For many women in America and Northern European countries, menopause is a most traumatic time in life, so much so that the medical industry has succeeded in creating the myth that menopause is a disease that begs to be “cured” with medication.
“Symptoms” include:
* hot flashes, hot flushes, including night sweats
* sleep disturbances
* vaginal itching
* vaginal dryness
* urinary frequency
* urinary urgency
* urinary incontinence
* osteoporosis
* joint, muscle pain
* back pain
* breast atrophy
* skin thinning
* decreased skin elasticity
* mood disturbance
* irritability
* fatigue
* decreased libido
* memory loss
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
In addition to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), a variety of other drugs are used to “combat” the symptoms of menopause, most notably anti-depressants and bone-loss prevention drugs. All of these, the hormones and the other drugs, are fraught with dangerous side-effects far worse than the condition they are supposed to treat.
NOT WHAT NATURE INTENDED
The truth is that a harsh menopause is NOT what nature intended for women. The experience of terrible menopause is actually the exception, not the rule. As it turns out, the estrogen levels of American and Northern European women have over the past 75 years climbed to TWICE normal. This extremely high estrogen level followed by the sudden crash in the level following menopause account for the agonies of menopause. The question is, what caused the doubling of estrogen levels in the first place?
Excessive estrogen is the result of diet and environmental factors that only recently came into being. Until the early 1900’s, the typical diet was rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed dairy, whole grains, grass-fed meats and fish. All of these were organic, of course, since chemical agriculture did not really get rolling until the mid-twentieth century. Simple, fresh, whole,
organic foods are very good for keeping hormones at natural levels and in balance.
INDUSTRY THE CULPRIT
After World War II, the chemical industry, left with millions of tons of stockpiled explosives and other chemicals, had the brilliant idea of converting these to agricultural fertilizer and related products. Around the same period, man-made pesticides were being introduced and marketed with total abandon.
Giant food marketers, meanwhile, saw the potential for huge profits in servicing the busy post-war baby boomers with convenient “ready-to-eat,” easily storable, long-shelf-life foods. These foods were loaded with artificial chemicals and furthermore had the natural, beneficial plant chemicals stripped from them during processing.
Unfortunately, these chemically farmed, highly processed and preserved foods contained little of the nutrients the body needs to maintain health and balance. Furthermore, many of the chemicals used in farming (pesticides in particular) and processing were (and still are) what we now know as “xenoestrogens”. “Xeno” means “foreign”. Xenoestrogens are chemicals that mimic estrogen in the bodies of animals and humans.
Xenoestrogens in foods, of course, can add to the natural estrogen and cause the body to experience an excess of estrogen-like activity. This unnatural “high” in estrogen sets a woman up for a much larger “crash” when later she goes through menopause.
Xenoestrogens are also found in many non-food products of the modern chemical industry such as skincare and body care products, makeup, nail polish, etc.
By the way, two now common conditions in women, uterine fibroids and endometriosis (the build-up of uterine lining tissue in other areas outside the uterus) are legacies of the artificially high estrogen levels of the past 75 years.
The chemical, food processing and cosmetics industries could hardly have done a better job of sabotaging women’s health than they have done.
DRUGS NOT THE ANSWER
Even worse, the medical/pharmaceutical industry now steps up to the plate with their money-motivated false “solutions” in the form of drugs and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), treatments which have proven worse than the condition they’re designed to treat.
Side effects of Hormone Replacement Therapy include:
* higher risk of breast cancer
* higher risk of endometrial cancer
* much higher risk of heart attack
* higher stroke risk
* high blood pressure
* blood clots
* hair loss, etc.
Just a few of the side effects of one of the most common bone-loss drugs include:
* kidney malfunctions
* joint pain
* ulcers
* headache
One in particular “works” to prevent bone loss in menopausal women by SHUTTING DOWN half of the natural processes that the body uses to maintain bone health.
It actually states in the Physicians Desk Reference, the bible of conventional medicine, that “bone formation … is ultimately reduced … {the drug} decreases the rate of bone resorption [tearing down] directly, which leads to an indirect decrease in bone formation.” So, while {the drug} may reduce bone LOSS, it also reduces the body’s ability to REPLACE any lost bone! Does this make any sense?
WHAT TO DO?
Very simple!
1. Adopt a natural and “hormone-friendly” diet
Eat organically grown foods, including plenty of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables and if you eat meat, be sure that it is from free-range, organically fed animals, grass fed cows…untainted, natural meat.
To help prevent bone loss, moderate your your protein intake, as too much protein can acidify the blood, and force the body to pull calcium from the bones as it tries to reduce the acidic condition.
2. Reduce environmental xenoestrogens as much as possible
In addition to “going organic” in the diet, switch to 100% natural personal care and household products. Trash the conventional cosmetics, dump the synthetic cleaners, switch to natural pest-control methods, etc. Store and cook your foods in glass or other non-plastic materials and avoid the non-stick cookware, as plastics and non-stick coatings can contain xenoestrogens.
We, of course, offer natural products in the personal care and healthy home categories and invite you to visit us at http://www.evansgarden.com/
If you’re on “The Pill”, by the way, you should seek an alternative birth control method that does not involve hormones. Consult your physician for assistance.
3. Add natural sources of estrogen’s sister hormone, progesterone, to counterbalance any excess of estrogen. There are natural progesterone creams on the market that can help. However, there are cautions to using such things so it is best to consult a holistically oriented physician to be sure you’re doing it right.
Fortunately, there are more and more such enlightened doctors to be found in many areas. A good place to start your search is here: http://www.holisticmedicine.org/ahma/public?action=findDoctors
Note that the American Holistic Medical Association members are doctors who have a holistic practice incorporating natural methods and are also fully trained and licensed M.D.s (or D.O.s – Doctors of Osteopathy, which are just as qualified as M.D.s). You can search for a holistic M.D. Endocrinologist (hormone doctor), for example, who can help advise you on your own natural hormone balancing plan.
We hope you find this information helpful!
Disclaimer: This information is presented for educational purposes only. Consult your licensed health practitioner for all your health needs.
