Women who take hormones prescribed by their doctor often have to contend with a number of unpleasant side effects that ruin daily life.

Milk Thistle — a booster for the liver

Although the number of women who have refused hormones is increasing, there are still those who feel that accepting the treatment is necessary and choose to put up with these daily discomforts, thinking there is no alternative.

However, Susun Weed, author of New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women, suggests that the use of herbs can really make a difference.

Water Retention is one of the most prevalent symptoms experienced by women on HRT. Water retention is a nuisance because the sufferer experiences swelling, especially in the feet, fingers, arms and legs. Their shoes might feel tight and uncomfortable and their rings can become too tight. Exercise and a reduced salt intake can help, but Susun suggests that 10-20 drops of dandelion root tincture in water will strengthen the liver and help it metabolise the hormones. She also suggests that eating asparagus, nettles, grapes, cucumber and watermelon will help.

Women on hormones also suffer from headaches. Avoiding caffeine and alcohol is recommended, as well as ensuring that your water intake is maintained so that you’re not dehydrated. Susun suggests that garden sage tea is great for headaches and will also help the sweating that is associated with menopausal symptoms. Sage naturally contains plant estrogens, which could explain its usefulness to menopausal women. It is readily available to purchase online or in stores that stock fresh herbs, and clearly the fresher the herb the better.

Dry eyes can also be an affliction that menopausal women have to contend with. An ophthalmologist can check your level of tear production and would usually suggest the use of eye drops that cause artificial tears. Bathing the eyes with a chickweed solution is said to offer relief, and is certainly a better option than using eye drops full of chemicals and preservative.

Tai Chi, the ancient soft style martial art that consists of slow and graceful movements, is practiced around the world for its health benefits. It is said to improve balance and to increase health and longevity. It is favored because of its low-impact approach to exercise.

Among its many other benefits, including an increased sense of well-being in those who practice it, Tai Chi may reduce tension headaches. In a UCLA study, participants in a 15 week Tai Chi program reported reduced headache pain.

Stress is a leading cause of tension headaches. According to researchers, Tai Chi’s emphasis on relaxation, breathing and coordination may counter stress.

The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

And then there are the stories that just lead you to the conclusion that there are people with too much time on their hands.

Researchers at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Wisconsin have concluded that obesity rates increase in cities where the newspapers publish high-calorie dessert recipes.

Assuming that some percentage of the readers of any particular newspaper like to bake and that of those, a percentage may try the recipe for that luscious fat and calorie-ridden dessert, we must then calculate how many people that baker is likely to serve this treat to. Six? Seven? Eight at most, I should think. Assume then that this dessert is a big hit and friends and family insist that the baker must prepare this treat again, thus it begins to show up at company parties and family functions and holidays. That would be how often, three or four times a year? Does something you eat four times a year make you obese?

The report notes that the news media play an important role in providing nutrition information, but with respect to recipes, “this information is seldom studied.”

Maybe there’s a good reason for that.

2007 may be the year of vindication for fat people.

First a study at UCLA declares that diets don’t work and what is worse, are actually harmful to your health.

Now scientists announce they have discovered a “fat” gene which explains why two people leading similar lifestyles could have disparate amounts of weight. Talk to any overweight person and they will tell you they know of thin people who eat as much or more than they do and yet stay thin. Society has always chalked this up to overweight meaning lazy, but now the evidence says that is not the case.

The scientists discovered the gene, known as FTO and say the influence on the gene in weight depends on whether a person has one or two copies of the FTO gene variant. FTO is known to play a role in the hypothalamus which regulates appetite.

16% of the population have two copies of the high-risk gene, and weigh nearly 7 pounds more than those without it. Those with only one copy were found to weigh about 2.6 pounds more than those who did not have the gene variant at all.

Research into the gene variant and its effects may lead scientists one day to discover better treatments and methods for dealing with obesity.

For overweight people everywhere, it may relieve some of the guilt to know that what is in their jeans, may be in their genes.

A Common Variant in the FTO Gene Is Associated with Body Mass Index and Predisposes to Childhood and Adult Obesity