a return to normal function of the glands and other body parts would be an option. The HPA axis and all other parts of the body are subjected to diminished function because of environmental pollutants.

Rather than supplements to supply under-manufactured products by the body, a more effective approach would be to help the body get rid of compounds that actually poison its functions. A detoxification program is a good idea as environmental pollutants represent a serious health hazard. They poison systems that make substances such as DHEA. There are effective detox methods and many, such as foot baths and colonics, that are ineffective.

Little known is the homeopathic approach to detox using remedies that are proven to help the body get rid of toxic compounds. This approach is not widely known, in fact, it’s hardly known at all. There is a small army of people working in these areas way under the radar.

The stress of menopause and the resulting fatigue don’t have to be lived with if one can find alternative approaches to help cleanse and rebuild the body.

How our bodies react to the aging process differs from person to person, but everyone experiences the process.

Pain, discomfort and anxiety that accompany the aging process may be natural, but that doesn’t mean we have to sit quietly and let these conditions happen to us.

Feedback from my clients is a key driver for the development of my programs. I routinely see themes in this feedback, such as concerns regarding menopause, when a woman’s menstrual cycle ends.

Advances in health research and technology have changed they way menopause affects women. While many decades ago menopause marked the end of a woman’s life cycle, now they spend over a third of their lives in this stage.

When can women expect to see the bothersome symptoms associated with menopause? Many of the most common ailments can begin up to five to ten years before menopause is diagnosed (confirmed when there has been no menstrual cycle in over 12 months). Women in this stage are considered to be perimenopausal.

The most common reported symptoms and conditions that accompany menopause include anxiety, depression, fatigue, hot flashes and mood changes.

More debilitating conditions afflict many women approaching and reaching menopause. Migraine headaches are a common affliction for these women.

Migraine headaches that started earlier in life can worsen at the start of menopause, especially if the sufferer is using estrogen to combat other menopausal symptoms.

Another problematic and sometimes frightening condition that can accompany migraine headache is vertigo, which is marked by a sudden dizziness or feeling like objects in the room around you are spinning.

The combination of these two conditions is referred to as migraine associated vertigo (MAV), and menopausal women frequently suffer from this doubly debilitating condition.

Another health issue that disappoints women in this stage is weight gain. Menopause is the most notable period during the aging process where an already declining metabolism aligns with lack of energy to create a “perfect storm” for gaining weight.

Excess weight stored in the throat and neck area can contribute to conditions that lead to heart problems and blood pressure concerns: snoring and sleep apnea. People who are overweight are already at risk for these problems.

Menopause brings with it natural frustrations mentioned above, but studies have shown that the use of tobacco and excess drinking also increase during this stage, increasing the risks of heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

If you have been looking for relief from your migraines, dizziness, (or both), try these programs: Dizziness and Vertigo or Migraine and Headache Relief. I also have natural programs for battling sleep apnea and snoring, weight loss, and high blood pressure. Look for Weight Loss Breeze, Stop Snoring, and High Blood Pressure programs.

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INTRODUCTION: Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when menstruation stops permanently, signifying the end of her ability to produce children and is diagnosed when a woman has gone without a period for 1 full year. It is considered premature if it happens before the age of forty, or artificial if radiation exposure, chemotherapeutic drugs, or surgery induces it. Menopause is something that happens to every women as they get older.

HOT FLASHES: Hot flashes are probably the most bothersome symptom associated with approaching menopause and are experienced by a majority of females during the transition period (no pun intended). An ancient Chinese therapy gives some menopausal women another treatment option for their hot flashes.

For others however, the decreasing levels of estrogen associated with menopause may cause more distressing symptoms that include: Mood swings – Decreased sex drive – Hot flashes – Sweating – Racing heart (palpitations) – Headaches – Vaginal dryness and soreness – Trouble sleeping and Bone thinning (osteoporosis). These symptoms can last from a few months to up to 10 years.

HORMONES: Known as the “change of life”, It is the last stage of a gradual biological process in which the ovaries decrease their production of female sex hormones–a process which commences about 3 to 5 years before the last menstrual period. When you are in your mid-30’s, your ovaries start to change how much estrogen and progesterone (two female hormones) they create.

During this time, known as perimenopause, which can last anywhere from 5 to 15 years, the brain continues to send out hormones in an attempt to stimulate the development of ovarian follicles, and it is common for a woman’s ovaries to respond erratically, so that her hormones fluctuate considerably from month to month. It continues to create hormones even after ovulation ceases, producing some estrogen and also androgens (male hormones) including testosterone.

To best understand what occurs during menopause, it is helpful to know about the physiology of menstruation and the hormones that are involved in your monthly cycle. Changes in hormones are a major factor in that sense of physical, mental, and emotional imbalance that may characterize a woman’s experience of menopause.

A lot of women discover that the right combination of herbs, exercise, nutritional support, and natural hormones helps them to control most of their symptoms. Eventually your ovaries stop creating estrogen and other hormones.

CANCER: Your risks for heart disease, cancer, and bone thinning (osteoporosis) increase after menopause. You should be checked for colon, rectal and skin cancer. If you have a family history of breast cancer, check with your doctor about your risk. If you have a uterus and decide to take estrogen, you must also take progesterone to prevent endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus).

“There’s been much experimental evidence and patient experience showing estrogen given alone can lead to endometrial cancer,” says FDA’s Smith. Endometrial cancer is not the only risk from estrogen use. It is not known whether estrogen use increases the risk of breast cancer, or what effect adding progestin would have on this risk. In recent years, many studies on breast cancer and estrogen use have been conducted, with conflicting results, says Smith.

TREATMENT: Menopause has become increasingly medicalized, which means it is viewed as something that requires intervention and treatment rather than as a natural life transition that may benefit from support. You don’t need treatment for it unless your symptoms bother you. Be sure to talk to your doctor about your possible health risks before you start a treatment for menopausal symptoms.

There are also “natural” treatments for the symptoms that can be bought without a prescription. You can commence or end the treatment at any time.

CONCLUSION: Menopause is a normal process and not a disease. It is a normal part of life just like puberty. Part of the stigma is its association with aging, but we age no more quickly in our 50s than in any other decade of life. In the US, the average age is 51, with the majority of women usually reaching natural menopause sometime between 40 and 58 years of age. If you’ve never been an exerciser, it is a great excuse to start.

Menopause can be a boon or a bane depending on how you view the condition. But for most women, it’s a terrible thing to go through — what with all the symptoms and discomfort that go with it. If you’re wondering whether you’re already going through menopause, then check this list of common symptoms.

#1 ” Irregular periods. This is more pronounced in healthy women who have experienced regular periods in their youth. Some periods are much heavier than usual while others are nonexistent. The duration of periods may also experience some irregularity ” while a period usually lasts around five days in healthy women, the onset of menopause may cause periods to last as short as one day or as long as ten.

Keep in mind that menopause doesn’t happen immediately — it’s a gradual change. The first stage of menopause is called “pre-menopause,” and it usually starts a few years before the real menopause begins. Pre-menopausal symptoms are light and tolerable, but gradually increase in intensity as menopause approaches.

#2 – Hot flashes. These sudden spikes in body temperature can happen early in the day or evening, and usually result in sweating and discomfort. These flashes aren’t very uncomfortable if they last less than a minute, but they can get in the way of things when they last around 30 minutes.

#3 – Sadness and anxiety. Mood swings may be brought about as hormone levels drop during menopause. This can lead to more serious psychological problems if left untreated, so it’s very important to recognize this is as just another symptom of menopause. Nevertheless, it can still strain social ties, so it’s best to have a support group, such as family and friends, around during this difficult period.

#4 ” Decreased libido, or pain during sex. Menopause’s hormonal changes can cause the vagina to be more sensitive and less lubricated, which can make sex painful. This is obviously another problem that can be dangerous if left untreated!

These are only some of the more common symptoms of menopause. There are other symptoms that are less common but are still experienced by many women, and they can be quite depressing.

But then again, menopause can be a blessing and not a curse if you choose to see it that way. For instance, if you were worried about conceiving, you can now enjoy guilt-free sex once your system stops ovulating.

It’s very important to see your doctor regularly when your symptoms begin to get in the way of everyday life. Your special case may require special treatment.

Bioidentical ” natural hormone replacement

Bioidentical is a compound word that means: bio is defined as life; living organism and identical is alike in every way; the same. Put the two together and it means anything that is composed of the same type of substance of a living organism. The usage of the word bioidentical in this modern day is in reference to a natural hormone that has the identical cellular structure of the human body.

Synthetic hormones have been created and are used in this modern day. It is the popular thinking of this day and age that synthetics are used because a human body is incapable of using natural substances to create the hormones it needs – but look at how long mankind has survived with natural substances from mother earth compared to the problems that synthetics cause.

Why hormone therapy?

We are what we eat has been a common saying, there is some truth to that because hormones are chemical substances that are produced in the body from the sustenance that we give our bodies. Once manufactured, the hormones are delivered via the blood to different organs to get the functional activity to occur.

From the age of 35 and each year thereafter, the amount of hormones created in the body decreases. Among the thirty-nine different hormones that are manufactured by our bodies are estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

For women, during the menopause years, including the time prior to menopause when irregular periods and other symptoms occur is when the first hormone Prosgesterone starts to decline. Indications of the decline can start 15 years before menopause occurs with symptoms that can include being irritable,anxious, etc. The next hormone to dwindle is estrogen which causes hot flashes, vaginal dryness and other symptoms that can last 2 or 3 years and sometimes longer. Following those two hormones, testosterone starts diminishing and with that goes physical stamina, sex drive and tissue degeneration.

Should we be without hormones? NO!!

What does an imbalance of hormones have to do with cancer?

There are 3 forms of naturally occurring estrogens in a human female body, Estrone, Estriol, and Estradiol. Out of these only one i.e. Estrone is clot forming and breast stimulating causing cancer. Horse or equine estrogens, that are synthetic hormones in use today, have no Estriol, which is the most protective estrogen (it is anti-cancer), and it has 40% of equine (horse) estrogens, not exactly compatible to human female hormones.

Bioidentical hormones are made either from Soy or Yam and modified in the lab to be exactly the same as human hormones. Synthetic progesterone causes weight gain, irritability, acne, migraine, fluid retention and bad cholesterol ratio which in turn causes other body problems. Synthetics are given daily which is not the female cycle ” it only naturally occurs for 15 days of every month.

When taking the bioidentical progesterone, because it is compatible with the human body, a women can experience improvements in mood, a lessening of irritability, relief from bloating and hot flashes besides a diminishing of other problems with the digestion, with flatulence and with memory loss. Using the bioidentical hormone therapy has also shown improvements in the reduction of tender or swollen breasts and a reduction in vaginal bleeding.

In conclusion bioidentical progesterone makes happier women, a better quality of life, more cardiovascular protection, better cancer protection, more brain protection and better bone protection. On the other hand synthetic progesterone antagonizes the beneficial effects and creates the opposite results.

Why is cancer a concern in menopause?

During menopause, the lack of hormonal balance begins to happen in a women’s body. Estrone levels that escalate too high and progesterone levels that fall very low are what need to be paid attention to. Estrone that is way too high causes cancer and progesterone, which is cancer preventative falling too low creates problems. Replacing bioindentical hormones in women makes a natural balance of the two hormones. Creating this natural balance is evident with a happier and higher quality of life for women.