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.

Researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center report fewer incidences of breast cancer in 2003 and speculate this may be due to millions of women ceasing the use of hormone replacement therapy in 2002.

The largest decline was found among women in the 50-69 age group. There was a 12% drop in women of that age group being diagnosed with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.

Researchers cautiously suggest that the decline may be due to the fact that half of the 30% of women over 50 who were taking HRT stopped when it was announced that it contributed to the incidence of breast cancer and tumor growth.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Suzanne Somers, who looks great at age 60, says she knows the secret to endless youth for women. In her book Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones, Somers claims that using hormones that are identical to those made naturally in the ovaries will banish hot flashes, mood swings and other menopausal symptoms without the health risks carried by synthetic hormones.

Bioidentical hormones are derived from plants and other natural sources and, on a molecular level, are identical to what is produced in the ovaries. Bioidentical HRTs include estrogens such as Estrace, Vivelle-Dot, Climara, Estring, and Vagifem.

Somers argues that synthetic hormones are the ones that cause the dangerous side-effects associated with hormone replacement therapy. A popular synthetic estrogen Premarin, for instance, is made from horse urine(I know – I had that look on my face too when I read that).

A panel of seven doctors have taken issue with Somers’ book, calling it misleading and downright dangerous to women.

Read more about Somers’ book, bioidentical hormones and the controversy at WebMD.

There’s no doubt that eating your favorite food is pleasurable, and that sometimes overindulging is simply extending that pleasure. Recent studies suggest that it isn’t hunger that triggers the satisfaction you feel from eating, but a hormone that triggers those feelings.

Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine have isolated an appetite hormone, ghrelin, that they say activates neurons that give a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

When ghrelin was infused into the brains of rats, they ate ravenously even if they were already well-fed. Ghrelin is made in the stomach and acts upon receptors in the brain to trigger appetite and eating.

Researchers hope that by finding a drug that interferes with the ghrelin receptors in the brain, they could find a treatment for some eating disorders.

Hormone Held Responsible For Eating Pleasures