Managing Menopause Naturally , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - Emily Kane

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119 pages

English

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In this informative new book, Dr Emily Kane sets out to banish the current myths about menopause, making the important point that menopause is not a disease condition that requires medical intervention. It is instead, she says, a natural transition to be approached as a new type of freedom. Dr Kane believes that menopause is a gift that allows many of us to live more years. This book is her roadmap for women, to help them navigate their way into, through, and out the other side of menopause - all the while in radiant health.

Sujets

Santé et bien-être

Santé du quotidien

Santé au quotidien

Fitness

Health

Women's Health

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 août 2004
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781591205999
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0748€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Managing Menopause Naturally
Before, During, and Forever
Emily Kane, N.D., L.Ac.
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
8200 Boulevard East
North Bergen, NJ 07047
1-201-868-8336
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kane, Emily.
Managing menopause naturally : before, during, and forever / Emily Kane.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-59120-063-6
ISBN 978-1-59120-599-9
1. Menopause—Popular works. 2. Middle-aged women—Health and hygiene. I. Title.
RG186.K3625    2004
618.1'75—dc22
2003023142
Copyright © 2004 by Emily Kane, N.D., L.Ac.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Roberta W. Waddell
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10    9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART ONE:    Symptoms of Hormonal Change
1.   Weird Periods—Or Maybe They Were Never Regular
2.   Mood Swings—Even My Dog Notices
3.   Breast Tenderness—Ouch! Don’t Hug Me
4.   No Sex Drive—Is This Permanent?
5.   Sleep Disturbances—Three Scenarios
6.   Hot Flashes and Night Sweats—When Will This Stop?
7.   Getting Shorter? You Don’t Have To
8.   Foggy Thinking—I Can’t Find My Keys . . . Again
9.   Hair Loss—Some New Ideas
10.   Skin Changes—How to Prevent Them
PART TWO:    Marvelous and Incredibly Useful Natural Substances
11.   Bioidentical Hormones
12.   Antioxidants, Bioflavonoids, and Vitamin C
13.   The B Vitamins
14.   Vitamin E
15.   How to Protect Your Liver
16.   Phytoestrogens
PART THREE:    Where Hormones Come From
17.   The Adrenal Glands
18.   The Ovaries
19.   The Thyroid Gland
PART FOUR:    How to Stay Healthy for a Long Time
20.   Immune-System Basics
21.   Heart Disease
22.   Reduce Your Risk of Cancer Now!
Conclusion
Resources
References
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Heartfelt thanks to my family, Bret Schmiege and Katherine Kane, who actually left me alone in the house on Tuesday afternoons for several months to let me write this book. I love you, and thank you for loving me. I also wish to express my great fondness and respect for my parents, Ed and Phyllis Kane, who have always encouraged me to pursue my own interests. And I place my hands in namaste and bow to my many teachers at Bastyr University; an incomplete list includes Cathy Rogers, Bruce Milliman, Elias Illya, Jon Hibbs, Jane Guiltinan, Rich Frederickson, Maureen O’Keefe, Molly Linton, Silena Heron, and Jeff Basom. I also deeply appreciate what I have learned about women’s bodies from Drs. Lili Tang, Tori Hudson, and Christianne Northrup. Many thanks to my editor, Bobby Waddell, for organizing the text to make it a more useful book. Bobby’s pragmatic, no-nonsense approach to editing was very detail-oriented, but never lost sight of the big picture. Mostly, I thank the community of Juneau, Alaska, especially the downtown gang centering around Rainbow Foods (Dave Ottoson and Linda Cohen) for helping me to grow as a physician. Blessings to you all. Blessings to us all.
Introduction
T his book is designed to help women manage menopause naturally, beginning with the transition from regular monthly menstruation and its accompanying possibility of pregnancy to a new freedom called menopause. By the year 2015, 50 percent of the women in the United States will be menopausal, and three-quarters of these women will have symptoms. Contrary to the current interests and practices of our medical establishment, however, menopause is not a disease, and it does not usually require pharmaceutical medication. (Pregnancy and childbirth aren’t diseases either, for that matter.) Women are supposed to stop menstruating at a certain age. When and how we originally go from girl to woman and have our first period (menarche) is determined by many factors (hormonal, dietary, emotional, and environmental), and there are just as many factors that contribute to menopause at the cessation of menstruation and the end of our fertile years. Menopause is a gift that allows us to live many more years without periods, without the specter of an unwanted pregnancy, and without the potential roller coaster of premenstrual moodiness. It technically begins twelve months to the day after the last menstrual period, and may be rocky at times, but this book is intended as a road map to help you navigate through it smoothly and emerge radiantly healthy.
Part One has ten chapters detailing the top ten complaints of hormonal shifting, including breast tenderness, bone loss, and hot flashes. Chapter 1 explains which hormones are involved in menstruation and their role in menopause. Each chapter in Part One has a final summary for quick reference. Part Two introduces and explains some of the exceptional tools and techniques you can use to create a natural, wholesome transition to menopause. Part Three describes the major hormonal control systems of the body—the adrenals, ovaries, and thyroid gland—so you will understand what is really going on in your body during this transition. Part Four is an overview of how to stay healthy and happy beyond menopause, with chapters on maintaining a functional immune system, preventing heart disease, and the connection between cancer and diet.
My bias as a naturopathic doctor is to work with what nature offers: fresh air, pure water, organic food, and most of all, the incredible blend of what makes up a person. The physical machine, the realm of feelings and emotions, and the complexity of the intellect are all equally important players in our health and well-being. My perspective, and my goal for the patients under my care, is not merely to be rid of illness, but to achieve optimum health and well-being. Remember, hormonal transition is normal. You are not sick, and you probably don’t need drugs or to go to the hospital.
It is tricky to get an unbiased opinion about medical approaches to menopause when the information is coming from doctors, and even more so from pharmaceutical company representatives, who have a financial interest in your dependence upon their products and services. The purpose of this book is to open your mind to the possibility of natural self-care as you go through menopause or any other life transition. Ultimately, a commitment to healthy choices in diet, relationships, and daily activities is what creates a permanent and solid foundation for well-being.
I would like to briefly address a few menopause myths.
✗    In the old days, women didn’t live much beyond menopause, but modern women live much longer so their estrogen must be replaced. One hundred years ago, women did die sooner, but these deaths were mostly related to childbirth. Either the infant girl died, or the young mother giving birth died because of blood loss or infection. Even hundreds of years ago, women who survived infancy and childbirth often lived to old age. Further, women continue to secrete estrogen from their adrenal glands and fat cells their entire lives. Menopausal and perimenopausal women have a naturally appropriate amount of estrogen production for these phases of their lives.
✗    Menopause causes arthritis, heart disease, osteoporosis, and all sorts of other chronic diseases . Actually, unhealthy aging causes these problems. Men typically acquire heart disease earlier than women and they are not exempt from osteoporosis (bone loss). I sincerely hope this book will help you gain a great deal of practical information about healthy aging.
✗    Menopause turns women into raging terrors (I’m avoiding the “B” word here). Actually, younger women are more likely to fly into rages and get moody, for two reasons. First, they have a lot more hormonal activity than a menopausal woman. And second, just like good wine, women tend to mellow with age.
✗    Menopause should be treated with standard hormones . This is what the drug companies would like you to believe. The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to hormone replacement, even assuming it is needed at all. Standard prescription hormones have been proven to be harmful. Luckily, there are safer alternatives available in plant based and bioidentical hormones, which are explained in Chapter 11 , the opening chapter of Part Two .
The primary message of this book is that menopause is a transition—it is not an illness. The transition may be long and gradual or it may be abrupt. Each woman is unique and will experience her passage differently. A number of general concepts that hold true are presented in these pages. A highly important one is to stay committed to excellent health and focused on cultivating a deep sense of joy. We’re only sure we’ve got this life—we might as well make it stellar!