Natural remedies for perimenopause and menopause symptoms.

Written by Lynn Donn


More and more women are seeking natural alternative treatments for symptoms of menopause, for a variety of reasons. Perhapsrepparttar most compelling reason for many isrepparttar 130364 association between conventional hormone replacement therapy and a number of serious health risks, including an increased risk of breast cancer and blood clots, althoughrepparttar 130365 link has by no means been proven, andrepparttar 130366 issue is currentlyrepparttar 130367 subject of serious debate among women’s health experts. Many women have experienced unpleasant side effects resulting from conventional HRT, including nausea, headaches and vaginal bleeding. Many women simply feel apprehensive atrepparttar 130368 thought of taking drugs which have been manufactured synthetically.

The whole notion of returning to old fashioned herbal treatments and folk remedies has a certain comforting, romantic appeal. Some ofrepparttar 130369 herbal medicines which are being rediscovered have been used to treat a range of ailments for literally thousands of years. There is a commonly held belief that medicines derived from natural sources are necessarily free fromrepparttar 130370 risk of negative side effects, harmful interactions and allergic reactions. This is simply not true. Whatever kind of medication you choose to take, it’s essential that you fully understand how it works, what dosage level is appropriate for you, and what objective research has been done on its effectiveness and its potential hazards. Your doctor isrepparttar 130371 best person to provide you with professional, individual advice and attention. Information you find online and in women’s health publications is a useful supplement to your doctor’s advice, and it’s wise to read as widely as you can to get an overall picture ofrepparttar 130372 issues. Your health isrepparttar 130373 most important thing you have, and while you are free to make your own choices about treating menopause symptoms, it’s vital that you make these choices with your eyes open.

Most experts believe that all ofrepparttar 130374 common symptoms of menopause are caused byrepparttar 130375 dramatic decline and fluctuations inrepparttar 130376 body’s levels of estrogen and to some extent progesterone, andrepparttar 130377 imbalance between them. Approaches to alleviating symptoms generally focus around restoring these hormone levels. Natural treatments are typically made from extracts of plants containing substances which are very similar torepparttar 130378 estrogen and/or progesterone produced byrepparttar 130379 ovaries. The effectiveness of these treatments relies onrepparttar 130380 assumption that these phytoestrogens and plant progesterones have a similar effect inrepparttar 130381 body torepparttar 130382 body’s own natural hormones. Some herbal treatments work by stimulating glands to produce natural hormones more effectively, rather than restoringrepparttar 130383 hormones artificially.

Another approach is to treat each symptom individually. There is a range of natural treatments which focus specifically on alleviating common symptoms such as hot flashes, depression, libido problems, vaginal dryness and fatigue.

Estrogen treatments.

Soy

By farrepparttar 130384 richest source of phytoestrogens (sometimes called “isoflavones”) is soybeans, and foods made from soy extracts. Soy can be consumed inrepparttar 130385 form of tofu, soy cheese, meat substitute products such as soy burgers, breads and muffins made with soy flour, and soy drinks, sometimes known as “soy milk”. Some studies have shown that consuming soy beverages or breads made with soy flour twice daily can reducerepparttar 130386 severity orrepparttar 130387 number of hot flashes, but results have been inconclusive and inconsistent. Soy powders and pills contain much higher levels of phytoestrogens than soy foods, and may have a more significant effect in alleviating menopause symptoms than soy foods, but little is known aboutrepparttar 130388 potential hazards. Consuming soy extracts and soy foods may have a range of other health benefits, including reducingrepparttar 130389 risk of osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease, and lowering cholesterol. Some studies suggest that phytoestrogens may actually help to reducerepparttar 130390 risk of breast cancer by blockingrepparttar 130391 overproduction of natural estrogen inrepparttar 130392 body.

Herbs containing phytoestrogens

Red clover has been used in Asia for thousands of years to treat skin conditions, asthma, bronchitis, kidney stones, joint disorders and breast inflammation. It is thought to work by improving circulation and stimulating urine and mucous production, or “purifyingrepparttar 130393 blood”. Red clover has been recently discovered to contain high levels of phytoestrogens, and its usefulness inrepparttar 130394 treatment of menopause symptoms is being investigated. Some studies have shownrepparttar 130395 herb to be very effective in reducing hot flashes and improving bone density and strength, while others have been inconclusive.

Glow Storm: How to Wear the Hottest Golden Makeup Trend

Written by Julie Gabriel


This winter, Midas touched every makeup product he could possibly reach. Soft golden liners and shadows arerepparttar latest evening accessory to any outfit. In fact, gold is a very easy color to play with: it looks lovely with all skin tones and complements day or party look if used wisely. A touch of gold gives your face a warm glow that enlivensrepparttar 130362 paler winter skin.

“Everybody can wear gold,” says Julie Redfern, Beauty Editor at Sephora. “It’s all about how you apply it. Take just one feature and apply gold on it. If you choose to apply gold onrepparttar 130363 eye, you can add some golden shimmer to your lips, but you don’t want a golden cheek. I would mix it up a little bit.” Sexy and sparkling gold-dusted eye shadows look great worn by itself or with black eyeliner, and with nude lipgloss or a berry-painted mouth.

Eye isrepparttar 130364 best place to play with golden hues. “Your eye capturesrepparttar 130365 most attention, because when you talk to someone, they are looking at your eye,” says Julie Redfern. “And you don’t have to reapply eye shadow!”

It is a nearly foolproof trend to apply—just use a light hand and avoid shades that are too yellow. Go for warm gold tones or even gold shades mixed with bronze hues, they work extremely well for all colors of eye irises. Never do an entire eyelid from lash to brow in gold. Keeprepparttar 130366 color concentrated nearrepparttar 130367 lash line or workrepparttar 130368 inner corner ofrepparttar 130369 eye with a lighter hue. To intensifyrepparttar 130370 look, blendrepparttar 130371 shadow up towardrepparttar 130372 brow. Blending different shades of gold from brassy to almost silver we letrepparttar 130373 shade fade naturally towardrepparttar 130374 crease.

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