Women's Health

Choosing the best multivitamin

Choosing the right multivitamin is vital but it can be confusing. There are conflicting claims about nutrients and dosages. Because of weak regulations, the labels on products are incomplete and misleading. Science in this area is rapidly evolving. And the number of choices at the vitamin store can be overwhelming. How do you decide what to do? Here’s a guide to finding the best nutritional supplements.

A New Epidemic
By John Lee, MD

In the 30 years that I practiced medicine, I rarely saw a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Today, estimates are that 10 to 20 percent of women have PCOS, and I would guess that among young women the number is even higher, qualifying this as an epidemic.

I have had many e-mails and letters from women in their late teens and twenties with PCOS. Their doctors tend to prescribe two treatments, both of which affect symptoms only, and neither of which is particularly successful. One treatment is temporary chemical castration, using birth control pills, androgens (male hormones), androgen blockers, synthetic estrogens, Lupron or similar drugs that block hormone production. The other is prescribing the new oral drugs for Type II diabetes, which reduce insulin resistance. I have a much safer, simpler, more effective and less expensive approach that treats the cause and not just the symptoms of PCOS.

Could adrenal imbalance be causing your weight problem?

* Do you feel bone tired during the day, only to perk up at night?
* Do you tend to nod off at the movies, at meetings, or while reading during the daytime?
* Do you love to snack in the evening and frequently stay up late into the night?
* Do you feel hungry, confused, or shaky when under pressure during the day?
* Do you habitually rely on caffeine and high-carb snacks to boost your flagging energy?
* Have you noticed a “spare tire” growing larger and larger around your waist each year?
* Are you eating modestly and exercising, but still not losing weight?

If you answered to yes to two or more of the above, adrenal imbalance could lie at the core of your weight gain. Continue reading for more information. . . .

Xeno literally means foreign, therefore xenoestrogens means foreign estrogens. Some of the 70,000 registered chemicals for use in the United States have hormonal effects in addition to toxic effects. The synergistic effects of exposure to many xenoestrogens are well documented, but largely unknown. These substances can increase the estrogen load in the body over time, and are difficult to detoxify through the liver. This further compounds the problem of estrogen dominance.

Hormonal Imbalance Symptoms

"Knowledge is not power, but rather information to make wise choices"

Can you relate to any of these symptoms? Find your age category and check all the symptoms that you have experienced.

Endometriosis is a serious condition in which tiny islets of endometrium (inner lining cells of the uterus) become scattered in areas where they don’t belong: the fallopian tubes, within the uterine musculature (adenomysis), and on the outer surface of the uterus and other pelvic organs, the colon, the bladder, and the sides of the pelvic cavity. With each monthly cycle, these islets of endometrium respond to ovarian hormones exactly as endometrial cells do within the uterus – they increase in size, swell with blood, and bleed into the surrounding tissue and menstruation. The bleeding (no matter how small) into the surrounding tissue causes inflammation and is very painful, often disabling.

Auto immune disorders are those disease states in which your own antibodies attack some gland or tissue in your body. Normally your antibodies protect you from harmful invaders, but in this case they go after normal tissue. The actual cause is generally never found. Autoimmune disorders, in general, are more common in women.

To whom it may concern:

"I am sending this e-mail in regards to the complaint issued by the Wyeth Corporation on bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and to share my story of the benefits that I have received by using bio-identical replacement therapy.

Whether it’s having a taste for something sweet after dinner each night or speeding to your local supermarket for the biggest bag of Swedish Fish you can buy, I know craving sugar can be a powerful urge. And the disappointing truth is that once we start to include sugar into our daily routine, it becomes more and more difficult to stop.

As humans we’ve evolved to appreciate the instant energy sugar provides us, but food is a highly emotional topic, especially when it comes to sweets. We often associate sweet foods with love and acceptance, and scientists have looked at our brain chemistry to understand how food can directly affect our “feel-good” neurotransmitters like serotonin. There are many other physical causes for sugar cravings, too, like hormonal fluctuations, intestinal yeast, and stress, to name a few.