I'm Too Young for This!: The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause (28 page)
Read I'm Too Young for This!: The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause Online
Authors: Suzanne Somers
Tags: #Health & Fitness, #Healthy Living, #Alternative Therapies, #Sexuality
You know what these are if you’ve ever had one, but what to do to get you out of your misery? The remedy for hot flashes is bioidentical estrogen. Research shows that 97 percent of the symptoms of hot flashes are resolved by estrogen replacement.
But for some women estrogen alone is not sufficient. Low testosterone symptoms could be the culprit. Are you experiencing
dry skin, a lack of interest in sex, a lack of progress in weight training? Testosterone helps generate estrogen in the brain where it needs to be to cure hot flashes. Resolving these issues often does the trick.
• Black cohosh may be effective for the treatment of hot flashes, mood disturbances, excessive sweating, palpitations, and vaginal dryness, but not all studies demonstrate efficacy.
• Daily treatment with the phytoestrogen genistein has been shown to safely decrease hot flashes up to 30 percent, but not all studies demonstrate efficacy. Again, low sex hormone status is the prime suspect for why it may not work in some.
• An extract of hops has been found to contain a previously unknown class of nonsteroidal phytoestrogens (
prenylflavonoids
), of which 8-prenylnaringenin (8-PN) is the most potent. In fact, clinical research has shown that most menopausal women who take it experience a rapid and significant reduction in hot flashes and other benefits.• HMR lignan (containing 7-hydroxymatairesinol) a specific plant compound from the Norway Spruce can provide hot flash relief. A study indicated that postmenopausal women using HMR lignan daily over eight weeks experienced a 53.5 percent reduction in hot flashes as well as a reduction in other common menopausal complaints. In addition, clinical data suggest a lignan-rich diet supports breast health.
• The combination of testosterone and estrogen has been shown to reduce hot flashes, sleep disturbances, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. The use of estriol has also been shown to eliminate hot flashes and reduce night
sweats in menopausal women. Nutrients can help, but proper hormone replacement is often essential.
| Dosage Suggestions for Hot Flashes | ||
| NUTRIENT OR INTERVENTION | TYPICAL DAILY DOSE | SUGGESTED PRODUCTS |
| Black cohosh | 40–80 mg standardized extract | Natural Estrogen with Pomegranate Extract |
| Progesterone | Based on blood test results, symptoms, and physician prescribing | Available by prescription or over the counter |
| Hops extract | 120 mg | Natural Female Support |
| Lignans | 56 mg | |
| Genistein | 25–75 mg | Super-Absorbable Soy Isoflavones, available by prescription |
| Daidzein(Not to be used in conjunction with BHRT, i.e., Bi-Est and Tri-Est formulations) | 20–50 mg | |
| Bioidentical hormone replacement (Natural estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone prescribed to provide individual dosing based on blood test results) | Based on individual blood test results | Available by prescription |
Please know that in the presence of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone imbalances, it may be impossible to eliminate
hot flashes with nutrients alone. Have your blood tested for estrogens (estradiol and estrone), progesterone, DHEA, and testosterone.
According to many doctors the antidote is using bioidentical progesterone and rubbing it right on the breasts to get faster relief. Of course, this makes sense because the painful swollen breasts are likely due to you being estrogen dominant, and as we know by now that means you are not making enough progesterone. Birth control pills stimulate the growth of breast tissue and the retention of fluids, both of which contribute to the swelling.
During the years I blindly took birth control pills, I trusted that they were safe. Even though my body got puffy, my breasts got puffy, and my moods got intense, no doctor expressed concern. No doctor had any remedy; it was just ‘part of being a woman’. We’ve come a long way.
Qualified doctors recommend bioidentical progesterone to balance the estrogen and supplementation with a good multivitamin daily that includes zinc, B complex, vitamin E, magnesium, vitamin C, milk thistle, and other herbs that detoxify the body. Dr. Jonathan Wright also suggests the following herbs: vitex, black cohosh, and dong quai, to help detox and alleviate painful cystic breasts.
• Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have indicated that vitex is beneficial for reducing breast pain, menstrual irregularities, and premenstrual complaints.
• Phytoestrogens may be beneficial as well. After two months,
women taking phytoestrogens had less headaches, breast tenderness, cramps, and swelling premenstrually.
| Dosage Suggestions for Painful, Swollen Breasts | ||
| NUTRIENT OR INTERVENTION | TYPICAL DAILY DOSE | SUGGESTED PRODUCTS |
| Black cohosh | 40–80 mg standardized extract | Natural Estrogen with Pomegranate Extract |
| Vitex agnus-castus (chasteberry) | 20–40 mg standardized extract | |
| Progesterone | Based on blood test results, symptoms, and physician prescribing | Available by prescription or over the counter |
| Phytoestrogens | 270 mg standardized to contain 40% isoflavones | Super Absorbable Soy Isoflavones |
| High-potency, comprehensive multivitamin | Per label instructions | Life Extension Mix or Two-Per-Day |
If unexplained weight gain is your issue then it’s time for you to have a comprehensive weight loss blood test panel to determine your hormone levels and start rebalancing. After you obtain your blood test results, I cannot stress this enough, you must go to a qualified bioidentical hormone replacement (BHRT) doctor. To go to a doctor who has not chosen to specialize in bioidentical hormone replacement is like going to a plumber for a heart transplant; it’s often that far out of their area of expertise.
Also, there are many different nutrients to help support a
healthy weight, that are especially effective when combined with proper hormone restoration, diet, and exercise. A big one we are hearing a lot about is the wonderful green coffee extract. While this extract has been working wonders alone, the best approach for weight loss is targeting multiple mechanisms involved in weight loss, from controlling blood sugar levels to preventing absorption of calories.
• Green coffee extract has been all over the news lately, and with good reason. It targets weight loss through multiple mechanisms. Its strong dual effects of reducing after-meal glucose and inducing meaningful weight loss make it a supplement that virtually every aging person should take
before
eating. Also, it inhibits a special enzyme that is involved in the creation of glucose by the liver. If you want to lose weight you certainly don’t want your liver making more glucose!• A soluble fiber is important to bind to bile acids in our intestine, thus helping to impede absorption of dietary fats. A specially processed propolmannan is a plant-derived fiber that is patented in 33 countries as a purified fiber that does not break down in the digestive tract. Research reveals propolmannan’s ability to reduce the rate of carbohydrate absorption and glucose spikes in the blood, both very good things!
• White kidney bean extract contains an inhibitor of amylase (i.e., a pancreatic digestive enzyme required for the conversion of starches to simpler sugars in animals). By inhibiting this enzyme you can help reduce the absorption of high glycemic carbohydrates from starchy foods like potatoes.
• African mango extract, otherwise known as Irvingia, has been shown to reduce fat stores while also helping to support healthy glucose levels. In addition, this West African fruit can help more leptin get into your brain. This effect is important because leptin tells our brains we have eaten enough! If that wasn’t sufficient, it also interferes with a special enzyme that converts starch and sugar into stored fat.
• Tryptophan is an essential amino acid and a precursor to serotonin, a powerful neurotransmitter involved in mood and food cravings, especially carbohydrates. Increases in brain levels of serotonin signal that you are full, while decreases signal the desire to eat. Multiple studies have shown that calorie-restricted diets, while successful at reducing weight, also reduce circulating tryptophan levels. This may lead to reduced serotonin synthesis, increased hunger, and a reduction in the probability of maintaining weight loss.
• Often find yourself snacking between meals? Can’t help reaching for that extra cookie? Having difficulty exercising portion control? Saffron extract may be just the answer you need. Saffron is a spice that was prized in ancient Persia as a way to enhance mood and relieve stress. Previously available only in Europe, a special standardized saffron extract provides support for healthy body weight by targeting some of the emotional factors that make you eat more when you’re trying to eat less. In a clinical study, subjects experienced a greater sense of control over between-meal snacking and a change in eating behavior, without that “jittery feeling” or other undesirable effects. They also reported feeling better about themselves and better in general.
• 7-keto DHEA is a special metabolite of DHEA. Studies have
shown many health benefits of this unique metabolite, but a very important one is weight loss. It helps up-regulate three key thermogenic enzymes in the liver that burn fat. It also is associated with a potential increase in thyroid hormone. These effects result in an increase in resting metabolic rate, which basically means burning more fat, even at rest!• Green tea polyphenols also help boost resting metabolic rate and help impede the lipase enzyme used to facilitate dietary fat breakdown. This effect results in less fat being absorbed.
• For best results with weight loss you should have your blood tested to get your hormones balanced, identify a healthy diet and exercise program you can stick with, and supplement with nutrients that target different mechanisms of weight loss.
| Dosage Suggestions for Unexplained Weight Gain | ||
| NUTRIENT OR INTERVENTION | TYPICAL DAILY DOSE | SUGGESTED PRODUCTS |
| Green coffee extract | 350 mg with each meal | Calorie Control Weight Management Formula with CoffeeGenic |
| White kidney bean extract | 445 mg before carbohydrate containing meals | |
| Propolmannan fiber extract | Follow label instructions | |
| African mango extract | 150 mg with each meal | |
| Green tea extract | 150 mg with each meal | |
| Tryptophan | 500–1,500 mg | Optimized Tryptophan |
| Saffron extract | 88–176 mg | Optimized Saffron with Satiereal® |
| 7-keto DHEA | 100 mg twice a day | 7-Keto DHEA |
Yeast interferes with your GI tract. Yeast mycotoxins and bacterial endotoxins from a dysfunctional gut contribute to thyroid dysfunction, which causes decreased dopamine activity (the pleasure center of your brain) and also suppresses pituitary output of the hormone FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone), which stimulates the ovaries to produce estradiol.
When your hormones are ‘off’ then most likely your gut is imbalanced, which is why you are bloating, constipated, and gaining weight.
So how do you get rid of it? Of course getting your hormones perfectly balanced will go a long way but your needs are immediate. Here are some other solutions
• ReNew Life (
RenewLife.com
), a company that belongs to my dear friend Brenda Watson and her husband, has a supplement called CandiGONE that “eats” candida. Start slow with CandiGONE because yeast kill is uncomfortable; gas, bloating, and fatigue result from the die-off. Along with your CandiGONE, Brenda recommends you take a daily packet containing 200 billion colony forming units of probiotics while you are doing a candida kill.• You could also try a douche with apple cider vinegar
(one to two cups) twice daily diluted in a quart of water instead.• If neither of the above appeals, try an alkalinizing powder called Bio-Terrain available at the Tahoma Clinic in Washington. Keeping alkaline is very important. Yeast cannot live in an alkaline environment (neither can cancer incidentally). Red meat is acid and should be avoided. I have installed an alkaline water dispenser in my kitchen sink and I drink about 4 glasses a day. I feel this keeps me protected not only from yeast, and as a woman who once had cancer I know the importance of keeping my body alkaline for prevention.