| Comparison of Some Alternative Approaches to Menopause |
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Christiane Northrup, M.D.
(gynecologist) The Wisdom of Menopause |
Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. (endocrinologist)
The Schwarzbein Principle
(not specifically about menopause) |
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Susun Weed (Herbalist, teacher, The Wise Woman Way)
The New Menopausal Years |
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture and Herbal therapy
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| Mind/body influence |
Menopause is a change on all levels to a different and more powerful life stage, and emotional, mental, spiritual issues will definitely affect physical symptoms.
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Dealing with "stress" is second step of her program, but hers is primarily a physiological approach. |
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Menopause is the natural passage into the stage of "Wise Woman" and can be welcomed and supported.
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Qi and the mind or emotions are not separate, and what happens to one will happen to the other. |
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Diet and Nutrition
Philosophy
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Eat natural foods, no processed foods. Unprocessed fats and carbs are good.
Don't diet.
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Eat natural organic foods, no processed foods. Protein is essential. Unprocessed fats and real carbs are necessary to maintain balanced nutrition. Low-fat or low-carb diets destroy the metabolism and ultimately cause malnutrition. Eliminate toxins like refined sugars, alcohol, tobacco. Healthy NutritionBalancing your metabolism
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Eat natural, unprocessed foods and herbs.
Wild foods have many virtues:
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Support the health of the spleen/stomach:
Mostly cooked, warm foods
Easily digestible foods
Limit cold, frozen, and raw foods
Limit foods like milk which produce "dampness"
Use warming spices cautiously
Avoid any kind of coffee, alchohol. greasy foods, spicy dishes, excessive meat, chemicals, pollutants, preservatives
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| Hormone Replacement Therapy |
Recommends diet, herbal remedies and lifestyle changes, then bioidentical hormone replacement if necessary. Supports John Lee's theory of estrogen dominance.
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All hormones - major: adrenaline, insulin, cortisol, and minor - HGH, DHEA, thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone--need to be balanced through natural nutritional diet with supplementation with bioidentical hormones only if necessary and tracked consistently.
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Developed theory of Estrogen Dominance affecting human health as a result of large number of estrogenic environmental pollutants. Good article explaining this and osteoporosis
Use progesterone cream alone or lowest symptom-relieving dose of bioidentical estrogen plus progesterone cream for relief of menopausal symptoms Take Hormone Balance
Hormone Testing
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Use food and herbs instead. Progesterone cream:"This is the largest public health experiment with nobody tabulating the results that has gone on in several decades.''
(Her comments on HRT are based on Premarin rather than bio-identical hormones)
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Acupuncture treatment and Chinese herbs address this in another way |
| Continuous or Cyclical HRT |
Depends on individual case. |
Estrogen and progesterone should be taken cyclically to mimic biology and create periods, that taking both continuously promotes insulin resistance which works against hormone balance. |
"The majority of women are radiantly healthy during their last trimester of pregnancy, when hormones are the highest....It is not necessary for a postmenopausal woman to have periods if she is using bioidentical hormones properly. When postmenopausal women use small doses of bioidentical hormones, they rarely, if ever, have periods, nor do they have the risky endometrial buildup in the uterus which is what makes it important to have periods." |
Doesn't recommend HRT. |
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| Hormone testing |
saliva test
free (unbound) blood test
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saliva test |
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"Designer" Estrogens
Evista Ralph Moss, PhD
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Avoid Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators.
Troubling side effects have been documented including increasing risk for other types of cancer, they cause hot flashes, after 5 years anti-estrogneic effects of Tamoxifen appear to reverse
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Recommends avoiding all pharmaceutical products and also caution with herbs, which also function as drugs. |
"Pharmaceutical companies prefer synthetic hormones. Synthetic hormones (not found in nature) can be patented, whereas real (natural, bioidentical) hormones can not. Patented drugs are more profitable than non-patented drugs. Sex hormone prescription sales have made billions of dollars for pharmaceutical companies Thus is women’s health sacrificed for commercial profit." |
Are you kidding? |
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Mammograms
Mammogram Safety
CancerActive.com
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She recommends 1) a yearly breast exam from a health professional
2) Transform the scary breast exam to a lymphatic self-massage, which actually removes toxins from the breasts
3) After age 50, get mammogram annually.
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Not recommended |
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Osteoporosis
Fosamax: the brainwashing of a generation of women
Dr. Jonathan Wright
Are bone density tests useful?
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Pharmaceutical support from Fosomax etc if necessary.
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Recommends healing whole metabolism. Imbalance causes bone breakdown. Avoid pharmaceutical products. |
Preventing Osteoporosis |
Nourishing your Bones |
Use Chinese herbs
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| Soy Products |
Recommends soy products as source of phytoestrogens
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Recommends soy as protein source but never recommends any processed soy food.
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Soy contains enzyme inhibitors which block absorbtion. Except for femented soy, soy products should be used in moderation.
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Only use fermented soy--products like tofu and soy milk may cause thyroid problems and have other negative health effect.
Use Good phytoestrogens |
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