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After six years on a 2)prescription 3)estrogen 4)patch that 5)alleviated her hot flashes, but did nothing to address her midlife 25-pound weight gain, Martha B. started searching to treat her 6)menopausal symptoms. She turned to the 7)hormone therapies and started to take pills that have been seen to have estrogen-like effects in humans.
Without changing her eating habits, Martha said she lost 20 pounds. But after four months off the patch, the hot flashes came back. Other than the hot flashes, she started to experience the increasing 8)allergies, dizziness and the occasional loss of balance. Now, she was wondering, “What do I do next?”
According to experts, about 70 percent of women experience hot flashes, weight gain and other symptoms as they 9)transition from their fertile to postfertile years and their hormone levels fluctuate sharply. It’s a process that lasts an average of seven years.
These women are seeking treatment for menopausal symptoms. They turn to the modern devices like medicine and hormone therapies for help. But some bigger issues emerged. In 2002, when the initial findings of a National Institutes of Health study—known as the Women’s Health Initiative project—suggested that women on conventional hormone therapy were at greater risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and 10)blood clotting, the market for alternative treatments soared. There are now more than 500 products that 11)purport to relieve symptoms associated with menopause. “It seems like that if you were a certain age, your doctor would hand you a prescription for hormone pills and that would be that,” said Karen Giblin, the director of Red Hot Mamas, an organization that offers educational programs and information on menopause. “Women were 12)popping them like M&M’s.” she added.
Meanwhile, more and more women bothered by symptoms are searching for a natural alternative, including natural supplements and regular exercise program. They may try, for example, a supplement of 13)phytoestrogens derived from soy and 14)red clover, a low-dose 15)progesterone cream, or 16)swear by black 17)cohosh 18)capsules. “Now, so many women I speak with want to go natural.” said Giblin. Instead of resorting to drugs, a large number of women tend to ease the symptoms in a “primitive” way.
In a recent study, researchers found menopausal women aged 55-72 who started a yearlong exercise program experienced significant improvement in both mental and physical health while those who didn’t exercise got worse. “The group that improved took part in three hours of fully supervised exercise a week for 12 months,” says researcher Carmen Villaverde-Gutierrez. “As well as monitoring severe symptoms, we also looked at the women’s quality of life and found that the average scores for the exercise group improved while those for the 19)control group decreased.”
Discussions about “natural cures” are constantly springing up. It is widely believed the human body is designed to heal itself. There is no denying that the human body needs outside help by conventional medicine to help it heal at times. But many tend to forget that the body has an extraordinary immune system built in to help the body heal itself without outside intervention. The human body was created to heal itself and many times medicines that are produced to help the body heal, can create side effects that can cause other 20)complications. Sadly people tend to resort to medicine once they don’t feel well.
Without changing her eating habits, Martha said she lost 20 pounds. But after four months off the patch, the hot flashes came back. Other than the hot flashes, she started to experience the increasing 8)allergies, dizziness and the occasional loss of balance. Now, she was wondering, “What do I do next?”
According to experts, about 70 percent of women experience hot flashes, weight gain and other symptoms as they 9)transition from their fertile to postfertile years and their hormone levels fluctuate sharply. It’s a process that lasts an average of seven years.
These women are seeking treatment for menopausal symptoms. They turn to the modern devices like medicine and hormone therapies for help. But some bigger issues emerged. In 2002, when the initial findings of a National Institutes of Health study—known as the Women’s Health Initiative project—suggested that women on conventional hormone therapy were at greater risk for heart disease, cancer, stroke and 10)blood clotting, the market for alternative treatments soared. There are now more than 500 products that 11)purport to relieve symptoms associated with menopause. “It seems like that if you were a certain age, your doctor would hand you a prescription for hormone pills and that would be that,” said Karen Giblin, the director of Red Hot Mamas, an organization that offers educational programs and information on menopause. “Women were 12)popping them like M&M’s.” she added.
Meanwhile, more and more women bothered by symptoms are searching for a natural alternative, including natural supplements and regular exercise program. They may try, for example, a supplement of 13)phytoestrogens derived from soy and 14)red clover, a low-dose 15)progesterone cream, or 16)swear by black 17)cohosh 18)capsules. “Now, so many women I speak with want to go natural.” said Giblin. Instead of resorting to drugs, a large number of women tend to ease the symptoms in a “primitive” way.
In a recent study, researchers found menopausal women aged 55-72 who started a yearlong exercise program experienced significant improvement in both mental and physical health while those who didn’t exercise got worse. “The group that improved took part in three hours of fully supervised exercise a week for 12 months,” says researcher Carmen Villaverde-Gutierrez. “As well as monitoring severe symptoms, we also looked at the women’s quality of life and found that the average scores for the exercise group improved while those for the 19)control group decreased.”
Discussions about “natural cures” are constantly springing up. It is widely believed the human body is designed to heal itself. There is no denying that the human body needs outside help by conventional medicine to help it heal at times. But many tend to forget that the body has an extraordinary immune system built in to help the body heal itself without outside intervention. The human body was created to heal itself and many times medicines that are produced to help the body heal, can create side effects that can cause other 20)complications. Sadly people tend to resort to medicine once they don’t feel well.