karlene karst WOMEN’S VOICE
™
on Family, Health & Balance at 40
REAL solutions by REAL physicians for REAL women’s needs ™
BEAUTY BUILDING BLOCKS –
Elastin & Collagen BY JULIE REIL, MD
low energy? cravings? Take the WOMEN’S
Hormonal HEALTH TEST
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page 33
VOLUME 2
Interview with
Women’s Health Expert,
Dr. Karen Jensen
Doing the planet a favour has never tasted so good
ORGANIC · NON-GMO · VEGETARIAN · SUSTAINABLE
how can we feed everyone? The simplest and most sustainable route to nourishing the world is to produce food that uses less of the planet’s resources. VegiDay is part of a growing movement that encourages us to support a sustainable future by choosing to eat more plant-based foods.
• 1,850 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 lb of beef 39 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 lb of vegetables
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nourished. But as Earth’s population continues to grow,
DID YOU KNOW?
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Everyone on our marvellous planet deserves to be well-
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ENERGY FROM M
TTHE GROUND UP
what’s inside 13
COVER STORY
REAL solutions by REAL physicians for REAL women’s needs ™
6 Did You Know? Key Findings Recipe: Coconut Energy Balls
Karlene Karst, RD on Family, Health & Balance at 40
7
20
Inner Nutrition Outer Glow
They’re Ba-ack!
It’s Now Okay to Eat Some of Those No-No Foods – Kate Rhéaume, ND
10 How the Heart, Brain, and Gut Influence Mental Health – Karen Jensen, ND
26 Question & Answer with Karen Jensen, ND
30 The Fountain of Youth Lemon Water
– Marita Schauch, ND
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32 Hormonal Imbalance – Unlocking the Puzzle – Karen Jensen, ND
35 8 Sneaky Signs You Have an Hormonal Imbalance – Marita Schauch, ND
low energy? cravings? Take the WOMEN’S
Hormonal HEALTH TEST page 33
40 Elastin & Collagen
Your Keys to a Resilient, Youthful Life
44 Stand Up for Vein Health – Julie Reil, MD
47 Women’s Voice
Medical and Science Editorial Advisory Committee
– Julie Reil, MD
Editor: Nancy Cheeseman Editorial Assistant: Brinda Navjee Art Direction: Stephen Rank PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY Contact Info: Assured Natural Distribution, Inc. 104–3686 Bonneville Place Burnaby, BC V3N 4T6 Phone: 1-844-384-7502 Fax: 1-844-384-7503 ADVERTISING POLICY Only products exclusively distributed to natural health food stores will be advertised in this magazine. EDITORIAL NOTE The information in this magazine is for educational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for the advice of a qualified and licensed practitioner or health care provider. Articles in Women’s Voice are copyrighted and must not be reprinted, duplicated, or transmitted without permission.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE At Women’s Voice, we are committed to providing our readers with real health solutions from real physicians. To ensure our editorial excellence, we have assembled medical professionals who are dedicated experts and leaders in natural health to serve on Women’s Voice Editorial Advisory Board: MICHAEL LYON, MD KATE RHÉAUME, ND KARLENE KARST, RD GAETANO MORELLO, MD KEITH BREWSTER, PHD VERONICA KACINIK, RD Cover: Tonino Guzzo Photography
Women’s Voice™ is a registered magazine in Canada and the United States. Canada: 1811559 / USA: 87249676 Real Solutions by Real Physicians for Real Women’s Needs™
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Pure Food Supplements from our certified organic farms to YOU.
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wholeearthsea.com
…that despite increased attention to creating a safer food supply, most of our fruits and vegetables are still testing positive for pesticide residues? THAT’S RIGHT. Nearly three-fourths of the 6,953 produce samples tested by the US Department of Agriculture in 2014 contained pesticide residues – a surprising finding when the public has for so long lobbied for food free of synthetic chemicals. (Source: Environmental Working Group, ewg.org) On the EWG website you can check your shopping list and compare it against the organization’s Dirty Dozen™, a list of the fruits and vegetables most likely to contain stuff you don’t want to eat. Then you can make a better shopping list, using what’s on the Clean Fifteen™ list to find the better bets in the produce aisle.
OO The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce. OO A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides. OO Single samples of strawberries showed 17 different pesticides.
OO Avocados were the cleanest: only 1% of avocado samples showed any detectable pesticides. OO Some 89% of pineapples, 81% of papayas, 78% of mangoes, 73% of kiwi and 62% of cantaloupes had no residues. OO No single fruit sample from the Clean Fifteen tested positive for more than four types of pesticides. OO Multiple pesticide residues are extremely rare on Clean Fifteen vegetables. Only 5.5% of Clean Fifteen samples had two or more pesticides.
99% pineapples 89% papayas 81% mangoes 78% kiwi 73% cantaloupes 62%
OO More than 98% of strawberry samples, peaches, nectarines, and apples tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
Key findings from the Clean Fifteen
avocados
Key findings from the Dirty Dozen
RECIPE
Coconut
ENERGY BALLS
8 dates (pitted and soaked in water for 15 minutes) 1½ cups of shredded coconut (sulphite free) ½ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp vanilla Pinch of sea salt In a food processor place dates. Blend until smooth. Add coconut, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Blend. Roll into one-inch balls. Roll through coconut. Enjoy! 6
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INNER Nutrition BY KARLENE KARST, RD
D
id you know that your skin is the largest organ in your body? It’s true: your skin is much more than an outer surface for the world to see. It protects you from bacteria, dirt, and the UV rays of the sun. It also contains nerve endings that let you know if something is hot or cold, soft or hard, sharp or dull. Your skin also plays an important role in regulating your body’s fluids and temperatures.
Healthy skin mirrors a healthy body. Most of us will spend an exorbitant amount of money on creams, lotions, and potions formulated to give us smoother, younger-looking skin. But if your body is ill or malnourished, lacking in antioxidants, suffering from an imbalance in the gastrointestinal tract, or insufficiently supplied with healthy fats from food intake, there isn’t a product out there that will help give your skin the look and feel you desire. Eating a nutritious diet rich in plants, high-quality proteins, healthy fats and, of course, drinking lots of water (with a squeeze of lemon) is so important.
Omega-3s for Glowing Skin and Hair The omega-3 fats found in cold-water fatty fish such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, tuna, and salmon, as well as nuts and seeds like walnuts, almonds, hemp, chia, flaxseed, olives, and coconut oil, are especially helpful for moisturizing skin, preventing aging, decreasing wrinkles, treating acne, and protecting the skin from sunburn. These delicious fats help strengthen the skin and keep it looking plump and healthy. Omega-3s also keep the skin well hydrated, because they strengthen the cell membranes that wall off water loss through the skin. The result? Softer, wrinkle-free skin! Added to a diet rich in antioxidants, omega-3s act as a natural moisturizer from the inside out. Omega-3 fatty acids also build healthier skin
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by reducing the body’s production of inflammatory compounds – the natural chemicals involved in the aging process. Keeping these chemicals at bay is what’s required to limit the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin tone, and sun damage. Your hair benefits from omega-3s, too! They help nourish the hair follicles for healthier, stronger, and shinier tresses while also diminishing dry, flaky scalp. Given all their benefits, there’s absolutely no reason not to make omega-3s your go-to beauty nutrient!
Astaxanthin: The Best Antioxidant You’ve Never Heard Of? If astaxanthin is a new micronutrient to you, it’s high time you got to know it! It’s a naturally occurring carotenoid found in microalgae, and it’s one of the most studied and powerful antioxidants available today. It’s 65 times more powerful than vitamin C!
One way to remember it: it’s the antioxidant you can SEE with its beautiful bright red colour, which is proof positive of its ability to protect cells from oxidation and inflammation. When salmon and shell fish such as crab, lobster, shrimp, and krill eat an algae-rich diet, it turns their bodies bright red with astaxanthin content. Astaxanthin is a protective nutrient. It helps repair damage to joints, muscles, heart, inflammation, cells, and… skin! Product research aimed at finding new anti-aging formulations, UVA protection, and sunscreen development, all point promisingly to astaxanthin-rich ingredients. The best way to get more astaxanthin in your diet – along with eating more salmon and shellfish – is to supplement with 4 mg per day.
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Skin Superfoods As the saying goes, you are what you eat. To achieve optimal health, beautiful glowing skin, high energy levels, and the best quality of life, your diet needs to include the key nutrients that we know lead to the best results. In addition to the healthy fats mentioned above, try to include these “skin superfoods” in your meals each day.
• Spinach • Berries • Tomatoes • Sweet potatoes • Green tea • Dark cacao • Ginger • Quinoa • Turmeric • Lemon juice Foods to avoid:
• White flour • Sugar • Alcohol • Excess caffeine • Anything refined
Karlene’s “Good Morning Gorgeous” Smoothie Karlene Karst, is a Vancouverbased registered dietitian, healthy living advocate, author, mother of three, and founder of Sea-licious® Omega-3 oils. She starts each day with a green smoothie to help her outer glow. Blend these ingredients with several ice cubes: 1 frozen banana 2 cups of spinach ½ avocado Juice of ½ lemon 1 date pitted 1 cup of filtered water 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger For thicker texture, add more ice!
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How the Heart, Brain, and Gut Influence Mental Health BY KAREN JENSEN, ND
A
n instinct. A sixth sense, we sometimes say. A gut feeling. Sometimes when
we have a decision to make we feel almost overtaken by a recognition of what we should do… or shouldn’t. When reasoning fails, words escape us and yet the instinct persists, we’re often smart to “go with [our] gut” and do what, deep inside, we feel is best.
Then there are times when we act on the desires of our heart, with little regard to rational thought. Especially in love, or in sudden decisions to make a big life change, we say we “listen to [our] heart.” See? Intuitively we know that not all decisions come from our “head brain,” the mysterious 1.4 kg (3 lb) organ that uses our five senses to control, integrate, and interpret information from the outside world to the rest of the body. We also have a “gut brain” and a “heart brain.” Each of these brains function independently. But there is enough strong evidence to show that they also work together to influence who we are and how we interact with the world around us. Shouldn’t we be doing what we can to ensure the health of all our decision-making capabilities? 10
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It Takes Guts In recent years the gut microbiota has become a major topic of research, and what scientists have learned has been astounding. The gut bacteria, often viewed as lowly little creatures, are actually quite sophisticated in their social interactions. In fact, they communicate with one another through electrical signalling and other mechanisms that very much resemble how neurons communicate in the head brain. Studies show that the role of the gut brain is to monitor and integrate gut functions, but that’s not all. It also forms a link between the emotional and cognitive centres of our threepart brain. Through a two-way communication network linking the head brain and the gut, alterations in the makeup of gut microbiota can have significant effects on our health and well-being – causing a
broad range of diseases such as auto immune and gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation-based illnesses, and mood or cognitive disorders such as depression and learning disabilities.
Heart and Soul Until the 1990s, scientists assumed, and most of us were taught, that only the head brain sent information and issued commands to the heart and the rest of the body.
Now we know that – not unlike the gut – the heart brain is an intricate network of neurons, hormones, and neurotransmitters that affect our perceptions, mental processes, feelings, and performance in profound ways.
A Team of Three Although the head, heart, and gut brains work together, they have obvious differences in physical function. They also play different mental and emotional roles. For example, the brain analyzes information and applies logic. In contrast, the heart brain senses the world through emotion and feelings, and our gut brain is used for understanding our identity and who we are in the world. The gut brain also helps us learn self-preservation by teaching us to follow our instinct – that’s the “gut feeling” we all experience at times. When people feel “normal,” they have an identity. They interact with others and the world around them in their own unique way. While all health problems and disease conditions bring pain and suffering of various sorts and to varying degrees, only brain disorders can truly change, distort, or in some cases, rob people of their very “essence,” their true identity. According to recent estimates, about one in five people over the age of 18 suffers from a diagnosable mental health disorder in a given year. Approximately 12 million
children under the age of 18 have mental disorders, and depression in adolescents may be as high as one in eight. We also know that the numbers of people with memory disorders are growing yearly in both the elderly and also among middleaged adults. Indeed, approximately 15–25% of North Americans aged 65 or older have some degree of cognitive impairment. It is estimated that 5.3 million people in the US have Alzheimer’s disease and by 2020 that number is expected to reach 7.1 million, representing a 45% increase in less than a decade.
15–25% of North Americans aged 65 or older have some degree of cognitive impairment. It is estimated that 5.3 million people in the US have Alzheimer’s disease and by 2020 that number is expected to reach 7.1 million, representing a 45% increase in less than a decade.
What’s causing the rise in brain disorders and disease? The culprits include stress, inflammation, vascular dementia, imbalances in the gut microbiota, allergies, undiagnosed thyroid disorders in the elderly, as well as chemicals and pesticides in the environment. In addition, diabetes is an independent risk factor for dementia. Diabetics suffer dementia at double the rate of the healthy population. Yes, the numbers are sobering. But, there are things we can do to reduce the odds of becoming a statistic. Watch for future articles on the three brains.
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CLEAN BODY CARE
Free from toxins, perfumes, and xenoestrogens commonly found in traditional beauty aids.
W O M E N S E N S E®
W O M E N S E N S E. C O M
Karlene Karst on Family, Health & Balance at
Karlene Karst, RD, shares her journey of health, business, and motherhood.
40
Did I really just write the truth, that I’M TURNING 40, in a headline? YES, I DID! And proudly so, because I think that if they say that 60 is the new 40, 40 must be… well, A WHOLE LOT YOUNGER!
I
remember thinking, as a kid, that if you were 40 you were (dare I say it?) “old.” Now, in 2017, my perspective is that 40 is anything but old.
My thirties have been about building a business and a family. My husband and I were blessed with three healthy children – Luca (9), Matteo (6), and Capri (2) – after a devastating miscarriage between Matteo and Capri. As every mother knows, motherhood is a journey that no one really prepares you for. It is a love so selfless, so caring, and unconditional, that if someone had told me I would feel this way, it might have been hard for me to believe. The joys and challenges are immense – the highest of highs, mixed in with the lowest of lows. It truly is the hardest job in the world. For the better part of the past decade I was pregnant, breastfeeding, or in a hormonally induced haze of sleep deprivation 14
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Is worklife balance possible for moms?
and emotional fatigue. Yet, I know that mother hood is by far the greatest gift I have ever been given. My three children are my best and proudest accomplishment; they have taught me more than any self-help book, leadership program, or business course ever could. I also learned about my body and its health; that I needed more energy than ever before; that sleep was essential, and that I had to figure out how to fill my own cup with patience, without forgetting to nurture myself so I could be the best mom I could be. And still be me!
Is work-life balance possible for moms? Whether you’re a mom who works outside of the home or are at home full-time, it’s not easy. I often get asked if there’s such a thing as work-life balance, or is it a myth? To be honest, I haven’t achieved true balance. What I can say, though, is that I try to be strategic with my energy and always carve out
If you’re passionate about your work, you will never “work” a day in your life!
time for pleasure and self-care, like my aromatherapy bath at the end of the day. Ultimately, the balance is mine. I’m passionate about both my work and my family, so by and large it works. As the co-founder of Sea-licious®, an omega-3 nutrition company, I am in spired to share my expertise in natural health, especially when it comes to kids’ nutrition and bringing the besttasting and highest-quality omega-3s to the market.
husband devote more of our time to personal concerns and family life. I also want our kids to notice that our work is fuelled by passion – a passion for good health. Indeed, we try to teach our children that if you’re passionate about your work, you will never “work” a day in your life!
My list of characteristics includes: • • • • • •
Energy Beautiful skin Pain-free and restful sleep A fit body Balanced hormones Clear eyes (the eyes say a lot about a person’s health) • A healthy sex drive • Balanced mood • A lack of anxiety – overall, a zest for life!
The gift of remarkable health Nothing makes you appreciate your health more than not having it. In my early adulthood, I suffered some serious health setbacks, but I was able to turn things around and help my body heal itself. To this day, now at age 40, I don’t let a day go by without checking in with my body. What is it missing? What does it need? We are our own best health advocates.
Wow, what a list! Is it possible to have all these things? Yes, I do believe it is.
So, check in with yourself. Ask yourself, what would vibrant health look like?
photo: janis nicolay
Achieving your I work primarily from a home office, heading into our offices only a few times per week. It helps that I’m a very early riser. While the house is still quiet, I’m up with my coffee, first taking a moment for myself, and then getting some work done before my littlest one is up. The gift of owning your own business is flexibility. When you’re trying to balance everything, as most of us are, it’s a lifesaver to be able to flex as needed. I hope that my kids will see how hard their parents work and learn by our example. Fortunately, though, it’s not all work and no play for us! The pendulum always swings back and lets me and my
Best Health
{at Any Age or Stage}
1
Gratitude
grateful for my health, for without my health, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the other gifts in my life.
The practice of gratitude is a powerful one. The benefits of being thankful and showing appreciation and kindness are nearly endless. As I began 2017, I made a pact with myself that each morning I would awake even earlier than usual to allow time for journaling, prayer, and gratitude – even if it’s just gratitude for having coffee in the house! Every day I am
When we are on our journey to improve our health or enhance certain aspects of our lives, we tend to focus on what isn’t right, or why we aren’t feeling good. This can leave a person feeling a little down or negative, just recognizing that things aren’t exactly how or where we would want them to be. But this is where gratitude works wonders:
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Research indicates that EXPRESSING feelings of GRATITUDE can IMPROVE our overall HEALTH, HAPPINESS, and ENJOYMENT OF LIFE in measurable ways. The practice draws attention to even the smallest of gifts, things that can completely change your frame of mind for the day ahead. So, try it! Instead of focusing on what’s not good, focus on the one or more components of your life that you are grateful for. Then, step it up a notch. I challenge you to a 30-day gratitude challenge, during which you write down three things each day that you are grateful for. Keep a journal that lists these blessings, big and small, being sure to note your thoughts and feelings as you go. I think you’ll find it interesting to see how your mood, energy, and outlook on life are shifted and shaped by gratitude.
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Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice whereby you learn to focus on things happening in the present moment; the sounds, smells, and thoughts going through your mind. These are not to be judged, only acknowledged. When we start to turn inward in this way, it has been shown to relieve pain, illness, and stress. 16
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Mindfulness translates into food and eating as well. There is a cornucopia of food available to us. Choose the freshest food, and savour it. Unfortunately, due to an over consumption of boxed and processed foods, the pleasure and enjoyment of food is too often lost. When we are in too much of a hurry we can’t sit long enough to enjoy, much less savour – and, believe me, I get it! More nights than not, I am quickly preparing our family’s food in between after-school activities, homework, and evening commitments. It’s stressful and, in fact, many nights I don’t even taste what I’m eating. How awful is that? So, this is one of the things I am working on in 2017: the act of mindfully sitting down, enjoying my food, and listening to the chatter of my family; taking the time to notice the different tastes, smells, and flavours. This will improve digestion and nutrient absorption. It promotes gut health and the release of serotonin, a feel-good hormone.
All in all, mindfulness promotes a decrease in stress and, with that, enhanced enjoyment of life.
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Nutrition
What you put in your body every single day influences how you feel. It really is impossible to talk about health without zeroing in on food first. Food is power. Food is fuel. Food is health. And to truly improve your health, you need to make better food choices. Of course, keeping track of what to eat and what not to eat – it can feel overwhelming at times, especially at the beginning of a new regimen. To keep it simple I recommend focusing on just three nutrient groups: protein, good fat, and fibre. Making it extra easy, many of the foods in the protein and fat categories also contain fibre.
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After following a low-fat diet for years, my body was left literally starving for good fats, so I had a quick and impressive response to supplementation with omega-3s.
Protein
We often associate protein with its power to build lean muscles. And yes, it is important for that, but the benefits may be much greater than you imagined. Protein is important for: • • • • • • • •
Each time you eat, choose from the following good fats: • • • •
Avocado Olives Coconut oil Fatty, cold-water fish (the best sources include wild Alaskan salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, black cod) • Green leafy vegetables • Nuts (cashews, walnuts, and almonds) • Seeds (flax, chia, hemp)
Boosting metabolism Balancing blood sugar Nourishing adrenal glands Supporting the immune system Building and repairing tissue Producing hormones Improving mood Increasing energy
The other misconception about protein is that it must come from meat. Yes, lean meat is a great source of protein, but there are many other sources including: • Eggs (choose free-range and organic) • Nut butters and nut milks • Dairy (full-fat is best, including Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and goat cheese) • Legumes and beans (lentils, chick and green peas, black beans, kidney and pinto beans) • Ancient grains (such as quinoa, amaranth, spelt, and teff) Protein powders provide us an easy way to boost protein intake. I can honestly say the addition of protein powder into my diet 15 years ago was transformational. I felt I had a more focused kind of energy, and it helped to boost my metabolism, which resulted in a leaner body. Not to mention the support it gave for my adrenal glands! Every morning I start my day with a green smoothie containing about 25 g of additional protein. I favour a whey protein isolate from organic New Zealand grass-fed cows, but there are numerous vegan proteins that can be used in the same way.
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Good Fats
Good fats are essential nutrients that our body can’t make, but definitely need. We rely on food to provide them, but much of our food is seriously deficient in good fats, especially omega-3 fats. Did you know that our entire cell structure is made from good fats? It’s true! These fats nourish joints, muscles, hair, skin, nails, the gut, the brain, the nervous system, the retina of the eye, and more.
Food is power. Food is fuel. Food is health.
In addition, I recommend supplementing with 1500 mg of EPA and DHA each day. These are the two most important omega-3s for health.
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Fill Your Own Cup First
As the friendly flight attendants remind us, in case of emergency, we’re to secure our own oxygen masks before attending to others. Prior to having my babies, I don’t think I really understood the meaning of this message. Post-babies, it resonates loud and clear with me, because my first and most immediate intuition is to help my kids before helping myself. That’s just more proof of how truly selfless motherhood is! But we all need to heed the advice and first care for ourselves. Fill your own cup in ways that refresh and renew you so that you always have plenty of energy and passion with which to care for your family. A coffee date with a friend. Date night with your spouse. Perhaps a yoga class on a Saturday morning.
It does not matter what activity you choose, so long as you can feel the good it is doing for you. Everyone in your family will reap the benefits of a happier, healthier mom.
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Set Boundaries. Learn to Say “No” This was something I came late to; I just started working on it this year. I had to learn how to avoid overcommitting myself. By learning the art of politely, but firmly saying “no” when I don’t have the time or the interest to take on a task, I have improved my own life and helped our entire household find more balance as a family.
But it’s not just about commitments. Another boundary I have set involves electronic devices. At 9:00 each night I plug my phone into a charger in a different part of the house and set it to airplane mode. The Wi-Fi gets shut off in the house, too, to give all our brains a chance to relax. I really believe that one of the keys to becoming more grateful and mindful is learning to set boundaries and disconnect. KARLENE KARST is a registered dietitian, holistic nutrition expert, author, and mother of three. Over her 17 years in the natural health industry she has participated in hundreds of radio and TV shows, including Canada AM, CTV Morning Live, Breakfast TV, and Access Hollywood. She is a passionate and enthusiastic speaker delivering her best tips for how we can all live a healthy life.
Fill your own cup in ways that refresh and renew you so that you ALWAYS HAVE plenty of ENERGY and PASSION with which to CARE FOR YOUR FAMILY. 18
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photo: janis nicolay
GET SOCIAL WITH KARLENE ON: IG: KarleneKarstrd, FB: KarleneKarst, RD Twitter: KarleneKarst, Karlenekarst.com
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“ They’re
ba-ack!
okay
It’s now
to eat
“
those no-no foods
BY KATE RHÉAUME, ND
W
here food is concerned, Big Science doesn’t always get it right. For decades we’ve been advised to either eat or avoid certain foods to protect our health, often with surprisingly thin evidence to back up these “new rules” of eating. And many treasured cuisines have taken a beating as their traditional ingredients and methods have been labelled unhealthy. That’s the bad news. But there’s good news. Some of the so-called unhealthy foods have now passed muster with researchers – and with studies and reports to support us, we can feel confident about welcoming them back to our tables.
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Here are 4 foods that you can about eating again 1
2
Egg yolks
Enough with the egg-white omelettes, already! Despite the undeserved bad rap it’s received as a cholesterol booster, the yolk is, hands down, the most nutritious part of the egg. Sure, egg whites house the protein. But
yolks – not whites – contain vitamins A, D, E, K2, and omega-3 fats. Egg yolks are also our main dietary source of the brain-critical nutrient choline. After menopause, women have higher requirements for choline not just for brain health, but for healthy liver function as well. Yolks even contain a smidgen of vitamin B12, a nutrient that is tough to get from other sources. The yolk and the white are the egg’s yin and yang. Enjoy both.
Butter
Here’s a traditional food that was shunned decades ago in favour of a supposedly superior synthetic alternative – margarine. But butter has made a triumphant comeback. Turns out the hydrogenated fats in margarine were far worse for our health, because the body doesn’t know what to do with them! At the same time, despite what we were told, no substantive evidence ever showed that oldfashioned butter endangered heart health. Feel free to get back on the butter bandwagon. Nothing else does as good a job of making a sauce velvety!
3
Lard
Ah, praise the lard! Yes, you read that right. Of all the foods that got persecuted in the saturated-fat witch hunts of the 1980s and 1990s, lard, inexplicably, got the worst rap. Lard has never been any less healthy than butter, yet somehow it became the four-letter word of the nutrition world – and it’s been slower than butter to be re-embraced. Pork lard naturally contains about 50% monounsaturated fat, the same fat that makes olive oil so sought after. If you’ve embraced olive oil, coconut oil, and eggs, there’s no rationale to continue barring your kitchen door against lard. Pork lard offers several advantages in cooking, too. Its high-smoke point
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Remember that some veggies really need to be cooked Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage,
kale, and broccoli should be eaten cooked, not raw, to neutralize goitrogens – plant-based compounds that can slow thyroid function.
makes it excellent for frying, far better than vegetable oils that tend to be damaged at relatively low cooking temperatures. As longtime bakers know, lard also makes the flakiest pastry. Not just any old lard will do; it pays to find the highest quality stuff that comes from producers who feed their animals well. But in a pinch, when wanting to fry potatoes, I’ll even use the regular grocery store lard before reaching for any other fat. That’s how superior it is for frying.
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Cooked Food
Although few people ever converted to a completely raw diet, the raw-food movement encouraged many of us to make a greater effort to eat our fruits and vegetables uncooked. The ubiquitous kale salad comes to mind, right? Well, raw foodism is based on the largely erroneous notion that cooking destroys nutrients. In fact, with the exception of vitamin C, the absorption of most nutrients from plant-based foods is generally enhanced by lightly cooking them. Indeed, some important phytochemicals can’t be liberated from plant cell walls without some cooking. Lycopene is a good example. This red plant pigment, which has been studied for its potential heart and prostate health benefits, is naturally found in fresh tomatoes, but the amounts become higher and more readily available to the body when the tomatoes are cooked.
Feeling confused about the new food rules? Wondering how to identify the next foods to be unfairly blacklisted? Try using the Grandparents – or Great-Grandparents – Rule! If it’s a food that your ancestors ate or could have eaten, then it probably stands the test of time and fits well into a healthy diet. If it’s something newly created by the food industry, you might be right to be skeptical. And if the idea of eating egg yolks and lard triggers your fat phobia, it’s time to seek a cure. One book I recommend to my patients is Eat Fat, Get Thin, by Mark Hyman, MD. Another good read on the topic is The Big Fat Surprise, by Nina Teicholz.
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KAREN JENSEN, ND Dr. Karen Jensen received her degree in naturopathic medicine from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) in Ontario in 1988. She is a well-known lecturer, has written extensively for health magazines, and has appeared regularly on television and radio stations across North America. She is the author or co-author of six books, the most recent of which is Women’s Health Matters: The Influence of Gender on Disease. Although Dr. Jensen is retired from practice, she continues to write books and articles on the naturopathic approach to wellness. Recently, Women’s Voice had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Jensen to find out more about her new book Women’s Health Matters: The Influence of Gender on Disease.
What inspired you to write your new book? This book is a culmination of my life’s work – 25 years of experience in clinical practice, combined with the shared knowledge of many doctors who mentored and inspired me over the years. Empathetic listening to my patients helped me connect the art of medicine with the reality of medical practice, allowing me to see the links between the patient experience and scientific evidence. Since I started clinical practice in 1988 women’s health has always been a main focus. My first book on women’s health came out in 1999, when hormone replacement therapy was all the rage, but very few health care practitioners were talking about the risks. I felt strongly that women needed to have more information in order to make in26
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formed choices about the types of treatment they were choosing. Now, fast forward 20 years to my new book Women’s Health Matters: The Influence of Gender on Disease. The purpose and inspiration for this book remains the same as it was 20 years ago – providing what I consider important and sometimes critical information so women can make safe and effective health care choices.
I think many readers will find they were completely unaware of some of the data you’ve presented in this book. I agree! Most people don’t appreciate how differences in gender can and do influence many common diseases. Even after all of the years in my field of medicine, I too was also unaware of much of the data on the sex and gender gap in disease and clinical research. Did you know that the clinical trials designed to study the safety and effectiveness of drugs and other medical treatments are primarily done with men, and that, historically women have been treated as
Women’s Health Matters: The Influence of Gender on Disease by Dr. Karen Jensen
“small men”? Can we apply what we learn from male – be it cells, rodents, or humans – to a women’s physiology? No, we cannot. Here’s why: The differences between men and women are determined by very complex interactions at the cellular level, including differences in brain structure, how genes are expressed on X and Y chromosomes, women’s higher percentage of body fat, plus differences in hormones, gut physiology, social experiences, and more. According to the Institute of Medicine, every cell in the body has a sex, which means that women and men are different even down to the cellular level. This also means that diseases, treatments, and chemicals will affect the sexes differently.
Can you give us a few examples of the gender differences in some common health conditions? There are several, but for example, sex and gender differences in cardiovascular diseases are well-investigated, and there is strong evidence that men and women face different risk factors and have different treatment outcomes. Despite some improvements in the rate of cardiovascular deaths over the last decade, women still fare worse than men after a heart attack, and heart disease in women remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Of course, cardiovascular diseases are by no means the only area in which men and women differ in their susceptibility to and survival of disease. In addition to “women only” health conditions, three times as many women suffer from autoimmune diseases as men, and women are more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, osteoporosis, diabetes, insomnia, anxiety and depression, urinary tract disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, and eating disorders. However, despite the wealth of data on differences, medical practice does not sufficiently take gender into account in diagnosis, treatment, or disease management.
You mentioned clinical research earlier. Do you advocate more studies being done to understand the kind of gender disparities your books talks about? Yes definitely… in addition to the disease gender gap, there is also a gender gap in medical research. Our long history of excluding women from clinical trials is negatively affecting women’s health. Today, even with mounting evidence of the gender differences in disease, women are often being ignored when it comes to health research. This has real consequences. Millions of women and men are prescribed the same drugs every day, yet women are more likely than men to experience adverse drug reactions. In fact, 80% of prescription drugs pulled from the US market from 1997 to 2001 caused more side effects in women. Metabolic differences determine how drugs are released and excreted, leading to additional risk factors for women. Despite these differences women are prescribed the same dosage as men for almost all drugs. Women are not just men with “boobs and tubes”.
Let’s talk about some of the alarming trends you are seeing in women’s health today? STRESS! – It’s on the rise, and according to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, up to 90% of all illness and disease is stress related. Also, a recent survey by the American Psychological Association showed that almost 50% of the women participating in the survey reported that their stress had increased over the past five years, compared to 39% of the men. The effects of chronic stress are far-reaching and one of the main causes of inflammation. Medical research is starting to recognize that stress is responsible for most chronic health conditions including mental health disorders, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular disease, sleep problems, weight gain, and memory or cognitive impairment.
Are there specific organs that are meant to help the body cope with the added stress in our world today? Yes, the primary stress response in the body is due mainly to the relationship between areas of the brain and the adrenals – hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal axis (HPA) – which triggers the production and release of stress hormones. When this system is no longer able to adapt to the stressful demands on it, people will start to experience stressrelated symptoms such as insomnia, anger, anxiety, fatigue, headaches, to name a few. If left unchecked the immune system is weakened and more chronic disease develops.
According to the Institute of Medicine, every cell in the body has a sex, which means that women and men are different even down to the cellular level. This also means that diseases, treatments, and chemicals will affect the sexes differently.
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Do the adrenals affect women’s hormones?
As a woman, you have choices. You can take the proactive approach by making health care choices that promote greater health and vitality, and reduce the likelihood of disease occurring. And, should symptoms of disease strike, you will be armed with a greater level of knowledge and awareness, putting you in a better position to question whether the treatments you are receiving are safe, effective, and specific to your gender.
That is a great question! The adrenals play an important role, especially during the more dramatic hormonal changes during perimenopause or menopause. When the adrenal glands are working properly, they produce adequate amounts of precursor hormones that are further synthesized into estrogens and testosterone to balance the diminished production from the ovaries. However, many women today have adrenal insufficiency due to chronic stress, and the adrenal glands are unable to respond to these additional demands. As a result many women have a more difficult time with the transition into menopause.
Is there something women (and men) can do to support their adrenal glands? Yes definitely. The obvious answer is try to balance the demands in your life with some activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Sometimes this is easier said than done. Avoid stimulants such as coffee and sugar which we naturally reach for when tired or stressed. In clinical practice I would commonly recommend the supplement called AdrenaSense®. It contains several herbs that have been studied extensively and have proven very effective during times of increased stress.
It seems more and more women are being diagnosed with thyroid problems today. Do you have any thoughts on what is causing this increase? The tightly regulated feedback control system of the thyroid gland is very sensitive to the chemicals we eat, breathe, or are exposed to through the environment. This system is also affected by a variety of disease processes.
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Stress, once again, is a factor in thyroid disorders, especially in the presence of HPA adrenal dysregulation. So really it is the same message – support the adrenals, try to avoid chemicals and toxins in your food and environment, and if you suspect you have a thyroid problem, see your health care practitioner for blood tests. My new book provides much more detail on thyroid disorders as well as all of the topics mentioned in this interview.
Our readers are plagued with sleepless nights and research shows sleep problems affect up to 45% of the world’s population. Do you think stress plays a role? Yes, and I find this very alarming. Even younger children and teens are having sleep problems! Chronic stress and elevated stress hormone levels are among the main causes of insomnia. Insomnia then causes an increase in stress hormones resulting in a vicious cycle that is difficult to control. Most evidence suggests a female predisposition for insomnia that becomes more significant as we age.
Distinct hormonal and physical changes at specific times in a woman’s life, such as puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, can impact sleep health. Personally I started to experience chronic insomnia at the onset of menopause and I still have periods of times when I struggle. Over the years I have found various herbs to be helpful including passionflower, skullcap, linden flower, and California poppy but never found them combined in high enough doses in one product, until recently. I am very excited about a new product on the market called SomniSense™. It is proving very effective for people with sleep problems as well as helping with anxiety.
Earlier you mentioned a relationship between stress and inflammation. Can you explain that further? Yes. During periods of stress, the stress hormone cortisol is released as a coping mechanism. Cortisol has potent antiinflammatory properties and blocks the inflammatory response. In small quantities, cortisol is a friend and essential. However, in times of chronic stress, elevated cortisol levels slow down the production of anti-inflammatory messengers, resulting in chronic inflammation and immune suppression.
What are some of the common conditions that have inflammation as an underlying factor? Although inflammation has long been known to play a role in diseases like asthma, arthritis, and gastrointestinal disorders, now we are finding that it is associated with dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol. In other words, all of these conditions can all be related to chronic inflammation in the body. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry 2016, examined data from 14,275 people, researchers found that people who had depression had 46% higher levels of
C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation. Those with the most severe forms of depression also showed the most inflammation. There are various medications or natural health products that can be effective for people with depression or other mood disorders. Natural products such as curcumin, boswellia, omega-3s, and chamomile all have antiinflammatory properties. Brain Defence™ (sold as Brain Fix in the US) contains powerful anti-inflammatory herbs along with bacopa and ashwagandha for stress support. It is also very important to address the inflammation factor in dementias as there is evidence linking inflammation with degenerative changes in the brain and women account for 72% of the Alzheimer’s cases and 47% of vascular dementias. More women than men get Alzheimer’s, in part because women tend to live longer than men and the chances of developing Alzheimer’s increases with age. But new research suggests there may be genetic reasons as well. Women who carry the apolipoprotein E type 4 allele (APOE-e4) gene, which increases the risk for Alzheimer’s, are more likely to develop the disease than men who have the same gene.
So, how can you address inflammation to reduce the risk of dementia? In addition to the herbs in Brain Defence (sold as Brain Fix in the US) mentioned earlier, diet, particularly the Mediterranean diet, and exercise are extremely important. Specific nutritional supplements such as phosphatidylserine, curcumin, omega-3s, antioxidants such as grapeseed extract, and probiotics can all help provide nutrients to support cognition and brain function in general. All of these ingredients can be found
in a product called Daily Brain™, (sold as 3 Brain Total in the US) in a once daily packet.
What is the take home message you want for your readers? It’s the gender issue. Many health care practitioners are not aware of the gender bias in clinical studies and the implications for women’s health. As a result, it becomes a bottom-up situation, requiring the public, and women in particular to educate themselves. As a woman, you have choices. You can take the proactive approach by making health care choices that promote greater health and vitality, and reduce the likelihood of disease occurring. And, should symptoms of disease strike, you will be armed with a greater level of knowledge and awareness, putting you in a better position to question whether the treatments you are receiving are safe, effective and specific to your gender. That’s the purpose of my book – to offer safe and effective ways to prevent and help treat health problems that are specific to, or more common in women.
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The Fountain of Youth! BY MARITA SCHAUCH, ND
Lemon Water
a seminar, one of the attendees asked me, “If you could make only one suggestion for balancing hormones, what would it be?” I said, “Start your day off with a cup of warm lemon water.”
At
All of this provides very good reason to add warm lemon water to your daily routine, of course, but let’s delve deeper into the seminar attendee’s issue – balancing hormones.
How Lemon Water Helps Balance Your Hormones. This is the seventh great reason for drinking warm lemon water!
The top six benefits
The alkalinizing effect of lemon water, along with its liver-supporting properties, ensure that the body is metabolizing and breaking down damaging toxins derived from our environment. Many of these damaging toxins come in the form of harmful excess estrogen we take in just by living in modern society and using products that contain plastics (BPA), pesticides, cosmetics, and household cleaners. Left to themselves, these substances disrupt our natural hormonal balance.
for drinking lemon water IGHTING INFLAMMATION. 1 FLemons are alkaline in nature. On their own, yes, they are acidic, but when metabolized by the body they create an alkaline environment. More alkalinity in the body helps reduce inflammation. UPPORTING A HEALTHY 2 SIMMUNE SYSTEM. Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is excellent for supporting the immune system’s job of fighting off those bad bugs!
3
AIDING DIGESTION. The combination of the warm water with the lemon helps eliminate toxins and supports the peristalsis of the digestive system.
YDRATING AND 4 HNOURISHING. Starting the day with fresh lemon water will provide electrolytes in the form of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and will also keep the body hydrated. 30
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Lemon water 5 DactsETOXIFYING. like a gentle diuretic to help flush out any toxins. It also contributes to the purification and stimulation of the liver. OOSTING METABOLISM. 6 BLemons are high in pectin fibre, which helps reduce cravings. A more alkalinic diet also helps keep the metabolism moving!
Want to kick-start your day and do your body about seven great favours in a matter of seconds? Take warm lemon water and make it your tonic!
Fountain of Youth
Morning Routine:
Prepare a cup of warm or room temperature water – never cold water – with the juice of half a lemon. Drink it about half an hour before breakfast. You’ll get the benefits of lemon water whenever you drink it, but this small addition to your morning routine will aid in digestion, boost metabolism, support the immune system, and get your day off to a good start!
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Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance– UNLOCKING THE PUZZLE BY KAREN JENSEN, ND
Sometimes coming up with a diagnosis or a treatment plan for a patient is like working a complicated puzzle – the broad outlines come together easily, but getting to the details that complete the picture can be tricky. In my books on women’s health I provide a tool to help women see more clearly what’s going on with their hormone health by looking at symptoms. And now I’m sharing this tool with you. By reviewing the symptoms listed below, you can zero in on which organs or conditions could be contributing to the health-related problems you’re experiencing. It’s easy – just go through the list and write the letter or letters next to anything that pertains to your current or recent experience. Then go back and note your results. If you have a lot of As, you may need adrenal support. When you have Ts checked, it suggests a possible thyroid imbalance, and Ls identify a need to support the liver.
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Here are the nutritional supports I commonly recommend for these conditions: A = Adrenal (AdrenaSense®) T = Thyroid (Thyrosense®) L = Liver (EstroSense®)
Wondering about the letters (M) and (D)? The (M) refers to symptoms commonly experienced during menopause or perimenopause, while the (D) refers to dysbiosis, the clinical term for intestinal microbial imbalances. Here are the nutritional supports I commonly recommend for these conditions: (M) = MenoSense® (D) = Probiotics
Ready to solve the puzzle?
Get a pencil and get to work!
Hormonal Health Test ___ Prolonged exposure to stress (job, family, illness, divorce, caregiver) – A ___ Cravings for salt, sugar, caffeine – A ___ Blood sugar imbalances (hypoglycemia) – A (D) ___ Feeling easily overwhelmed, unable to handle stress – A ___ Poor concentration, memory problems, brain fog – A (T) (D) (M) ___ Insomnia – A (T) (M) (D) ___ Low energy, excessive fatigue – A (T) ___ Frequent illnesses such as viruses – A (D) ___ Burping, belching, gas or bloating after a meal – A (D) ___ Cold hands and feet (any time of year) – T ___ Thinning, dry, brittle, or coarse hair – T ___ Weight gain that came on quickly and is hard to lose – T (A) ___ Dry skin – T
___ Constipation – T (D) ___ Hot flashes and/or night sweats – L (M)
___ Urinary incontinence (worse with coughing or laughing) – D (M)
___ Acne – L (D)
___ Vaginal or urinary tract infections – (D)
___ PMS – L ___ Heavy or Irregular menstrual periods – L (T) (M)
___ Belly fat/weight gain, including on the abdomen, hips, and breasts – T (A)
___ Fibroids or endometriosis – L (T)
Total for A (Adrenal)
___ Breast tenderness – L
Total for T (Thyroid)
___ Taking HRT or oral contraceptives – L (D)
Total for L (Liver)
___ Exposure to xenoestrogens (i.e., plastics and commercial cosmetics) – L ___ Accelerated aging (“overnight” wrinkles) – T (A) (M) ___ Anxiety or panic attacks – A (D) ___ Increased cholesterol – A (T) (L) ___ Inability to breathe deeply (air hunger) – A ___ “Crawly” skin sensations, especially of the lower limbs (restless leg syndrome) – T
___ Thin, brittle nails – T
___ Increased facial hair, particularly around the chin and upper lip – L (A) (M)
___ Depression, mood swings, irritability – A (L) (D)
___ Hot feet, worse in bed – L (M)
___ Infertility or miscarriages – T (L) (D)
___ Aches and pains in joints, muscles – L (T)
___ Swelling in the face (especially around the eyes) or hands/ankles – T ___ Low libido, painful intercourse – A (T) (M)
Once again, the nutritional support I recommend for Adrenal support is AdrenaSense, for Thyroid its Thyrosense, and to support the Liver, EstroSense is key.
___ Lightheadedness, dizzy spells, vertigo – A ___ Migraine headaches – L (D) ___ New food or environmental allergies sensitivities – A (D)
Total for Menopause (M) Total for Dysbiosis (D)
For women entering the perimenopausal and menopausal years, always start with adrenal support, and have your thyroid tested with your health care practitioner. MenoSense can provide support for symptoms indicated by (M). For intestinal health issues that result in hormonal imbalance and related symptoms, increase the intake of fermented foods in your diet and consider adding a probiotic supplement to your health program.
FALL 2017 | WVMAGONLINE.COM
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8
Sneaky Signs
you have a hormonal imbalance BY MARITA SCHAUCH, ND
I
n my clinical practice, I treat hundreds of women each year, and each day I hear the same general concerns: “I have no energy; I can’t sleep; I’m so stressed; my moods are out of control!” As I begin considering and eliminating various illnesses or conditions for each of these complaints, I think about hormones. Out-of-control hormones can cause or mimic many medical issues, and they can have a serious impact on your quality of life.
How many women have you spoken to lately who feel fabulous – balanced, well-rested, and ready to conquer the world? I’d guess the answer is somewhere between few and none.
Fluctuating hormone levels occur during a woman’s menstrual cycle, and during and after pregnancy. For most women, the most pronounced hormonal changes occur in their 40s and 50s related to menopause, but the initial impacts are frequently seen as early as the mid-30s. In fact, more and more women are noticing hormonal imbalances much earlier, some even in their teens. This, unfortunately, has a lot to do with our lifestyle and diet, but also the environment that we live in: xenoestrogens are synthetic chemicals that mimic the natural estrogens in our bodies, and they can be found in all kinds of household products, beauty products, and plastics, not to mention many other sources.
Too often we associate “hormones” only with the mood swings of PMS and menopause, in other words, we think of the stereotypical “blue” or raging woman. That’s unfortunate. There’s actually quite a bit more to hormonal imbalances than meets the eye, and the effects are more serious than the occasional bad mood. Some of the most common symptoms of hormonal imbalance are listed below. If any of them sound familiar, I strongly encourage you to visit your ND or MD to investigate further. There’s a lot we can do to counteract out-of-whack hormones, and significantly improve your quality of life!
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1
Belly Fat
The adrenal glands are two small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. They are the body’s main stress responders. When we are under continual stress for too long, the hormone cortisol is overproduced and causes the body to store fat for future use. This storage typically happens in the belly region and is usually a clue that the adrenals need some help. My favourite adrenal supportives include B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, and adaptogenic herbs such as rhodiola, ashwagandha, and Siberian ginseng.
Persistent Weight Gain 2
Yes, you have made healthier dietary choices and added regular exercise to maintain a healthy weight, but the pounds keep creeping on. When you’ve done everything right, yet the weight gain seems out of control, it’s time to look beneath the surface to see what’s going on. Some women may have underlying hormonal imbalances that will make it much harder to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Assessing for issues such as low thyroid, insulin resistance, and impaired adrenal function are some great first steps in the right direction.
3
Fatigue
Dragging yourself out of bed every morning? Can’t function without coffee? Experiencing that mid-afternoon crash daily? Fatigue is easily the most common concern I hear in clinical practice. Testing for low thyroid, low iron, low B12, adrenal fatigue, and food intolerances can help identify the right treatment for fatigue. Managing blood sugar peaks and valleys can stabilize energy levels, keeping you feeling vibrant and thinking clearly. 36
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4
Poor Sleep
Insomnia is part of a syndrome that usually starts with an underlying hormone imbalance. That imbalance stems from an overproduction of the hormone most associated with stress, cortisol. Using relaxation techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and Epsom salt baths can be nourishing to your nervous system. It’s also important to “unplug” at least 1–2 hours before your head hits your pillow. Shut off those computers, tablets, and phones to let your body know it’s time to prepare for sleep! If you still have difficulty turning off your brain late at night, try some GABA or L-theanine. Both supplements can be very useful for anxiety as well. If your sleep cycle has been upset by stress or travel, use melatonin to hit the reset button and support healthy sleep until your cortisol levels normalize.
6 5 Anxiety
Depression
or
The quality of your moods is a good indicator of how balanced or imbalanced your hormones are. The health of the adrenal glands is an important foundation for hormone health, because long-term stress and the overproduction of cortisol isn’t just a factor in belly fat, it can also have a profound effect on levels of serotonin, the mood-boosting brain chemical. Eliminating stimulants such as coffee, black tea, chocolate, and colas can lower anxiety. Keeping blood sugars balanced with adequate lean and healthy proteins consumed throughout the day can also help maintain healthy moods.
Cravings
Common causes of food cravings are adrenal fatigue, insulin resistance, low serotonin levels, or even an imbalance in gut flora! Identifying the cause will help target treatment, though minimizing refined sugars and excess alcohol while eliminating processed foods will help control cravings regardless of the cause. Your digestive system will thank you! You can’t go wrong with starting on a good probiotic regimen, either: maintaining an abundance of good gut flora can also reduce food intolerances, boost your immune system, and improve the health of your brain and skin.
8 Hair
7 Low
Libido
A very common symptom of hormone imbalance is low libido – a diminished sex drive. This is typically due to reduced production of the hormone testosterone (yes, women make it too) which change as we age. To protect testosterone levels, address stress levels. In addition to examining lifestyle issues that drive stress, also make sure your adrenal glands are well-supported with the same supplements mentioned above – including B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, and adaptogenic herbs such as rhodiola, ashwagandha, and Siberian ginseng.
Loss
Some common causes of thinning or loss of hair are: stress, low thyroid levels, autoimmune disease, decreased collagen production, deficiencies of iron or vitamin B, high testosterone levels, and poor digestion or absorption or nutrients. Each of these can be addressed in a variety of ways.
There you have it!
I hope you now understand all the sneaky ways that hormone imbalances can affect not just your body, but your life. Always remember, of course, that many of the above symptoms can be linked to other physical problems and diagnoses, so it’s a good idea to work closely with your health care practitioner on solutions. She or he will help you get to the root of what’s going on, and show you the way back to your more energetic, vibrant self!
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Some of the Theracurmin double-blind clinical studies include: Bradford PG. Curcumin and obesity. Biofactors. 2013 Jan-Feb;39(1):78-87. Gupta SC, Patchva S, Aggarwal BB. Therapeutic roles of curcumin: lessons learned from clinical trials. AAPS J. 2013 Jan; 15(1):195-218. Hossain DM, Bhattacharyya S, Das T, et al. Curcumin: the multitargeted therapy for cancer regression. Front Biosci (Schol Ed). 2012 Jan 1; 4:335-55. Kanai M, Imaizumi A, Otsuka Y, et al. Dose-escalation and pharmacokinetic study of nanoparticle curcumin, a potential anticancer agent with improved bioavailability, in healthy human volunteers. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012 Jan; 69(1):65-70.
Noorafshan A, Ashkani-Esfahani S. A review of therapeutic effects of curcumin. Curr Pharm Des. 2013; 19(11):2032-46 Sasaki H, Sunagawa Y, Takahashi K, et al. Innovative preparation of curcumin for improved oral bioavailability. Biol Pharm Bull. 2011; 34(5):660-5. Shehzad A, Rehman G, Lee YS. Curcumin in inflammatory diseases. Biofactors. 2013 Jan-Feb; 39(1):69-77. Shimatsu A, Kakeya H, Imaizumi A, et al. Clinical application of “curcumin”, a multi-functional substance. Anti-Aging Med. 2012 March; 9(2):75-83
Kanai M, Otsuka Y, Otsuka K, et al. A phase I study investigating the safety and pharmacokinetics of highly bioavailable curcumin (Theracurmin) in cancer patients. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2013 Jun; 71(6):1521-30.
Sugawara J, Akazawa N, Miyaki A, et al. Effect of endurance exercisetraining and curcumin intake on central arterial hemodynamics in postmenopausal women: pilot study. Am J Hypertens. 2012 Jun; 25(6):651-6.
Lopresti AL, Hood SD , Drummond PD. Multiple antidepressant potential modes of action of curcumin: a review of its anti-inflammatory, monoaminergic, antioxidant, immune-modulating and neuroprotective effects. J Psychopharmacol. 2012 Dec; 26(12):1512-24.
Takahashi M, Suzuki K, Kim HK, et al. Effects of curcumin supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress in humans. Int J Sports Med. 2013; 34:1-7
To read all the clinical studies, go to naturalfactors.com/theracurmin
ELASTIN & COLLAGEN Your Keys to a Resilient, Youthful Life!
BY JULIE REIL, MD
D
Did you know that your skin, your body’s connective tissue, and many of its anchoring structures contain a secret weapon? It’s true! The secret weapon is called elastin.
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Elastin is a special building block found within the many tissues in our bodies that depend on their ability to flex. These littletalked-about, but very powerful elastin fibres give strength, tone, stretch, and “snap-back” ability to our skin, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Elastin is one-half of the duo that keeps aging skin looking great (the other half being collagen). Elastin also plays a key role in keeping us moving, ensuring the healthy pliability of our arteries and studies show it even contributes to optimal lung function!
we now know that collagen doesn’t work alone. We now know that elastin partners with collagen, providing stretch and resilience that collagen alone can’t provide. While collagen fibres line up side by side to create structure in our body’s tissues, elastin fibres exist in forms that remind me of a fishnet stocking. Able to move in every direction, elastin fibres create a stretchy web that is supported by the collagen around them. Working together, collagen helps skin maintain its firmness, while elastin gives it a youthful ability to stretch and return to its original shape, helping to prevent fine lines and wrinkles.
My patients are often surprised to hear of elastin. They want to know, is it new? Many of them have heard about collagen, of course, and it’s something they think of quite easily when we are discussing how to maintain healthy, young-looking skin. Collagen, they know, is a longtime ingredient in cosmetics, used to replenish the body’s collagen stores, which diminish as we age. Collagen also helps repair damaged tissues and restore structure. But
of tissue that are woven three-dimensionally through collagen. Healthy elastin is taut and springy. Old or damaged elastin is more like a rubber band that has been left out in the sun to dry – it gets brittle and frayed, and gradually fails. Just as aging elastin
Now that we know how COLLAGEN powerful elastin is, helps skin and how important maintain its firmness, is the role it plays in leaves our faces maintaining many while ELASTIN gives looking old, of the body’s tisit a youthful ability to it also creates sues and structures, functional probstretch and return to its these special fibres lems within our original shape. are getting the scieninternal structures. tific study and popular Now that I’ve deattention they deserve. scribed the value of elasWhat’s more, doctors like me tin and the effects of aging are recommending ways of nurturing and damage on these fibres, I’m sure our elastin, recognizing that, yes, it you’re wondering what I recommend makes skin look more youthful, proto protect, preserve, and BOOST our tects arteries from the effects of aging, body’s elastin. Fortunately, there are and keeps our lungs expanding and many foods, vitamins, and minerals contracting as they should. But there’s that have been shown to nourish elasone more very important reason to tin. See the sidebar for ideas you can nourish our elastin fibres: to guard the easily incorporate into your life! health of our pelvic floor muscles and our urinary/bowel function. As we age, and especially if we have borne children, the structures of our pelvis can stretch out and begin to sag. The result can be urinary or bowel incontinence, the collapse of vaginal walls (called prolapse) and a loss of core muscle strength, among other symptoms. To understand the role that elastin plays in these conditions, picture these fibres as rubber bands
A Secret Weapon for the Skin When supplements are indicated, I wholeheartedly recommend BioSil®. Available in capsule or liquid form taken twice a day, this is a patented supplement from Belgium that can stimulate your own body to make new
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Shoring Up Sagging Structures with GENITYTE® For improving the strength and structure of the pelvic floor, and reducing the effects of aging on our urinary/ bowel function, I have a breakthrough to report!
elastin, collagen, and keratin through the activation of fibroblasts – the master repairmen of our body’s cells. Indeed, BioSil has been shown to increase skin elasticity by 89%, reduce fine lines and wrinkles by 30%, thicken hair by 12.8%, and strengthen hair by 13.1%. A small study even suggested that BioSil may improve bone density. BioSil contains choline-stabilized orthosilicic acid, a unique, patented ingredient (ch-OSA®) that is highly stable. In fact, BioSil’s level of stability has never been duplicated in any other product to date, and that stability is the reason why it has consistently performed so well in placebo-controlled, double-blinded studies. INCREASES SKIN ELASTICITY by REDUCES WRINKLES by THICKENS HAIR by STRENGTHENS HAIR by
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89% 30% 12.8% 13.1%
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Only BioSil generates collagen, elastin, and keratin – the building blocks of beauty!
Actress/model Christie Brinkley – who looks fantastic – has been using BioSil as her own secret weapon for over a decade! She mentions it in her latest book, Timeless Beauty: Over 100 Tips, Secrets, and Shortcuts to Looking Great. I’m proud to say I’m with her! All this health and beauty benefit considered, you shouldn’t be surprised to learn that taking BioSil twice a day has long been my routine. It’s my own little secret that, like Christie, I’m happy to share! Look for BioSil in many fine health food stores. NOTE: Beware of lookalike products! BioSil is NOT Biotin, nor is BioSil a vitamin formula that helps hair, skin, and nails. BioSil is much more, so do not be tricked into purchasing “silica” or “Biotin”.
It’s a non-surgical, non-invasive medical procedure that takes place in a clinical setting. It utilizes infrared light. In the nearly 10 years it has been in use by me and other practitioners, Genityte has shed light on how powerful elastin restoration can be. It really works! Genityte strengthens the muscles that extend from the pubic bone to the tail bone. It also tones the urethra and surrounding tissues, restoring a tight seal to better control accidental loss of urine. The procedure also shores up the tissues of vaginal walls and the connective tissue that anchors it to the pelvis.
How Does It Do All This? Genityte works by delivering broadband infrared light through the skin into the deep anchoring tissues of the pelvis, resulting in dramatic toning of skin, connective tissue, muscles, and anchoring structures of the pelvic floor. The light technology activates the fibroblasts in the cells of these tissues, repairing and tightening existing collagen
Benefits of GENITYTE GENITYTE has been shown to be extremely safe, showing remarkably consistent results. The procedure is suitable for women of any age, without regard to whether previous procedures (such as sling or incontinence surgery) have occurred. The procedure has been shown to be effective whether urine leakage is mild or very severe, providing many women with a new sense of confidence. Improvements include:
■■ D ecreased frequency and intensity of urinary urges, and less need to get out of bed at night
■■ Better urinary control when lifting, coughing, sneezing, running, rebounding, jumping, and exercising
■■ Greater ability to start and stop urination, as well as hold urine when bladder is full
■■ Enhanced tone and support of the tissues of the pelvic floor, vaginal walls, and rectum – treating uterine prolapse and related conditions, reducing hemorrhoids and bowel incontinence, and making Kegel exercises more effective
■■ Greater confidence as patients move through their days
and elastin fibres and making new fibres of each. This is a procedure that is fast and easy to recover from. It is ideal for maturing women and mothers who have seen the tissues of their pelvic floor go from sturdy and supportive, like the fabric in your Spanx, to something more stretchedout and less elastic – resulting in everything from back pain and poor posture to unreliable urinary/bowel control and actual structural failure (such as uterine prolapse). Best of all, Genityte offers women the best non-surgical option yet for dealing with many of these issues and putting them behind them once and for all!
Safe, effective, and available through doctors who have been trained in the method’s many never-before-used protocols, Genityte provides hope that pelvic-floor problems will soon be unusual and no longer an expected part of getting older.
Used in conjunction with BioSil supplementation, I’m happy to say that Genityte keeps my patients beautiful on the outside and strong on the inside as they age. Who could ask for more?
NATURAL ELASTIN-FIBRE
Building Blocks Vitamin C
– 75–90 mg taken daily supports collagen and elastin production. Vegetables like sweet potatoes and red bell peppers, citrus fruits, and strawberries are also good sources.
Manganese
– A mineral found in pineapple, grains, leafy greens, pecans, seaweed, and sea vegetables.
Copper – 0.9 mg is the recommended daily dose of this mineral, which is found in cashews and almonds, shellfish and animal organ meat, lentils, mushrooms, and whole grains.
Phytoestrogens
– These support both collagen and elastin synthesis and are found in nuts and flaxseed oil, legumes, fruit and vegetables.
Tretinoin
– Vitamin A obtained by prescription and applied topically can increase elastin production through tropoelastin* stimulation, which may be the next frontier in elastin restoration and production.
Zinc and copper – Taken in combination, these are associated with an increase elastin formation.
Dill extract
has recently been shown to promote elastin formation in skin. Mix in dill when you serve fish or sautéed vegetables, or use it in pickling.
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Stand up for Vein
Health!
Have you heard the news ?
Sitting is a major health risk! BY JULIE REIL, MD
It’s true:
The American Medical Association (AMA) reports that sitting for extended periods of time – like a full day at work – can be so bad for health that, according to Genevieve Healy, PhD of the Research Centre of the University of Queensland in Australia, not even 30 minutes
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a day at the gym will counteract it. Sitting, some are saying, is the new smoking. Why is it so bad for us? Research shows that too much sedentary activity (or non-activity) causes the body to shut down at a metabolic level. Circulation slows, we burn fewer calories, and health is compromised.
One of the key effects of too much sitting is the topic of this article – poor vein health. The result can be blue or purple and bulging varicose veins – unsightly no doubt, and unhealthy for sure. Varicose veins cause aching, itching, inflammation, swelling, and muscle cramps. A lesser-known result of poor vein health is restless leg syndrome, which makes sitting in a theater or trying to sleep an absolute misery for some. If you’re trying to avoid these problems, or to reduce their impact on your life, there are steps you can take.
Lifestyle Changes: Courtesy of the Mayo Clinic
1 4 5
Avoid standing or sitting for long periods without taking a break. When sitting, avoid crossing your legs, and keep them slightly elevated not just when sitting, but also when resting or sleeping. When you can, raise your legs above the level of your heart to give your veins a break!
2
Do physical activities to get your legs moving and improve their muscle tone. This helps blood move through your veins.
3
If you’re overweight, begin a program of regular, moderate exercise – perhaps join a walking group! Losing weight will improve blood flow and ease the pressure on your veins.
Avoid wearing tight clothes, especially those that constrict your waist, groin, upper thighs, or lower legs. Tight clothing can make varicose veins worse. void wearing high heels A for long periods. Lowerheeled shoes can help tone your calf muscles, and toned muscles help blood move smoothly through the veins.
Nutritional Support For my patients who have tired, sore legs, have jobs that require them to sit too much, or have a family history of varicose veins, I recommend VeinSense®. VeinSense is a dietary supplement containing nutrients that have been used for centuries to help support healthy vein structure and retain vein integrity. Each key ingredient of VeinSense is backed by research showing a beneficial effect on vein health, including: ■■ Diosmin, which improves vein tone, increases lymphatic drainage, and strengthens capillaries. ■■ Horse chestnut extract, which alleviates heaviness in the legs, and relieves itching, swelling, and nighttime cramps. The active compound in the extract is aescin, which supports the walls of the veins and maintains the entire vein’s healthful integrity. ■■ Butcher’s broom, another ingredient that has been shown to maintain healthy veins, while also decreasing episodes of itching and burning.
If you think you drew the hereditary short straw in your family – the one that predisposes you to varicose veins, with all their unsightliness and discomfort – stand up and cheer! Through a combination of lifestyle changes and nutritional support, you can begin working to prevent vein issues from developing, or keep them from getting worse. Of course, getting up off your chair to give yourself that round of applause is the healthiest way to start!
■■ Hesperidin, which has been used for many years in Europe, in combination with diosmin, to support vein health. (A plus: it has also been shown to be a good allnatural option for people who suffer from hemorrhoids.)
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Achieve the impossible dream Sleep more soundly Wake up refreshed
Fall asleep more quickly
Natural Factors Tranquil Sleep Helps relieve mild insomnia and calms nervousness This fast-acting and very safe sleep formula can help you fall asleep more quickly, stay asleep, sleep more soundly, and wake up feeling refreshed. Tranquil Sleep combines L-theanine with 5-HTP and melatonin. These ingredients exert a gentle yet powerfully synergistic effect to promote restful sleep and calm nervousness. These ingredients are supported by extensive research for their role in treating insomnia.
Visit us at naturalfactors.com or call toll free: 1-800-663-8900
naturalfactors.com • free: 1-800-663-8900 Visit us at naturalfactors.com or call toll 1-800-663-8900 /naturalfactors
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@naturalfactors
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Manufactured in Canada
Manufactured in Canada
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MEDICAL AND SCIENCE
EDITORIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE At Women’s Voice, we are committed to providing our readers with real health solutions from real physicians. To ensure our editorial excellence, we have assembled medical professionals who are dedicated experts and leaders in natural health to serve on Women’s Voice Medical and Science Editorial Advisory Committee.
KAREN JENSEN, ND
GAETANO MORELLO, ND
Dr. Karen Jensen is the author or co-author of six books including Menopause: A Naturopathic Approach to the Transitional Years, Stress and the Disease Connection, and The Three Brains. She was in clinical practice for over 23 years.
Since 1991, Dr. Morello has been educating physicians, pharmacists, and health experts on the scientific use of natural medicines in the fields of cardiology, immunology, gastroenterology, anti-aging, and detoxification. He is the contributing author to the authoritative text on Alternative Medicine, A Textbook of Natural Medicine.
KARLENE KARST, RD
KEITH Z. BREWSTER,
Karlene Karst is a leading expert in nutrition and natural health. Karlene holds a BSc in nutrition and is a registered dietitian. Karlene is the author of several books and is a highly sought-after, enthusiastic, and passionate individual who has appeared on QVC, Access Hollywood, and Canada AM.
PhD(C), ACSM-CEP
KATE RHÉAUME, ND
ARYA SHARMA, MD
Dr. Rhéaume graduated from McMaster University and completed her professional training at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, class of 2002. She followed with a two-year residency during which she taught classes and supervised at various teaching clinics.
Arya Mitra Sharma, MD/PhD, FRCPC, is Professor of Medicine and holds the Alberta Health Services Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta. He founded and is currently Scientific Director of the Canadian Obesity Network and Past-President of the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons.
JULIE REIL, MD Dr. Julie Reil is an internationally recognized physician, health and nutrition advocate, speaker and Women’s Voice author. She developed the Genityte® urinary incontinence procedure and the Triple Tone Treatment®. Dr. Reil founded Shiloh Medical Clinic in Billings, Montana.
Currently, Keith works closely with patients entering the surgical weight management program by supporting peri operative surgical programming and administering patient assessments. In addition to his role at Kelowna Band Surgery, Keith is Director of the PGX Centre.
RUDOLF BAUER, PhD Dr. Rudolf Bauer’s expertise is in natural product chemistry, analysis, and bio-assay-guided isolation of constituents from medicinal plants. As a member of two expert groups on herbal drugs of the European Pharmacopoeia Commission, he is actively involved in the development of monographs for the European Pharmacopoeia.
MARITA SCHAUCH, ND
MICHAEL LYON, MD
Dr. Marita Schauch is the author of two books Making Sense of Women’s Health and Collagen Myths and Misconceptions and she co-authored The Adrenal Stress Connection. In addition to her clinical practice, she lectures across North America educating people on positive lifestyle choices.
Dr. Lyon is a UBC faculty member and is a published researcher in the fields of nutrition, appetite regulation, dietary fiber, and blood sugar regulation. He is Board Certified in Obesity Medicine through the American Board of Obesity Medicine and he completed a three-year family practice residency in 1988.
REAL solutions by REAL physicians for REAL women’s needs
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“I take BioSil every day... I’m amazed at the results I see in my skin, hair, and nails!” – CHRISTIE BRINKLEY
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