Women – Protect your health with smart lifestyle choices

Women - Protect your health with smart lifestyle choices, by Dr. Brazos Minshew

Nutrients and nurturing can help improve heart and bone health, and challenging mid-life conditions

Aging is a great adventure - there's something new to look forward to in every decade. As we grow older, we know and accept ourselves more and that often translates into greater fun and freedom. Unfortunately, greater age also presents greater health challenges.

If we don't take care of ourselves with nutrients and nurturing, we will be faced with more chronic conditions and age-related problems as we grow older. Arm yourself with as much information about health as you can. Partner with your health care provider and actively participate in plans to improve your health. If you're unclear about something, don't be afraid to ask questions - your health is at stake and without it you'll have very little.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a good reminder to women that they must be proactive with their self-health care. Get regular mammograms and perform monthly self-checks because early cancer detection is so important for successful treatment.

There are other wellness issues that women face throughout their lives that can be helped through self-health care, including protecting against frail heart and bones, and reducing the difficult symptoms of menopause.

Reduce your risk of frailty More of us are living into very old age and frailty is suddenly becoming an important issue. According to Dr. Tamara Harris of the National Institute of Aging (NIA), frailty involves exhaustion, weakness, weight loss, and loss of muscle mass and strength.

If we descend into frailty, it may be nearly impossible for the body to recover. The human body is amazingly resilient, but bodies that are aged and already frail may be in too deep of a health deficit. The best way to plan for frailty is to prevent it as long as possible.

The NIA has identified two factors that contribute to frailty - cardiovascular health and attitude. I also believe that maintaining bone health and helping to prevent age-related breaks is important because broken bones take a lot of the body's resources to heal, which puts nutrient stores at a deficit.

Strengthen your heart
Exercise is so important - not only does it help maintain heart health, but it also strengthens bones and maintains healthy muscle. By participating in cardiovascular exercise most days a week, you'll help to keep your heart strong.

I also recommend strength-building exercises with resistance bands or weights. Although they don't increase heart rate as much as walking, swimming or bicycling, they have a beneficial effect on the heart and muscles, which is where energy-producing mitochondria live. Without healthy muscles - keep in mind the heart is a muscle - you wouldn't have mitochondria to create the energy you need.

Heart-healthy diet
Minimize unhealthy saturated, trans fats and empty calories in sugars and white flour. Throw in plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, lean protein, whole grains and healthy fats from nuts and fish and you've got a recipe for heart health!

The American Heart Association also recommends supplementing with EPA and DHA Omega-3 fatty acids, the kind you'll find in TriVita's OmegaPrime. Studies show that Omega-3 reduces their risk of heart disease. OmegaPrime also contains all four essential fatty acids which may help with decreasing artery-clogging inflammation.

Strong bones = youthful vitality As mentioned earlier, bone health is critical if you want to remain vital into later years. In addition to exercising, add low-fat dairy products or calcium-fortified foods to your diet. Take TriVita's Bone Builder if you are over 50 and interested in maintaining bone health.

In the last issue of the VitaJournal, Dr. Tammy Pon discussed the importance of supplementing with an absorbable form of calcium that has the proper balance of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D and phosphorous.

Bone Builder has been specially formulated to have a perfect balance of minerals to support bone growth. A 2005 clinical trial proves that Bone Builder improved bone density a net 6% in the hip-femoral area, which is a common site for fracture.

Think young!
Thinking young will help you stay young. Your attitude about aging plays a big part in the condition of your health.

Menopause - it's important to manage small changes to avoid big problems Hormonal changes can play havoc on everyone's body. I've heard many women in their menopausal years describing feeling betrayed by the body they've been able to rely on for so many years.

Because hormones are declining and other body systems aren't working as efficiently, an imbalance is created that can create unpleasant symptoms such as a sudden 10 pound weight gain, hot fl ashes or night sweats.

Manage "the change" to minimize weight gain and irritating symptoms It's just as important to remove excess hormones as it is to make sure your body is making hormones. Annoying symptoms like hot fl ashes and c-like irritability can be a build up of waste, including an overabundance of hormones your body no longer needs and can't remove.

Whenever you have a buildup that can't be removed, your body creates places to store the waste. Its favorite storage place is fat. If you don't have enough fat, and your body has filled up all the storage in joints and existing fat, your body will create new fat. This is one of the reasons why women gain weight as they approach menopause. Combine that with a slowing metabolism (about 5% every decade) and it's easy to understand why a 10-pound weight gain is normal.

Even if it's the norm, we must be vigilant because becoming overweight increases risks for many illnesses, including diabetes, certain cardiovascular illnesses, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer.

Nutrients that help reduce symptoms by keeping your body balanced Adrenal glands play a part in regulating body temperature - so it's important to keep them healthy to help minimize hot fl ashes and night sweats. Over time, adrenal glands take a beating. They govern the "fight or flight" response that's activated whenever we're faced with stressful or dangerous situations. Because most of us live in a stress-filled environment, our adrenals are always jumping into "fight or flight" mode and they can be exhausted by the time we reach mid-life.

Our lifestyle habits also wear out adrenal glands. Caffeine stimulates adrenal glands and not resting or sleeping enough denies our adrenals the rejuvenation that's so important to maintain health.

Panax ginseng may help promote adrenal gland health. As an adaptogen, Panax ginseng also helps the body maintain balance when it's faced with stress. In other words, the systems don't become activated due to our everyday problems, like heavy traffic and work deadlines.

Chasteberry is used to relieve breast tenderness, irritability and irregular periods. It's believed that it helps to balance out excessive prolactin - a hormone that is produced by the pituitary gland - and in excess is believed to be responsible for the symptoms above.

The pituitary gland also releases a particular hormone called oxytocin, often referred to as the love hormone. If your libido is low, Chasteberry may give it a gentle boost that will help you feel more relaxed and friendly. Dong Quai is a traditional Chinese herb that has been used for centuries to strengthen the blood. Since the 1800's it has also been used as a "female tonic" because it helps ease menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes.

Balanced Woman provides the nutrients necessary to balance hormones naturally
All of the ingredients described above are included in Balanced Woman. Our formula is clinically proven to help balance your body and minimize the disruptive symptoms of menopause. In a study by Arizona State University, women aged 43 - 68 experienced significant decrease in menopausal symptoms when they used Balanced Woman consistently. These symptoms include hot fl ashes, night sweats and breast tenderness.

Fatigue and memory hiccups
Did you forget where your keys were today? How about that dental appointment that you missed earlier in the week? Does it seem as if you're dragging halfway through the day, no matter how much sleep you got the night before? If these little annoyances are happening more and more, then you might be experiencing B-12 deficiency. B-12 is notoriously hard to absorb through food and it only gets worse as we grow older. Starting at age 35 your digestion begins to slow and then dramatically declines at age 50. After age 50, Vitamin B-12 deficiency is commonplace.

The dangers of B-12 deficiency begin with
fatigue, irritability and forgetfulness. If allowed to progress, B-12 deficiency can lead to very serious neurological problems such as Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.

Sublingual B-12, B-6 & Folic Acid remains TriVita's best-selling product because it addresses this common and health-threatening deficiency. The sublingual delivery system delivers nutrients efficiently, so it begins working quickly. If you've noticed fatigue, forgetfulness or an inability to stay focused Sublingual B-12 may be your best solution.

Sublingual B-12, B-6 & Folic Acid remains TriVita's best-selling product because it addresses this common and health-threatening deficiency. The sublingual delivery system delivers nutrients efficiently, so it begins working quickly. If you've noticed fatigue, forgetfulness or an inability to stay focused Sublingual B-12 may be your best solution.

Women's Cancer Risks at each Decade
With each passing decade, the risk for certain types of cancers increase. Here is a partial list and the suggested steps you can take to help avoid falling ill to cancer. Become a co-manager of your health with your health care provider and ask questions or ask for screenings if you see unexplained changes in your body.

20s
Cervical Cancer - get an annual pap exam

30s
Cervical Cancer - annual pap exam Lymphoma - monthly breast and lymph self exam and annual doctor's exam

40s
Breast Cancer - monthly breast self exam, annual mammogram or as yourdoctor directs Lymphoma - monthly breast and lymph self exam and annual doctor's exam

50s
Breast Cancer - monthly breast self exam, annual mammogram or as your doctor directs Colon Cancer - exams as directed by your doctor Lung Cancer - don't smoke; report any weight loss, fatigue and bloody cough to doctor

60s
Breast Cancer - monthly breast self exam, annual mammogram or as your doctor directs Colon Cancer - exams as directed by your doctor Lung Cancer - don't smoke; report any weight loss, fatigue and bloody cough to doctor Ovarian Cancer - report abdominal swelling, pelvic pain or pressure to doctor Cancer of the Uterine Lining - stay at a healthy weight and report any abnormal vaginal bleeding to doctor

70s
Breast Cancer- monthly breast self exam, annual mammogram or as your doctor directs Colon Cancer - exams as directed by your doctor Leukemia - report fatigue and abdominal swelling to doctor, have an exam and blood test every year Lung Cancer - don't smoke; report any weight loss, fatigue and bloody cough to doctor Ovarian Cancer - report abdominal swelling, pelvic pain or pressure to doctor Cancer of the Uterine Lining - stay at a healthy weight and report any abnormal vaginal bleeding to doctor

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