Women’s health is a medical field and a topic of interest that has grown increasingly over the last couple of decades.
The subject of women’s health pertains to issues regarding the female anatomy, physiology and spiritual nature. Diseases, deficiencies and general obstacles specific to the female persuasion are also researched and explained under the headline of women’s health. There are countless popular magazines that focus on women’s health, publishing articles about facial products, make-up, vitamins, supplements and advice about anything from sex to fitness to hormone replacement therapy to breast cancer. There are synthetic drugs and unproven procedures that have been surfacing for awhile to reverse unwanted trends like aging, excess hair and loss of sexual appetite that could potentially threaten women’s health. One of the newer trends that have been introduced, however, is the use of all natural women’s health products as an alternative to the chemically invasive products and procedures. A few examples of all natural women’s health products are vitamin and mineral formulas to improve eyesight, blood flow, sexual appetite or hormone levels.
Interest in women’s health has exploded over the past few decades, both in the medical profession and in society as a whole. Popular topics, among researchers and magazine publishers alike, include hormone replacement therapy, breast cancer, heart disease, the benefits of vitamins and supplements, fitness and exercise, anti-aging techniques, and sexual health. This surge in interest offers a fertile environment for unproven procedures to make inflated claims about the benefits they can offer women.
Constant advances in science and technology also offer us one new synthetic product after another. However, one of the oldest and most well-established approaches to addressing women’s health concerns, and one which is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, is the use of all-natural products as an alternative to chemically invasive products and procedures. Natural remedies can be particularly effective in weight loss, as sleep aids, for pain relief, and as anti-aging supplements.
The key with weight loss is to maintain a healthy middle ground, and herbal supplements can help you do just that. Our society struggles both with obesity and with people who are too thin due to an obsession with their weight. The goal for every woman should be to reach and maintain a healthy weight and a good level of fitness. Extra weight, and especially an elevated body fat percentage, takes a great toll on a woman’s heart, joints, and back. Weight loss, approached in a healthy way through smart eating, exercise, and natural supplements, can reduce the risk of diabetes and other health problems, and can significantly extend your life span. Natural weight loss supplements can be especially helpful for women who are diagnosed as obese, because they can help counteract hunger pangs and lead to the healthy eating that is so crucial for any weight loss program. Certain natural supplements also act as natural hormone balancers and can provide assistance to those for whom a hormone imbalance is contributing to their weight issues.
A good night’s sleep is rejuvenating and restorative and helps your body cope with all other health issues. The health of your body and mind, your ability to have a productive day, your alertness, problem solving ability, memory and general mental health, and even the length and happiness of your life all are impacted by the quality of sleep you get. Getting a good night’s sleep is hard these days, as our homes, work places, and society in general get more and more stressful, noisy, and fast-paced. Many people resort to prescription sleep aids, and the numbers of new prescriptions every year continues to grow. There is a natural alternative, however, for those who do not wish to risk becoming dependent on a prescription sleep aid or deal with the associated side effects. Natural sleep aids can help you enter a relaxed and restful sleep without the worry of dependency. Ergonomic pillows and relaxing music can also provide comfort and support, and create an environment conducive to sleeping well. The best thing about these all natural products is that you can sleep well without the risk of dependency.
Pain can plague women as a result of old age, physical illness, extensive exercise, strained muscles or broken bones. Supermarkets and pharmacies have aisles and aisles of pills, powders and bandages to help with pain relief. Some common over-the-counter pain relief medication can cause mild side effects like drowsiness or nausea. Prescription pain medication like Vicodin and Percocet can have even more serious side effects and are addictive and dangerous if not taken carefully. A safer option for pain relief is found among the variety of all-natural products that relieve muscle and joint pain, as well as relax the body for a general improvement of the body and soul. Some examples of natural pain relief products are vitamins, supplements, herbs, ointments, creams and bath formulas to reduce inflammation.
Finally, though we all grow older, most anti-aging marketing is aimed at women. The aging process is hastened by free radicals, substances produced in the body during the processing of food and conversion of energy. Free radicals can be neutralized by antioxidants, thus preventing premature aging and disease. All-natural anti-aging antioxidants are on the cutting edge of natural supplements. These vitamins and herbs specifically counteract the production of free radicals that attack youthful skin and cause unwanted wrinkles. As an added bonus, anti-aging antioxidants also improve cardiovascular health and may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
This brings us full circle, back to a heart-healthy lifestyle supported by the use of natural supplements. As women lead busier and busier lives, balancing careers, families, and work in the community, it is more important than ever that we take good care of ourselves. Though modern medicine will continue to offer us shiny new solutions to age-old problems, the use of natural remedies and supplements is always a safe, gentle, and balanced option for those of us who want to draw on the homeopathic knowledge of the ages of practitioners who were addressing women’s health concerns long before there was ever a magazine cover.
The Vital Importance of Minerals for Our Health
Our bodies are literally composed of substances and elements of the Earth. Minerals are a large part of our body’s composition e.g. bones, teeth etc. Minerals are part of stones and soil of the Earth. We obtain the minerals for our health from plants that absorb minerals from the Earth through their roots as they grow. When we eat these plants, we in turn absorb the minerals we need to live. If we eat meat, we absorb the minerals from animals who have absorbed them from plants. We also obtain minerals from the water we drink.
Minerals, like vitamins, operate in our bodies as co-enzymes. Minerals help balance and facilitate the functions of our body chemistry. We need minerals for healthy bones, to maintain the health of our blood and other body fluids and to support our nerve system and metabolic process. Minerals are vital in helping our bodies produce energy, growth, and are vital for the reproduction and health of our cells. Mineral interact with vitamins to make vitamins effective and beneficial e.g. zinc changes vitamin A into it’s active form so it can be used by our bodies. Some minerals act as potent antioxidants i.e. destroy free radicals. Free radicals cause premature aging and disease such as cancer, heart disease and other cellular damage.
Zinc, iodine, selenium, iron, copper, chromium and manganese are considered trace minerals. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium are considered bulk minerals because our bodies need them in larger amounts. It is nearly impossible to take too many minerals because they are stored mostly in bone and muscles tissue. We would have put a great deal of conscious effort into taking absurd amounts of minerals over a long time in order to accumulate toxic amounts.
There are many different minerals. A description of just a few of them will give us a good idea of their vital importance for our lives.
Boron is a trace mineral that has been shown to significantly reduce the affect of calcium loss in post menopausal women and increase the blood level of the most active form of estrogen. Boron also helps protect against the demineralization of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in our bones.
Calcium is vital for healthy teeth and bones. Calcium helps maintain a regular heartbeat it is vital in nerve transmission. Calcium also aids muscles growth, helps in muscle contraction and prevention of muscles cramps especially during menses cycle. Calcium may help prevent colon cancer and lower blood pressure as well as preventing osteoporosis.
Chromium is a trace mineral needed for energy and the metabolism of glucose, cholesterol, fats, and proteins. Chromium helps to maintain blood sugar levels in hypoglycemia and diabetes by improving the efficiency of insulin. Chromium can also play a role in weight loss by helping us maintain muscles tissue while losing fat
Copper is an essential trace mineral involved in enzyme process. Copper is found in large amounts in our liver and brain. Copper is important in the production of red blood cells, hemoglobin, and bone. Copper works synergistically with vitamin C and zinc. Copper also has a part in our ability to taste and in our hair and skin color. Copper promotes strong, flexible connective tissue.
Iodine is a trace mineral used by our thyroid to produce thyroxin which is a hormone that regulates energy production, body temperature, breathing, muscle tone and the health of tissues. Iodine supports skin, nerves, reproductive process and prevents goiter.
Iron is vital for the production of hemoglobin, formation of red blood cells and the oxygenation of red blood cells. Iron increases the quality of blood and therefore, the body’s resistance to disease and stress. Iron improves circulation, digestion, elimination and respiration. Iron even helps improve our emotional state in improving optimism, vitality, courage and will, memory and reasoning ability. Iron also helps resistance to cold virus. Some say that iron helps us better relate to the magnetic dynamics of the Earth and improves our own physical electrical system.
Manganese, a Greek word for magic, is required to produce enzymes which are essential for metabolism of protein, fat and glucose. Manganese promotes healthy bones, nerves, immune function and blood sugar levels.
Potassium plays a large role in supporting our nervous system and natural heart rhythm. Potassium stabilizes our blood pressure and helps in electrochemical transmissions. Potassium helps our cells absorb nutrients. Potassium maintains a healthy pH and muscles contraction. Potassium has been shown to prevent strokes and works with sodium to maintain a proper water balance in our bodies.
Selenium is an essential mineral and acts as an antioxidant preventing free radical damage. Selenium is essential for normal pancreatic function. Selenium and Vitamin E combined have a synergistic quality that improves the effectiveness of both compounds. Selenium helps maintain the health our heart muscle and promotes our immune system.
Zinc is found throughout our entire body. When zinc is used with Vitamin A, it facilitates healthy prostate function. Zinc promotes a healthy immune system, taste, smell, joint and connective tissue, cell division, repair and growth and helps insulin function. Using lozenges composed of zinc gluconate helps shorten the duration of a cold. Zinc helps with digestion and the metabolism of phosphorus and protein. Zinc plays an important role in the healing of burns and wounds. Zinc promotes and supports our reproductive system by helping sperm development and facilitating ovulation and fertilization.
We can gather from the descriptions of just a few of the minerals available to us, just how important minerals are to our lives and health. In a way, it could be said that we are minerals. Obtaining the minerals we need from plants, animals, and water may not be an efficient, complete or balanced way of gaining minerals due to the fact that the kind and amount of minerals found in plants, animals and water varies a great deal from one geographical region to another each with it’s own soil type and mineral content. The most efficient way for us to supply ourselves with the minerals we need is through supplements. For most of us, it is most beneficial to use natural multivitamin and mineral formulas rather than to try to take individual mineral supplements. This is because minerals and vitamins are synergistic in their combinations, proportions, interactions, and beneficial effects. Supplementing our diets with formulas composed of natural vitamins and minerals prepared by those of us who have devoted our education and effort in full time work and experience with the interaction of vitamins with minerals, and minerals with minerals may be the best way for us to obtain a proper combination of these compounds vital for our health.
Vitamin D Is Essential For Bone Health And More
Vitamins D is a fat-soluble seco-sterol hormone precursor that is responsible for sustaining optimal levels of calcium and phosphorus in our blood stream. To some extent, Vitamin D is manufactured by our skin though exposure to sunlight. The best time for sunlight exposure is during the spring and fall seasons.. Winter sunlight is too weak for the production of Vitamin D. Many of us do not get enough exposure to sunlight during the year. We have been convinced that the sun is not good for our skin, so when we are exposed to sun we have come to use clothing and sun screen to “protect” ourselves from the sun. Most of us spend most of our time indoors. These factors have resulted in making Vitamin D deficiency a common if not major health problem. It has also been found that older people and many younger women, especially African-American women, and those who live in Northern climates with less time exposure to sunlight are at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.
Vitamin D is essential in reducing bone fractures and increasing bone strength and density. It has been found that higher quantities of calcium alone in our diets does not reduce the risk of bone fracture or significantly increase bone density and strength. The reason for this is that calcium needs to be absorbed in order to be beneficial. Vitamin D is essential in increasing the absorption of calcium. This is especially important for women in producing and maintaining healthy, strong bone structure and prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Children need Vitamin D to help their bones mineralize during rapid bone growth. Of course, we all know the importance of the absorption of calcium enhanced by Vitamin D for the development and maintenance of oral bone and tooth health. Vitamin D may very well help us keep our teeth.
In the Northern part of our world and during the winter many people suffer from SAD i.e. seasonal affective disorder. SAD is a form of depression most probably due to reduced exposure to sunlight resulting in less production of Vitamin D. It has been found that supplemental intake of Vitamin D is superior to light therapy in reducing the condition of SAD. It has also been found that blood pressure is elevated during the winter and in people with less exposure to sunlight. Research has shown that people with little exposure to sunlight, who add Vitamin D supplementation to their diets, experience lowering of high blood pressure and lower heart rate. The absorption of calcium though the use of sufficient amounts of Vitamin D has been found to prevent and reduce hypertension..
Vitamin D has been found to provide a critical function in many metabolic processes, such as our cell growth, our immune system, and our cardiovascular health. Low levels i.e. deficiency of Vitamin D has been found to be a factor in congestive heart failure for many older people. Extensive research is being conducted to determine the effect of Vitamin D deficiency in the growth of certain cancers. The lack of absorption of calcium because of Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to seizures. Because of Vitamin D’s effect on the maintenance of healthy levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood stream and absorption of calcium and phosphorus, Vitamin D has been shown to be helpful in treating kidney failure.
Vitamin D has been shown to increase muscles strength, especially large muscle e.g thighs, calves, arms, and diaphragm. Vitamin D has also been found to reduce muscle pain by helping repair the damage of muscle strain. This is especially important as we age.
More and more evidence is being found confirming the vital importance of Vitamin D for our general health as well as for our bone health. Unfortunately, relying on exposure to sunlight for our skin to produce Vitamin D, has it’s limitations such as winter, geographic location, indoor lifestyle, etc. It would be wise for us to insure that we are receiving enough Vitamin D by adding a Vitamin D supplement to our diets in single form or through multiple vitamin formulas containing healthy amounts of Vitamin D.
Omega 3 & 6 Essential Fatty Acids The Good Fat
We have gotten a great deal of information warning us about our intake of fat. We have been told for a long time that fats are bad. Food store shelves are full of “fat-free” foods. We have not gotten enough information about good fats. The good fats that are essential for us to live. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) is the good fat that we need. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) are accurately named because they are essential for our health. Our bodies do not produce EFA so we must get them from our food or through natural nutritional supplements. Since we are eating more processed foods than ever we do not get the amounts of Omega 3 & 6 that we need. Processed foods are stripped of their Omega 3 content to allow for those foods to have a longer shelf life.
Many of the good fats in our diets have been partially or fully hydrogenated (saturated) to make cholesterol-free replacement for fat. Omega 3 and omega 6 are polyunsaturated fats that our bodies can easily “recognize” and use to keep us alive and well.
We know that we are experiencing EFA deficiency when we experience skin problems such as dry, eczema, dandruff, poor wound healing, excess sweating, loss of pigment, and/or weak blood vessels i.e. bruising. Other signs of EFA deficiency are obesity, high cholesterol, poor sugar metabolism, hormone imbalance, PMS, ADHD, depression, autism, behavioral disturbance, enlarged kidneys or kidney failure, blood in our urine, shrinking of our pancreas, and/or shrinking of our salivary and tear glands.
The American Heart Association recommends that people with heart disease consume at least one gram of omega 3 fatty acid per day. They recommend that we eat at least two servings of fish per week because fish are rich in omega 3. Unfortunately, fish has been very contaminated with environmental toxins, mercury and dioxines which are a potential health hazard to us, especially if we are a pregnant mother or a young person under 16 years of age. Therefore it would seem to be a safer alternative for us to rely on natural supplements such as flaxseed oil or primrose oil and properly filtered and metal/toxin free natural fish oils to receive the EFA that we need.
So why do we need essential fatty acids i.e. good fat? We need essential fatty acids to manufacture and repair cell membranes, to help our cells get maximum nutrition, and to eliminate harmful waste products.. EFA are essential for the production of prostaglandins that regulate heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting and immune system functioning to fight inflammation and infection. EFAs are essential for our children to grow properly and especially in developing their neurological development and sensory system.
Those of us who supply our diets with adequate amounts of omega 3 essential fatty acid have higher HDL i.e. “Good cholesterol levels. Omega 3 helps in the production of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which actually reduces LDL i.e.“bad” cholesterol and triglycerides. This is especially important for our cardiovascular health and in lowering high blood pressure/hypertension. Keeping our blood pressure lowers our risk of stroke.
This is because omega 3 helps reduce the development of plaque and blood clots that clog arteries that often lead to heart disease and heart attack.
When we have high triglycerides and low HDL levels we are at risk for diabetes. Omega 3 essential fatty acid lowers triglycerides and raises HDL levels as well as regulating blood sugar. People who are overweight suffer from poor blood sugar control, diabetes and high cholesterol. When following a weight loss program, it is important for us to supplement our diet with a proper amount of EFA.
Essential Fatty Acids are reported in numerous studies to reduce inflammation and pain in joints, reduce morning stiffness and enable people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis to reduce the medication they had been taking for pain and discomfort. Essential Fatty Acids help increase levels of calcium in our bodies and improve our bone strength. This is especially important for people suffering from osteoporosis. Omega 3 essential fatty acid has been shown to increase grip strength and enhance walking ability in people suffering from osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
Essential Fatty Acids are especially important for efficient brain function. People who have increased their intake of omega 3 fatty acid have experienced natural depression relief. People with Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder) reported fewer and shorter mood swings and recurrence of either full depression or mania. People with schizophrenia experience an improvement with the use of Omega 3 essential fatty acid. Children who suffer Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experienced reduction of learning difficulties and behavior problems (e.g. anger and sleep disturbance) when increasing their intake of essential fatty acids. People suffering from anorexia nervosa i.e. eating disorders, have experienced a reduction in symptoms and lessened their compulsive tendencies. For those of us not suffering from any particular emotional or cognitive disorders, we will find that essential fatty acids improve our ability to concentrate, recall, be emotionally centered and calm, experience more restful sleep and cope more easily with normal everyday stress.
Other benefits of essential fatty acids is the reduction of disorders and protection of our skin, improvement in our intestinal health (i.e. reduction of bowel inflammation, easy elimination, reduction in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), reduction of asthma symptoms and respiratory ease, reduction and prevention of macular degeneration and vision improvement, enhancement of wound healing (e.g. burns, cuts, etc) and improvement in hormonal balance e.g reduction of menstrual pain and PMS symptoms. Studies are now being conducted, with promising results, to determine the specific benefits of essential fatty acids in preventing and treating breast cancer and prostate cancer. Primary evidence in other studies of omega 3 essential fatty acid indicate improvement in protecting against infections and treatment of conditions such as ulcers, migraine headaches, preterm labor, emphysema, psoriasis, glaucoma, Lyme disease, lupus and panic attacks. Other studies have shown that essential fatty acids increase energy, performance, stamina, muscle development and repair, fatigue reduction, strengthening of immune system, cell growth and activity and appearance i.e. beautiful hair, skin and nails.
Given all the evidence of the health benefits we receive from essential fatty acids and the climate of processed foods and anti-fat warnings, it would be well advised for us to take care of ourselves by supplementing our diet with essential fatty acid supplements i.e. flaxseed oil and primrose oil and clean metal/toxin free natural fish oil supplements.
Tags: Depression, essential fatty acids, natual pain relief, natural vitamins, natural weight loss, Natural womens health, sleep aids