Female Care

By Annetta Holmes

With the increasing downward spiral of food quality, vitamins and minerals that should be in your food are absent. Add to that processing and poor eating habits and this lack of sufficient nutrients show up in abnormalities of the body. The skin, our biggest organ, is the first line of defense against the microbes that lurk in the air and when changes for the worst occur in the skin it is time to re-assess our diet and to start thinking about supplementing with vitamins and minerals.

The body carries out it’s daily routines of which we are oblivious. However we become aware that all is not well when we start to see disease or deterioration. The body, to keep vital functions going – lungs repaired, heart beating rhythmically, correct pH levels of the blood – will strip less important parts of their nutrients in order to keep you alive. If a nutrient is required to keep your lungs in good repair and the nutrient is not being supplied through your diet then your body will start breaking down healthy cells just to retrieve the correct vitamin or mineral. This puts an added burden on your body. Cells once constructed usually have a certain length of life before they are broken down and new cells made. By depriving your body of its required vitamins you force it to work harder recycling itself. The more deficient your food, the harder the body works which has a knock-on effect as extra nutrients are used up in the break down, re-construct cycle.

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Its been a while since you have had an interest in sex. Maybe it seems like a few weeks, but you know it has been months. The man in your life is reminding you regularly of his needs. His patience is running thin. You are uncertain what to do. Your guilt at not meeting his needs is intense. However, sometimes you just feel annoyed that he will not go away and forget about sex. Something needs to be done.

It is possible that you can trace the drop in sex drive to some event. It might have occurred after the birth of a child. Perhaps you are experiencing menopause and your sex drive exited with your monthly cycle. You many have had other issues and your sexual interest just withered by degrees over time. Whatever the reason, you do not have to live with it. There are several possible ways to help get things moving again if you will take some steps to see it happen.

The first and most practical step is to visit with your doctor and find out if there is a physical reason for the demise of your sex drive. You may find, as many women have, that your loss of sex drive is related to some form of hormonal imbalance. This could range from the shutting down of your ovaries to the wrong birth control pill to some other physical problem. Your doctor can either diagnose potential problem areas or rule them out. If it turns out to be physical, you may very well be on the road to recovery before you wake up tomorrow morning. If a physical problem is ruled out, the solution may be a little trickier to fix.

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Are you post-menopausal? Do you have high blood pressure? Well, help may be at hand. A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that blood pressure was reduced by eating soy. 60 healthy post-menopausal women who took part in the study were divided into 2 groups. Both groups had identical healthy diets, the only difference being that one group had part of its protein intake replaced by half a cup of unsalted soy nuts. After 8 weeks, in the soy group, blood pressure was significantly reduced in the 12 women who had hypertension and also in those that had normal blood pressure. Soy for high blood pressure.

As an added bonus, levels of “bad” cholesterol were also lower in women that had hypertension.
This particularly important for post-menopausal women who are hypertensive because they have 4 times the risk of developing heart disease as those with normal blood pressure. Just goes to show what an impact small changes to your diet can have on your health – yet another good reason to start eating soy!

Herbs have magical powers to treat the various diseases that we suffer from, in our regular life. It might be unbelievable, but also has a cure for the most common problem that all women suffer from in their life time. Yes, you guessed it right, it is menopause.

Until a few years back, women would suffer from the various symptoms that are related to menopause with not many medications to help them overcome the problems. But, the various studies conducted on the herbs finally gave a solution, a cure for the various symptoms and hence gave a ray of hope to all women suffering from some or the other type of problems caused due to menopause.
According to the studies, there are various natural herbs for menopause that are found to have certain effect on the estrogen levels in our body. With the actions of these herbs, the severity of the various symptoms of menopause is reduced to some extent. Thus they are categorized into two categories based on their chemical structure of the chemicals that are present in the herbs which act against the symptoms of menopause. These categories are:

• Estrogenic herbs: The herbs that are included under this category contain chemical structures of estrogen and thus are included in this category.
• Non-estrogenic herbs: The simple herbs that do not contain the chemical structure of estrogen are included under this category.

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Alternative Names: Cold sore; Fever blister; Herpes simplex – oral; Oral herpes simplex

Definition of Herpes labialis

Herpes labialis is an infection caused by the herpes simplex virus. It leads to the development of  small and usually painful blisters on the skin of the lips, mouth, gums, or lip area. These blisters  are commonly called cold sores or fever blisters.

Symptoms

Warning symptoms of itching, burning, increased sensitivity, or tingling sensation may occur about 2 days before lesions appear.

* Skin lesions or rash around the lips, mouth, and gums
* Small blisters (vesicles) filled with clear yellowish fluid
-Blisters on a raised, red, painful skin area
- Blisters that form, break, and ooze
- Yellow crusts that slough to reveal pink, healing skin
- Several smaller blisters that merge to form a larger blister
* Mild fever (may occur)

Treatment

Untreated, the symptoms will generally go away in 1 to 2 weeks. Antiviral medications taken by mouth may shorten the course of the symptoms and decrease pain.

Herpes sores often come back again and again. The antiviral medicines work best if you take them when the virus is just starting to come back – before you see any sores. If the virus returns frequently, your doctor may recommend that you take the medicines all the time.

Wash blisters gently with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus to other areas of skin. An antiseptic soap may be recommended. Applying ice or warmth to the area may reduce pain.

Also, your provider may recommend a drying agent to help oozing sore, or antiviral cream. If your recurrences are frequent and severe, your provider may prescribe oral antiviral medication, e.g. acyclovir, which has been shown to decrease the size and severity of herpes outbreaks. These medications have no effect on host cells. Other medication: Zovirax, Valtrex, Famvir, Bactroban, Neurontin

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There’s recently been a LOT in the weight loss news concerning green tea.
Green tea’s weight loss effects have been causing more and more people to start sipping the ancient Japanese brew.
But just how does green tea help you lose weight? And does it really work or is it all just hype? This article gives you the real facts about drinking green tea to lose weight.
Advantages of Drinking Green Tea for Weight Loss:
1) Green tea revs up your metabolism
A study reported on in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that green tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure (a metabolism ‘boost’).
The researchers also concluded that that over a 24-hour period, green tea extract increases the metabolic rate by 4%. These effects are probably due to the high concentrations of catechin polyphenols found in green tea. These work to help intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis (the rate at which your body burns calories).
2) Green tea inhibits fat absorption and helps glucose regulation
Experts tell us that the catechins in green tea help to inhibit the movement of glucose into fat cells. Green tea may also act as al glucose regulator. It helps to slow the rise in blood sugar after a meal. This prevents high insulin spikes (lots of insulin promotes fat storage) and the subsequent fat storage.
3) Green tea may help reduce appetite
Scientists at the University of Chicago found that green tea caused rats to lose up to 21 percent of their body weight. Rats injected with a green tea extract lost their appetites and consumed up to 60 percent less food after seven days of daily injections. This may have something to do with the blood sugar regulating effects of green tea.
4) Green tea can help you save calories on your morning brew.
We are a nation hooked on our java. Be it the regular double-cream, double-sugar standard or that mocha,
dappa, frappucinno, the calories we ingest just to get our morning caffeine is wreaking havoc on our waistlines.

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Shelley Redford Young Master Alkalarian Chef

For as long as I can remember, people have been talking about losing weight, especially women. When I was very young, my mother was on this thing called a diet. I remember she ate tuna fish every day and drank the new 1 calorie drinks. Then when I attended High School, many of the girls I knew, were trying to lose weight for the prom, a dance concert, or just so they could buy a size smaller jeans. A few of my friends started taking this weight loss idea to dangerous extremes with bulimic and anorexic behavior. One of them did this for so long that her intestinal tract dried up and no longer functioned well. Checking in at a whopping 83 lbs., she finally had to have an operation to remove large parts of her intestine and required a colostomy bag for the rest of her life! All of this so she could remain the skinniest cheerleader on our High School Squad!!
Our nation, (or rather the world) appears to be confused and sometimes recklessly (the phen phen fiasco) searching for some magic bullet or potion that will allow everyone, especially women, to be at their ideal (or below) weight. The diet industry continues to be a multi billion dollar production that keeps offering up new methods, diets, and programs all making claims for results. However, obesity continues its climb to an epidemic, not only for adults, but for our children, and it has become apparent that our answer to the solution will never be found in one little pill or bottle. For the rising generation, we also need to focus on obesity prevention, not only for the emotional health of our young women, but also their physical well beings, as many diseases like diabetes and heart disease seem to accompany obesity.
Women in particular are under extreme pressure in our society to remain sleek and ideal.
Super models and movie idols are almost always close to the physical ideal that most women would love to be.
This is first brought to our attention as young females when we notice magazine covers in the check-out stand of the grocery store, most of which portray beautiful slim fit women in desirable fashions. From a very young age we develop a belief that if we can attain this look, we will be desirable, successful, and fulfilled.
Diet and Exercise equipment ads remind us as women, that we need our thighs trimmed and shaped, our bellies blasted and our buttocks busted!! Goals are set for women to remain in single digit dress sizes. Everywhere women are given a message that less is more when it comes to an ideal weight, and all with an attached sideline that we should remain toned, curvy and sexy.

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Myth: Skipping a meal is a good way to diet and lose weight.

Truth: The research shows that if you skip meals you are more likely to be overweight.
This appears to be especially true for those who skip breakfast.
With skipped meals there is a slowing of your body’s metabolism. The theory is that this is to preserve the stored calories through slowing the need for them. There is also good evidence that if you skip a meal you are likely to eat more at the next one, or worse, to snack (usually on whatever is handy).
Eat three regular meals a day, and if you are working at losing weight, eat smaller portions.

Myth: Carbohydrates are bad for you.
Truth: This is just plain silly. Your body uses carbs as its primary fuel source.
Carbohydrates have about half the amount of calories per gram as fats do. The problem with people’s diets today is that the contain a lot of simple carbohydrates like sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Simple sugars like these pack in the calories. When people eat low-carb diets, they eliminate these very high calorie carbohydrates and they lose weight. This type of weight loss doesn’t last for most people, however.
Research has shown that eating a diet low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates like whole grain and starches is good for you and is the best way to lose weight.

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Planning for pregnancy after a miscarriage is really a most difficult decision for most of the couples.

Dealing with pain and grief of a miscarriage makes conceiving again as an impossible and sometimes a disagreeable condition for some couples, but some others want to become pregnant immediately.

However, you should wait to conceive until you become both physically and emotionally ready. Still most of you get a doubt that when can you try for another pregnancy.

Right time for planning pregnancy after miscarriage:

Frankly speaking, there is no specific amount of time you need to wait for conceiving again. But, most of the health professionals suggest you to wait for few months in order to strengthen the odds of a healthy pregnancy.

If your body is not prepared to support for a pregnancy at the time you conceive again, then you need to face a higher risk of repeated miscarriage. Some time is necessary for recovery of the uterus and strengthening of the endometrial lining.

Medically, the safe period for conception is after 2-3 menstrual cycles. Some other practitioners suggest you to wait for six months to one year before trying for another pregnancy.

Are there any chances of having miscarriage again?

Most of the couples who had undergone a miscarriage worry that it will occur again. About 85% of pregnancies who experienced one loss can have successful pregnancy for the next time and 75% of pregnancies can have successful pregnancies that experienced two or three losses.

You should consult your practitioner before you conceive again. This is essential if you have experienced 2-3 losses, have fertility problems, have problems that affect your pregnancy like diabetes and are above the age of 30.

Deciding when to attempt again:

The decision of attempting again is dependent on you couple. Becoming pregnant again never substitute the lost pregnancy, but it will help you in refocusing your attention. If the previous miscarriage is due to any complications, then you should discuss with your practitioner regarding the plans of conceiving again.

Don’t blame yourself for the loss. Often women feel that they are responsible for the miscarriage. The most common cause of miscarriage appears to be a chromosomal abnormality in your developing embryo. It is highly unlikely that anything you did contributed to the loss.