Monday, November 27, 2006

USP Natural Progesterone Cream - faq's

Here are 4 more commonly asked questions about hormone balance, progesterone and USP Natural Progesterone Creams.


1. What are the symptoms of low progesterone?


There are many symptoms related to low progesterone levels. Progesterone, being the “master hormone” or “mother of all hormones” is vital to optimal health, emotional and mental balance. For a full list of low progesterone symptoms click here.



2. What are the causes of hormone imbalance?


The causes of hormone fluctuations vary. Women the world over are unwittingly putting themselves out of balance through misinformation and bad choices. These are some of the common ways that our hormone levels get disrupted and progesterone levels drop.

  • The Pill
  • HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)
  • Environmental poisons
  • Non organic and estrogen pumped animal food products
  • Stress
  • Cosmetics
For more details feel free to download my free ebook on the topic.


3. How do I get my hormones balanced?


Natural Progesterone creams are the easiest and safest way to raise your progesterone levels and balance hormone levels.


Depending on whether you are still menstruating or pre-/peri-/post menopausal there are different guidelines to follow to safely balance hormone levels. The cream that I use is Natpro. Click here for more details.



4. Which is the best progesterone cream?


Typically a 3.3% cream ie. 2000mg of active progesterone per 60/2oz tube is best.


Natpro is a USP natural progesterone cream of the highest quality. It is the first and currently the only progesterone cream to make use of 89% organic ingredients and non-toxic preservatives*.


*Please note, at present the “progesterone part” of creams cannot be made organic, but the majority of the rest of the ingredients can.



Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Over the next few days I will be posting some more FAQ's to check back.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

The benefits of natural progesterone cream - part 2

What are the benefits of using a usp natural progesterone cream?

Remember in my previous post you learnt that: Progesterone is the “mother of all hormones”. It is the raw material from which your body makes all other hormones. It is not simply a sex hormone as it is commonly assumed. If your body is overloaded with environmental estrogens and cannot produce enough progesterone to counteract and balance them – dis-ease is the result.


Progesterone is not an “alternative remedy”, it’s an essential need. If your body cannot produce enough progesterone of its own you need to help it by giving it what it needs to protect your health.


It has been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that supplementing with usp natural progesterone cream raises progesterone levels and corrects these unchecked estrogens providing relief to a wide range of health issues.


In part 1 we discussed the pms, menopausal and weight loss benefits. Here, in part 2 we are looking at how natural progesterone helps prevent and protect against the more debilitating diseases.



Cancers


When unopposed estrogen is present in tissues that are sensitive to hormones such as the breasts, uterus and ovaries, these tissues can turn cancerous if the unopposed estrogen, is not balanced off with progesterone.


Natural Progesterone therefore:
  • Protects against breast cancer
  • Protects against ovarian cancer
  • Protects against endometrial cancer
It also protects against :
  • fibrocystic breasts
  • uterine fibroids
  • endometriosis

Heart disease

Natural progesterone protects you against heart disease by:

  • decreasing the risk of the coronary arteries going into spasm by relaxing them
  • normalizing blood clotting, which also protects against strokes
  • brings down high blood pressure by acting as a natural diuretic
  • increasing the body’s ability to burn fats for energy
  • protecting the integrity and function of the cell membranes
  • promoting better sleep and reducing stress
By contrast and contrary to popular opinion estrogen does not prevent heart disease. It causes salt and water to be retained and potassium and magnesium to be lost, thereby increasing blood pressure. Estrogen promotes fat synthesis and blood clots. Estrogen also accelerates the aging of collagen, weakening the walls of the arteries.

When the known actions of progesterone are reviewed, it is clear that many of its actions are also beneficial to the heart.



Arthritis & osteoporosis


Progesterone, is an extremely effective anti-inflammatory. This is because it is the precursor to cortisone, which is an excellent anti-inflammatory. It therefore:
  • helps to reduce arthritic pain. Rubbing progesterone cream directly onto arthritis affected joints has helped many sufferers.
With osteoporosis reaching epidemic levels in the West, and the prediction that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men are likely to get it, it is not surprising that this has become a growing concern.

Natural progesterone helps to reverse the ravages of osteoporosis by:

  • Protecting against bone loss and hence osteoporosis
  • Improving new bone formation
  • Stimulating bone building responsible for Osteoporosis Reversal

Findings to support the fact:

Women using usp natural progesterone cream experienced an average 7 to 8 per cent bone-mass density increase in the first year, 4 to 5 per cent in the second year, and 3 to 4 per cent in the third year! Untreated women in this age category typically lose 1.5 per cent bone-mass density per year! These results have not been found with any other form of hormone replacement therapy or dietary supplementation!



Depression


Depression is a huge topic and, as with the other ailments mentioned already, it is on the increase, with woman suffering more than men.


Supplementation with Natural Progesterone helps to alleviate depression.


It does so by it’s ability to:

  • stabilize low blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemia)
  • ease stress by providing the raw material for the anti-stress hormones
  • by influencing the production of serotonin and dopamine
Depressed people have been found to have a higher incidence of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia). Woman suffering from PMS and depression have also been found to have low levels of serotonin in their blood. Many depressions are triggered by the inability to cope with stressful situations such as a death or a life threatening disease.

Progesterone and depression are linked through progesterone's influence in the metabolism of serotonin and dopamine, both known to play a role in depression.



Post Natal Depression


This is caused by the sudden drop in progesterone once the placenta has come away.


Relief is provided by supplementing with Natural Progesterone for the first few days after child birth.


There are many factors involved in treating cases of depression - and hormonal imbalances should not be overlooked as one of them, since the balance of our hormones is vital to our mental health and stability. Very often supplementation with natural progesterone can help to turn depression around.



Thyroid

Natural progesterone therapy facilitates normal thyroid hormone action.


Dr. Lee has successfully treated people with a hypothyroid (under active thyroid) condition as well as people with hyperthyroidism (excessive production of the thyroid gland) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis with natural progesterone therapy.


Low thyroid activity causes low energy levels, cold intolerance and weight gain.

Excess thyroid activity induces higher energy levels, feeling too warm and weight loss.

Estrogen, progesterone and thyroid hormones are complementary. Estrogen tells the body to turn food into fat while thyroid and progesterone hormones tell the body to burn fat for energy. Thyroid hormone and estrogen balance each other's effects. If there is unopposed estrogen or estrogen dominance the thyroid may be unable to keep up.


A Doctor will often prescribe Thyroxin supplementation, but this accelerates bone loss which leads to osteoporosis, so a natural approach, as with natural progesterone, is a far better first line of defense.



What else?


Correcting a progesterone deficiency through the use of a usp natural progesterone cream such as Natpro has a number of other benefits such as:

  • reduced stress
  • normalization of zinc and copper levels
  • it gives you more energy because it restores proper oxygen levels in the cells
  • it stimulates scalp hair re-growth and reduces facial hair
  • it restores normal sleep patterns
  • it is effective in preventing varicose veins which are caused because of excess estrogen which causes the collagen to age and the vein walls to weaken

Natpro is a USP natural progesterone cream of the highest quality. It is the first and currently the only progesterone cream to make use of 89% organic ingredients and non-toxic preservatives. It does what it says and more. Hormonal health and happiness could be yours for less than 75c (US cents) a day. PLUS if you order today you get 6 FREE bonus products to support you in your quest for radiant health.


Kiss your PMS, Depression, Stress, Low sex drive and other symptoms of low progesterone GOODBYE...


Click here for more details abo
ut Natpro.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

The benefits of natural progesterone cream - part 1

What are the benefits of using a usp natural progesterone cream?

Remember: Progesterone is the “mother of all hormones”. It is the raw material from which your body makes all other hormones. It is not simply a sex hormone as it is commonly assumed. If your body is overloaded with environmental estrogens and cannot produce enough progesterone to counteract and balance them – dis-ease is the result.


Progesterone is not an “alternative remedy”, it’s an essential need. If your body cannot produce enough progesterone of its own you need to help it by giving it what it needs to protect your health.


It has been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that supplementing with usp natural progesterone cream raises progesterone levels and corrects these unchecked estrogens providing relief to a wide range of health issues.


Here is a list of some of the benefits you may experience once you begin to balance a progesterone deficiency and curb estrogen dominance.

  • Happiness :) Natural progesterone is a natural antidepressant.

  • You get to rediscover your lost libido. Natural progesterone restores the sex drive.

  • You get relief from PMS symptoms that you’ve always just had to “live with.” Natural progesterone is effective in treating PMS because when estrogen is not balanced by progesterone, it produces weight gain, headaches, bad temper, chronic fatigue, breast tenderness and a loss of interest in sex - all of which are part of the clinically recognized symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome.

  • You get relief from menstrual cramping. Many women have found relief within 20 minutes of rubbing natural progesterone cream onto their stomachs.

  • You get relief from the normal symptoms of menopause which include hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, restlessness, vaginal dryness and mood swings. Menopause is not an estrogen deficiency disease. Estrogen levels fall by 40 - 60% during menopause, but progesterone levels often fall to zero or close to zero, which means the symptoms experienced by menopausal women are actually the symptoms of estrogen dominance! The most effective and safe treatment of menopause symptoms is to balance off the excess estrogens in the body with natural progesterone.

  • You lose weight. Balancing the excess estrogen in your body with natural progesterone normalizes blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar level is too low – you crave food – usually high-sugar or sweet foods such as chocolate. Anyone not experienced chocolate cravings during PMS? If you indulge in these quick sugar fixes your body pours insulin into the blood to help remove the sugar from the bloodstream … it then stores it … as fat. Once insulin removes the sugar from the bloodstream into the fat cells water fills the space where the sugar was – causing bloating and cramping. Natural progesterone therefore helps to reduce symptoms of both bloating and cramping giving further relief and further … weight loss.

  • Because it normalizes blood sugar levels natural progesterone also alleviates cravings and binge-eating and therefore further helps to reduce weight.

  • More weight loss benefits – it is a natural diuretic helping to release excess water that is being stored in the body.

  • And, one more on the weight loss front - it helps your body to use fat for energy.


Natpro is a USP natural progesterone cream of the highest quality. It is the first and currently the only progesterone cream to make use of 89% organic ingredients and non-toxic preservatives. It does what it says and more. Hormonal health and happiness could be yours for less than 75c (US cents) a day. PLUS if you order today you get 6 FREE bonus products to support you in your quest for radiant health.

Kiss your PMS, Depression, Stress, Low sex drive and other symptoms of low progesterone GOODBYE...


Click here for more details about Natpro.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

USP Natural Progesterone Cream

Here are 4 of the most commonly asked questions with regards to USP Natural Progesterone Cream.

1. Firstly what does USP Natural Progesterone Cream mean?


USP simply stands for United States pharmaceutical grade. You should always look for a cream that is 100% USP grade progesterone.


BUT,


2. What is Progesterone?


It’s a hormone. But, it is not just a sex hormone, as it is commonly assumed and it is not just a female hormone which is the other common misconception. It is in fact considered “the mother of all hormones.” It is essential to all human life – men and women alike.


It is true that it is involved in the reproductive process, particularly pregnancy, which is why it is has the sex-stigma attached to it. But it serves a far more important daily purpose. Here’s why …


It is the essential raw ingredient from which our bodies make all the other hormones! This makes it very important indeed and in fact vital to our health.


3. What is Natural Progesterone and Natural Progesterone Cream?


Natural progesterone is a natural hormone that is currently being derived from the plant extract – stigmasterol, found in the soya bean.


Natural progesterone comes in a variety of different forms, but the most popular and effective by far are the ones that come in cream form. The other forms such as tablets, capsules, oils, sprays, injections and suppositories either give a quick release of the hormone and are therefore not suggested for long term use or up to 90% of the benefits are destroyed by the digestive system and liver if taken orally.


The cream is easy to apply, cost effective, can be used long term and has a moisturizing affect on the skin. It is applied at specifically allocated times in the cycles or calendar month.


4. If our bodies produce progesterone anyway, why do we need to use the cream?


There are many reasons why woman become progesterone deficient and need to supplement with natural progesterone, but at the base of the problem is something called Estrogen Dominance - which simply means there is too much estrogen and not enough progesterone present in the body. You may be surprised to learn that most women in the industrialized countries suffer from estrogen dominance.


These are some of the common ways that our hormone levels get disrupted and progesterone levels drop.

  • The Pill
  • HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)
  • Environmental poisons
  • Non organic and estrogen pumped animal food products
  • Stress
  • Cosmetics
Tell me more...

For more info on the causes of hormone imbalance and for more info on the symptoms of low progesterone levels in women just follow the
links.

For more information about a USP natural progesterone cream of the highest quality that uses mostly organic ingredients and does what it says and more, click here for details about NATPRO.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Causes of Hormone Imbalance

There are many causes of hormone imbalance, but at the base of the problem is something called Estrogen Dominance - which simply means there is too much estrogen and not enough progesterone present in the body. For low progesterone symptoms see my previous post entitled 'The symptoms of low hormone levels in women'.

Here are the common causes of hormone imbalance. These are the ways in which medicine has tampered with the natural balance of our hormones and what we as woman have taken blindly as truth as the cost of our health and longevity.

  • The Pill
  • HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)
  • Environmental poisons
  • Non organic and estrogen pumped animal products
  • Stress
  • Cosmetics
Tell me more...


The Pill
was first introduced in the 1960’s as an effective method of birth control. It was touted as true sexual liberation for women. The first Pill was composed of mainly synthetic estrogen and proclaimed “safe” by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration.)


The research however, was badly flawed. The entire basis for the FDA’s consent was the result of clinical studies conducted on 132 Puerto Rican women who had taken the Pill for one year or longer. The fact that there were five women who died during the study without any investigation into their cause of their death was seemingly overlooked.

By the mid-1970s it became obvious that women on The Pill were dying from heart attacks and strokes at an alarming and much faster rate than those not on the Pill. A newer and supposedly “safer Pill” was then introduced with a lower dose of estrogen.


Progestins and progestogens are often confused with progesterone. However they are nowhere near the same! Progestins and progestogens are synthetic, man-made and have an altered chemical structure. They are commonly used in today’s contraceptive Pills. The one thing they do manage to do is to maintain the lining of the uterus thus making them effective contraceptives.


But at what price?


Let’s be clear – if you are currently on the Pill – you are effectively trial-ing a drug. Its safety and long term effects have not been conclusively established!


Women are only now discovering the price they have been paying for their sexual freedom. It is now over 35 years on since the introduction of the Pill and only now are the long term effects beginning to show. Progestins and progestogens are highly toxic to the body, resulting in some of these known side effects:

  • miscarriages
  • migraines
  • heart disease
  • high blood pressure
  • cancer
  • depression
and of course … low progesterone levels.


HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy)

This is a common issue of confusion to most menopausal women. To quote Leslie Kenton, author of Passage to Power, "everybody who is anybody will tell you that menopause is an estrogen-deficiency disease and that you will need to take more estrogen as you approach mid-life. What may surprise you is this: not only is most of such commonly given advice on menopause wrong, a great deal of it can be positively dangerous."

In 1966 a certain Dr Robert Wilson wrote a book called Feminine Forever where he popularized the belief that menopause was an estrogen deficiency disease and he pioneered the use of unopposed estrogen.


By 1975 it became obvious that the use of unopposed estrogen therapy drastically shortened the lifespan of its users. Women who had used estrogen for seven years or longer were now 14 times more likely to develop cancer.

The pharmaceutical industry then introduced a new 'safe' hormone replacement therapy or HRT - a combination of synthetic progestins and progestogens and estrogen. Sounds a lot like the Pill story doesn’t it?


The New England Journal of Medicine in 1995, published a study which revealed the startling effects of HRT. The study involved 121,700 women. The women who used HRT for more than 5 years, to offset the symptoms of menopause also increased their chance of developing breast cancer by 30 – 40%. In women between the ages of 60 – 64 that statistic rose to 70%. The study also concluded that women using HRT were 45% more likely to die from breast cancer than those who did not make use of the drug or had used it for less than 5 years.


So much for the unopposed estrogen and synthetic progestins and progestogens theory!!!


Consider this: In many countries the water supply is recycled and mixed with fresh water. Since synthetic hormones are not filtered out of the water the levels of estrogens in our drinking water are rising all the time – every time a woman on the Pill or HRT goes to the toilet in fact!


These are some of the common ways that medicine has tampered with the natural balance of hormones, here are some the ways that industry has tampered with the same delicate hormonal balance.



Environmental poisons


Chemicals such as pesticides mimic the hormone estrogen. Fifty-one chemicals have now been identified as hormone disruptors. Approximately 2 billion tons of pesticides are used the annually the world over. In undeveloped countries the use of pesticides is still largely unchecked and … guess what – that is where we get a lot of our food supplies. It’s plain to see why this is wreaking havoc on our bodies. It is this fact that has led many people to switch to an organic diet.


Other chemicals that cause the same challenges are DDT, dioxin and PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls.) Dioxin is the by-product of the manufacture of chemicals using chlorine and includes:
  • disinfectants
  • dry cleaning fluids
  • pesticides
  • drugs
  • plastics – polystyrene and clingwrap in particular
PCB’s are used in:
  • lubricants,
  • plastics,
  • paints,
  • varnishes
  • inks
Commonly called petrochemicals, they contain high levels of xeno-estrogens. Xeno-estrogens basically means they mimic estrogen in your body. They fill up all the estrogen receptor sites in your body meaning that even the good estrogen can’t get through to perform its role properly. The result – HORMONE IMBALANCE! Again, this is why many people have moved over to household cleaning products that don’t contain these chemicals and are environment friendly.


Livestock


Non-organic animals that are slaughtered for our food chain are fed estrogenic steroids to fatten them up. These estrogens go straight into our blood stream causing a further rise in estrogen levels. Another study linked the increase of our current disease rates to eating a diet high in the fat and meat from these estrogen-fed animals. Again, it is this fact that has led many people to switch to an organic diet.



Cosmetics


This one may come as a surprise to you, but many cosmetics are made with petrochemicals. This means that you are putting the same thing on your skin as you would in your car – something that is petrol-based – not very appealing is it? It’s not surprising then to realize that these ‘moisturizers’ are actually drying out your skin - actually causing more wrinkles!

Even more importantly they are further putting your hormones out of balance.


Examples include:

  • aqueous cream
  • petroleum jelly
  • mineral oil
  • liquid paraffin
  • talc powders
  • anything containing parabens
  • plus other estrogenic antioxidants
Again, this is why many people have moved over to moisturizers that don’t contain these chemicals and are environment friendly.


Stress


As if all of the above where not enough, stress also plays a big part is reducing our levels of progesterone which results in … too much estrogen. Here’s how: Progesterone is the “mother of all hormones.” It is the precursor and essential raw material out of whicht he body created ALL THE OTHER HORMONES. As the precursor to all the other hormones in the body, the adrenal glands and adrenal hormones are no exception. If you encounter a mildly stressful situation your body draws on its progesterone to produce the hormones (adrenal corticosteroids) to counteract it. These are the hormones that protect against stress. BUT, if your body is in a constant or permanent state of stress it can’t provide enough progesterone to be converted into anti-stress hormones and the result is adrenal exhaustion and no left over progesterone for other normal body functions.



Well, that concludes this post. I'm sure after reading through all this you'll realize why I say "Women the world over have been duped." Who would've thought that the Pill, HRT or the cosmetics, household cleaners or the food we eat are actually doing us and our families harm!?!


For more information about this topic please hop over to my website www.hormone-healthy.com and download my free ebook called "The Health Benefits of Natural Progesterone". Encourage your friends to do the same. The more we know about our bodies and in particular - our hormones, the more we can take back control of our lives and live them to the FULL!


To your wonderfully empowering journey to exuberant health.