The Herb Woman

The ghastly news is that tea, the enormous British beverage, is just as bad as coffee. It contains roughly 70 mg of caffeine per cup and just about 100 mg per mug. Conversely, it also contains tannin, an extra nasty, which stops the assimilation of nutrients, zinc and iron in particular. [...]

*** You’re fat and you know it! Now I’m going to tell you something you don’t already know.
You think you already know why you’re fat but you don’t. You think it’s because you just don’t have enough time and motivation to exercise. You think it’s because you love food and don’t quite have [...]

Copyright 2006 Eva Moffat
High Intensity Exercise or Low Intensity Exercise, which will help you lose weight quicker?
Let us first talk about what is Low Intensity Exercise and what would be considered High Intensity.
A brisk walk comes under the category of Low Intensity Exercise, while a run would be considered High Intensity; this is when your [...]

I had been overweight my entire life. I have tried to changed my live as well and now I?m successful. What I have been done ? It?s began 3 years ago. I have changed my thinking on my life. I stopped to use my favorite sentence that tomorrow I’ll do something about my weight and [...]

“Looking inside” the arteries of students eating a variety of foods, researcher’s visualized exactly what happens inside the body when the wrong foods for a healthy heart are eaten. They found that foods with a high glycemic index distended brachial arteries for several hours.

Omega-3 deficiency is the sixth biggest killer of Americans and more deadly than excess trans fat intake, according to a new study. The study determined that there were 72,000-96,000 preventable deaths each year due to omega-3 deficiency, compared to 63,000-97,000 for high trans fat intake.

Are Women’s Bio-identical hormones safe? Bio-identical hormones exist naturally in the human body, so it is axiomatic that these are safe. However, we are interested in a slightly different question. What is the safety of bio-identical hormones as routinely used in medical practice? Let’s try to answer this question.

This article answers the question, why are bioidentical hormones important? What do they do and why do we need them?

What is a bioidentical hormone?

First of all, let us look at the definition of a bioidentical hormone, and how they differ from the synthetic hormones offered by the mainstream medical system.

Left Image: Natural Redhead courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

How is a Synthetic Hormone Different from A Bioidentical Hormone?

Bioidentical hormones are the hormones that exist in the human body naturally. Synthetic hormones are these very same human hormones that are chemically altered.

Why Chemically Alter a Human Hormone?

The drug company hires chemists to alter the structure of human hormones in the laboratory so the drug company can obtain a patent on the new chemical structure, which is a new drug. This alteration is required in order for the drug company to obtain a patent which gives exclusive marketing rights to the drug company. The patent is necessary to protects profits. Because of a quirk in our patent laws, only chemically altered substances can be patented. Natural substances like human hormones cannot be patented, and are therefore generally not as profitable to manufacture.

It’s been said that the only sure things in life are death and taxes, but in this modern world we can add a third sure thing we’re all likely to experience-stress. Stress is just a fact of life in modern society and it has a very negative impact on our health.

While we have all experienced stress, we may not be aware of what stress is from a biological standpoint, or what we can do to prevent it from damaging one’s health.

The body is programmed to survive. When something threatens a person’s survival there is a series of reactions in the body which prepare the body to cope with the threat. Dr. Hans Selye (1936), was the first researcher to document the effects of stress on health. He conducted experiments in laboratory animals and found that stress, coupled with nutritional deficiency, plays a role in the development of every disease.

As a result of the work of Dr. Selye and other researchers, we now have a very clear picture of what happens in the body when survival is threatened. When the mind perceives danger, a series of chemical reactions, sometimes called the fight or flight response, is triggered. The brain signals the hypothalamus to secrete the adrenocorticotrophic hormone releasing factor which travels to the pituitary where it stimulates the production of the adrenocorticotrophic stimulating hormone (ACTH). ACTH travels to the adrenals causing the increased production of epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol.

Epinephrine is both a hormone and a neurotransmitter in the sympathetic nervous system. It heightens physical alertness and activity. Cortisol is an anti-inflammatory hormone that suppresses the immune response. There are other changes in body biochemistry as well, including alterations in enzyme systems and prostaglandin production.

The net effect of all of these changes is to prepare the body for action. The body is “tweaked” physically to be able to fight the dangerous situation or escape from it. On the following page, you’ll find a list of some of the changes that take place in the body as a result of the release of these chemical messengers.

Following are some of the physical changes that take place in the body under stress, you can sew how this coping mechanism could help the body when the danger is real and physical, such as facing a bear or a mountain lion, or charging an enemy in battle. The body is operating at peak efficiency to defend itself or flee the situation.

The biggest complaint that doctors often hear from patients is a lack of energy, or the constant feeling of fatigue. Due to these types of complaints, it really isn?t a surprise that people want to know the best types of vitamins and supplements they can get for energy. All vitamins are ideal for staying healthy, as well as keeping your body performing in top shape.

Among vitamins and supplements, one of the most common for energy is folic acid. Folic acid is a B vitamin that has been proven to increase energy levels. Even though you can look for vitamins that provide energy, it would be in your best interest to find those that can be effective with fighting fatigue as well. There are vitamins, nutrients, and supplements that are great for fighting fatigue and helping the body stay alert.

The vitamin known as NADH is very powerful for energy, although many people aren?t aware of it. People who use vitamins on a regular basis would find themselves very impressed with the boost NADH provides. It is often used with chronic fatigue, although the way it works can be quite complicated indeed. Other vitamins that are great for providing energy include the msm supplement and gingko biloba.