Menstral Cramps
“Cramps” are the curse of up to 50% of reproductive aged regularly menstruating women, the medical term for this disorder being dysmenorrhea. The symptoms are usually crampy pain in the lower abdomen or pelvis, and sometimes in the back. The pain may be sharp or dull, intermittent or achy, and can be accompanied by upset stomach, diarrhea or constipation, headaches, fatigue, and irritability. Generally symptoms become less severe with advancing age and childbearing. Primary dysmenorrhea means that there has been no specific disease process found to account for the pain such as fibroids, endometriosis, or ovarian cysts (usually ruled out with a pelvic ultrasound). Stress, use of an IUD, and poor dietary and life style factors are definitely related to this problem. We now believe that the pain is due to excess production of inflammatory prostaglandins in uterine tissue. Treatment is therefore directed at blocking the effect of the “bad” prostaglandins while increasing the production of the anti-inflammatory prostaglandin PG-1. This is accomplished with evening primrose or borage, and EPA/DHA fish oils. Diet wise, saturated fats and sugar must be limited since they can be a source of the inflammatory prostaglandins. Nutraceutical support includes magnesium, Dong Quai, Black Cohosh, and our combination products available from the Benuts store or on-line: “Menstrual Support”, “Premensulator” and “Rapid Response 5”. Vitamin B6 is also helpful and is probably best supplied as part of a daily B complex. Other factors which can impact the severity of primary dysmenorrhea are cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, overwork, stress, hormone imbalance, emotional issues, and caffeine. Occasionally we have to resort to prescribing a prostaglandin blocking medication, but usually life style and nutritional changes produce good results in our patients.
Calcium-D Glucarate
All women are interested in how they can reduce their risk of breast cancer. Beyond some of the important life style issues I discussed in my recent article on this subject, one promising supplement getting a lot of attention recently is D-glucarate.
The glucarate component of the molecule helps supply the body with the glucuronic acid which the liver uses in the second stage of the detoxification process, called conjugation or glucuronidation. Through this process various toxic by-products of daily living are conjugated (bound) to glucuronic acid, and thereby made water soluble and less harmful, and then excreted. Metabolism of steroid hormones, including estrogen is accomplished through this process, and explains one way Ca-D-glucarate fights breast cancer….by getting rid of excess estrogen which has been strongly implicated in many cases of breast cancer. Another way that it woks is by reducing the activity of an enzyme that undoes the conjugating and detoxifying work of the liver. The “bad” enzyme beta-glucuronidase is the culprit, and CDG (Ca-D-glucarate) inhibits its activity. The bottom line is that CDG supports detoxification function, thereby reducing the risk of hormone or toxin induced carcinogenesis. Existing studies suggest it may be useful in the prevention and/or treatment of breast, lung, colon, prostate, liver, bladder, and skin cancers.
Wrinkles and Hormones
Wrinkling of the skin is a common and obvious sign of the aging process, right? Well, yes and no. Generally, after researching many different methods of determining true biological age, scientists have reverted to this: the best overall indicator of the aging rate is indeed how a person looks for their age. And this, of course is largely dependent on the quality of the skin. However, sun damage, cigarette smoking, and hormone deficiencies can be causes for pathological (early and severe) skin wrinkling which is out of proportion to the patient’s chronological age. All 3 of these can be prevented by the health conscious patient. Today I particularly wanted to call to my readers’ attention a very specific type of wrinkling related to hormones. Vertical wrinkle lines on the upper lip of a post or perimenopausal woman are characteristic and specific for estrogen deficiency. It is NOT due to aging. This brings us immediately back to those studies of several years ago showing how dangerous Prempro and Premarin can be. What’s the sense of having nice firm skin and looking 10-15 years younger than your age if it’s going to cost you an early death or disability? My conclusion after much research and experience is this: don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. You CAN enjoy the life enhancing and age retarding benefits of hormone replacement therapy by getting all hormones properly tested, and having identical to natural hormones prescribed in the proper balance. The earlier this is started the more completely the skin changes can be prevented or reversed.
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any of the nutritional products listed in the article above.
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