Hormones helpful for younger women?

 Hormone replacement therapy to help with menopausal symptoms  may pose little risk to younger women, and could even help some aspects of their health - but any benefit appears to disappear as women age, according to a new study.


Among more than 70,000 postmenopausal women, some of whom had elected to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), younger HRT-users were less likely to die from all causes over a nearly 10-year period than women of the same age who had never taken HRT.

However, as women aged, taking HRT was no longer associated with a lower risk of death.
"Whatever benefits there are for younger women, they don't really persist for older women," study author Dr. Daniel Stram of the Keck School of Medicine in California told Reuters Health.
HRT has remained controversial since 2002, when the Women's Health Initiative, a massive government-sponsored clinical trial investigating HRT's benefits, was abruptly halted. Researchers stopped the study when they found that women on HRT were not only not enjoying any protection from heart disease, they were showing higher rates of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer and blood clots than placebo users.

This week, investigators revealed in still another study that women who took HRT had more advanced breast cancers and were more likely to die from them than women who took a placebo.
As a result, experts now advise that while HRT is effective at relieving menopausal symptoms -- like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness -- women should take it at the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible.

In the meantime, researchers are still analyzing data to tease out the health effects, both positive and negative, associated with hormone replacement.

In the current report, published in the journal Menopause, Stram and his team reviewed data collected from 71,237 postmenopausal women, some of whom had elected to take HRT. They found that, among women younger than 65, those who took HRT were at least 45 percent less likely to die during an 8- or 9-year period than those who never took hormones. Even women up to age 74 experienced a slightly lower death rate when taking HRT.

By age 75, however, death rates became equal among HRT-users and never-users.
Given the mix of evidence about HRT, however, it's too soon to say that hormones are good for younger women, cautioned Dr. Graham A. Colditz at Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri, where he is associate director of the Siteman Cancer Center. Instead, this and other studies suggest that any benefit, if it exists, disappears as women age. "The older they get, the longer they take (hormones), the less benefit they seem to get from taking them," Colditz told Reuters Health.

One reason studies show different effects of HRT may stem from differences in how the studies are designed, he added. In the current study, women chose whether or not they wanted to take HRT, while in others - such as the halted government clinical trial - investigators randomly assigned women to receive either HRT or placebo.

It's possible that women who choose to take HRT are healthier overall than other women their age, suggested Colditz, who was not involved in the current study.

It's also not clear why, biologically, HRT might have different effects on younger and older women, he added. "I hope some of the ongoing studies will give us a bit of insight into this."...read more

When Are Women Most Confident?

Life does kick in at 50. Modern trends in lifestyle have shown that women in their 50s are confident, successful and leading a great life – mentally and physically. Here’s why. “The 50s can be a turbulent time,” The Daily Telegraph quoted Dr Rosie King, a sexual health physician, as saying. “But women also come into their own. They’ve faced personal and professional challenges and they understand how they want to live,” Dr King added.

“Many women rediscover their sexuality as children become more independent. And if you’re in a new relationship, you’ll also be hot to trot.” Fatigue, stress, depression, an unhappy relationship and painful sex are reasons for decreasing libido – which requires consulting with an expert. Menopause is another evil of 50s.

“Some women sail through this period. Other women have night sweats, hot flashes, feel tense, moody or tearful and describe it as a roller-coaster,” Dr King said. “Talk to family or a counselor. Exercise elevates your mood, so aim for 30 minutes of vigorous exercise a day. Yoga and meditation also help reduce menopausal symptoms. A healthy diet and exercise is a must, not just for physical health but for mental peace too.” she said.

Menopause affects diabetic women with many body changes

Image by marsmet461 via FlickrMenopause affects women in many different ways. If you also have diabetes, menopause often creates new challenges with diabetes management.


Menopause is defined by the absence of a menstrual period for 12 consecutive months, which occurs on average at 51. Women with Type 1 diabetes since childhood tend to start their periods a year later on average, but go through menopause a few years earlier.

About six years of potential reproductive time can be lost. Women with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed in adulthood tend to go through menopause a few years later than average, likely because of higher estrogen levels created by excess body fat. Estrogen and progesterone are the two major hormones to fall during pre-menopause and after menopause.

In general, estrogen tends to make the hormone insulin work better whereas progesterone reduces the actions of insulin. As menopause is occurring, there are greater up and down shifts in both these hormones relative to each other. The result is a greater risk for extreme variability in blood sugar.
Hot flashes and night sweats are symptoms of menopause, but also of low blood sugar. Also, if menopause symptoms disrupt sleep, there is more chance for a loss of diabetes control.

With lower estrogen levels in the blood, the surface tissues of the urinary tract become thinner, less elastic, and more susceptible to infection. Even before menopause, women with diabetes carry a higher risk of urinary tract and vaginal infections.

Menopause also can cause weight gain, which can require changes in diabetes management. Also because women with diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease, more careful attention to dietary cholesterol and fat intake plus regular blood lipid measurements are needed. Changes in eating habits and even cholesterol-lowering medicines may be needed....read more

New soy-based natural S-equol supplement reduces menopausal hot flashes, muscle and joint pain in first study among US women

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Can Soy Help Menopausal Hot Flashes and Night Sweats?

 A new women’s health, whole soy germ-based nutritional supplement containing Natural S-equol reduced the frequency of moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats and reduced muscle and joint pain in the first study of its kind among postmenopausal U.S. women, according to peer-reviewed data presented as a poster presentation at the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) Annual Meeting. Also, the first study to report Natural S-equol contributions to bone health and a study of Natural S-equol safety were presented at NAMS.

“These data from U.S. women expand our knowledge about and corroborate previous research in Japanese women about the benefit of a supplement containing the soy-based compound Natural S-equol to manage menopausal symptoms, including reducing the frequency of hot flashes and muscle discomfort. This and the other Natural S-equol studies are part of the rigorous clinical collaborative program of Pharmavite LLC and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop a supplement containing Natural S-equol,” said Belinda H. Jenks, Ph.D., coauthor of the US women’s and safety studies and director of Scientific Affairs & Nutrition Education at Pharmavite LLC.
S-equol [7-hydroxy-3-(4’-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman] is a compound resulting -- when certain bacteria are present in the digestive tract -- from the natural metabolism, or conversion, of daidzein, an isoflavone found in whole soybeans. Not everyone can produce S-equol after soy consumption, as the production depends on the types of bacteria present in the large intestine and may be influenced by the amount of soy consumed. About 50 percent of Asians and 20 to 30 percent of North Americans and Europeans, who in general consume less soy than Asians, have the ability to produce S-equol. Research indicates that Japanese women have milder menopausal symptoms in those who are S-equol producers compared to nonproducers.

S-equol selectively binds to the receptors for the naturally occurring female sex hormone estrogen, with a strong affinity to the estrogen receptor beta. On binding to these receptors, S-equol mimics some, but not all, activities of natural estrogen. Because of these actions at the receptor, it has been proposed that S-equol may alleviate some of the symptoms caused by diminished estrogen production during menopause.

Natural S-equol Supplement Reduces Menopausal Hot Flashes in U.S. Women
In the double-blinded study of 102 US postmenopausal women, eight weeks of daily SE5-OH supplement doses containing 10, 20 or 40 milligrams (mg) of Natural S-equol reduced the frequency of moderate to severe hot flashes as did 50 mg doses of a soy isoflavone supplement. Because isoflavones are known to have mild effects on the reduction of hot flashes in menopausal women, the investigators used an isoflavone supplement as a comparator in the study.

More women in the 10, 20 and 40 mg Natural S-equol groups achieved a 50 percent or more reduction in their hot flash frequency, a primary endpoint of the study, than in the isoflavone group: respectively, 42.9 (P=0.056), 27.3, 25.0 and 16.0 percent. To enroll in the study, all of the women had to experience more than 35 hot flashes per week.

The 20 mg Natural S-equol dose neared statistical superiority (P=0.076), the 10 mg dose was similar (P=0.503) and the 40 mg dose was significantly more effective than the soy isoflavones in reducing hot flash frequency (P=0.021), according to a Mixed-Effect Model Repeated Measure analysis incorporating the eight weekly reports of women’s hot flash frequency, a secondary endpoint of the study.

Moreover, muscle and joint pain was reduced significantly in the 10 and 20 mg Natural S-equol groups compared to those in the isoflavone group (P< 0.05). Investigators used the validated Greene Climacteric Scale that measures 20 symptoms to produce three symptom measures: psychological, somatic (physical) and vasomotor.

“Together these data document that a minimum daily dose of 10 mg Natural S-equol would provide the benefit of both reducing the frequency of moderate to severe hot flashes as well as decreasing muscle and joint pain associated with menopause,” explained Jenks.

 

Why Use Natural Remedies for Night Sweats and Hot Flashes

Since the earlier times natural remedies have been quite popular among many women to treat their different health issues especially hot flashes and night sweats. Even today more and more women prefer more to use this technique as compared to the other one i.e. allopath, also known ap modern medicinal science when it comes to healing hot flashes. Of course, it is completely different from the conventional medicinal system. Good news is that the composition of natural remedies doesn't include chemicals and synthetic derivatives. These remedies are prepared with the help of herbs, flowers, water, soil etc.  or they might be something as simple as night sweat pajamas or wicking pajamas to help cool the body and keep it dry. All in all, it is advisable to consider having natural remedies for hot flashes.

Many medical experts say that some holistic exercises like meditation, yoga and Pranayama are also included under the category of natural remedy since these exercises also avoid the usage of any synthetic product or ingredient. Without any doubt, the natural medicine has benefited the human lives in many ways after leaving impeccable outcomes over their different health concerning issues. As a better outcome, the number of patients who want to avail with the benefits of this source is increasing day by day. This has distracted a large number of people to some extent from using modern medicines and treatments.

Yes, natural remedy treatment includes the usage of natural medicines so as to heal many different health ailments. This is why this method is also known by the name of complementary medicine. There are no two ways in the fact that today a plethora of natural health care providers are out there offering numerous natural and traditional treatment options to women with hot flashes. The utilization of natural medicine treatment has some reasonable advantages as compared to using its modern medicines counterpart.

• Natural remedies for hot flashes are available at the comparatively lower prices than those you might pay for the usage of modern remedies and treatments.
• You can also find out complementary therapy or treatment very easily in the form of kitchen remedies or home remedies.
• Natural and traditional medicines are made using fruits, vegetables and herbs that don't leave usually any adverse effects on the human's body.
• There is very less chance of experiencing any unwanted reaction with the usage of natural remedy. It might occurs only if one has taken the over dosage of such medicine without having a visit to her natural health care provider.

How To Stop Night Sweats and Hot Flashes?

How to stop my night sweats

Night sweats are a common affliction of women and are often likened to a hot flash. However, night sweats are more feared because they come in the middle of the night, rousing a woman from a sound sleep to find her self drenched in sweat and often freezing with chills. For sufferers of night sweats, other problems soon become apparent, foremost being inhibited sleep.

To continue learning more about night sweats, including tips to lessen their severity, continue reading down the page.

Stopping night sweats: what’s the cause?

Because night sweats occur for many reasons, it is important to diagnose their source in order to select the proper treatment. For instance, if you are a woman between the ages of 35 and 51, the onset of night sweats may be a symptom of perimenopause, or the time before menopause. However, there are many other causes including;

Certain medications

Antidepressants, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), antipyretics, and hypoglycemic agents have all been known to cause night sweats.

Cancer

Night sweats can be a symptom of cancer itself, and also a result of treatments like chemotherapy.

Infections

such as tuberculosis and AIDS can be accompanied by night sweats. Also endocartidis, or an infection of the lining of the heart, can have cause night sweats.

Stroke

If you are suffering from night sweats, it is a good idea to consult a doctor to seek diagnosis of the particular cause of your night sweats. Once this has been determined, an appropriate course of treatment can be selected. This may include;

Lifestyle changes

This includes incorporating healthy and varied foods into your diet. There are certain foods that promote cool body temperature, like cucumber and sage. Also, exercise is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to balance upset hormone levels, a common cause of night sweats. Ridding your routine of alcohol and smoking products can help decrease the severity of night sweats. Wearing moisture wicking sleepwear or menopause pajamas at night help many men and women stay more comfortable while sleeping.

HRT

Though HRT can cause night sweats, it is also used for their treatment. The goal of HRT is to stop the side effects of menopause through maintaining hormonal balance.

Alternative treatments

In recent years, alternative and natural treatments are gaining more recognition in the mainstream medicine world. Though few herbal supplements have been proven effective scientifically, there are many personal testaments on behalf of herbs like maca....read more

The Positive Side Of Hot Flashes and Night Sweats!

Hot flashes that bedevil many women in menopause might actually be a good thing, depending on when they strike, according to new data from a long-running government study.

Women who had hot flashes at the start of menopause but not later seemed to have a lower risk for heart attack and death than women who never had hot flashes, or those whose symptoms persisted long after menopause began.

By contrast, among the few women who developed hot flashes late — in some cases many years after menopause began — there were more heart attacks and deaths when compared with the other groups.

The research involved more than 60,000 women followed for an average of almost 10 years. It's the first to examine timing of menopausal symptoms and subsequent risks for heart problems and deaths, said co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of preventive medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Recent studies linked hot flashes with higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which could suggest a higher risk for heart problems, but the new research offers a more detailed look, Manson said.

Lead author Dr. Emily Szmuilowicz, an endocrinologist with Northwestern University's medical school, said the results should reassure millions of women who experience hot flashes or night sweats, which are essentially hot flashes that can be bothersome enough to awaken women.

The results suggest "there may be a positive side" to having these annoying symptoms, Szmuilowicz said.

The study was released online Thursday in the journal Menopause.

Dr. Elsa-Grace Giardina, a Columbia University specialist in women's heart disease who was not involved in the study, said the research has several limitations and that more rigorous study is needed to prove the results.

Few women developed hot flashes and night sweats long after menopause began, and for at least some, previous use of hormone pills may have increased their risks for heart problems, Giardina said.

But more than one-third of the women with late-onset symptoms never used hormones, and Szmuilowicz said the researchers took past hormone use into consideration and still found timing of symptoms played a role.

Menopause occurs when women stop having periods and estrogen levels dwindle. Most women experience symptoms including hot flashes that can last for several years. But they don't usually persist indefinitely or begin long after the beginning of menopause.

Hot flashes aren't well studied but are thought to result from blood vessels dilating in response to the normal hormone fluctuations of menopause, Manson said. If they occur long after menopause begins, it could signal a blood vessel abnormality that could also affect the heart, she said.

The research involved 60,027 women from the ongoing Women's Health Initiative observational study, examining disease risk factors and health outcomes and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Women were in their early 60s on average, about 14 years past the start of menopause, when they answered questionnaires about their health, education history, and symptoms including hot flashes and night sweats. Cardiovascular problems and deaths were tracked during almost 10 years of follow-up.

More than one-third, or almost 25,000 women, had early symptoms — hot flashes at the onset of menopause that had stopped before they enrolled. Just 1,391 had late symptoms — hot flashes at enrollment but not at the start of menopause.

About 2.5 percent of women with early symptoms had heart attacks, compared with 3.4 percent of women with no symptoms and 5.5 percent of those with late symptoms. Also, about 6 percent of the early symptom women died, versus 11 percent of the late symptom group and 8 percent of the symptomless women. Women who had persistent hot flashes throughout menopause had risks similar to those without symptoms.

Giardina noted that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity — which all can contribute to heart problems — were more common among the late symptom women.

But the researchers said they accounted for that and still found that timing of menopause symptoms played a role in later heart attacks and deaths....read more