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A great Article from menopause expert Ellen Dolgen Sarver read on…

It’s not your fault. You’ve been programmed to think that you’re not good enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, or perfect enough. It’s on the cover of Photoshop-ed magazines at the grocery store, reinforced on TV, and referred to in current — and unfortunately catchy — songs that objectify women. So much of what surrounds us today is appearance-driven, and there’s a natural tendency to adapt to our surroundings. This unfortunate marriage between societal pressures and our brains has birthed a critical voice in our heads telling us that we are quite simply not good enough. Picture a sumo wrestler sitting on your brain. He is huge, powerful and controlling (and heavy!), but does he wrestle you down

We came across an interesting study recently regarding hot flashes. Can Chinese herbs help?

It seems that a  mix of certain traditional Chinese herbs thought to have weak estrogen-like activity might help ease menopausal hot flashes, a small clinical trial suggests.

But the herbal mix, dubbed Jiawei Qing’e Fang, is not widely available. And while the new study suggested some benefits, it had enough limitations that the true effects of the herbs are still unclear, according to an expert not involved in the work.

For the study, reported in the journal Menopause, researchers in China randomly assigned 72 women to either take Jiawei Qing’e Fang everyday for eight weeks, or use a placebo mix of starches that were made to look, taste and smell like the herbs.

All of the women were relatively young —

Hormone replacement therapy may work slightly better than soy at reducing menopausal hot flashes, a new study says.

Women who took such hormones had fewer hot flashes, on average, than women who took soy – and both had fewer than those who took a placebo, or “dummy pill.”

“The bottom line for someone who is very disturbed by hot flashes and night sweats, the best treatment is hormones, and the next tier would be soy,” said Dr. Gloria Bachmann, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.

However, a 2002 landmark study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that such treatments can increase the risk of breast cancer, heart disease and stroke. That means that if women do take hormones, Bachmann told Reuters Health, it should be the lowest

You are enjoying a night out with friends when it starts; first you feel flush, then a sensation of warmth crawls down your body. Soon you begin perspiring and you feel as if everyone around you can tell what is happening — another hot flash. An estimated three out of four women experience hot flashes  associated with menopause and nearly all would agree they are a nuisance, but experts say there could be an upside to having hot flashes

New research released February 24 in the online edition of the journal Menopause suggests that women who suffer from hot flashes and night sweats may be at lower risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and death.

“While they are certainly bothersome, hot flashes may not be all bad,” said Northwestern Medicine endocrinologist Emily Szmuilowicz, MD, who is lead author of

A new study shows antidepressants can help reduce hot flashes and night sweats in menopausal women.

In the study, Ellen Freeman, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and her colleagues found that women who were either transitioning to menopause or were postmenopausal had less menopausal hot flashes when they used escitalopram (an antidepressant medication) compared to women who received placebo (a dummy medication or treatment).

The researchers not only tested to find out whether escitalopram or placebo was more effective, but they also examined whether race modified the treatment effects.

More than 200 women were enrolled in the multicenter, eight-week trial.

Between July 2009 and June 2010, the women were given 10 to 20 mg/per day of escitalopram or a matching placebo. Researchers used the women’s daily diaries to measure the frequency and severity of their hot

THE QUESTION Women experiencing menopause-related hot flashes often do not want to take hormone therapy because of documented risks, and the effectiveness of herbal alternatives has not been proved. Might an antidepressant be an option to lessen symptoms?

THIS STUDY involved 205 peri- and post-menopausal women, most in their mid-50s, who had an average of about 10 hot flashes a day but were otherwise healthy. They were randomly assigned to take the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) or a placebo daily. After eight weeks, hot flashes were fewer and less severe among those taking the antidepressant than among the others. About 55 percent of the women taking Lexapro, vs. 36 percent of those in the placebo group, reported at least 50 percent fewer hot flashes, and 19 percent (vs. 9 percent) saw a decrease of at least 75 percent.

WHO MAY

Menopause typically occurs in a woman’s late forties or early fifties. The decreasing levels of oestrogen associated with menopause may cause more distressing symptoms that include:

- Mood swings

- Decreased sex drive

- Hot flashes and night sweats

- Sweating

- Racing heart (palpitations)

- Headaches

- Vaginal dryness and soreness

- Trouble sleeping

- Bone thinning (osteoporosis)

Hot flashes are the most frequent symptom of menopause and perimenopause. Soy products are high in isoflavones (phytoestrogen) and work in the body like a weak form of oestrogen that may help relieve symptoms. For some women, lowering

Hot flashes are sudden intense hot sensations in your body. They can be very uncomfortable leaving you soaked in sweat. They are caused by hormonal fluctuations during pre-menopause and menopause, due to a declining level of oestrogen and progesterone.

Symptoms of menopause include hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, osteoporosis, aging skin, lack of energy, joint pain, weight gain, headaches, dry and brittle hair, thinning hair and poor memory. They are a classic signs of menopause and the most common reason to seek treatment.

Eighty-five per cent of women in Western countries experience hot flashes. During a hot flash women may also experience irregular heartbeat and pulse, and profuse perspiration. Cold chills often follow hot flashes. Sleep usually gets disturbed due to night sweats.

Beat the heat

Here are some natural ways to help

If you’re within a few years of menopause, you may find yourself channel-surfing at 3 a.m. the morning for the first time in your life. Hormonal ups and downs may have affected your sleep during menstruation and pregnancy, as well, but chances are, that was nothing compared to these fearsome midlife fluctuations.

Hormones Drop; Adrenaline Rises
During menopause your ovaries slowly decrease their production of two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, the latter of which promotes sleep. When those hormone levels drop, it can be very unsettling to your system and make it hard to sleep. A drop in estrogen also leaves you more vulnerable to stress, another disturbance to your slumber.

Hot flashes, which plague up to 85 percent of menopausal women, can jolt you awake too. These flashes are actually caused by a rush of adrenaline that

One of the highlights of a vacation is a cozy, rejuvenating and restful night’s sleep. The best sleep is often experienced when you are in the mountains, by the sea or in the country. Ideally, that is how we are meant to sleep all the time.

Feng shui is a design method that involves purposefully arranging a space so that it has an uplifting and life-enhancing effect on the people who occupy that environment. Now you can create a Zen, peaceful night’s sleep at home with practical and easy to implement feng shui design tips for your bedroom.

• As you enter the bedroom, your energy, your Chi, should be transformed from your busy, daytime “yang” self to your restful “yin” self. Choose “yin” (calming) colors to ensure a peaceful sleep. Greens, blues and violets are restful to our eyes and