Posts Tagged ‘health remedies’
Natural Remedies for Hot Flashes, Night Sweats and Insomnia in Menopause
Posted on: December 26, 2012
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) reports that an estimated 6,000 US women reach menopause each day, which translates to over 2 million women every year. The average age of natural menopause, which is the point of a woman’s last menstrual period, is 51.4. The Women’s Health Initiative study, which followed 16,608 women being given hormone replacement therapy (HRT), discovered a high risk of breast cancer, coronary heart disease and stroke from the use of these drugs. As a result, more and more women today are seeking the use of natural remedies for menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, migraine headaches, anxiety, fatigue, and insomnia.
Vitamin E is famous for it’s health benefits to glands and organs, however it may not be generally known that vitamin E is a proven remedy for hot flashes. Adelle Davis, the first nutritionist to base her recommendations on science-based studies, says: “During the menopause the need for vitamin E soars ten to fifty times over that previously required. Hot flashes and night sweats often disappear when 50 to 500 units of vitamin E are taken daily, but they quickly recur should the vitamin be stopped.”
One study supporting vitamin E is from the University of Iran, published in Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation in 2007. 400 IU of vitamin E in a softgel cap was given to the participants daily for four weeks. A diary was used to measure hot flashes before the study and at the end. The researchers concluded that vitamin E is effective and is a recommended treatment for hot flashes.
Another natural remedy has been making headlines lately. Mayo Clinic breast health specialist Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., conducted a study on flaxseed for hot flashes. The 29 participants in Mayo’s clinical trial were women with hot flashes who did not want to take estrogen because of increased risk of breast cancer. The study gave them six weeks of flaxseed therapy, consisting of 40 grams of crushed flaxseed eaten daily. The result was that the frequency of hot flashes decreased fifty percent. Participants also reported improvements in mood, joint or muscle pain, chills, and sweating. This was a significant improvement in their health and quality of life. Dr. Pruthi said: “We hope to find more effective nonhormonal options to assist women, and flaxseed looks promising.”
Pycnogenol is a natural plant extract from the bark of the maritime pine tree which grows exclusively along the coast of southwest France. In a study from Taiwan, 100 pre-menopausal women aged 45-55 years, were given 100-mg capsules of Pycnogenol or placebo twice daily (at breakfast and dinner) for 6 months in a double-blind manner. All menopause symptoms evaluated (including depression, hot flashes, night sweats, memory, attractiveness, anxiety, sexual symptoms, and sleep) improved significantly with Pycnogenol treatment, as early as one month after initiation of treatment. The researchers said, “Supplementation with Pycnogenol clearly reduced the frequency as well as the severity of pre-menopausal symptoms.”
Night sweats and hot flashes can become a form of insomnia in which a woman wakes up drenched in sweat and unable to sleep. Regarding mineral deficiency at the time of menopause, Adelle Davis says, “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.”
One insomnia remedy becoming popular among menopausal women is Sleep Minerals II from Nutrition Breakthroughs. This natural sleep aid contains highly absorbable forms of calcium and magnesium, the best minerals for sleeplessness and insomnia, as well as for heart health, restless legs syndrome, bone strength, and menopause insomnia. 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 flashes, I’m sleeping much better and I’m a lot more comfortable.”
Life after menopause has been found to be a fulfilling time of life for many women. In a recent Gallup Poll sponsored by the North American Menopause Society, 51% of postmenopausal US women reported being the happiest and most fulfilled between ages 50 and 65. Menopause is an excellent time for a woman to keep her health at its peak and minimize symptoms such as night sweats and insomnia by using effective natural remedies.
For more information on Sleep Minerals II, see this web page.
Restless Leg Syndrome as a disruptive condition that affects the nervous system and up to 10% of the U.S. population have some form of it. It results in an irresistible urge to move the legs (and sometimes the arms), often accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the legs such as creeping, crawling, tingling, pulling or pain. Because RLS most often occurs in the evening, it can disrupt sleep, contribute to insomnia, and reduce a person’s quality of life. RLS tends to run in families. A few natural remedies have been shown to help calm the symptoms of restless legs.
The B vitamins are nourishing and essential for good nervous system health. A study from the journal “Alternative Medicine Review” found that administration of folic acid (one of the B vitamins) alleviated the symptoms of RLS and may play a role in the treatment of primary, familial RLS. As a note, the B vitamins work together as a group and should be taken together in a supplement. This will prevent creating a deficiency in the others by taking only one of the whole group, such as folic acid (also known as vitamin B8). Some of the other B vitamins include thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), and niacin (vitamin B3).
In the article “Restless Leg Syndrome Responds to Calcium” by Peter Gott, M.D., he says: “Calcium has been found to be helpful in relieving nocturnal (night time) leg cramps, and some RLS sufferers have also found that it is beneficial in preventing symptoms when taken just prior to sleep…… Other deficiencies, most notably iron, magnesium, folic acid and B vitamins, are also known to cause RLS symptoms in some.”
A recent study published in the journal of “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” gave the results of various forms of exercise on people who suffer with periodic leg movements (PLM). PLM is a night-time condition with similar symptoms to RLS in which sufferers experience a repetitive cramping or jerking of the legs during sleep. The results showed that both intense short-term exercise and longer term exercise lowered the symptoms and greatly aided with falling sleep and staying asleep. (A tip would be to exercise earlier in the day as it may be stimulating if done too close to bed time).
Magnesium deficiency is a key factor in RLS. Studies in the Journal “Sleep” and the “Romanian Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry” have found magnesium to be an effective natural therapy for RLS. Insomnia remedies should have a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium (twice as much calcium as magnesium). The original research on this ratio appeared in 1935 in the Journal of Physiological Reviews.
Andrew Weil, M.D. says that using drugs for restless leg syndrome – many of which have serious side effects – should be employed only as a last resort. He suggests RLS sufferers take a calcium/magnesium supplement at bedtime, do some form of daily exercise, stretch or massage their legs, take a hot bath to relax the legs, and stop smoking if they do so, as smoking may impair blood flow to the leg muscles. Since caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco can trigger symptoms, avoiding all three substances can also bring relief.
One natural sleep remedy showing good results with restless leg syndrome is Sleep Minerals II made by http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com. It contains highly absorbable forms of the best minerals and vitamins for relaxation: Calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D. The ingredients are delivered in a softgel form with carrier oils, making them more easily assimilated than capsules or tablets and providing a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.
Kimberly B. of Troy, Michigan says: “I have been taking Sleep Minerals II for about a month now. I have tried everything out there and this supplement is amazing. I have suffered with insomnia for 2 1/2 years. I have also had restless leg syndrome my entire life and this is the first relief I’ve ever had…gone for a month now.”
For more information on Sleep Minerals II visit http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/html/sleep_remedy_for_insomnia_help.html
Article Source: http://www.nutritionbreakthroughs.com/blog/2012/08/11/studies-show-natural-remedies-for-restless-leg-syndrome-and-insomnia/
Warm milk has long been a highly recommended folk remedy for insomnia. Regarding this, William Sears, M.D. says: “Calcium helps the brain use the amino acid tryptophan to manufacture the sleep-inducing substance melatonin. This explains why dairy products, which contain both tryptophan and calcium, are one of the top sleep-inducing foods.”
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.
This health tip is brought to you by http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com, maker of the effective natural insomnia remedy Sleep Minerals II. Sleep Minerals II contains highly absorbable forms of calcium, magnesium and Vitamin D — all combined in a softgel with carrier oils for fast assimilation.
Wendy R. of Honolulu, Hawaii says: “My friends know that I’ve had insomnia for a very long time. Surprisingly, I received the Sleep Minerals II and took it and I actually slept. This thing really works. I wanted to say, its funny, but people know I have insomnia and once in a while a co-worker will ask me how I slept. In the past, if I ever got a good nights sleep I’d say “I slept like a baby”, but that’s the wrong analogy. Those little guys get up every two hours. I am actually beginning to sleep like an adult — a much-rested adult.”
For more information on Sleep Minerals II visit http://www.NutritionBreakthroughs.com/html/sleep_remedy_for_insomnia_help.html
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