Dr. Linda Page's Weblog

The Natural Keys To Controlling PMS

Menstruation is a natural part of a woman’s life. PMS is not. Women can take control of PMS naturally and effectively. Natural therapies work well for most women because they address the multitude of factors involved. A woman can expect a natural therapy program for PMS to take at least two months, as the body works through both ovary cycles with nutritional support. The first month, there is a noticeable decrease in PMS symptoms; the second month finds them dramatically reduced. Don’t be discouraged if you need 6 months or more to gently coax your system into balance. Even after many of the symptoms are gone, continuing the diet recommendations, and smaller doses of the herb and vitamin choices makes sense toward preventing PMS return.

1. Essential fatty acids balance prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are vital hormone-type compounds that act as transient hormones, regulating body functions almost like an electrical current. Foods like ocean fish, olive oil, and herbs like Evening Primrose, normalize prostaglandins by balancing your body’s essential fatty acid supply. Too much saturated fat from meats and dairy foods inhibits prostaglandin balance and proper hormone flow. Arachidonic acid in animal fats tends to deplete progesterone levels and strain estrogen/progesterone ratios. Evening Primrose oil 500-1000 mg. daily, especially along with a broad spectrum herbal balancing compound like Female Harmony, shows excellent results for many women.

2. Love your liver to balance estrogen and progesterone levels. Lower your fat intake and reduce dairy foods to help your liver do its job. A high-fat diet hampers liver function. Many dairy foods are a source of synthetic estrogen from hormones injected into cows. At the very least, switch to non-fat dairy products. Estrogen is stored in fat; non-fat foods don’t contribute to estrogen stores. Focus on high quality vegetarian protein to improve estrogen metabolism. On PMS days, avoid dairy products altogether. A cup of green tea, or Green Tea Cleanser each morning can go a long way toward relieving organ congestion and detoxifying the liver. Non-fat yogurt is a good choice because it contains digestive lactobacillus. Reduce caffeine to one cup of coffee or less a day. Caffeine tends to deplete the liver and lowers B vitamin levels, contributing to anxiety, mood swings, and irritability. Fifteen to 30% of women with breast tenderness during PMS find relief by stopping caffeine use. A little wine is fine, but avoid hard liquor to control PMS. Strong alcohol compromises liver function by lowering B vitamin levels, reducing its ability to break down excess estrogen. Consider Milk Thistle Seed extract, Liver Cleanse Flushing Tea or a dandelion tea daily.

3. Enhance your thyroid to reduce PMS. Estrogen levels are controlled by thyroid hormones. If the thyroid does not have enough iodine, insufficient thyroxine is produced and too much estrogen builds up. Seaweeds (sea vegetables) are a good choice for thyroid balance because they are rich in potassium and iodine. Two tablespoons daily in a soup or salad, or over rice, or six pieces of sushi a day, are a therapeutic dose. Or, try sea veggies in capsules, like Ocean Minerals or kelp tabs.

4. Phytohormone-rich herbal compounds help balance body estrogen. Phytoestrogens are remarkably similar to human hormones. They help raise body estrogen levels that are too low by stimulating the body’s own hormone production, or by attaching to estrogen receptor sites. Remarkably enough, when the plant estrogens bind to a woman’s receptor sites, they block the uptake of strong environmental estrogens, or even too much of a woman’s own estrogen. The net effect is a lowering of body estrogen levels, thus reducing the risk of excess estrogen-driven diseases and related PMS symptoms. Phytohormone-rich plants like soybeans and wild yams, and hormone-rich herbs like black cohosh, panax ginseng, licorice root and dong quai, have a safety record of centuries. Take an herbal combination like Female Harmony as a stabilizing resource for keeping the female system female, naturally. Whole wild yam creams also show success against PMS as transdermal sources for estrogen/progesterone balance.

To Life-long health,

Linda

Good Looks Restoration Diet for Skin, Hair and Eyes

Here is an excerpt from my book Diets for Healthy Healing that I thought you might enjoy:

A good diet is the first place to turn when you want to make real improvements in your appearance. Beautiful eyes, skin, hair and nails need a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water. Beautiful skin, hair and eyes all depend on a healthy liver. Too much alcohol, caffeine and drugs put a heavy load on the liver and rob the body of B vitamins. All tissues need a rich, high oxygen blood supply, and plenty of mineral building blocks. Plants are the most absorbable way for the body to get them.

Watchwords for beautiful skin, hair, nails and eyes:

1. Soft smooth skin depends on vitamin A, vitamin C, mineral-rich foods, and vegetable protein foods for collagen and tissue strength. Eat potassium-rich foods if your skin is dry: leafy greens, spinach, bell peppers, bananas, broccoli, sesame and sunflower seeds, fish and sea greens. Eat cleansing foods if your skin tone is muddy: fresh fruit, vegetable and fruit juices, celery, cucumbers. Eat vitamin C, E, carotene-rich foods for better skin texture: sea foods and fresh greens. Eat cultured foods if your skin is spotty: yogurt, tofu and kefir. Eliminate red meats, fried, fatty and fast foods. Reduce caffeine, dairy foods and salty, sugary foods. They show up on your skin. Eat high fiber foods: fruits, vegetables and whole grains to maintain regularity, and healthy skin.

2. Seaweed and sea foods offer beauty nutrients for skin health. Kelp and ulva (sea lettuce) are rich in the collagen-building, amino acid proline. Just 2 tbsp. of dried sea weed daily or Ocean Minerals caps can make a big different in better skin texture and tone. I’ve seen firsthand the power of using seafood in transforming your looks. Just eating fish or seafood 2 – 3 times a week notably reduces skin dryness or wrinkling. Fish are loaded with EFAs that plump up gaunt or crepey-looking skin. People notice real improvement, sometimes right away. The safest seafood choices I’ve researched are Pacific halibut, farmed abalone, Dungeness crab, shrimp and salmon. Wild salmon is a beautifying food especially for lifting for after-40 sags and bags because it contains high amounts of DMAE, di-methyl-amino-ethanol, an antioxidant that tightens and tones skin tissue, especially when used with alpha lipoic acid. Farmed salmon usually has a lower nutrient profile and higher contaminate levels.

3. Turn your hair from drab to fab with vegetable or whole grain protein for maximum growth, and high carotene foods like broccoli, carrots and greens for “permanent” appeal. Eat these foods if your hair is brittle: carrots, green peppers, lettuces, bananas, strawberries, apples, peas, onions, green peppers, cucumbers, sprouts, green tea. Have aloe vera juice in the morning if your hair is dry. Avoid saturated fats, sugars and processed, refined foods. They show up in hair texture. Include healthy fats from seafood, sea greens (use dulse if there is also iron deficiency), cantaloupe, spinach, perilla or flax oil for shine and volume.

4. Your eyes sparkle when you eat protein from the sea and soy foods (rich in omega-3 fatty acids), whole grains, low fat dairy foods, and eggs (full of zeaxanthin). Good vision vegetables are broccoli, sunflower and sesame seeds, orange and yellow veggies, parsley, leeks, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, barley, blueberries, watercress. Eyes love vitamin A and high mineral foods: leafy greens, sea greens, seafood, loaded with carotenoids and EFAs. Reduce your sugar intake. Avoid chemicalized foods, especially fried and fatty foods, dairy and red meats. These foods metabolize slowly, use sugars poorly, and form crystallized clogs in your eyes.

I have many more healing diets for your health concerns in this book. Learn more here. 

To Life-long health,

Linda Page

All about Great Ginseng

People have searched for the Fountain of Youth since ancient times. The answer has always been available in the youth-extending nutrients of ginseng and other adaptogen herbs. Herbs have antioxidant properties that guard against free radical destruction of tissue. Herbs are full of vitamins, minerals and potent phytonutrients that can address better memory, strong metabolic activity, smoother skin, increased energy, and good muscle tone.

More daily energy is something most of us want. After age 40, this need magnifies for many people as the glandular system takes a dive from years of overwork, chronic stress, poor dietary habits and exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment. The result? An energy slump that can precede serious problems: increased colds and flu, immune deficient syndromes like chronic fatigue, and even degenerative diseases.

Who is Great Ginseng for?

• people who are experiencing an energy slump 

• people with high stress lifestyles or poor dietary habits

• people recovering from illness or debility 

• people looking for a drug-free, caffeine-free energizer that is safe to use every day.

How can Great Ginseng enhance your health?

- Natural energizers like Siberian Eleuthero and American Ginseng have great advantages over chemically processed stimulants. They don’t exhaust the body; they fight stress; and are supporting rather than depleting when used longterm.

- Nutrient powerhouses like bee pollen and alfalfa help shore up diet deficiencies while rejuvenating strength and energy.

- Nervous system tonics like rhodiola rosea, jiaogulan and gotu kola ease chronic stress and sharpen mental focus.

Ginseng is one of the great tonics whose benefits increase with use. It’s safe to take daily to rebuild your system and increase your energy at the glandular level.

To Life-long health,

Linda

 

Diet tips to help keep your child healthier and happier

It’s a lot easier said than done to change old dietary patterns to healthier eating… for anybody, but especially for kids. A good way to start is to find something delicious to replace whatever is being taken away.

For example:

•If you want your kid to eat more fruits and vegetables, start with foods that children go for, like dried fruit snacks, and smoothies for fruits. Sandwiches, tacos, burritos and pitas easily hold vegetables. Most kids like soup with vegetables. Let them add sauces or flavors they like.

•To encourage your child to drink more water instead of carbonated sodas or sweetened drinks, keep plenty of natural fruit juices and flavored mineral water around the house.

•To reduce the amount of sugar your child eats, buy sugar-free snacks. Replace sugar-filled cereals with granola or oatmeal with healthy toppings. Almost every kid likes raisins. 

•If you want to add more seafood to a child’s diet, start with favorites like shrimp, tuna fish or salmon.

•To add healthy cultured foods to your child’s diet, keep an assortment of yogurt flavors with fruit for snacks in the fridge. Offer delicious kefir cheese for snack spreads instead of sour cream.

•If you want more whole grains in your child’s diet, start by keeping only whole grains in the house. Kids love bagels and pastas, which come in a wide variety of whole grain options. Brown basmati rice is much tastier than white rice if your kid is a “rice kid.” Stuffing is a big favorite. Popcorn is a healthy snack. Season it with low sodium soy sauce or an herb and spice seasoning blend instead of gobs of butter and salt.

•To reduce the amount of meat and dairy protein your child is eating, keep tasty plant protein available. Kids like tofu and grain burgers with their favorite trimmings. Most kids like beans—look for healthy chili blends. Stock peanut butter, nuts and seeds, like almonds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds for snacks. Use them as toppings for soup, salad crunchies, smoothies and desserts. (Seeds and nuts give kids unsaturated oils and essential fatty acids for brain development.) Eggs are a good protein choice for kids… one of Nature’s perfect foods that’s gotten a bad rap. Most kids like deviled eggs, and eggs are great in honey custards, another kid favorite.

To life-long health,

Linda