Archive for December 2013
Remedies for Hot Flashes
A hot flash, also called a hot flush, is a sudden unexpected feeling of warmth and often a breakout of sweating in the upper half of the body. A night sweat is a “hot flash” that occurs in the night, often while one is sleeping. These flashes are experienced by 80% of women around the time of menopause, and men can also have them due to a lessening of testosterone in middle age.
At night time while a woman sleeps, her body temperature rises steeply just prior to a hot flash, and may cause her to wake up. The National Sleep Foundation writes that as many as 61% of post-menopausal women report having symptoms of insomnia and less satisfying sleep, due in part to hot flashes interrupting their sleep with frequent awakenings.
Dr. John R. Lee, M.D. explains the source of hot flashes in his book: “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Menopause”. There is an area of the brain that controls the amounts of estrogen and progesterone made by the ovaries. When these two hormones become depleted as in menopause, the brain sends out signals for the ovaries to make more hormones, but they no longer respond to these prompts.
The signaling system can go awry as the brain sends out more and more signals and actually begins to “shout”. This over-activity begins to affect adjacent areas of the brain; particularly the area that controls body temperature and sweating mechanisms — thus the occurrence of hot flashes.
Sometimes spicy food, hot beverages, caffeine, alcohol or cigarettes can bring on a hot flash. For help with night sweats in bed, keep the bedroom cool and keep a washcloth in a bowl of ice near the bed to use on the forehead or chest as needed. To minimize hot flashes during the summer weather, stay cool by using fans and drinking cold drinks. Keep air conditioners on and make sure that air is circulating throughout the room. Dress in layers so you can peel them off as needed.
Vitamins E and C have been shown in studies to help reduce hot flashes. One study supporting vitamin E was published in “Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation” and concluded that vitamin E is effective and is a recommended treatment for hot flashes. Extensive research indicates that vitamin C strengthens blood vessels and acts as a potent health enhancement. In a study that combined vitamin C with bioflavonoids (the white matter on the inside of orange peels), 67% of the subjects reported complete relief from hot flashes.
The minerals calcium and magnesium can also help with deeper, sounder sleep, particularly because estrogen in women and testosterone in men helps to keep these minerals in circulation in the body, and when these hormones are depleted, more frequent mineral supplementation is needed.
Sleep Minerals II from http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com is an example of a natural insomnia remedy that provides good results for menopause symptoms. It contains highly absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium, the best minerals for sleep and insomnia, heart health, restless legs syndrome and bone strength. The formula also includes vitamin D and zinc and is delivered in a softgel form with healthy carrier oils, making it more quickly absorbable than tablets or capsules and providing a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.
Anita L. of New Caney, Texas says: “I was having hot flashes every 30 minutes to an hour through the night and was so miserable. After about two weeks of taking the Sleep Minerals, I noticed an incredible difference with my sleep. I have much less interruption from hot flashes, I’m sleeping much better and I’m a lot more comfortable.”
Valerie from Santa Clarita, California says: “I had such bad menopause insomnia that it took me hours to fall asleep even though I was extremely tired. My legs also had crawling and tingling feelings at night. I got the Sleep Minerals and took them and after a few days, it started to work really well. I fall asleep now within 20 minutes and no more restless legs.”
For more information on Sleep Minerals II, visit http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/html/sleep_remedy_for_insomnia_help.html
Greetings to you,
Have a look at these proven natural remedies and painkillers, many of which are backed-up by research studies.
This news is provided by Nutrition Breakthroughs, maker of the effective natural sleep aid Sleep Minerals II.
Here’s to your good health,
Jobee Knight
President
Nutrition Breakthroughs
A team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California recently embarked upon a study to help determine the causes of insomnia among premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The team conducted phone interviews with 982 women and gathered information about their sleep history, frequency of hot flashes, and overall health.
They found that 51% of postmenopausal women suffer with hot flashes and that 79% of premenopausal women have them. Among the women with the most intense hot flashes (based on their severity and frequency), 81% of them experienced sleeplessness and insomnia.
The lead researcher said: “In this paper, we have observed without any doubt and in a significant way that hot flashes are associated with insomnia. This is the first observational study showing the link between insomnia and hot flashes while controlling for other factors that could account for insomnia in women.”
Night sweats and hot flashes can become a form of insomnia in which a woman can wake up drenched in sweat and unable to sleep. Regarding mineral deficiency at the time of menopause, the pioneering nutritionist Adelle Davis says in her book ‘Let’s Get Well’ that: “The amount of calcium in a woman’s blood parallels the activity of the ovaries. During the menopause, the lack of ovarian hormones (estrogen and progesterone) can cause severe calcium deficiency symptoms to occur, including irritability, hot flashes, night sweats, leg cramps, and insomnia. These problems can be easily overcome if the intakes of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are all generously increased and are well absorbed.”
Calcium is directly related to our cycles of sleep. In one study published in the European Neurology Journal, researchers found that calcium levels in the body are higher during some of the deepest levels of sleep, such as the rapid eye movement (REM) phase. The study concluded that disturbances in sleep, especially the absence of REM deep sleep or disturbed REM sleep, are related to a calcium deficiency. Restoration to the normal course of sleep was achieved following the normalization of the blood calcium level.
Regarding the use of vitamin D as an insomnia remedy, Researchers at the East Texas Medical Center recently discovered that vitamin D helps to regulate the sleep-wake cycle. They found a definite link between vitamin D deficiency and the current epidemic of sleep disorders. During the research, the authors discovered the presence of high concentrations of vitamin D “receiving sites” or “receptors” in those areas of the brain that are related to the onset and maintenance of sleep.
One natural insomnia remedy gaining in popularity with women is Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs. Sleep Minerals II contains highly absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium, the best minerals for sleeplessness and insomnia, heart health, restless legs syndrome and bone strength. The formula also includes vitamin D and zinc and is delivered in a softgel form with healthy carrier oils. The mixture of oils and minerals makes it more quickly assimilated than tablets or capsules and provides a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.
Anita L. of New Caney, Texas says: “I was having hot flashes every 30 minutes to an hour through the night and was so miserable. After about two weeks of taking the Sleep Minerals, I noticed an incredible difference with my sleep. I have much less interruption from hot flashes, I’m sleeping much better, and I’m a lot more comfortable.”
The Stanford research study shows a definite link between hot flashes and insomnia and suggests that if a woman can address and remedy her hot flashes, she will also likely improve her insomnia.
For more information on Sleep Minerals II visit this page.
Nutrition Breakthroughs Shares News on Fruits That Help Prevent Diabetes
Posted on: December 9, 2013
Because of the natural sugars in fruit, one might think that it should be avoided in order to prevent diabetes. On the contrary, a recent study recently published in the British Medical Journal has found that greater consumption of specific whole fruits, particularly blueberries, grapes, and apples, is significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes), whereas greater consumption of fruit juice is associated with a higher risk.
Fruits are very rich in antioxidants, which are substances that protect our tissues from the reactions of oxygen inside the body. Natural processes such as digestion and metabolism create accumulated oxygen reactions that contribute to the aging and disease process. Fruits are good at neutralizing these particles and are also a valuable source of fiber and plant coloring and pigments that have beneficial health effects.
The study on fruit’s effect on diabetes prevention was centered at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. Participants totaled 187,000 people and were women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1984-2008), women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991-2009), and men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2008). They were all free of major diseases at the starting point. Questionnaires were used to collect detailed data.
While blueberries, grapes, and apples provided the most benefits for diabetes prevention, blueberries provided the greatest advantage when three servings per week were eaten — a 26% reduction in the odds to develop diabetes. Servings of cantaloupe on the other hand, increased the risk by 10%, and three servings of fruit juice increased the risk by 8%. Peaches, plums, apricots, prunes, oranges, and strawberries had a neutral risk for diabetes.
So let’s get that fruit out for dessert and eat it for refreshing, nourishing snacks.
Since 2001 Nutrition Breakthroughs has been providing natural health articles and effective natural remedies. Their mission is to provide nutritional supplements that actually work and get results, and therefore help people to avoid harmful drugs and their side effects. Since 2009, their natural sleep remedy Sleep Minerals II has been keeping that promise — by soothing even the worst insomnia and helping everyone from teenagers to seniors to get a good night’s sleep.
There is an ongoing battle between the healthy and unhealthy fats in our diets. We can take steps toward winning the war by eating higher quality fats and the victories will include less joint pain, stronger eyes, fewer heart problems, lower blood pressure, and less cases of asthma and migraines. The healthiest fats include fish and fish oil (salmon, sardines, trout), flax oil, walnuts, almonds, avocados, olive oil, and rice bran oil.
The unhealthy fats, and the ones that can contribute to conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, inflammation and stomach troubles, are fried food, fast food, processed foods like chips, crackers and cookies, baked foods with hydrogenated oil, and eating a lot of full-fat meat and dairy.
Fish oil is widely known for its benefits to heart health and inflammation, but until now, scientists were not entirely sure about its immunity enhancing effects. A new report appearing in an issue of a biology journal has shown that fish oil enhances the activity of a certain kind of blood cell responsible for immunity in the body. Fish oil may actually aid immune responses that help clear out various diseases.
Another study was recently done at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York regarding the use of fish oil for the health of the heart and arteries. Researchers there found that a diet rich in fish oils can prevent the accumulation of fat in the aorta, the main artery leaving the heart. The beneficial actions of fish oil that block cholesterol buildup in the arteries were found even at very high fat intakes.
Scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles compared fish oil with soybean oil for the fat component that was used in feeding tubes for children with stomach failure. The study was titled “Six months of fish oil reverses liver disease in children with intestinal failure.” With the fish oil, nearly 80 percent of the patients experienced a reversal of their liver disease, while only 5 percent of the soybean oil patients saw a reversal. This is a strong statement on the benefits of fish oil for stomach and liver health.
This health news is provided by Nutrition Breakthroughs. Since 2001 Nutrition Breakthroughs has been providing natural health articles and effective natural remedies. Their mission is to provide nutritional supplements that get results, and therefore help people to avoid harmful drugs and their side effects.
Since 2009, their natural sleep remedy Sleep Minerals II has been keeping that promise — by soothing even the worst insomnia and helping everyone from teenagers to seniors to get a good night’s sleep.
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