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BREAST & UTERINE HEALTH
Women’s Health Virginia is a “statewide initiative to promote and
improve Virginia women's and girls' health and well being” (www.womenshealthvirginia.org).
They have designated April as Women and Girls Wellness Month, so in honor
of their effort, this article will address two important women’s health issues
that apply to women of all ages – breast health and uterine health.
Many breast problems, including cancer, are linked
to too much estrogen in the body in relation to progesterone.
While breast cancer often runs in families, we can hedge our bets by
taking care of our overall health and finding ways to get the estrogen back into
balance. The United States National
Research Council (http://www.nationalacademies.org/nrc/) states that 35-70
percent of all U.S. cancer deaths are related to diet and that 60 percent of the
cancer incidence in women is related to diet. Other
breast issues include fibrocystic breasts and tender breasts.
More than 70% of all women have cysts of some type, but only about 1 in 8
women will develop breast cancer. For
overall breast health, eat a healthy diet high in fresh, whole foods and low in
processed foods, sugars, unhealthy fats, sodas, caffeine, artificial sweeteners,
alcohol and processed carbohydrates. Also,
Whole Health MD recommends taking essential fatty acids (Omega 3’s from fish,
flax, primrose, or borage oils) which can maintain healthy breast tissue
(http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,992,00.html). Fibrocystic breast disease is uncomfortable but
normally doesn’t interfere with a woman’s lifestyle or lead to anything more
serious. All lumps, however, should
be examined by a physician to be sure they’re benign.
Several simple methods can be utilized to help prevent or treat breast
cysts as follows: 1.
Eliminate caffeine of all
types. Caffeine consumption
aggravates breast cysts. 2.
Decrease estrogen
consumption from all sources. Remember,
hormones are added to cow’s milk to increase production and are found in most
dairy products unless you buy hormone-free.
They’re also in most meats we eat, like chicken, turkey and red meats,
and eggs. 3.
Take the herb Chasteberry
(Vitex) every day according to bottle directions.
A double-blind trial of 104 women compared a placebo against two forms of
chasteberry (liquid and tablet) for at least three menstrual cycles.
The results showed statistically significant and comparable improvements
in the treated groups as compared to the placebo (Mosby’s
Handbook of Herbs and Supplements and Their Therapeutic Uses, 2003). 4.
According to the journal Alternative
Medicine Review, calcium D-glucarate supplements will bind to excess
estrogen and help remove it from the system (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_4_7/ai_91155405). 5.
Use castor oil packs.
Heat castor oil until very hot. Soak
a soft, cotton cloth in the oil & place cloth directly on the lumps.
Cover with plastic wrap & leave on over night.
Repeat for 5 nights, rest 2 nights, repeat again.
It’s messy, but works over time to dissolve the lumps. While beyond the scope of this discussion, there are numerous herbal &
dietary protocols that have proved very effective for treating breast cancer and
may be used in conjunction with standard protocols.
These include calcium D-glucarate, the calcium salt of D-glucaric acid,
which is being studied at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
as an alternative to tamoxifen (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_4_7/ai_91155405).
It has been very successful in animal studies.
And never forget, when detected early enough, most breast cancers have a
high probability of being cured. Uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts and cervical dysplasia are very common problems women face. These are mostly benign conditions, but may cause a great deal of discomfort and, if heavy bleeding is present, embarrassment. Ovarian cysts and fibroids have been linked to excess estrogen levels, and ovarian cysts will normally shrink during menopause when estrogen levels drop. Cervical dysplasia often goes away by itself, but can result in discomfort. It is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is sexually transmitted. HPV can lead to cervical or other genital cancers, so it’s important to have any wart-like vaginal abnormalities checked by a doctor. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control state that by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection (http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm). Luckily, PAP tests will detect cervical dysplasia caused by HPV.
A few helpful things you can do for uterine fibroids and benign ovarian
cysts are as follows:
many
of us nurture our plants and pets. Where
we seem to fall down on the job, however, is we don’t spend enough time taking
care of ourselves! For a full list of local and statewide Women and
Girls Wellness Month activities, visit the Women’s Health Virginia website at
www.womenshealthvirginia.org/events.html. |