Menopause - How To Stop Hot Flushes

Dioscorea, an herb derived from the Mexican yam, contains a virtual biochemical storehouse of valuable phytochemical hormone precursors. The molecular structure is almost identical to the body's natural hormone precursors. Phytochemicals are concentrated specific nutrients extracted from vegetables, fruits or herbs. Refined and concentrated extracts from Dioscorea are called analogues. Biochemical conversion of the phytochemical nutrients takes place in the liver, which supplies the converted nutrients to the adrenals. Your body can now use these nutrients to produce hormones for other glands and organs as needed.

By providing your body with the building blocks it needs naturally, your body can enhance hormonal reserves as nature intended. Most people experience an increased sense of well being, strength, and energy. Imagine the impact that this all natural supplement could have on your health. The Dioscorea analogue has shown to increase hormone levels such as progesterone when taken orally or when applied as a cream transdermally. It may help you look younger, feel younger, and potentially live longer. In nutritional programs, a Dioscorea analogue food supplement should be considered a foundational product for enhancing health.

Just prior this, I thought I was coping pretty well with life and in control and would have sworn I was quite normal. Now I literally became a different person! My energy level increased dramatically. I felt relaxed, yet motivated, and my body craved movement and fresh air. There has been a significant lessening of back pain and increased agility since taking the supplement. Because of stress, my DHEA levels were most likely severely depleted when I had my surgeries and accidents.
I feel a responsibility to share with others what has so profoundly affected my life. Most people are experiencing mega-stress mentally, physically, and chemically. The toll our bodies take from water, air, and soil pollution is immeasurable. Add worries about money, job, home and family, chemicals in our food, addictions to tobacco, alcohol, and nutrient deficient foods etc., etc. All these stresses accelerate aging. Does it make sense to do something that may help prolong our youth and protect us from disease? I truly believe that we can protect ourselves from the ravages of time and even reverse many of its effects. This gift from nature offers you a long life, free from pain and disease, and the energy and vitality to enjoy it.
Tonita d/Raye

Xylitol and Insulin Resistance, Diabetes Hypertension and Hormonal Imbalances

Consuming sugar and other refined carbohydrates results in the rapid release of glucose, or blood sugar. In response, the pancreas secretes insulin to usher glucose into the cells, where it is burned for energy. Excess glucose stresses the system, and over time the cells become less responsive to insulin. This condition, known as insulin resistance, is a huge health problem and it is estimated to affect half the American population. Insulin resistance is associated with abnormalities in cholesterol and triglyceride levels, hypertension, increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The dramatic rise in type-2 diabetes since the mid-1900s directly coincides with our increased consumption of sugar. One long-term study of more than 65,000 women demonstrated that a high-sugar, low-fibre diet increased the risk of type-2 diabetes by 250 per cent. Another recent study found that excessive intake of sugar was the single most important dietary risk factor for heart disease in women and for men. It has been estimated that sugar intake may account for more than 150,000 premature deaths from heart disease in the United States each year.

Xylitol has been demonstrated in repeated clinical studies to be very slowly metabolised. In fact, on the glycaemic index, which measures how quickly foods enter the bloodstream, sugar is rated at 100 and xylitol at just seven! Xylitol is a natural insulin stabiliser, therefore it causes none of the abrupt rises and falls that occur with sugar. In fact, it actually helps in stopping sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Foods sweetened with xylitol will not raise insulin levels. This makes it a perfect sweetener for people with diabetes as well as those wanting to lose weight. There is a growing consensus amongst anti-ageing researchers that maintaining low insulin levels is a key to a successful anti-ageing program.

Insulin resistance also plays a significant role in hormonal imbalances, including those that lead to breast cancer. High insulin levels increase the production of oestrogens, leading to an oestrogen-dominant condition, and also interfere with healthy ovarian function. Insulin resistance is a major cause of a growing hormonal problem called polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS causes the ovaries to become anovulatory, which means that the normal cyclic production of oestrogen followed by progesterone either ceases or becomes dysfunctional. Insulin stimulates the ovaries to produce predominantly male hormones, which, in combination with higher insulin and glucose levels, increase weight-gain around the waist--a body type that is a risk factor for breast cancer. Signs that the body is being exposed to higher levels of the male hormones include acne, loss of head hair and an increase in body hair. Lowering insulin levels is crucial for not only treating PCOS but also resolving most other hormonal imbalances, including those leading to breast cancer.

Dr John Lee, author of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer, explains the connection between insulin resistance and breast cancer:
"Overeating junk food makes you fat. Increased body fat and lack of exercise lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to further craving of sugary carbohydrates to generate energy for the body. More insulin is released in response to increased carbohydrate intake, leading to more weight gain. More fat leads to more estrogens, which, in turn, lead to earlier breast development and menstruation. Earlier onset of menstruation leads to more ovulatory cycles and a greater lifetime exposure to oestrogens without adequate progesterone. A greater lifetime exposure to estrogens increases breast cancer risk.

"Simultaneously, increased consumption of simple carbohydrates, coupled with insulin resistance, leads to polycystic ovaries and lack of ovulation during menstrual cycles, resulting in excess production of androgens and estrogens, along with inadequate production of progesterone. Excessive estrogen production in the absence of progesterone production leads to estrogen dominance and increased breast cancer risk. Use of contraceptive hormones increases insulin resistance, exacerbating all the above problems."

Using xylitol instead of sugar as well as reducing intake of high-glycaemic, refined carbohydrate foods helps to lower the risk not only of PCOS but also of ovarian cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, PMS, hot flushes, weight gain and depression.

Many of those who have chosen to join the Wellness Revolution understand that, in addition to the obvious reasons for staying well-such as enjoying the physical benefits and positive emotional effects that good health offers-there are a number of other reasons to try to stay well.
Cost is the most obvious reason. Most of us who have experienced a hospital stay, bought prescription drugs or even visited our family doctor for a minor illness know how expensive virtually everything associated with the vast healthcare industry has become. The October 20, 2003 issue of Business Week reports that per capita medical expenses have risen from $1,067 in 1980 to $4,887 today, accounting for 13.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. By 2012, experts predict per capita medical expenses will fall only a little short of the $10,000 mark-over twice what they are today.

Not only are Americans spending more on health, but according to that same issue of Business Week, the spending is at a faster rate in the U.S. than elsewhere-4.4 percent, versus a 4 percent average for all developed nations. While slower than the rapid 5.1 percent annual growth in the 1980s, healthcare spending is quickening from its 3.3 percent annual growth in the 1990s. Americans have been outpacing other nations in health expenses since at least 1990.


Much of the total healthcare costs go toward administrative expenses. In his recently published book, The Cost of Being Sick, Nicholas Webb includes, among many other eye-opening statistics, the fact that "we spend over $650 billion a year just on the administrative costs associated with dealing with our health care."
Paying the Tab However, the cost factor is not the only reason that staying well makes good sense. Insurance, drug considerations and healthcare staffing issues are also very important.

Because of skyrocketing healthcare costs, many employers are now forced to pass a higher percentage of the healthcare insurance burden on to their employees. Nearly half of large employers have been projected to raise payroll deductions for health benefits by the close of 2003. This additional
personal expense may take the form of higher deductibles, co-insurance and/or co-payments. In addition, many small and medium-sized companies
are eliminating health plans altogether-their employees must now pay entirely out-of-pocket.

Drugs and medications of any kind should never be taken unnecessarily or out of habit or even used at all unless you are advised to do so by your doctor. The reason for this cautious approach? Sometimes drugs can have unexpected, undesirable effects.