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Women's
Menopause Health Center April, 2008 Newsletter.
Exercise Helps
Reduce Postmenopausal Heart Attacks.
According to a March 20, 2008 article in the
Journal of Women and Aging, a new study shows that aerobic exercise
helps perimenopause and menopause symptoms and significantly decreases
the chemical imbalances that can lead to heart disease and stroke in
postmenopausal women.
Although estrogen is known to reduce the chemical imbalances that can
lead to cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease and
stroke in postmenopausal women, recent studies have reported detrimental
effects of long-term use of synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
or synthetic estrogen replacement therapy, including an increased risk
of stroke, heart attack and breast cancer.
Click here for the large-scale
Women's Health Initiative study released in 2002 show that hormone
replacement therapy (HRT) is linked to substantial increases in the risk
of developing breast cancer, heart disease, strokes and blood clots
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Diosgenin cream ingredients
| Benefits diosgenin cream |
How to use diosgenin cream. |
Return to Eden Diosgenin (nicknamed Progesterone) Cream.
Do you remember our newsletter
last year detailing how Wyeth Pharmaceuticals was attempting to stop
compounding pharmacists from prescribing natural progesterone (diosgenin)
after their profits fell by more than 57% from $2.07 billion in 2003 to
$800 million in 2004 (after the WHI study had to be stopped)?
Well, now they have gone after
centers like ours making complaints to the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC). The FTC's position backed by the big pharmaceutical companies is
that Dr. John Lee, M.D.'s studies were not scientific and did not rise to
the standard of FDA and National Institutes of Health studies, and that
our claims about natural progesterone are false, unfair, deceptive,
misleading advertising in violation of the law..
(Please read
what Dr. Helen Pensanti M.D. has to say about this. Read on to how the study
was conducted.)
This is an attempt to force women into taking
unsafe proven cancer causing synthetic hormones using
your tax dollar to harass natural hormone suppliers. We here at the Women's
Menopause Health Center refuse to take away your choice of a healthy
alternative to Premarin, Prempro and the other dangerous drugs. We are
taking a stand against this heavy handed attempt to destroy competition. We
are going to fight for your choice of a healthy way to get through menopause
comfortably and safely.
(Ed. note: This was from our newsletter last year. The
continued harassment by the FTC has caused us to discontinue our wonderful
product. Do not be forced
into taking something that can kill you. You may purchase safe
progesterone cream at your local health food store, or find it a lot less
expensively on line at places like ebay and yahoo stores.
Do not let these heavy handed tactics destroy your health!)
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There is hope for women who are faced with these detrimental
consequences. They are learning that exercise as a natural way to help
perimenopause and menopause symptoms. This is a position the Women's
Menopause Health center has taken from its inception - that exercise
naturally helps many perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms from hot
flashes to heart attacks.
The study reported in the article found that HRT users and non-HRT users
benefited equally from the exercise.
“Given the controversy with HRT, postmenopausal women can now use
aerobic exercise training to lower chemical stress levels, thus reducing
another risk factor for chronic disease,” said Michael D. Brown, Ph.D.,
a co-author and associate professor of kinesiology at Temple
University’s College of Health Professions.
The chemical imbalance or stress — called oxidative stress — occurs when
oxidants, harmful chemicals that damage tissue and cells, outnumber
antioxidants in the body. Antioxidants protect cells and tissues against
oxidants. Postmenopausal women have higher levels of oxidative stress.
A single bout of intense exercise acutely raises oxidative stress by
increasing the production of oxidants. Conversely, regular exercise of
moderate intensity appears to reduce oxidative stress through an
adaptive process that increases antioxidant activity.
The study followed 48 sedentary postmenopausal women (21 on HRT and 27
not on HRT) through an exercise program consisting of three supervised
sessions of aerobic exercise per week for 24 weeks. Participants were
between 50 and 75 years of age and were postmenopausal for at
least two years.
Since changes in habitual dietary intake could influence oxidative
stress levels, qualified subjects were stabilized for six weeks on the
American Heart Association Step I diet, which is low in saturated and
trans fat, and rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free and
low-fat dairy products, Brown said.
Weight loss was limited to 5 percent or less of the women’s initial body
weight in order to determine the independent effects of aerobic exercise
training on oxidative stress, not the effect of exercise and weight loss
on oxidative stress.
The HRT users and non-users both experienced an 11 to 18 percent drop in
plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, an indicator of
oxidative stress.
There were also decreases in body mass index and total body fat, and a
significant increase in VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake or aerobic
capacity) in both HRT users and non-users after the exercise
intervention, Brown said.
“Exercise was able to reduce oxidative stress levels in these women
regardless of whether or not they were using estrogen replacement. In
addition, the women did not lose large amounts of body weight or fat,”
Brown said.
“No one is too old to begin an exercise program, but it is imperative to
consult your physician before taking part in any exercise program. It is
important to start off slow and build your program to your comfort
level. Exercising is not difficult. You just have to want to do it,”
Brown added.
Other authors are: Selasi Attipoe, B.S., University of Maryland; Joon-Young
Park, Ph.D., University of Maryland; and Dana Phares, Ph.D., University
of Maryland. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health.
Adapted from materials provided by Temple University.
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