Growth Hormones - Are They Really Beneficial?

Why are people starting to purchase HGH? One reason for this is that because human growth hormone or HGH is said to help reverse aging. Who wouldn't want to keep looking young, right? Another reason why people get HGH is that it is believed that this hormone can help enhance the body's metabolism and can even help increase muscle mass. But how sure are you that human growth hormone is really healthy and beneficial?

Well, we all know that manufacturers would do all they can to sell their products. Have you ever heard a manufacturer that would tell bad things about their products? Of course there isn't.

Have you ever bought HGH online? Do you even know what this hormone is? Well for one this hormone is actually naturally found in our body. This is produced by the pituitary gland, which is located in the brain. And this is the main reason for growth and cell production in humans. This hormone mostly dictates human height. Having a low amount of this hormone can lead to dwarfism and too much of this hormone can lead to gigantism.

But this important hormone also decreases as people age and grow older. And a decrease amount of this hormone is responsible for aging and diseases like diabetes, depression, energy loss, loss of muscle mass and other age related problems.

In this case, it is quite logical to say that when we increase our HGH levels then this will help us look young and feel healthy again. But does this hormone really brings back our youth? Is this really reason enough to start purchasing this product and wait for the wrinkles to go away?

For one, an HGH injection which costs around $25 per injection is very expensive. And you have to inject two to three times a day. Is buying and using this really worth it? Remember that what you are injecting is a synthetic substance and not natural. This means that using this product can have some side effects.

Well how about oral sprays then? Scientifically speaking, there is no evidence that growth hormones can pass through the membranes of the mouth. Thus, if you are really keen on buying an HGH product, it is better if you choose natural HGH releasers. This has been shown to increase the levels of HGH and it is just similar to vitamins or in tablet forms.

You just have to take in the tablet before you sleep. This makes this product more effective as it is during that the pituitary gland is most active. Most of these are also 100% natural and contains no synthetic substance. This is in fact derived from herbs, which can help activate the pituitary gland. And the activation of the pituitary gland is the reason why the body's HGH levels increased. And most importantly, there are no known side effects of this product. So, would you still buy expensive synthetic HGH products? Or would you go and buy natural HGH products? The choice is yours.

Women - Are Hormones Triggering Your Migraines?

When you have read this articles you will know that many more women suffer from migraine headaches than men. You will also learn what is the biggest problem with migraine headaches and why keeping a journal can be your first and most important step towards getting relief from those terrible headaches.

More women than men

It is a fact that women get more migraine headaches than men. Statistics show that nearly 30 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches -and that three out of every four of them are women.

The biggest problem

The biggest problem with treating migraine headaches is that there is no discernible cause. In other words, any time you don't know what is causing a problem, treating it is very difficult. In comparison, it's relatively easy to treat a headache associated with sinusitis because all you have to do is treat the infection.

Because it is impossible to pinpoint the cause of migraine headaches it is extremely difficult to know why more women than men suffer from them. However, many experts believe that biological changes in a woman including her menstrual cycle, can trigger the headaches. It is also believed that they can be triggered by stress, the weather or even by noise.

Ask yourself these questions

If you are suffering from headaches that you believe are migraines, there are questions you should ask yourself. This includes "are you missing work or unable to concentrate," "when you get a headache do you need to keep your eyes closed;" and "if someone tries to touch your head, do you recoil or try not to talk?" If you can answer yes to all or most of these questions, it is most likely that you are suffering from migraine headaches.

Keep a journal

One good way to deal with those migraines is to keep a journal in which you track your headaches and hormonal cycles. You should also track your sleeping and eating patterns, and the weather. You can learn a lot from this. For example if you can relate your migraines to your hormonal cycles, you will at least know what to expect and can take steps to mitigate the migraine before it becomes unbearable.

Many treatments

The only good news of migraine headaches is that there are many treatments available. This can consist of drugs that will at least mitigate the pain of a migraine and non-prescription treatments that can help. These can range from relaxation techniques and learned breathing to just knowing when to cut back on red wine because you know you're at a higher risk for getting a migraine. Many migraine sufferers have found that chiropractic can help. Also, some experts say that there are simple lifestyle changes that can help reduce the pain of migraine.

In short, if you are being tortured by migraine headaches, take heart. You can get help and relief.

Treating Sensitive and Irritated Scalp in Women (With and Without Hair Loss)

Most women will notice scalp and / or hair changes at some point in their life.  The same holds true for men, but the reasons for the changes can be quite different - although both can be hormonal. Often, changes and sensitivity in a woman's scalp (and therefore corresponding hair changes) stem from hormonal swings and changes.  Most people assume that this can happen after pregnancy and from going on or off of birth control pills. This is very often the case.  But there can sometimes be other issues at play such as sex hormones that decline with age, thyroid and adrenal fluctuations, and raised cortisol caused from stress or other factors.  This article will not only discuss why scalp issues occur for women (and why they differ from the causes for men), but will also tell you how to treat them naturally and why the standard treatments often recommended can sometimes do more harm than good.

Why Women's Hormonal / Scalp Issues Are Different Than A Man's: When a man has scalp sensitivity or pain (often with hair loss), it is often because of a process called AGA (androgenic alopecia.) What happens for men is that, at a certain age, their hair follicles begin to be attacked by DHT (dihydrotestosterone.) This is the hormone that causes male patterned hair loss or baldness.  The DHT is poison to a hair follicle and will cause the follicle to atrophy, shrink, and stop producing a healthy hair.  What you get then is the peach fuzz type of hair that often precedes thinning and baldness.

While women do sometimes have AGA and DHT issues (mostly hereditary), often a women's scalp problems and hair loss are more likely due to hormonal swings that cause inflammation and irritation in the scalp.  Sometimes, these fluctuations can also contribute to or bring rise to infections like yeast or ringworm, but often even mild inflammation can cause pain, itching, scaling, dryness, or redness on it's own, without an infection present.  Hair loss can occur along side this.  Or, sometimes, the hair loss will come first and as the follicles are recycling hairs, the inflammation is the result so the pain follows.  This is sometimes also called "burning scalp syndrome." It is very real and it is not your imagination, despite it's name.  It can be quite painful and troublesome.

If Hormones Are Causing Scalp Sensitivity, Itching, Pain Or Hair Loss, Why Not Just Tweak The Hormones: Many women get very tired very fast of this hair loss and scalp pain.  So, they panic and want to throw all sorts of drastic solutions at the problem.  If sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) are diminishing, then why not try birth control pills or HRT (hormone replacement therapy - like bio identical estrogen) to replace them? Or if your thyroid is out of whack, why not try to replace what is lacking in the form or raw thyroid or supplements? Most times, these methods will backfire. The reason for this is because if your sensitivity to changing hormones contributed to the scalp issues and the hair loss you might have now, then tweaking and changing your hormones will often just make the problem worse.  Although your system may have righted itself on it's own in time, every time you play around with your hormones, you're likely just starting this cycle all over again and prolonging the problem.

Treatments (Standard And Natural) For Women's Scalp Sensitivity, Irritation, Pain, Dryness, And Hair Loss: Many times, people will try to use the "big guns" to counter scalp issues.  These include steroids, harsh and drying treatments / shampoos (with ingredients that include things like coal tar and zinc.)  These are often much too harsh for women.  An irritated and painful scalp is wounded skin, so pouring harsh chemicals right onto it is often going to harm it even more and prolong the healing.  And, your scalp will grow immune to these things after a while so it will take more and more to "knock it back."

Worse these treatments often clog your hair follicles which can impede or slow your hair growing back. Sometimes a better idea is to use natural, gentle anti inflammations (tea tree oil, chamomile, lavender, etc.).  These can be quite effective but they soothe rather than irritate even more.  And they facilitate healing rather than covering up the issue.  Better, many encourage hair growth and work to nourish, rather than clog, the follicles.

This is a much safer option which will help you buy some time while trying to heal your scalp and encourage your hair to grow back.

IUI Symptoms of Pregnancy - Ten Clues

When trying to conceive, it is common to wonder every minute whether or not you are pregnant. And it may be especially the case when you have gone through a medical intervention, like IUI. Symptoms of pregnancy are what many women in the two week wait after an IUI are longing for. Let's take a look at some symptoms that are common to experience in early pregnancy.

It's wise to keep in mind that many of these indicators do not show up for all women, even when they are actually pregnant. This is why it's really important that you still take a pregnancy test in a couple of weeks, even if you aren't showing any of these signs.

One more thing to remember as you read through these clues: some of them are also PMS-like. Some women who have just gone through IUI will start to get really worried because they think that they are getting ready to start their next menstrual cycle when, really, their pregnancy symptoms just look like PMS. So, keeping all this in mind, here are the top ten clues that you might be pregnant:

10. Darkening areolas: This one seems really random, and it can be hard to catch unless you know your body really well. However, if the area around your nipples begins to get darker, it could mean that your body is preparing to feed a baby.

9. Food Cravings: Hormonal changes bring on food cravings in a lot of women. Just think about what you normally eat during your PMS/period! Many women experience cravings for particular foods when they are first pregnant, but you should be careful here, since cravings can also signal that your body is low on certain nutrients.

8. Backaches: Lower back aches don't just happen to women who have a big baby belly. They can actually set in during early pregnancy and stick around for most of the next nine months.

7. Headaches: This is another common symptom of hormonal changes in women, which is why many women get headaches around the time that they are starting their periods.

6. Sleepiness or Fatigue: Again, many people think that pregnant women would just get tired when they're carrying around a nine pound baby, but, actually, fatigue is a very common symptom for women who are at the very beginning of their pregnancies.

5. Sore or Heavy Breasts: This can be a really early symptom due to hormonal changes and changes in the way your blood is flowing when you're pregnant. Sometimes women notice this change within just a few days of conception.

4. Cramps: Yes, this can actually be a symptom of pregnancy, and unless you're getting really terrible cramps after IUI, you shouldn't worry. Sometimes women get cramps as soon as the egg implants into the uterine wall, and sometimes the cramps can be caused by the uterus beginning to stretch already.

3. Nausea: Sometimes newly-pregnant women don't experience full-on morning sickness this early in the pregnancy, but if you start to feel motion sickness or something like it when that is out of the ordinary for you, that could be a clue that you're pregnant.

2. Bloating: Get used to not being able to fit into your jeans now! Even if you don't get a baby belly for months, early pregnancy can cause hormonal adjustments that make you feel bloated for a while. The same problem with bloating can translate into an issue with constipation, too.

1. Difference in Your Period: This may seem obvious if we're talking about missing your period, but sometimes women can think they're getting a period when they're actually spotting because of implantation and early pregnancy. Light spotting is nothing to worry about if it doesn't last long, but if your period is much lighter or shorter than usual, pull out that pregnancy test.

Good luck!

Resveratrol, Sex Drive, and Sex Hormones in Men and Women

The key to understanding the affects of Resveratrol on sex drive, and other sexually related issues, lies in the understanding of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone. While testosterone hormones are associated with men, and estrogen with women, both men and women have levels of testosterone and estrogen in their bodies, albeit in different quantities.

Sex hormones are involved in sexual drive (or libido), and maintenance and repair of reproductive tissues. They are also involved in body growth, body tissue, body mass, and bone mass.

Men

Testosterone in men is highest in their teenage years, and gradually decreases over time. What is not generally understood, is that an increase in estrogen can also occur over a man's lifetime, which further contributes to a decrease in testosterone. This phase in a man's life is sometimes referred to as "male menopause."

Decreased levels of testosterone, and increased levels of estrogen, can lead to numerous problems including reduced muscle mass, decreased strength, increased body fat storage, fatigue, erectile dysfunction and, of course, reduced sex drive. These hormonal changes have also been linked to prostate cancer and heart disease.

Decreasing estrogen levels can lead directly to an increase in testosterone levels. Here's where Resveratrol enters the picture. Resveratrol has been scientifically shown to act as an anti-estrogen (antagonist) lowering estrogen levels in men, and may even block excess testosterone from turning into estrogen. The result - improved muscle, mass, strength, less body fat, and of course an increase in sex drive.

Women

Estrogen is an entire class of hormones including estriol, estradiol and estrone. Estriol is primarily needed during pregnancy. Estradiol affects female characteristics, and gynecologic issues. Estrone is widespread through the body, and is generally the only estrogen hormone present after women reach menopause.

During menopause - which begins at an average age of 50 years old -women's levels of estrogren decrease, and these levels are associated with a variety of overall health issues. Women can experience symptoms including depression, dryness of vaginal lining, "hot flashes", and decreased sex drive.

In women, a substantial amount of research has shown that estrogen metabolism is strongly associated with hormone-related cancers such as breast cancer. Estrogen, via its binding to the estrogen receptor, plays an important role in breast cancer cell proliferation and tumor development.

Resveratrol and Menopause

Taking resveratrol has many beneficial effects for menopausal women, as it helps in alleviating menopausal symptoms and prevents some degenerative diseases. In one clinical trial, postmenopausal women received trans-resveratrol for six months experienced increased bone mineral content and bone density.

Other studies with resveratrol indicate that Resveratrol inhibits the activity of aromatase. This enzyme is found in high concentration in malignant breast tumors. In fact, Resveratrol inhibits the conversion of estrogen and decreases the synthesis of the aromatase enzyme, thus indicating that it may support the health of individuals concerned about breast cancer.

Conclusion

Balancing estrogen and testosterone levels is essential for optimizing overall health in both women and men, and Resveratrol has been proven to have positive effects on women and men.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - Keep Your Hormones In Check

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which is also referred to as PCOS, is a condition that is caused by a hormonal imbalance in women. This condition is usually diagnosed in women and girls who are between the ages of 12-45.

Some of the PCOS symptoms include irregular periods or no period at all, acne, increased hair growth on the face or the body and thinning hair. Females that have condition are at an increased risk of developing complications such as diabetes, heart disease and infertility. In fact, PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility.

If you have, or have had, PCOS you know how frustrating the condition can be. Luckily, there are ways that can be used to correct the problem. While PCOS affects to the levels of progesterone and estrogen, all that needs to be done is to adjust their levels within normal levels.

Women who are not looking to start a family right away may be prescribed birth control pills. Birth control pills help increase a woman's level of estrogen and progesterone while decreasing her levels of testosterone. Birth Control pills can help regulate a woman's menstrual cycles and decrease unwanted hair growth and acne.

Many women who have PCOS are overweight and this can further increase the risk of complications. Health experts have found that women who lose as little as ten or fifteen pounds can help correct the hormonal imbalance.

They also recommend that women who are looking to lose weight eat a diet that is filled with fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Daily exercise is also highly recommended.

As mentioned above, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is the leading cause of female infertility. However, this doesn't mean that a woman with PCOS cannot have children. There are plenty of examples about women who have successfully conceived after losing some weight. Unfortunately, there are also women who are not able to get pregnant, and these women need some medical help.

Clomid and metformin are the most common drugs that are prescribed for women suffering infertility due to their PCOS. While insulin resistance can be caused by PCOS, metformin helps patient's body to response insulin. Besides that, it also regulates a woman's periods, and this makes it easier for her to get pregnant.

Clomid is a medication that helps induce ovulation. Many women have been able to get pregnant after taking clomid, but there is an increased risk of multiple gestation associated with taking it.

Once a woman understands the hormonal imbalance caused by this condition, she will have a better understanding of the many things that can be done to correct it. Taking birth control pills and losing weight are two of the many things that can be done to correct this hormonal imbalance.

If a woman is trying to get pregnant, and she has difficulties to conceive, she should discuss with her doctor about the use of clomid and metformin.

Why Human Growth Hormones Are Necessary in Young Ones and Not Very Much on Old Ones

 When is HGH treatment recommended?

It seems like with each passing day there are more parents who are seeking for treatment for their children to receive growth hormone (GH) therapy. Usually they have waited for the child to grow and they concerned that theirs is lagging behind all their age mates. There is a syndrome today that seems to be the obsession with parents to have children who are taller, because of the issue of image and height; doctors will rarely recommend HGH therapy just for that reason. Pediatric endocrinologists advise that the children who would most likely benefit are those who are growing at a slow rate and not the short children as it were.    

The advice given to any parents who are concerned about the development of their children is to consult first with their pediatrician before making conclusions. The pediatrician should be able to advice on which child exactly needs therapeutic intervention. The human growth hormone treatments currently available are only administered intravenously with a small needle where parents receive the training on how to do it. The majority of the patients begins their treatment at ages between 5 and 10 and may continue for several years.   

Treatment of children with HGH deficiency

When doctors are sure your child needs treatment the therapy will involve replacement of the deficient human growth hormone. The usual form of administration is through an intra-muscular injection. However the needles are not as painful as would be anticipated and that makes the treatment bearable.  The benefits of the treatment are a little more pronounced in children than would be with adults, with a child usually showing signs of growth within just a few months of treatment.

The other benefits that will be seen will include an increase in body strength, progression of motor development and a reduction of body fat. Most children who respond well to the treatment are able to adjust doses of the HGH supplement downwards in about three to four months. On rare cases some may require to go on with the treatment for the rest of their lives. The greatest consideration for many people is the costs of the GH therapy which can go up to $30,000 per year.   

Treating adults with HG therapy

There are a few benefits that can be accrued by severely GH deficient adults undergoing human growth hormone therapy.  Some of them include increased energy levels, strength and improved bone density. However, the effects of treatment on grownups that were basically healthy are not known to be so substantial and the side effects are known to be a little more than average. Some of the benefits seen in adults can be achieved by a good regular exercise regime, but since many people like short cuts, there has been in influx of anti-aging clinics, with very little tangible results.

How Are Your Hormones?

Should Men Have HRT?

Women Have HRT

Women have, for several years now, been able to have hormone replacement therapy during their menopause. For some women this is essential as their hormones are changed dramatically causing them to have a variety of medical problems. I believe that some of these problems are psychotic. I have not been able to observe women who have had these troubles as I am not any kind of a doctor, further I would not pronounce on any opinions concerning medical matters.

What Are Hormones

Hormones are chemicals that are released by cells in the body that affect other cells. Endocrine hormones, that is hormones that are secreted into the blood stream inside of your body. In men the ones that glands control the hormones in the male are the thyroid, tests, and the pituitary gland that is in the brain. When these hormones weaken ,or are absent, in the body various debilitating problems are experienced.

Hormone Deficiency.

So why am I writing this article? Because due to having the experience of being short of hormones, I can see others who are in the same position, except that they are elderly, whereas my deficiency was due to illness. My experience is about the lack of hormones in the male and I got this experience first hand having been short of a few hormones to say the least.

Symptoms

For years I felt myself changing, I went through a period where I had hot flushes, and I mean hot, It was also noticeable to my colleagues at work who remarked on how red I looked. I found that I was losing energy, my memory, and body temperature was changing, so much so that I always felt cold. I found it difficult to stay awake and would go to sleep in a restaurant. Sometimes I would have to stop, on the drive home as I was getting too tired.

Physical Changes

Eventually I became so bad that I could do little at work and would fill in the day talking to someone. My dress became scruffy; I did not so much care of myself as I would normally have done. But I had no body odour to speak off. I was obviously ill but my doctor, at that time, failed to give me the treatment that I needed. Why this was I do not know. Then my body undertook noticeable changes like loss of pubic hair and there were enlargements in certain areas of my body. I have been bald since the age of eighteen but hairs started to grow on my head.

The Problem.

Of course there was something radically wrong with me and a new doctor at my GP`s practise recognised that I had a tumour on my pituitary gland called pituitary adenoma. So eventually I got the treatment that I needed and, that was hormone replacement therapy. Now I can recognise that other males of advanced age have similar symptoms. The way that they walk, the lack of energy, and the way that they are always cold enough to wear coats, when it's boiling hot in the summer, well its boiling hot for me. There is also a lack of vitality where you do nothing because you think that you are now too old to manage. These symptoms are a torment in themselves as one accepts that you are getting old. I thought the same thing before I was Sixty.

Can HRT Help?

Would these symptoms be reduced by hormone replacement therapy and would these people have a new lease of life when they need it most. They know they are feeling frail and loose the confidence to go out of the house. Why should the elderly be so typical of their stereotypes when perhaps it may not be necessary? Another argument to favour HRT is that the elderly are a bigger burden on the health services because they become ill more often. In my experience this not true and since I have been on HRT I rarely go to the doctors and I am seventy seven.

Available Therapies.

There are therapies that are available to men but there is not much publicity on the subject. However clinical trials have been completed and, papers concerning the success of these trials have been published. There seems to be no obvious reason why HRT for men should be withheld, and there seems to many advantages in providing HRT for men.

Author Tom Wright

Macronutrients - Protein

What are Proteins?

Proteins are complex molecules; they consist of linked amino acids. A protein is a "macronutrient," meaning that the body needs relatively large amounts in order to function efficiently. Protein is the most vital macronutrient because it builds and maintains the entire body structure. The body is not able to utilize all protein at one time. The unused protein is converted to carbohydrates and used immediately for energy, or it is stored as fat. The body does not store protein; therefore, it has no reservoir to draw on when it needs a new supply. For example, if an individual consumes a lot of protein on Monday, it is not available on Tuesday. The protein consumed at breakfast is pretty much used up by dinner time. Proteins are the basic elements of all animal tissue; in addition, about 17% of our bodies consist of proteins. At least 10,000 different proteins make each person who they are and keep them that way. Because muscles are built from protein, people need to consume and synthesize enough protein to maintain healthy, hard-working muscles. The body is unable to use food protein directly, even though the amino acids in food and in the body are the same. Protein is ingested; then, digestive enzymes break the protein down into shorter amino acid chains (polypeptides and then peptides), and finally into individual amino acids. The amino acids then enter the blood stream and travel to the cells where they are incorporated into proteins the body needs.

Benefits

Proteins form the body's main structural elements, and are found in every cell and tissue. Some of the benefits received from protein consumption include the following:

- Growth and development

- Tissue repair: Protein is the only macronutrient that promotes lean tissue growth.

- Protects immune function

- Aids in digestion process

- Energy source: When carbohydrates and fats are unable to meet the body's energy needs, proteins can be broken down and used as a source of emergency energy.

- Produces essential hormones and enzymes: Protein assists in synthesizing enzymes and hormones, maintaining fluid balance, and regulating such vital functions as building antibodies against infection, blood clotting, and scar formation. Proteins also help formulate enzymes the body utilizes to send messages that provide a person with the ability to see, think, hear and move.

- Healthy functions: Protein promotes healthy bones, teeth, skin, hair, nails.

Food Sources

Proteins that are found in foods that supply enough of the essential amino acids are known as complete proteins; if not, it is an incomplete protein. The protein content of cooked meat and dairy products is from 15% to 40%, and that of cooked cereals, beans, lentils, and peas only from 3% to 10%. All meat and other animal products are sources of complete protein. For example: beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish, milk and milk products, vegetable dietary protein sources. Plant foods contain the same amino acids as animal foods, but in different amounts. Protein in foods such as most grains, fruits, and vegetables are considered incomplete proteins, being either low in, or lacking, one of the essential amino acids. Plant protein sources can be combined with other plant or animal products to form a complete protein; examples include the following: rice and beans, milk and wheat cereal, corn and beans. Plant foods that are considered complete proteins include nuts, soy foods (tofu, tempeh, miso, and soy milk), sprouted seeds (each type of sprout differs in nutrient proportions, consume a variety), grains (especially amaranth and quinoa, highest in protein), beans and legumes, (especially when eaten raw), spirulina and chorella or blue-green algae (over 60% protein).

Amino acids make up proteins. There are about 20 amino acids that are the building blocks of protein. These amino acids build DNA, cell membranes, hormones, receptors, brain chemicals, and many other molecules in the body. Both the amino acids manufactured in the liver and those derived from the breakdown of the proteins we eat are absorbed into the blood stream and are taken up by the cells and tissues to build new proteins as needed. Nine of the twenty amino acids required by human beings are considered "essential" because they come only from the individual's nutrition plan; the other 11 are considered "nonessential" because the body can make them. A complete protein contains all the essential amino acids in amounts necessary for the body.

There are nine amino acids that are essential for your health. They are essential because your body is unable to produce them on its own. They consist of the following:

- Isoleucine

- Leucine

- Lysine

- Methionine

- Phenylalanine

- Threonine

- Tryptophan

- Valine

- Histidine

Non-essential amino acids can be made from the essential amino acids.

Other necessary amino acids include:

- Arginine

- Cystine

- Glutamine

- Glycine

- Proline

- Tyrosine

- Alanine

- Aspartic Acid

- Hydroxyproline

- Serine

Protein Intake

Everyday, the body uses more protein than one is able to intake; therefore, the body needs to continuously consume enough proteins to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If the body does not obtain enough proteins through food, the individual will begin to start using proteins in the body, including muscle proteins. As a healthy rule, consuming 20%-35% of an individual's total nutritional calories should come from protein.

When maintaining a healthy lifestyle, consuming approximately .5 grams of protein per body weight is suggested. For example, if an individual weighs 150 pounds, they should consume 75 grams of protein from their total calorie intake.

Increasing the amount of protein intake is necessary when an individual is trying to gain muscle mass and size. An individual weighing 150 pounds should be consuming 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein from their total calorie intake. Therefore, protein consumption should be approximately 150 to 225 grams of protein. Maintaining a high protein nutritional plan for long periods can cause unhealthy medical conditions. Consequently, when looking to increase muscle size, creating a nutritional plan high in protein should be cycled on and off to allow the body time to recover from the increased protein intake. High protein intake overtime can cause liver and kidney disease, which causes your body to inefficiently process proteins.

Whether a person is an avid strength trainer, a marathon runner, or just an average exerciser, a balanced diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, and complex carbohydrates is what nutritionists recommend.

Protein Deficiency

Most Americans consume more than enough protein in their daily nutritional plans. A protein deficiency is defined as eating 50% to 75% of the recommended amount of daily protein. When an individual does not consume enough protein, his or her body becomes deficient; much like it does for other micronutrients. The first sign of protein deficiency is weak muscles. Protein plays an important role in developing strong muscles. White spots on nails and brittle hair are often good indicators of protein deficiency. Serious deficiencies can lead to consequences for the body: these include muscle deterioration and wrinkling of the skin.

Five Ways Natural Hormones Can Improve Your Life

When you're looking down the barrel of menopause, you may be frightened by the long list of potential symptoms in front of you. Sure, you won't experience all of them, but feeling just a few could be enough to make major changes to your quality of life.

Fortunately, there's an answer: Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, often referred to as "natural hormones," can have a substantial impact on your symptoms. Here are just a few of the ways your life may improve.

Your short-term memory may improve. A study at King's College in England revealed a substantial difference in short-term memory loss between post-menopausal women who took BHRT prescriptions and post-menopausal women who didn't. While there's no definitive, causative link, many bio-identical hormone replacement therapy patients report an improvement in short-term memory.

You'll sleep better at night. A BHRT prescription will eliminate hot flashes and night sweats, which can keep you from sleeping at night. But it'll also help improve REM sleep overall, allowing you to get a good night's sleep.

Your risk of colon cancer may decrease. The National Cancer Institute found that post-menopausal women who took the estrogen and progestin included in BHRT prescriptions had a markedly lower risk of developing colon cancer than those who didn't. There isn't a definite causal relationship between BHRT prescriptions and decreased risk of colon cancer, but the study did suggest that such a relationship may exist.

Your risk of osteoporosis may decrease. Estrogen helps increase bone mass and density. It does so by helping bones absorb calcium, and by inhibiting osteoclasts, the cells that eat up old bone matter. Careful, though: Most bone loss occurs well before menopause, so a BHRT prescription shouldn't be your first line of defense against osteoporosis. Be sure to get plenty of calcium and vitamin D as a general rule.

They'll improve your quality of life overall. A BHRT prescription won't make you a billionaire. It won't put an extra floor on your home. And it won't add points to your IQ. But many women who regularly visit a natural hormone compounding pharmacy report that, overall, they have a greater and more encompassing feeling of well-being.

Hormones May Be the Key to Losing Weight

Many people believe that fat cells simply hold fat and do not have any real function. That is not the case; fat cells produce a hormone-like substance that acts on the central nervous system. They signal the brain about your energy balance-in other words, they let the brain know if you are well-fed. Leptin is a hormone produced by adipose cells, and because it has the potential of reversing obesity, at least in mice, it has been intensely studied.

Not surprisingly, leptin has been shown to have many other properties and actions beyond inducing satiety. Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and The Rockefeller University in collaboration with investigators at Yale University have found that leptin affects both the architecture and function of neural circuits in the brain. The body's response to leptin is very complex.

Leptin appears to decrease insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cell. Leptin has roles in weight maintenance, increasing insulin sensitivity, decreasing triglycerides and increasing energy expenditure. Leptin acts on the hypothalamus to decrease food intake.

Leptin levels are involved in obesity. They increase as body fat increases. The brain has receptors to monitor the body's leptin levels. Leptin is responsible for your brain's response to food deprivation.

On a practical level, leptin has a very important role in weight gain and weight loss. If you have a lot of adipose (fat) tissue, your leptin levels tend to be high. You can actually become insensitive to leptin, much the same way that a type II diabetic becomes insensitive to insulin. Rapid weight loss rapidly lowers leptin levels, which may be the reason that many people regain weight after dieting.

Another hormone that is important in weight loss is insulin. Everyone knows that insulin moves sugar from the blood into the cells. What is equally important is that insulin stores all calories, including fat. You can't break down fat when the body is under the influence of insulin.

Too much insulin will keep you from losing weight, and insulin insensitivity is an issue for most people who have trouble losing weight. The program you follow to lose weight must focus on gradually lowering insulin levels and leptin levels. Fortunately, similar dietary habits (see below) will accomplish both things.

Another hormone, glucagon, is produced between meals. It has the opposite effect of insulin. Just as insulin stores calories immediately following a meal, glucagon burns calories between meals. When you are losing weight, you want to encourage glucagon and discourage insulin.

Cortisol, a hormone produced under stress, also contributes to weight gain. Stress is the most commonly reported trigger of binge eating, and high cortisol levels are positively related to both central body fat and food intake after laboratory stress. There is a link between cortisol an insulin resistance.

When forming a strategy for weight loss, take these hormones into consideration. It will make your task much easier.

* Don't starve yourself. Rapid weight loss from food deprivation will drop leptin levels and your nervous system responds as if it is starving.

* Eat slowly; it will help you to become full with less food and you will produce less insulin with the meal. Eat a lot of vegetables with each meal. They will slow absorption and insulin production.

* Exercise moderately-without becoming out of breath. It will produce less cholesterol than an anaerobic workout. Increase activity in general.

* Don't snack between meals or eat late at night. It produces insulin and stops the production of glucagon.

* Eat a good breakfast, one that contains protein.

* Avoid high glycemic foods like sugar and white flour. These cause you to produce insulin.

Losing Weight With Bioidentical Hormones

Weight loss is difficult for anyone, especially as we age. The older we get, the more hormones we lose. The body's organs can reach a point where they can't produce hormones on their own. This can lead to any number of health problems. And without the right level of hormones, losing weight becomes more difficult, too.

One way to lose weight - and keep the pounds off - is through hormone supplementation. One hormone replacement regimen that's gaining traction is through the use of bioidentical hormones. While various hormone therapies have been linked to cancer in some studies, natural bioidentical hormones are generally considered safe.

Bioidentical hormones are usually plant-based and therefore have the same molecular structure as those found in the human body. And, studies have shown that bioidentical hormones have the same effect on the body as natural hormones. Because of the lack of side effects, many types of bioidentical hormones are sold over the counter.

Lose weight while increasing memory and decreasing anxiety

While lower hormone levels are associated with aging, it's not a permanent problem. Hormones can't be reproduced with foods or nutrient supplementation; the only way they can be restored to higher levels is through hormone supplements, doctors say. Hormone supplements can help reduce calories by boosting a body's metabolism, allowing body fat to be burned as fuel. Bioidentical hormones are also believed to decrease anxiety, increase memory and attention, and help you sleep at night.

Some common types of bioidentical hormones include:

* HGH: Human growth hormone inhibits the formation of body fat and is considered a key component to converting body fat to muscle mass.

* Insulin and Incretin: Incretin that's at least 50 percent bioidentical will help ensure the proper insulin response after a meal. Insulin effects fat metabolism and changes the liver's activity in processing blood lipids and storing/releasing glucose.

* Pregnenolone: Blocks the effects of cortisol, which is a steroid hormone that's released in response to stress and low levels of blood glucocorticoids. It also helps ensure that your metabolism stays high and increases testosterone levels, which helps your body maintain an aggressive metabolism.

* Progesterone: When imbalanced, the sex hormone makes women overeat. Progesterone helps treat excessive weight because it helps the body turn stored fat into energy.

* Testosterone: Helps inhibit body fat storage, particularly in the abdomen.

* DHEA: Increases metabolism, reduces appetite, inhibits body fat storage.

* Estrone: Lacking this hormone can lead to sugar cravings.

A few non-bioidentical hormones to be leery of:

Not all hormones are good hormones when it comes to weight loss. Here's a few to stay away from, when possible: birth control pills; DES (diethylstilbestrol); Provera (medroxyprogesterone); Prempro and Premarin (conjugated estrogens); cadaver growth hormones; Android, Testred, Virilon (methyl testosterone).

Proven Alternatives to Grow Taller Hormones

Grow taller hormones aren't the only way to increase your height - even after the age of puberty. As you probably already know yourself, there are many growth hormone supplements that you can buy both offline and online. However, these are usually expensive supplements (if purchased from a reputable retailer) or could even lead to unwanted side effects. Moreover, it is not guaranteed that such grow taller hormones will without a doubt make you grow taller.

So as you can see, there are many reasons to why you should look for alternatives to grow taller hormones. Obviously, these alternatives must be just as effective - if not even more effective - as grow taller hormones are and they must be proven to work.

Whether you use such alternative methods in combination with growth hormone supplements or as a stand-alone program is up to you of course. As a matter of fact, there are many natural and safe methods to increase your height. These grow taller methods require a bit of more work than just swallowing a pill (and hoping for the best) but are much less costly and actually scientifically proven to increase your height.

They are scientifically proven to increase your height because they are based on medical principles of your body's physique. I for one have only worked with these natural methods and seen great results. Hence, I strongly believe in these alternatives. However, as I said, I haven't worked with any growth hormone supplements (because I never saw the need for it and quite frankly didn't want to spend so much money on something that isn't guaranteed). Hence, you must decide for yourself if you still want to use such supplements or not.

But whatever you decide, give these alternatives a chance and you will see how easy and fast you can actually increase your height in a natural and safe way. So what are these natural ways I keep rambling about? You might have heard of them before or read about them in one of my many other articles, but basically they are: exercise, diet and sleep. Now the important thing is that you do these three things in combination - this is when the magic happens and people start to see additional growth of up to 4 inches and more within weeks or months.

Here's an example from myself:

When I started doing this to increase my own height, I strictly applied all three methods (exercise, diet and sleep). To my own surprise, I grew taller one whole inch within only the first 4 weeks. Certainly a respectable growth progress by any standards! However, after that I stopped applying the sleeping method and I had a hard time increasing my height the following weeks. When I went back to paying attention to my sleeping patterns, I started making good growth progress again.

So as you can see, these alternative methods to grow taller hormones do work. They are completely natural, safe and hardly cost you any money. Anyone can do this! However, they do require you to do some work. It's really not a lot compared to what you gain: a proven way to increase your height naturally and safely.

Menopause, Hormones and Weight Control

Changes in your hormone balance is involved in menopause and weight control. Estrogen decreases, progesterone decreases, androgen increases and testosterone decreases. Each affects the way your body uses calories.

1. Estrogen: During a woman's fertile phase of life, estrogen is the female sex hormone responsible for causing monthly ovulation. During menopause, estrogen declines rapidly causing ovulation to stop.

Estrogen also seems to have a major part in weight gain during menopause. As your ovaries produce less estrogen, your body looks for other estrogen sources in your body. Fat cells can produce estrogen, so your body works harder to turn calories into fat to increase estrogen levels. Unfortunately for you, fat cells don't burn calories the way muscle cells do and you gain weight.

2. Progesterone: During menopause, progesterone levels also decrease. Like estrogen, lower levels of progesterone can be responsible for menopausal symptoms including weight gain.

Water weight and bloating are caused by decreased progesterone levels, however, does not necessarily result in weight gain. But clothes can feel tight so you feel heavier. Water retention and bloating usually disappear within a few months.

3. Androgen: An increase in androgen is one of the first signs of menopause. It is responsible for sending new weight directly to the middle section (the so-called "middle age spread").

4. Testosterone: Testosterone helps your body to create lean muscle mass out of the calories that you take in. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells do, increasing your metabolism. During menopause, testosterone drops causing muscle to decrease. This means a lower metabolism, which means your body burns calories more slowly.

Other factors, like insulin resistance and stress, can cause weight gain during menopause.

1. Insulin Resistance: Insulin resistance results in your body storing fat, and decrease fat burning capacity. Processed and refined foods may make your body resistant to insulin. Insulin resistance causes weight gain.

2. Stress: Stress can also contribute to weight gain in menopause. Stress hormones, like cortisol, can prevent weight loss because they signal your body to go into a storage mode (called the "famine effect"). Your body thinks it won't get food again for a long time, so it stores calories as fat and causes weight gain.

So what can you do? First, it is important to accept weight gain and menopause as something natural. Menopause is not an illness and a little extra weight can actually help reduce other menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes. During menopause, weight gain is regulated by your body, and helps protect against osteoporosis and other illnesses. This is a time in your life to focus on being healthy. Three simple tips can work for you.

1. Eat a balanced diet. Avoid refined sugars and indulge in fruits and vegetables.

2. Remain active - it's as easy as 30 minutes of walking a day.

3. Get educated and learn more about what you can do to help your body during menopause.

Bioidentical Hormones For The Relief Of Perimenopause Symptoms

Perimenopause is the transitional period between regular menstruation cycles and the ceasing of the menstrual cycle. Typically this happens to a woman in her mid to late forties, but it can also happen when she is younger than that or sometimes even older. Perimenopause means that the ovaries produce less progesterone, resulting in a dominance of estrogen which causes symptoms such as irritability, mood swings, insomnia and even a low libido.

Women may turn to their doctors at this point, seeking some kind of relief from the symptoms. Some doctors may recognize that the symptoms are related to an imbalance in the hormone levels and prescribe synthetic hormones like Provera which is used to bring up low progesterone levels. But there's another way of treating a hormonal imbalance that is completely natural with no side effects, and that is with bioidentical hormones.

Bioidentical hormones are plant derived hormones which are identical to human hormones. They can be used to naturally alleviate all the symptoms of perimenopause, and any hormonal imbalance or deficiency without any side effects normally associated with synthetic hormones. A woman can consult a naturopathic or homeopathic doctor for a prescription of bioidential hormones, which is applied in the form of a cream that she can use every day.

To help alleviate further symptoms of menopause she should decrease her intake of alcohol, refined foods, sugar and caffeine, and increase her consumption of whole grains, fiber, fruits and vegetables, and low fat protein like turkey and fish. She should also be taking supplements of B vitamins, essential fatty acids like Omega 3 and 6, magnesium and vitamin E to help with hormone regulation.

There is relief for the symptoms of perimenopause. It's just a matter of exploring the different options available and finding one suitable to your individual needs.

Balance Your Hormones Naturally

Hormone imbalance is a common happening among most women at some point in their lives. Hormones can't protect us from everything; the body does crash on occasion. Hormones can get thrown off in even the healthy of women and at any age as long as the woman has hit puberty. Basically, for most women they have a fairly constant hormone balance with glitches that can happen every so often. Hormones help keep Women on a pretty regular menstrual cycle, maintain weight levels, sleep well, look young, and keep full of energy.

Symptoms occur when hormones balances are off. Not everyone will experience symptoms of hormone balance, but for most they will at a few different times of their lives. Often hormones can change in minutes if they are not imbalance. Symptoms of hormone imbalances are most common between the ages of 20 and 40, they tend to increase as the women ages, hence, menopause.

Hormone imbalances include any or some of the following symptoms. Allergy Symptoms, low sex drive, PMS, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, urinary tract infections, uterine fibroids, osteoporosis, and wrinkly skin are all signs of hormone imbalances. Some other ones include depression, fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, water retention, bloating, hair loss, and facial hair growth.

There are 2 types of female hormones, progesterone and estrogen. Any symptom of hormone balance can be caused by an incorrect level of one or both of these hormones. It is a very delicate and sensitive balance. Any little variations of there balance have a dramatic effect on health because it causes the symptoms mentioned above. Stress levels, nutrition, exercise, and ovulation all can be factors of how much hormones are produced.

There is 28 days in a healthy women's menstrual cycle. For the first 10 to 12 days of it there is only estrogen being produced. When ovulation happens progesterone is then produced by the ovaries. On 28 when the menstrual cycle restarts, hormone levels drop, causing menstruation. If by chance the ovulation did not occur the progesterone level never balances out with the estrogen but you still have a period. You have estrogen but your progesterone levels dropped very low. This causes the symptoms of hormone balance to occur.

A few things you can do at home to ensure your hormones stay in balance will help maintain a great balance. Check your diet, are you consuming high carbs, junk foods, processed vegetable oil, fatty foods, stimulants, and soy products. If you are consuming these kinds of foods it will cause a hormone imbalance. Eating a diet high in animal proteins, fish oils, coconut, and fresh veggies and fruits will help keep them balanced. Women who cut grains and other gluten products out of there diet tend to feel better shortly after eliminating them.

Eating non organic dairy products such as milk, cottage cheese, and ice cream can be treated with bovine growth hormone and antibiotics. Both of the steroids and antibiotics tend to stay in the milk cause interferences with female hormones. Organic dairy products were produced in a natural way and do not contain any of those steroids or antibiotics so they are safe to be eaten.

Commercial salad dressings can cause disruption of the natural regulation of hormone production. Cut down on coffee, black tea, chocolate, and soft drinks. They can over stimulate the adrenal gland and can disrupt hormones as well.

To help stabilize your hormones you can get some sunshine. Everyday exposure to full spectrum light will naturally balance your hormones. Celebrating your monthly cycle, recognizing and appreciating your feminine power rather than calling it annoying and a pain in the you know what. Looking at things in positive way will influence your health in a positive way as well. Yoga, meditation and deep breathing exercises will help to protect the women's biochemistry and can reduce PMS symptoms.

One more thing you could try is taking an herbal supplement. Alternative Health Supplements offers a few products that can help to naturally balance female hormones. Enhance Her is an all natural product that contains lots of herbs that are used for balancing the female hormones. This is an all natural product so it is safe to use and take daily; there are no negative side effects either. Any woman who has passed puberty can take this product. It will help to balance your female hormones naturally and give you a sense of over health and balance.

All of the following herbs can be found in this product. Saw palmetto is an herb used for bladder problems, breast enlargement, frigidity, hormone regulation, and weight regulations. Kava Kava is for urinary tract infections, vaginitis, anxiety, and fatigue. This product also has Dandelion to prevent breast cancer, tumors, organ disorders, PMS symptoms, water retention, yeast infections, age spots and lethargy. Motherwort is for menstrual cramps and pain, and sleeplessness. Wild yam is for miscarriage, morning sickness, nervous tension, and PMS. Blessed thistle is to help with cramps, menstrual headaches, eliminate vaginal discharge, and pregnancy.

Boost Your Anabolic Hormone Levels - Naturally!

Anabolic steroid use appears to be on the rise. With the great increase in modern recombinant DNA technology, steroids such as growth hormone, growth factors and testosterone-based analogs have become increasingly more available and affordable. Despite their renewed popularity however, anabolic steroids are illegal and have negative effects on health, reproductive status and even personality. In response, this article aims to provide some basic information on anabolic steroids and how to boost the body's own production levels naturally, using exercise.

What is an anabolic hormone?

The definition of anabolic is "to build up"- therefore anabolic steroids are hormones that cause increases body and muscle size. Actually, not all "anabolic steroids" are steroids but they are all hormones. An example of an anabolic steroid hormone is testosterone and its analogs. An example of an anabolic polypeptide/non-steroid hormone is growth hormone. Basically, hormones are chemical messengers released from certain tissues into the blood in response to a stimulus. Their role is essentially to help the human body adapt and remain in a state of balance or "homeostasis". While the body is quite efficient at regulating its anabolic state on its own - the temptation exists to use large quantities of anabolic hormones to magnify the results. As recently as 15-20 years ago, growth hormone had to be extracted form the pituitary glands of cadavers. Now however, modern science is able to manipulate the DNA of bacteria to produce large quantities of the hormone. Steroid use has always been rife in bodybuilding arena, but with peer pressure and ever-increasing expectations of sport performance, anabolic steroid use has become commonplace in sports too - even among high school age athletes.

How do I boost my levels of testosterone and growth hormone?

It is possible to increase anabolic hormone production naturally however - the simplest method of doing this is by regulating the intensity of the weightlifting session. This is achieved by manipulating volume (sets and reps), load (%1RM*) and rest periods. Evidence indicates that exercises that recruit large muscle groups (legs and back) in exercises such as squats and deadlifts and that are performed with high intensity and moderate volume boost serum testosterone concentrations. Therefore the exerciser should use heavy loads (85-95% 1 RM) and multiple sets/exercises separated by short rest periods (30 -60s). Testosterone, the male sex hormone is responsible for the increased muscle mass and strength observed in men. This steroid hormone operates both on a gene level to increase muscle protein production (increased gene transcription). It is also suspected to work on the central nervous system, allowing greater muscle activation by motor neurons, resulting in greater force production. (It is unlikely that herbal testosterone "precursors" such as tribulus terestris have a large impact on production - the exerciser should save his time and money and devote more effort into sensible eating and exercising according to these guidelines.)

Human growth hormone (HGH) is a polypeptide (non steroid) hormone released form the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, and its release similar to testosterone, is dependent on the level of "stress" experienced by the body. Its main functions are to increase the transport of amino acids over cell membranes and to increase the synthesis of muscle protein, connective tissue (e.g. collagen) bone and cartilage thus directly causing "growth". It also is responsible for increasing the level of glucose and fatty acids in the blood, and therefore has a direct body-fat reducing quality. Studies involving the release of growth hormone during exercise indicate that a typical bodybuilding program of multiple sets (higher volumes) of moderate intensity (e.g. 10RM) separated by short (1 min.) rest periods produce the largest increases. Many of the actions of growth hormone are actually mediated by another hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) released by the liver and other organs in response to HGH. The release of this powerful stimulator of muscle growth has been shown to increase in response to the consumption of a carbohydrate and protein supplement before and immediately after a weightlifting workout.

In conclusion, it is hoped that this article has demonstrated that there are alternatives to using illegal and health threatening anabolic steroids. The human body is a marvel at adapting to stresses such as exercise and weightlifting without the need for external hormone administration. This article has highlighted that is in fact possible to manipulate the body's own natural production of the same substances simply by regulating the intensity of the weightlifting session.

*1RM = the maximum amount of weight that can be lifted with good form for a single repetition.

Glands, Hormones and Chemical Messengers: Restoring Balance (Part 1)

Glands release hormones, which regulate practically every essential body function, from brain activity, blood pressure, cell metabolism, and reproduction, to how well you sleep at night. They play key roles in cell repair, growth, metabolism, appetite, fertility, and the regulation of pain. Produced throughout the body, they act as "chemical messengers," sending signals between cells.

Hormones help maintain harmony and balance through their communication with organs, and one another. As a result, dysfunction in one system will influence other systems. The messaging begins with release of the hormone from a gland (an organ that both synthesizes the messaging or signaling molecules, and secretes them). There are two kinds of glands, exocrine and endocrine. Their regulation and function affect much of how you feel on a day-to-day basis.

1. Exocrine glands release hormones into ducts to deliver them to their destinations.


2. Sweat


3. Salivary


4. Sebaceous


5. Endocrine glands release hormones directly into the bloodstream where they must then travel to the appropriate target organ.


6. Sex glands (ovaries and testes)


7. Thyroid


8. Parathyroid


9. Adrenal


10. Pituitary

Each hormone has a specific receptor on its target organ, which fit together like a lock and key. When bound together, the targeted organ senses the hormone, and responds to the signal by changing the balance of the body's chemistry. Hormone release is regulated through feedback from the body, allowing it to stay in balance.

When this balance is disrupted, such as in menopause, diabetes, adrenal fatigue or thyroid dysfunction, there can be a variety of physical and emotional symptoms. Although vital to health and wellbeing, hormonal dysfunctions are often overlooked, because they:

1. Produce vague symptoms, that are easily ignored


2. Are difficult to test for, until symptoms become acute


3. (Symptoms) are often seen as being "all in your head"


4. (Sub-acute dysfunctions) are treated with lifestyle changes and nutritional supplements, not medication

On the wellness spectrum there is "feeling good" (wellness), and there is "feeling bad" (acute illness), but in the middle you can still feel "not well" (sub-acute) and have your life altered significantly. Listening to the body and treating sub-acute hormonal dysfunction can improve quality of life. Learning about the cause of nagging vague symptoms and understanding their hormonal origin, is a start. From there, you can make informed choices on restoring hormonal balance to improve wellbeing.

One of the most common hormone dysfunction happens to women. As middle age approaches, women are at risk for hormonal imbalances associated with the onset of menopause. During this time, hormone fluctuations create an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone. Often women between the ages of 30 to 50 may experience estrogen dominance, where a she has more estrogen than is needed or healthy. This can happen in numerous ways. Progesterone and estrogen have opposite roles in the body, buy they work together for health.

Estrogen is produced in the first two weeks of a woman's cycle and progesterone in the last two weeks, if ovulation occurred. If there is no ovulation one month or the woman no longer ovulates, progesterone will not be made. This excess estrogen and insufficient progesterone is a common cause of hormonal symptoms manifesting in mood changes and uncomfortable symptoms. Women who have suffered severe PMS, post-partum depression or seasonal affective disorder (SAD) earlier in life are more likely to have difficulty in pre-menopause, perimenopause and post menopause.

Because progesterone balances the effects of estrogen in the body, "estrogen dominance" can cause mild to severe mental and physical symptoms, as the two hormones are no longer able to balance and oppose each other effectively. Progesterone supplementation can help correct this imbalance. An easy an effective form is natural progesterone cream, applied directly to the skin, where it is absorbed into the underlying fat layer. Note: (Always check with your physician to determine what supplements are appropriate for you.)

Hormonal imbalances can occur anytime the demands made on the body, overwhelm the support provided. Imbalance occurs when the body is forced to cope with those demands at the expense of healthy hormone synthesis and metabolism. Poor nutrition, stress of all kinds and toxins in the environment are just a few of the many sources of "demands" on the body.

Hormone balance requires adequate support. Simple measures such as taking nutritional supplements, small changes in diet, managing stress, and improving fitness habits can all provide this much needed support. These lifestyle behaviors can either assist or inhibit proper hormone functioning, leading to either symptom relief or exacerbation. In Part II of this series on hormonal health, we will look at thyroid and adrenal dysfunction and how to detect and balance these common sub-acute imbalances, to improve overall wellbeing.

What Role Do Hormones Play In Hair Loss?

Regardless of what you do to take care of your hair, you have to go through the cycle of losing and growing hair like everyone else. Even those who have a full head of hair, lose as many as 50-100 hair strands in a day, which is normal. Problem arises when the rate of hair fall exceeds the rate of hair growth and you start noticing signs of baldness such as receding hair line, thinning hair, bald patches etc. There are several reasons that might trigger hair loss, and identifying the cause of the problem is the first step you can take to reverse the problem. Some of the common causes are:

• Genes
• Lack of nutrition
• Fever and viral diseases
• Under active thyroid
• Stress
• Underlying disease
• Certain medications

Hormones inside the body have a major role to play in the process of hair growth. The connection between hair and hormones is very evident. When you suffer from a hormonal imbalance inside the body, hair is most often the first indicator of the problem. Unfortunately, there are few people who actually realize that their baldness is a sign of deficiency which needs proper treatment. Most people consider the problem to be superficial.

Changes in the level of hormones inside the body not only affects men, but also greatly influences women and brings about severe hair loss issues. You can confirm the hormonal imbalance inside the body with the help of a few simple tests by your health care provider. Once the hormonal imbalance has been detected as the main cause for your male pattern baldness, the next step should be to get the hormones under control. Fortunately, there are several natural remedies available that can help you get your hormones under control.

Making a few changes in your diet and lifestyle can go a long way to ensure that your hormonal imbalance gets under control, and the adverse effects that it has on your hair loss gets reversed as well. You can also use several natural remedies to treat the hairlessness symptoms and the problems brought about by hormonal changes.

Natural Treatment for Reversing Hair Loss:

Evening primrose oil is known to be effective in treating baldness caused by hormonal changes. A good primrose oil massage or using hair loss treatments that contain primrose oil can prove to be useful.

Another good option that can be used for correcting the hormonal imbalance is using the non-estrogenic herb such as Macafem (lipidiem). Although these herbs do not contain any estrogen, they greatly help in boosting the production of estrogen inside the body.

Chinese medicines and herbs are also known to greatly improve baldness problems and regulate the hormonal imbalances inside the body. Ginseng has been used since centuries to correct hormonal problems and reverse hair loss problems. Another popular Chinese known to effectively treat hair loss problems is He Shou Wu. It aids in re-growing hair, delaying graying hair, and convert the thinning hair to thicker, fuller hair. Thus Chinese medicines and herbs help to fast track the hair growth process.

In some cases, hair loss just needs some minor tweaking, and soon you may have your full head of thick hair. However, do not assume anything unless you get a test done to confirm that your hair loss is associated with hormones, and what treatment would be best for you.

Besides taking medications and herbs that help reverse the hair loss issues induced by hormonal changes, you may even consider making some dietary changes to prevent hair loss and restore the normal balance of the hormones. You may add phytonutrient super-foods that are rich in anti-oxidants, protein sources, healthy fat, and trace minerals, to your diet.

The three essential nutrients that are required for healthy skin include zinc, silica, and biotin. They can be found in many animal and plant foods. Silica aids the body to absorb the minerals and vitamins more effectively. It is essential for the good health of hair as the body ages. These nutrients can be found in sprouts, celery, cucumbers, and bell peppers.

Dietary Changes To Prevent Hair Loss Induced By Hormonal Changes:

Here are a few changes that you may bring about in your diet to help restore the hormonal imbalance inside the body and prevent hair loss:

• Eliminate pasteurized dairy, sugars, and processed foods from your diet.


• Prepare a shake with berries, coconut milk, an easy-to-absorb protein like whey protein, hemp protein, brown rice, and raw organic eggs.


• You can soak legumes, grains, and nuts in water along with one tablespoon of ACV, and keep it for 8 hours before eating.


• Do not consume only egg whites, without the yolk. You must eat a whole egg to maintain a healthy absorption of biotin.


• Consume foods that are rich in zinc, such as eggs, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

With proper care and addition of hormone balancing food in your diet, you can successfully prevent hair loss and get back a full head of hair.

What Are The Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Acne?

Many acne sufferers discover natural ways to get rid of acne without using harsh medications or undergoing dangerous medical procedures. Preventing acne before it starts is always the preferable option to treating frequent breakouts. However, there are proven effective natural remedies to reduce and eliminate pimples.

Diet

While there are unavoidable factors such as heredity and hormones, triggers including poor diet are also responsible for acne in some cases. A balanced diet combined with daily exercise routines are natural ways to get rid of acne. Eliminating foods high in iodine content and glycerin is proven to reduce the frequency of breakouts. It's also important to drink plenty of water to help flush out your body's toxins which can cause acne.

Eating fruit and vegetables can also prove beneficial as natural ways to prevent acne. Fruits including apples, strawberries, grapefruit, and oranges contain vitamins and enzymes that combat acne. Vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and cucumbers are also recommended to stop breakouts before they begin. Vegetable juices are another source of acne treatment as the liquids lead to good colon health.

Exercise

Stress is also a trigger for acne breakouts. While it's not always possible to eliminate stress, a daily exercise routine is a great form of natural treatment. Exercise helps to regulate hormones which can cause breakouts. Also, exercise reduces stress by releasing the body's endorphins. Perhaps the greatest benefit of exercise is the production of sweat which cleanses facial pores, thus promoting clear skin.

Natural Topical Applications

Once a breakout occurs, topical application is usually the best treatment method. Aloe Vera is considered one of the most effective natural ways to get rid of acne. By simply breaking off a leaf of the plant and applying the oozing gel to bumps reduces the inflammation associated with acne. For mild to moderate cases, an application of tea tree oil also relieves the irritation and swelling often associated with bouts of severe acne.

The best defense to safeguard against acne is thorough daily cleansing with mild facial cleansers. The ingredients for such proven natural facial cleaners include oatmeal, cornmeal, and plain yogurt. Other natural ingredients used to prevent acne include a daily facial scrub comprised of olive oil, cucumber juice, papaya, pineapple, or apple juice.

The most effective natural ways to get rid of acne begin with a daily cleaning regimen, eating well-balanced meals and sticking to a routine exercise schedule!

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Is No Big Deal - All Low Thyroid Patients Have It

Now before you smash the computer screen, hear me out. I just had another patient come in and tell me that her doctor had said that to her.

If you are suffering with any of the symptoms of Hashimoto's, you know that it is a BIG DEAL.
Some of the symptoms of Hashimoto's include:
• hair loss
• hair thinning
• constipation
• fatigue
• cold hands and feet
• sleep excessively to function
• brain fog, slow thinking
• dry skin, flaky skin
• occasional HYPERthyroid symptoms

In America the number one cause for low thyroid is an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

This means that the number one cause for low thyroid n America is an autoimmune attack. Here are some examples of other autoimmune conditions: MS, rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus.

An autoimmune condition means your immune system has turned on you and is targeting your thyroid...and is killing it.... and that's what's causing you to have low thyroid symptoms. Taking thyroid hormones will NOT do anything for this attack. You will continue to lose more and more of your thyroid. The standard of care for that is giving you thyroid hormones. I think you probably understand now that this not a thyroid hormone problem. That's not the battle. The battle is an immune system battle; an autoimmune battle.

Here is a good way to think about the autoimmune attack on the body. It would be like coming into my office in shorts. You bring along your dog or cat. And it is just starts biting and scratching your legs, just really attacking you. I look at you and say "Gee, you have a leg problem. Here are some band-aids. Take these and put them on your legs. Here is a script of band-aids for the rest of your life for that leg problem. You may need more or less of them as you go through life. If I told you this you would probably look at me like I had two heads. It wouldn't make any sense. The animal attacking your legs is the problem, not the legs. It is the same thing with Hashimoto's. The immune system attacking the thyroid is the problem, not the thyroid.

What most doctors are going to do for Hashimoto's is monitor your TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone level. They're going to try to make it stay within a certain numerical range, but that's going to fluctuate all over the place and it's not really getting to the problem.

The immune system will NOT only attack the thyroid, but it will start attacking the cells in the lining of your stomach that help you to be able to absorb B-12. When this happens you'll end up getting pernicious anemia. Since 80% of neurotransmitters are created in the stomach, you can also get brain fog, memory loss, and other neurological symptoms.

The brain is also targeted by the immune system. It likes to attack the cerebellum. You can end up having vertigo, dizziness, and balance problems.
The immune system also attacks your pancreas and can make you start having diabetic symptoms, insulin problems, and adrenal issues.

Since every cell in the body has a thyroid receptor site, any part of your body can be attacked when the immune system no longer can tell what is friend and what it foe.
When most patients suffering from low thyroid symptoms learn about the autoimmune attack on the body, it makes perfect sense to them. It makes sense because that is how they feel. Like their body is being attacked.

Focusing the clinical management on slowing and modulating the autoimmune attack is crucial in Hashimoto's Disease. How can you have a properly functioning thyroid if the body is continually attacking and killing it?

A functional approach to naturally supporting and modulating the immune system in autoimmune cases is the best way to help the body slow down or stop the attack on itself. Natural management of autoimmune conditions is complex. Support that is specific to the individual immune system is essential if you truly want to help Hashimoto's Disease.

You have to find out how their immune system has shifted. Our immune systems have two parts: TH-1 and a TH-2. They are supposed to be balanced. If they are not, then we have a problem.

You have to find out which one of those has become abnormally dominant and why.

Is it because of an antigen? Something that the immune system has been trying to kill for so long that it's increased its immune attack on this antigen and then it flipped the scales and now we have an autoimmune condition.

Or has the immune system become imbalanced because of dysregulation. Hormonal surges can do this. Stress can do this. Blood sugar problems. Inflammation can do this.

So if you know someone that's suffering with Hashimoto's, or with low thyroid, and they don't feel any better even with thyroid medication, it is time to get them this information. It's time to find someone who can investigate this further.

There are millions of you out there right now that have this problem and you don't know it.
The reason why you still have thyroid symptoms, even though you're taking medication, is likely because you have an autoimmune condition.

And yes, it is A VERY BIG DEAL.

Are Your Migraines Hormonal?

Introduction

The effect of hormone changes on migraines cannot be denied since women suffer from migraines at a rate of nearly three times compared to males, develop the condition for the first time during or after the onset of puberty, and many frequently experience attacks during one's menstrual period. Currently many theories on hormones and migraines focus on hormones fluctuations - the rapid rise or fall of hormone levels.

What are hormones? Hormones are essentially targeted chemical messengers which are secreted by glands into the blood stream where then they affect metabolism, growth, sexual reproduction, organ behavior, and mood. The major hormone producing glands include the adrenals, pancreas, pituitary, sex glands, thyroid, and parathyroid glands.

How Do You Know You Migraines Are Hormonal?

Ask yourself - Do you frequently get migraines two days before, during, or up to three days after your menstrual cycle? Do you frequently get migraines half-way through your menstrual cycle (ovulation)? If the answer to any of the above question is yes, then you may be experiencing hormonal migraines. If you don't know the answer for sure, consider keeping a migraine journal in order to see if your headaches correlated with your cycle.

Treatment for Menstrual and Menstrual-related Migraines

Western Medicine Approach:

An outdated approach to treating hormonal migraines was to put women on oral contraceptives to "normalize" supposedly abnormal hormone levels. It is now though that it is the rapid rise or fall of hormones that can cause problems. Many women have good luck switching to low estrogen pills, and from triphasic (each week has a different hormone level) to monophasic birth control pills (each pill contains the same amount of hormones) to ensure that hormone levels remain constant twenty-one out of twenty-eight days. Another approach is to try the new menstrual suppression oral contraceptives, which allow one to go months without experiencing a period.

Women who experience regular, predictable periods can take preventative prescription medication either daily or a few days before you cycle (according to the advice of your doctor.) In general, people who experience three or more migraines per month are advised to take a daily medicine. Those who experience fewer migraines will usually do fine taking medications starting a few days before they know for sure they will get a migraine.

Women who have unpredictable menstrual cycles may need to rely on prescription medication (such as triptans) which will abort an oncoming headache. Some women also report success using non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs during this time.

Wellness approach:

Many women have found their menstrual-related migraines respond very well to taking magnesium supplements.

Excessive Urination in Puppies - What Are The Causes and What Can You Do to Help?

Many puppies have uncontrolled urine "accidents", when they are playing, get excited by visitors or when you come home and they are greeting you. Is your puppy is involuntarily passing urine or is your puppy urinating frequently because he has a full bladder? Pets do not want to urinate in a non-designated place. They want to please you and they absolutely do not want to lie in their own urine. So if the problem persists there could be a medical problem which should be checked out.

Certain diseases of the bladder, kidneys or adrenal glands, liver disease, diabetes even thyroid problems can cause excessive urination in puppies or leakage. Most often the cause can be from an obstruction in his bladder from stones. With this type of problem you will notice your dog straining when urinating and may even be in pain. This can be a medical emergency especially if your puppy is in pain because they are not able to empty their bladder which can be a life or death situation. Bladder stones can form when minerals in the urine form into a solid substance; usually this happens when the pH of the urine is unbalanced, many times this is the result of diet. In order to prevent stones from occurring in the future the diet must be changed and adding a homeopathic medicine will promote a balanced pH without the toxic side effects of harsh medicines usually used for pets.

Another problem could be the result of a particular breed. Certain breeds like Siberian Huskies, Labradors, Collies, Westies, and Corgis have a higher incidence of a structural birth defect called ectopic ureter causing incontinence which also causes puppies to urinate or dribble frequently.

Other reasons for excessive urination in puppies can be attributed to a lack of hormones. After spaying or neutering the hormones estrogen and testosterone, which control the sphincter muscle, usually will contribute to some sort of urine leakage. This problem is much more common in females and the outcome may not even be noticeable in some pets.

The treatment your puppy will receive totally depends on the reason for your puppy urinating frequently. Surgery is necessary if there is a blockage or a deformity of the urinary tract, but many other natural and non-invasive methods can be used for hormone or pH imbalances. Once a dog has had a urinary problem, such as an infection or a pH imbalance, it is likely to reoccur, but by strengthening the immune system you can stop the problem early on with diet changes and homeopathic treatments.

Growth Factors, Hormones and Cellular Genes in Neoplasia

Although structurally altered genes, categorized as oncogenes or cancer suppressor genes, are essential mediators of cancer, the role of unaltered genes is not to be dismissed and it is probably equally crucial in carcinogenesis. Signaling proteins of all kinds may possibly drive the oncogenic procedure through abnormal signaling: abnormal in time, duration, or intensity; abnormal tissue appearance; or abnormal subcellular compartment localization. The regulation of development in complex organisms demands specific proteins for the usual development, maturation, improvement, and function of tissue and specialized structure.

The complexity from the individual organism requires that these proteins be expressed at precisely coordinated points in space and time. An vital component of this regulation could be the system of hormones, growth factors, and development inhibitors. On binding to specific receptor proteins on the mobile surface or within the cytoplasm, these aspects result in a complex set of signals that can result in the various cellular effects, including mitogenesis, growth inhibition, modifications in cellular cycle regulation, apoptosis, differentiation, and induction of your secondary specify of genes. The actual end results are reliant not merely on the particular sort of interacting factor and receptor but in addition on the mobile type and milieu by which factor-receptor coupling takes place.

This method permits for cell-to-cell interactions, whereby a aspect secreted by a single cell or structure can enter the bloodstream and impact one more specify of distant tissue (endocrine actions) or act on adjacent tissue (paracrine activity). An autocrine actions can be feasible when a cellular creates a aspect that binds to some receptor on or inside the identical cell. Altered concentration of the growth factors as properly as overexpression or mutations of the receptors can change the signaling behavior, contributing to a malignant phenotype. Only a subset of progress aspect receptors are proto-oncogenes.

Nevertheless, numerous extra growth elements and growth element receptors show up to be essential in cancer development and progression, even though not classified as proto-oncogenes, because they serve tumorigenic leads to with no incurring mutations or with no overexpression. An crucial school of progress factor signaling molecules will be the progress factor receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Several tyrosine kinase receptor families exist, and in experimental models most are capable of transforming cells if activated or overexpressed. Although all of those abnormalities are not necessarily seen in effortlessly occurring human tumors, these experimental data highlight the possible inherent in these proteins and the essential part they may be playing in tumor tissue in spite of lacking the oncogene label.

Members from the HER family of RTKs are commonly mutated or amplified in human being tumors and exemplify the essential role of RTKs in human neoplasia. In many other tumors, they likely perform an important part regardless of having a typical sequence and terms degree. For illustration, HER1 (also referred to as EGFR) is not mutated or overexpressed in colon cancers, but it's occasionally activated by autocrine signaling within the most cancers cells, and EGFR-targeted therapies are utilized to deal with this sort of cancer malignancy. The platelet-derived development factor (PDGF) receptors, fibroblast development aspect receptors, vascular endothelial progress aspect receptors, and insulin-like growth element receptor are all people of RTKs that functionality comparable to HER family RTKs.

These receptors are, in general, not documented being mutated or amplified in human being tumors. However, there's elevated terms in numerous tumors or aberrant expression in tumors from cells types that ordinarily wouldn't be anticipated to express that receptor. Alternatively, excessive manufacturing of receptor ligands is because of to some various mechanisms (ie, loss of epigenetic silencing from the gene coding for the ligand or excessive gene transcription of the identical gene). In experimental systems, every of those RTK methods has oncogenic potential, building a circumstantial case that they may be crucial players in individual tumors.

Some development factor signaling pathways purpose to inhibit mobile development and provide negative regulation in response to extracellular stimuli. Desensitization of tissue to such development inhibitors is common in tumors. An illustration of this can be the transforming development factor- (TGF-). TGF- has diverse biological outcomes. It potently inhibits cellular proliferation but additionally stimulates the creation and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) and adhesion factors. These functions are essential in cells remodeling throughout embryogenesis and wound repair. In some tumor kinds, the antiproliferative response to TGF- is lost early on because of mutations in its downstream signaling elements. However, continued secretion, and usually oversecretion, of TGF- from the cancer and stromal tissues leads to an boost in the creation of ECM and adhesion elements and promotes the invasive and metastatic property of tumors.

One more important course of receptors may be the big superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors. These consist of the cellular receptors for a various hormones, among them estrogen and progesterone, androgens, glucocorticoids, thyroid hormone, and retinoids. The actions of estrogen are fundamentally essential in the introduction of busts most cancers. In ladies, oophorectomy early in everyday living presents substantial defense against the introduction of boobs cancer, as well as in animal models mammary carcinogenesis is substantially retarded in the absence of estrogen. Approximately half of all busts cancers are dependent on estrogen for proliferation. Even though these data obviously implicate the estrogen signaling pathway in boobs carcinogenesis, specific abnormalities with the estrogen receptor (ER) usually are not seen in breast cancers; consequently, the ER does not qualify being a cancer suppressor protein or an oncoprotein.

It can be achievable that, despite the fact that the reduction of particular cancer suppressor genes or activation of certain oncogenes prospects to the introduction of breast cancer, continued ER purpose is essential throughout this process and without having ER function it can't proceed. Alternatively, it can be achievable that abnormal ER signaling, possibly as a result of altered cofactors, cross-talk, or phosphorylation status, drives boobs carcinogenesis. Although the mechanism by which estrogen and its receptor drive breast cancers has not yet been determined, its basic part in this disease is well set up. Furthermore, therapies that work by means of inhibiting the manufacturing from the effective ligand or that inhibit the functionality of the ER would be the most successful therapies for breast cancer however developed and are highly energetic within the prevention and treatment of busts cancer malignancy.

The androgen receptor (AR), similarly, plays a critical part in the development of prostate cancer, although occasional activating mutations with the AR happen to be reported in prostate cancers. Within the contrary, the ability of retinoids (ligands for retinoic acid receptors) which have been renowned to participate within the differentiation of your various tissues during growth to cause the differentiation of specific tumors in structure culture types has been exploited being a therapy strategy for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). APL is characterized by a t(15;17) chromosomal translocation resulting inside the fusion with the PML gene with the retinoic acid receptor- (RAR-) gene. The producing fusion protein blocks the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor tissue and eventually leads to the development of APL.

This fusion protein is not by alone transforming in experimental models and can not be categorized like a classic oncogene or tumor suppressor gene, but it's etiologically included inside the pathogenesis of APL. Because the fusion protein includes the ligand-binding domain of RAR-, it remains sensitive to ligand and treatment of patients using the ligand all-trans retinoic acid leads to differentiation of cancer tissue and full remission in most patients with this illness. Other functional membrane proteins not connected to growth may also be current on tumors cells.

The MDR-1 gene product belongs to some school of ATP-dependent channel transporter proteins and is existing on some typical epithelial cells. Its physiologic purpose may be to pump toxic molecules out from the cellular, but in some cancer cells, its overexpression leads to efflux of specific chemotherapeutic agents, leading to drug resistance. In some circumstances, its appearance can be induced by long-term exposure to chemotherapy.

Mood Swings in Women - Causes & Solutions

What is a mood swing?

Mood swing is a condition when a person experiences and expresses a variety of emotions within a span of few hours. Someone who suffers from this problem, goes from being very happy to feeling very angry, irritable, and frustrated within a very short period of time.

Mood swing affects twice as many women as men. This problem is commonplace especially in metropolitan cities due to fast speed life, higher work pressures, lower patience levels and modern lifestyle.

Causes of mood swings in women:

Studies have shown that hormones have a very deep impact on brain chemistry that controls the mood and emotions. A lot of factors in women's life such as hormonal imbalance, menstrual cycle, menopause, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, any endocrinal abnormality or other biological problems, all play a very important role in fluctuating the mood. At the time of menopause, there are a lot of changes between the hormones estrogen, testosterone and progesterone that results into hormonal imbalance and causes mood swings. Similarly, at the time of ovulation, women experience a lot of behavioral, emotional and physical changes due to hormonal changes.

Another reason of mood swings in women is stress at home and at work. Excessive stress leads to depression and mood swings. Women experience a lot of stress in their day-to-day life. Working women have the pressure of their office work as well as they manage their homes also. They look after their kids, take care of the aged parents and try their best to outperform in their jobs also. A lot of responsibilities may lead to stress. Sometimes due to lack of mutual understanding between husband and wife or by some other reason, their married life becomes miserable. It is also a cause of stress and a determining factor of mood swings.

Modern lifestyle also plays a key role to enhance the chances of mood swings. Smoking, alcohol, eating fast foods and having sugar, tea/coffee, chocolates in excess, lack of patience, stressful work environment, hyper sensitiveness, lack of physical activity, all these things contribute in fluctuating the mood.

How to treat mood swings:

Mood swings problem can be treated by making some changes in your lifestyle and by taking some alternative medicines. First of all, you should have a positive attitude towards life. Try to eliminate stress from your life. Yoga, pranayam, and some light exercises like swimming, dancing and brisk walk are really good ways to distress your mind and body. Establish a habit of reading. Music also helps to soothe a stressful mind. Take a diet that is full of nutrition as well as gentle on your body.

Some herbs like Aswagandha, Ginseng and Jatamansi help a lot in dealing with mood swings. Aromatherapy with oils like chamomile, jasmine and rose can be given to treat mood swings. Acupuncture is also an excellent method to treat mood swings. In this method of treatment, some needles are inserted into your body at some specified points.

Sometimes, the mood swing problem is so severe that doctors have to give hormone replacement therapy. It is a very quick treatment but it has a lot of side effects associated with it. After taking this therapy, women are on higher risks of different types of cancer.

Effect of Hormones on Diet Intake-Sports

Testosterone

Testosterone is a steroid hormone secreted from the Leydig cells of the testes that has both anabolic and anticatabolic effects upon muscle tissue. Dietary nutrients, in particular fat, have been shown to affect testosterone. Individuals consuming a diet containing about 20% fat compared with a diet containing 40% fat have significantly lower concentrations of testosterone.

Also, replacing dietary carbohydrate with protein has been shown to decrease testosterone concentrations. Men consuming a vegetarian or meatless diet have lower circulating concentrations of testosterone compared with men consuming a mixed Western or a high-meat diet.

These studies indicate that the distribution of macronutrients has a significant influence on testosterone concentrations. The specific type or quality of macronutrient may also impact testosterone independent of a change in diet composition. Volek et al. reported significant positive correlations between dietary fat, specifically saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, and resting testosterone concentrations in a group of young resistance-trained men. Raben et al. reported a significant decrease in resting testosterone concentrations and an attenuation in the exercise­induced increase in testosterone in male endurance athletes who switched from a meat-rich diet to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. The diets contained equal percentages of calories derived from protein, carbohydrate, and fat; however, the source of protein in the vegetarian diet was derived mainly from vegetable sources (83%), whereas the mixed diet contained significantly less vegetable protein (35%).

The exact mechanism linking nutrition to testosterone is unknown. Increasing anabolic hormone concentrations at rest, after a meal, or after exercise may enhance adaptations to resistance training. Manipulation of the distribution of carbohydrate and fat in the diet may alter the hormonal environment (e.g., habitual consumption of a fat­rich diet has been shown to elevate fasting testosterone and growth hormone concentrations). Thus, macronutrient manipulation should be considered a potential strategy to enhance the adaptations to exercise training programs. However, until further research is performed that documents specific training outcome markers in athletes under a variety of dietary regimens, generalizations should be made with caution.

Practically no information exists regarding the practical application of increasing circulating anabolic hormones on muscle size and strength; the potential differential effects in different populations (e.g., men vs. women, young vs. old, trained vs. sedentary), the interaction of different hormone responses; the effects at the target tissue (e.g., potential down-regulation of receptors); and the impact of "nutrient cycling"(e.g., consuming a carbohydrate-rich diet followed by a fat-rich diet).Considering the enormous complexity in which the endocrine system operates in the regulation of cellular function and the diverse mechanisms that control homeostasis, the optimal dietary strategy to The total daily energy intake in this scenario then becomes 2015 kcal (524/0.26). In this instance, carbohydrates will comprise 50% of the total (l008 kcal, 252 g), and fat, 24% (484 kcal, 54 g). In TABLE , a sample diet, with a goal of physique enhancement and weight maintenance, is provided for this individual.

Note that the dietary regimen outlined in contains five meals per day. This was included as a possible means to stimulate metabolic rate increases via an increased thermic effect of food consumption. It is recommended that consuming multiple daily meals should be a method used regardless of physique modification goals. In this way, potential enhancements in the efficiency of the body's metabolic processes may ensue. It cannot be stressed enough that the information provided and are recommendations based on limited research and the authors' discretion. Individual tinkering of the daily caloric total is likely for the achievement of desired goals. For example, rapid weight loss is a sign that caloric intake is deficient, and subsequent losses in weight are more likely the result of water and lean tissue losses than fat. In this case, a slight increase in daily calories is necessary, as weight loss (and gain) should be a consistent, gradual process. Similarly, frequent (roughly every 2 weeks) reassessments of body weight and composition should be performed, and appropriate dietary modifications should be implemented based on these findings.

Insulin

Insulin is a peptide hormone secreted by the pancreas, which plays a critical role in the regulation of blood glucose levels and stimulation of amino acid uptake for incorporation into skeletal muscle proteins. Carbohydrate ingestion leads to an increase in blood glucose and a relatively similar increase in insulin concentrations. A meal rich in fat results in lower insulin responses compared with meals rich in either carbohydrate or protein. Also, there is a decrease in resting glucose and insulin concentrations in response to 3 to 4 days of a eucaloric low-carbohydrate diet high in fat and low in carbohydrate. Three weeks of a low-carbohydrate diet may significantly lower resting insulin but not glucose concentrations in healthy men. Although insulin stimulates protein synthesis, maximizing insulin concentrations may not be advantageous because of the potent antilipolytic (Le., blocks mobilization of fat from storage) and lipogenic (Le., promotes storage of fat) effects of insulin.