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Menopause Drug Receives FDA Black Box Warning for Risk of Severe Liver Injury

The AHA! Team — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 05:04:56 +0000

Stephanie Woods via NaturalHealth365 – Once again, Big Pharma is chasing the almighty dollar, treating the natural process of aging as a disease, and exposing women to serious injury while doing it. A “black box warning,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) most serious warning, has been placed on Veozah (fezolinetant), a drug marketed to menopausal women seeking relief from hot flashes. The drug became suspected of causing severe liver problems when a case was entered into the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) Database. Big Pharma’s latest menopause drug comes with a severe liver injury warning The details of the case entered into the FAERS database described a reaction to the drug that was characterized by symptoms that included nausea, yellow skin and eyes, fatigue, dark urine, itching, and light-colored stools. All of these point to serious liver injury. Within 40 days of the patient starting Veozah, the symptoms were very prominent. She experienced elevated liver blood test values and abnormal bilirubin and liver enzyme levels. Once she stopped taking the drug, her symptoms gradually decreased and eventually went away completely. Over time, her blood test values returned to normal as well. FDA downplays liver injury risks of Veozah while Big Pharma profits from side effects The FDA offered its standard response: “All medicines have side effects, even when used correctly as prescribed.” However, the agency failed to address the significant revenue generated from the serious side effects that benefit pharmaceutical companies. The liver injury in question was severe, requiring additional treatment with more medications to counteract the damage caused by the first drug. In Big Pharma’s world, even when they lose, they still win. FDA downplayed risks The FDA downplayed the risks by using carefully crafted language, emphasizing that liver injury is rare and individual medication responses vary. This made it impossible to predict whether others might suffer the same adverse effects. The agency issued new guidelines for healthcare professionals and patients, recommending more frequent liver blood tests while on Veozah. Patients should undergo testing once a month for the first two months and then at three, six, and nine months. If any signs of liver injury appear, patients are instructed to contact their healthcare provider immediately. Aging is not a curse Aging is a natural process, with the human body undergoing various changes as it adapts to shifting hormone levels and other factors. However, for Big Pharma, it’s an opportunity to profit. According to Medicare’s National Health Expenditure report, adults 65 and older spend more than five times the average on personal health care, reaching $22,356 in 2020. There is an overwhelming societal push to stay unnaturally young. The media constantly feeds us messages suggesting we’re never quite good enough and that as we age, we become irrelevant. Staying young has become synonymous with staying relevant. Sadly, many doctors buy into this narrative, promoting age-defying “remedies” that fuel the industry’s agenda. But aging is not a disease. Cut your risks of pharmaceutical injury with natural solutions There are several natural ways to reduce hot flashes without the harmful side effects that often come with pharmaceutical treatments. One study found that a plant-based, vegan diet rich in soy helped women reduce their hot flashes by 88%. This simple dietary change not only alleviates hot flashes but also eliminates the risk of harmful side effects associated with drugs. Other natural remedies, such as Dong Quai, black cohosh, and red clover, have also been shown to offer relief. Consult with your holistic healthcare provider about incorporating these natural menopause remedies into your routine instead of turning to drugs that can harm your body. The human body is an incredible machine that thrives when given the proper support. Nurture it with natural solutions, and it will serve you well. Editor’s note: Discover natural ways to detoxify the liver and avoid unwanted disease symptoms, own the Fatty Liver Docu-Class created by NaturalHealth365 Programs. Sources for this article include: FDA.gov CMS.gov FDA.gov To read the original article click here.

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Reduce Hot Flashes with THIS Dietary Intervention

AHA Publisher — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 07:15:19 +0000

News Staff via NaturalHealth365 – Menopause is a natural part of getting older, signaling the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle. It usually starts when a woman is in her 40’s or 50’s. Unfortunately, menopause can have several uncomfortable side effects, including hot flashes, sleep problems, low energy, and emotional symptoms. However, a recent study indicates that a simple dietary change may significantly reduce aggravating hot flashes. Could This Straightforward Dietary Change Ease Menopausal Hot Flashes? What if you could reduce hot flashes just by changing your diet? A recent study, led by Dr. Neal Barnard and published in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, sought to find out. The trial was the Women’s Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms. To assess the link between diet and hot flashes, researchers evaluated postmenopausal women over a 12-week trial period. Some study participants implemented a vegan diet low in fats and a half cup of soybeans daily, while the control group did not change their diets. All participants then recorded the severity and frequency of hot flash symptoms over the course of the study. The group that consumed a vegan, plant-based diet rich in soy experienced a whopping 88% reduction in their hot flashes. Also, those eating a plant-based diet lost an average of 8 pounds and reported improved quality of life. These results indicate that hot flashes can be reduced by simply cutting out toxic animal foods, lowering fat intake, and adding soy to the diet. Of course, we would encourage our readers to eat only non-GMO soy products. Hormone Replacement or Diet Changes? Hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, has long been the treatment of choice for perimenopause symptoms. This is because many symptoms of menopause stem from changes within the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis and disrupted hormone levels. However, HRT can cause its own set of unwanted side effects, if done incorrectly. The key here is to find a qualified healthcare provider to help you with the process to avoid health issues. If menopause symptoms can be mitigated through healthy diet changes, these dangerous side effects can be avoided. And besides possibly reducing hot flashes, plant-based diets have been shown to reduce depression and other chronic health issues. Thus, the new dietary study presents an exciting new direction for researchers to investigate further. Ways to Ease Menopause Symptoms Naturally Changing to a low (healthy) fat, plant-based diet and eating more soy might help reduce your hot flashes. But there are also other ways to ease menopause symptoms without pharmaceuticals. Black cohosh supplements, adequate sleep, regular exercise, and stress reduction practices like yoga can all help. There’s a possibility that plant phytoestrogens could improve menopause symptoms. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring estrogens in several foods, including flax, soybeans, and legumes. Acupuncture and hypnosis are two more therapies that may benefit women in menopause. Menopause is an important and natural phase of life. However, if you’re dealing with uncomfortable menopause symptoms, it’s worth looking into dietary changes and complementary therapies to help ease the transition. Sources for this article include: Medicalnewstoday.com Mayoclinic.org Clinicaltrials.gov To read the original article click here.

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What Are the Recommendations to Prevent Obesity in Midlife Women?

AHA Publisher — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 07:00:06 +0000

Pooja Toshniwal Paharia via News-Medical – In a recent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers developed recommendations for counseling non-obese 40 to 60-year-old women with body mass index (BMI) values ≤29.9 kg/m2 for obesity prevention. The researchers were a part of the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) team and aimed to optimize long-term health, well-being, and function among midlife women. Background Obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) is a common health condition among midlife women experiencing lifestyle and physiologic changes associated with aging and menopause. Obesity enhances the risk of chronic health conditions such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, stroke, coronary artery diseases, and all-cause deaths. Obesity has also been causally associated with cancers involving several organs such as the breast, ovary, and endometrium. Studies have put forth guidelines based on the harms and benefits of weight management approaches for obese patients; however, obesity prevention recommendations for non-obese midlife women have not been developed. About the Study In the present study, WPSI team researchers developed recommendations to prevent obesity among middle-aged women based on a systematic review of the effectiveness and balance of benefits and harms of interventions to avoid obesity among midlife women. The systematic review included randomized controlled trials (RCTs, n=7) comprising 51,638 women with BMI values ranging from normal to the overweight category. The trials comprised behavioral and counseling interventions to prevent obesity among women aged 40 to 60, obesity prevalence in the age group, the established harms of being obese, and the minimal anticipated harms of counseling. The included studies compared women who received behavioral strategies to prevent weight gain to those who received none or minimal intervention. The studies that included men or underweight, expecting, or postpartum women were excluded from the analysis. The WPSI team used an indirect chain of evidence to develop the recommendations. Results Out of seven RCTs, four of the women found statistically significant weight loss of 0.9 to 2.5 kg in favor of moderate-intensity to high-intensity counseling interventions versus control interventions. However, one counseling study and two exercise intervention studies did not show differences. Out of two RCTs, one study reported improved quality-of-life (QoL) measures. Only two studies described the negative effects of exercise or counseling interventions. Measures of stress or depression were not elevated with behavioral counseling in one study. Self-reported percentages of falls (37% versus 29%) and injuries (19% versus 14%) were greater with exercise counseling in one study comprising previously inactive women. The trial findings indicated favorable and statistically significant weight changes compared to controls in four (out of five) behavioral counseling RCTs (average differences in weight ranging between −0.9 kg and −2.5 kg for intervention groups compared to controls) but not in two exercise RCTs. Few harms from counseling and behavioral interventions were reported. Differences in QoL measures were not conclusive in two RCTs. The evidence from included RCTs was of moderate quality for the efficacy of weight management interventions and low quality for related harms. The WPSI recommended physical exercise and diet assessments, with counseling tailored to every individual for physical exercise and healthy eating for overweight patients with elevated BMI values and physically inactive patients consuming unhealthy meals. The WPSI mentioned that counseling can be performed during health check-ups, and higher intensity interventions, including appropriate referrals, could be used for improving weight outcomes. Furthermore, factors potentially affecting health outcomes such as trauma, socioeconomic status, and chronic stress must be considered for counseling. Counseling efforts must also consider cultural body image considerations, weight stigma, individual body compositional variability, leisure time, space accessibility for physical exercise, childcare, healthy food availability, and finances. The efficacy of RCTs of behavioral interventions for weight management among midlife women was limited and demonstrated small magnitudes of effect. Most RCTs included short-term evaluations, and thus, an optimal approach for obesity prevention could not be established. However, several interventions with varying frequency, intensity, and duration and even modest weight loss (three to five percent) showed meaningful health benefits. The reported weight loss levels were similar to those of trials underpinning the USPSTF (United States preventive services task force) recommendations. Conclusions Based on the systematic review findings and the growing obesity burden in midlife women, the WPSI recommended that midlife women with normal or elevated BMI must receive counseling for obesity prevention. The recommendations are an extension of the existing USPSTF level C recommendations by expanding counseling of non-obese adult populations without cardiovascular risk factors to individualized decisions and referrals for normalizing healthy diet, physical exercise, and behavioral counseling for all the eligible non-obese women in primary care settings. Behavioral counseling may prevent weight gain in midlife women and cause modest loss of weight without any harm. However, future studies must elucidate the most effective weight management approaches. The recommendations could improve coverage of clinical preventive health services, guide clinical practice and mitigate weight stigma concerns. To read the original article click here.

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Does Estrogen Protect Against the Risk of Brain Shrinkage?

AHA Publisher — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:00:38 +0000

American Academy of Neurology (AAN) via Newswise – MINNEAPOLIS – A new study found that people with higher cumulative estrogen exposure over their lifetime had greater brain volumes and fewer indicators of brain disease on their brain scans in midlife. The research is published in the November 3, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “We found that a number of ways a woman is exposed to estrogen—not having reached menopause, having more total reproductive years, having a higher number of children, using menopause hormone therapy or hormonal contraceptives—were associated with larger gray matter volumes in midlife,” said author Lisa Mosconi, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, N.Y. The study looked at 99 women between the ages of 40 and 65 who did not have dementia. They did have risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s, such as family history of the disease or the APOE gene that is linked to a greater risk. Researchers compared them to 29 men, matched for age, with similar risk factors. Then researchers looked at the association of reproductive history with the volume of gray matter in the brain, which is an indicator of brain health, and scores on thinking and memory tests. When looking at people’s brain scans, several events that indicate longer estrogen exposure, like more than 39 reproductive years, a higher number of children and pregnancies, and use of hormone replacement therapy and/or hormone contraceptives, were associated with greater gray matter volume. This appeared mainly in the temporal cortex, frontal cortex, and precuneus, areas of the brain in which Alzheimer’s biomarkers often show up first. The results were the same after adjusting for factors like high blood pressure and smoking. For example, for every year longer that a woman was exposed to estrogen in her life, average gray matter volume in certain areas of the brain increased by an average of 1%. People with total reproductive years of 39 years or longer had gray matter volume an average of 5% larger than people with total reproductive years of less than 39 years. Total reproductive years is the difference between the age at menopause and the age when a woman’s period begins. For each additional child a woman had, gray matter volume in certain areas of the brain increased by an average of 2%. When researchers looked at people’s scores on tests of thinking and memory, they found no association with reproductive history indicators. However, people’s gray matter volume in the temporal regions of the brain was associated with better scores. “Previous research has shown that the midlife decline in estrogen that comes with menopause is a driver of brain aging and Alzheimer’s risk in women,” Mosconi said. “Our results confirm that, but there’s also good news. Other factors related to women’s reproductive history, such as a longer reproductive span and use of hormonal therapy, appear to offset the effects of menopause. While the age at which menopause starts is determined partly by a person’s genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors like smoking, obesity and exercise also play a role, and may modify a woman’s risk of brain aging.” The study does not prove that estrogen reduces dementia risk, it only shows an association between the two. A limitation of the study is that brain scans showing gray matter volume may indicate other types of brain disease, not just the kind related to Alzheimer’s. The study was supported by the National Institutes for Health, National Institute on Aging, the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and Harold W. McGraw III and Nancy McGraw, and Carol and Michael Weisman. Learn more about Alzheimer’s disease at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtags #Neurology and #AANscience. The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy. To read the original article click here.

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Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopausal Symptoms

AHA Publisher — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 07:00:45 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Does soy food consumption explain why Japanese women appear to be so protected from hot flash symptoms? When women hit menopause and their ovaries shut down, the estrogen level in their body drops 95 percent. This is good news for the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. Otherwise, the constant estrogen signaling could eventually result in endometrial cancer. In fact, that may be why menopause evolved: to protect the uterus from cancer. Lower estrogen levels are also beneficial for lowering breast cancer risk. In postmenopausal women, relatively high blood levels of estrogen are associated with a more than double increased risk for breast cancer. But why do estrogen levels drop 95 percent at menopause, but not all the way down to zero? Because estrogen can be made by other tissues, like our own fat cells, and “this probably explains the increase in [breast cancer] risk in obese postmenopausal women.” More fatty tissue means more estrogen production. In my earlier video How to Block Breast Cancer’s Estrogen-Producing Enzymes, I discussed how soy phytoestrogens can block the production of estrogen, such that drinking a glass of soy milk with each meal can cut estrogen levels in half in premenopausal women. But estrogen levels in postmenopausal women are already down 95 percent, and, because of that, many women, approximately 8 in 10, suffer from hot flashes. Might lowering levels even further with soy make menopausal symptoms even worse? That’s the subject of my video Soy Phytoestrogens for Menopause Hot Flashes. Estrogen treatment reduces menopausal symptoms very effectively, but, unfortunately, its downsides include not only the uterine cancer, but blood clots, strokes, and cognitive impairment, as well. Taking progesterone-type compounds with the estrogen prevents uterine cancer, but increases the risk of heart attacks, more stroke, breast cancer, more clots, and dementia. What’s a woman to do? The 80 percent hot flashes figure is not universal. Eighty to 85 percent of European and American women may experience hot flashes, but as few as 15 percent of women may be affected in places like Japan. In fact, there isn’t even a term for it in the Japanese language, which supports how relatively rare it is. Could the phytoestrogens in soy be helping? Researchers examined the “association between soy product intake and the occurrence of hot flashes” by following a thousand Japanese women over time, from before they started menopause, to see who developed hot flashes and who didn’t. As you can see at 2:34 in my video, those women eating around four ounces of tofu a day appeared to cut their risk in half, compared to women only eating an ounce or two a day, suggesting soy products are protective. But, could it be that soy intake is just a marker for a healthier diet over all? A study in China found that consumption of “whole plant foods” in general seemed to be associated with decreased menopausal symptoms, so in order to see if soy had a special role, you’d have to put it to the test. As you can see at 3:10 in my video, soy phytoestrogens in pill form showed extraordinary results, including a significant decrease in hot flash “presence, number [frequency] and severity.” At the start of the study, 100 percent of women suffered hot flashes, and that dropped to only 31 percent by the end of three months. The average number of hot flashes also dropped, from about 120 a month down to only 12 in 90 days. Exciting findings, but the problem with this study and some others like it is that there was no control group to control for the placebo effect. If you look at all the hormone trials, even the women who got the placebo sugar pills had up to around a 60 percent reduction in hot flashes over the years. That’s why any “therapies purported to reduce such symptoms must be assessed in blinded trials against a placebo or a validated therapy because of the large placebo effect…and also because…menopause symptoms often decline” on their own over time. To illustrate this point, see the findings of a study I show at 4:00 in my video. Researchers gave women a soy protein powder and saw a nice drop in hot flashes over the next 12 weeks. Those results on their own make the soy supplementation look pretty effective, but those were results from the placebo powder group. The study subjects who actually got the soy achieved results significantly better than placebo, which demonstrates how important it is to recognize how powerful the placebo effect can be. Over the past 20 years, more than 50 clinical trials have evaluated the effects of soy foods and supplements on the alleviation of hot flashes. Compiling the best ones together, the placebo groups got about a 20 percent drop in hot flash severity, while the soy groups achieved about a 45 percent drop. So, on average, the soy did about 25 percent better than control, as you can see at 4:31 in my video. There have been two studies that compared soy phytoestrogens head–to–head against hormones. In one study, they actually seemed pretty comparable, in terms of reducing hot flashes, muscle and joint pain, and vaginal dryness, compared to placebo, as you can see at 4:50 in my video. In the other study, however, soy did better than placebo, but estrogen and progesterone therapy did better than both. But, soy has “the benefit of no increased risk of breast and uterine cancer or cardiovascular disease,” such as heart disease and stroke. KEY TAKEAWAYS After menopause, a woman’s estrogen level drops by 95 percent, which benefits her endometrium, the uterine lining, and lowers breast cancer risk. Soy phytoestrogens can block estrogen production, such that drinking a glass of soy milk at each meal can halve estrogen levels in premenopausal women. Although estrogen treatments may effectively reduce symptoms of menopause, they have myriad downsides, including uterine cancer, blood clots, strokes, and cognitive impairment, and taking it with progesterone-type compounds may also increase heart attack, stroke, breast cancer, clot, and dementia risks. Hot flashes are suffered by approximately 80 percent of postmenopausal European and American women, but only about 15 percent of women in Japan, for example. Researchers found that those eating around four ounces of tofu a day appeared to halve their risk of hot flashes, compared to those who only ate one or two daily ounces, suggesting soy products are protective. More than 50 clinical trials have studied the effects of soy foods and supplements on hot flashes, and the best studies found about a 25 percent improvement by soy over placebo controls in the severity of hot flashes. Of the two studies comparing soy phytoestrogens against hormones, one determined soy to be fairly comparable with regards to reducing hot flashes, muscle and joint pain, as well as vaginal dryness, compared to placebo, while the other found that soy did better than placebo but the estrogen and progesterone therapy exceeded both in effectiveness. Soy, however, provides the benefit without the increased risks of cancers of the breast and uterus or heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease. Why does soy help some women, but not others? See my video How to Convert Into an Equol Producer. I discuss more about the risks of hormone replacement therapy in How Did Doctors Not Know About the Risks of Hormone Therapy?. What about Plant-Based Bioidentical Hormones? Check out the video and find out. For more on soy, see: Is Soy Healthy for Breast Cancer Survivors? GMO Soy and Breast Cancer Flashback Friday: Who Shouldn’t Eat Soy? In health, Michael Greger, M.D. To read the original article click here.

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Plant-Based Diet Rich in Soy Reduces Troubling Menopause Symptoms by 84%

AHA Publisher — Fri, 16 Jul 2021 07:00:49 +0000

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine via News-Medical – A new study, published by the North American Menopause Society in the journal Menopause, found a plant-based diet rich in soy reduces moderate-to-severe hot flashes by 84%, from nearly five per day to fewer than one per day. During the 12-week study, nearly 60% of women became totally free of moderate-to-severe hot flashes. Overall hot flashes (including mild ones) decreased by 79%. The study, called the WAVS trial–the Women’s Study for the Alleviation of Vasomotor Symptoms-shows that diet changes can be much more powerful for treating hot flashes than scientists had thought. Vasomotor symptoms refer to night sweats, hot flashes, and flushes. The study used no hormone medications or extracts. Instead, the research team tested a combination of a low-fat plant-based diet plus 1/2 cup of ordinary soybeans added to a salad or soup each day. “This is a game changer for women aged 45 and over, most of whom we now know can get prompt relief from the most severe and troubling menopause symptoms without drugs,” says lead researcher Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee and adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine. As many as 80% of postmenopausal women suffer from hot flashes. Heat wells up from the chest, causing flushing, sweating, and chills. At night, hot flashes interfere with sleep. Estrogen-based medications were once routinely used to treat hot flashes but have been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer and other serious problems. Isoflavoneextracts from soybeans work only modestly, leaving women and their doctors with few effective options. Study Details Postmenopausal women reporting two or more hot flashes per day were randomly assigned to either an intervention group–consisting of a low-fat, vegan diet, including half a cup of cooked soybeans daily–or to a control group that made no diet changes for 12 weeks. Frequency and severity of hot flashes were recorded using a mobile application, and vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual symptoms were assessed using the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL). Each participant was given a digital self-calibrating scale to track body weight day by day, a mobile app to track hot flashes in real time, and an Instant Pot to prepare soybeans at home. Each week, the group got together with the research team via Zoom. “Previous studies have shown that soy could be beneficial, so we decided to put a diet change to the test. We believe that the combination is what is important. By the end of the study, the majority of women on a plant-based diet rich in soy reported that they no longer experienced moderate-to-extreme hot flashes at all and that they experienced significant improvements in their quality of life.” Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, study author, director of clinical research for the Physicians Committee Key Findings Total hot flashes decreased by 79% and moderate-to-severe hot flashes decreased by 84% in the intervention group. At the study’s conclusion, 59% of intervention-group participants reported becoming free of moderate and severe hot flashes. There was no change in this variable in the control group. In previous randomized trials, soy products have been shown to modestly reduce the frequency of hot flashes. The researchers theorize that the effect may be a result of soy products containing isoflavones, which can be metabolized by gut bacteria into equol–a nonsteroidal compound that has been shown in some studies to reduce the incidence and severity of hot flashes. Previous studies have also shown that those following vegetarian or vegan diets produce higher levels of equol. The new study showed a more robust response, using the combination of a plant-based diet plus soy. Many study participants also reported improvements in sexual symptoms, mood, and overall energy. “This was basically a lifesaver for me,” said one study participant. “I’ve got my quality of life back.” Another said, “I am sleeping better, and my hot flashes diminished tremendously.” Several participants also noticed significant weight loss and better digestion. “Before you jump to any kind of medication, I would try this route, because it’s easy,” a study participant said. “Anybody can do it.” The study was based on the new approach to menopausal symptoms described by Dr. Barnard in his book Your Body in Balance. After the book was released in 2020, a reader contacted Dr. Barnard to let him know that his method eliminated her hot flashes within five days. Rather than using isoflavone extracts or soy foods such as soy milk or tofu, she used whole soybeans. To read the original article click here.

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Natural Dietary Treatments for Fibroids

AHA Publisher — Thu, 13 May 2021 07:00:09 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The same diet that helps regulate hormones in women may also reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting pollutants. Fibroids are the most common benign tumors in women. They can grow to a foot in diameter and affect the majority of women before they hit menopause. Although fibroids tend to be asymptomatic, when symptoms do occur, they tend to manifest as heavy menstrual bleeding—so much so that women may get anemic and experience a lot of pain. So, what can women do? I discuss this in my video The Best Diet for Fibroids. Up to half go into surgery and get their entire uterus removed. “Although hysterectomy is generally considered a safe operation, complications occur in a significant proportion of patients” and, obviously, you can’t have kids any more. The alternative is a variety of hormone-modulating drugs, which can shrink the fibroids and provide relief, but many of these drugs have significant side effects, like bone loss, so you really don’t want to be taking them for more than a few months. What’s the bottom line? “There is currently no evidence to support the routine use of medical treatment in women with uterine fibroids.” No wonder many women turn to “complementary and alternative treatments…including exercise, diet, herbs, and acupuncture.” Women who exercise seven or more hours a week do seem to have lower risk of having fibroids than women who exercise less than around 20 minutes a day, but exercise has never been put to the test for treating fibroids. Likewise, to date, there isn’t a single randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of fibroids to help guide us. In terms of herbs, there are two Asian herbal preparations that show promise—a five-herb combo called Guizhi Fuling and a Malaysian ten-herb formula that contains “secret ingredients” that must not be that secret since they’re just listed in the study, as you can see at 1:50 in my video—and they seemed to work as well as a leading drug. The problem is that traditional Asian herbal remedies may contain a few extra ingredients, like arsenic, mercury, and lead, which have been detected in most of the samples tested from Asian market and health food store shelves, and not just a little. Some, apparently, had really toxic amounts. So, these two Asian herbal preparations “may reduce fibroid size, but there is insufficient evidence to support the efficacy or safety of these treatments.” And, certainly, don’t try to apply caustic herbs internally, as this can lead to scarring, stenosis, and ulceration. Well, what about diet? In one of the largest studies of diet and fibroids, fibroid tumors were “associated with beef and ham consumption, whereas high intake of green vegetables seems to have a protective effect.” The researchers figured that the “association between levels of estrogen, diet, and breast and endometrial [uterine lining] cancers also may help us understand” why. Indeed, “[f]or breast and endometrial cancers, a direct association with the frequency of consumption of meat and ham was observed…whereas protection was conferred by high intake of vegetables and fruits.” Thus, there may be these shared risk factors between estrogen-responsive malignant tumors, like breast cancer, and estrogen-responsive benign tumors, like fibroids. We know the presence of fibroids seems to correlate with an increase in the amount of estrogens flowing through your body, for example, and that women eating vegetarian diets have significantly lower levels of excess estrogen. Researchers are using this knowledge to try to explain why there are lower rates of endometrial cancer—that is, lining-of-the-uterus cancer—and possibly breast cancer among vegetarian women, but it could also help explain the fibroid findings. “The incidence of breast cancer among vegetarian American women (Seventh Day Adventists) is 60 to 80 per cent of the incidence among American women in general, and the incidence among women in Africa and Asia is even lower.” Why might vegetarian women have lower estrogen levels? A famous study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that it was their “increased fecal output, which leads to increased fecal excretion of estrogen,” resulting in lower blood levels. Double the fecal output, in fact, as you can see at 4:07 in my video. And, you can put it to the test. Maybe the same reason African-American women have more fibroids is the same reason they have worse breast cancer survival: too much estrogen in their bloodstream due to a less than optimal diet. So, researchers designed a study to see what would happen if they were switched to a more plant-based, higher fiber diet. Compared with the Caucasian women, the African-American women started out with much higher estrogen levels, again helping to explain their increased mortality from breast cancer. But, after they were put on a healthier diet, all of their levels came down, “suggest[ing] that a substantial reduction in breast cancer risk can be achieved” by adopting a diet centered around more whole plant foods. The same also appears to be true for fibroids, especially eating lots of cruciferous vegetables—broccoli, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage—as well as tomatoes and apples. Women who underwent premature puberty, starting their periods before age 11, may also be at increased risk of fibroids later in life, and we know that higher childhood red meat intake is associated with earlier age of starting one’s period, though total protein and animal protein in general may contribute. For example, girls who eat meat tend to start their periods about six months earlier than vegetarian girls. Those who eat meat analogues like veggie burgers and veggie dogs start their periods nine months later on average, and a similar puberty normalizing influence was found with consumption of whole plants foods, such as beans. It could also be the endocrine-disrupting pollutants that build up the food chain. Researchers tooksamples of internal abdominal fat from women and found there appeared to be a correlation between the presence of fibroids with the levels of a number of PCBs in their fat. So, does that mean fish-eaters have higher risk of fibroids? Researchers did find a small increase in risk associated with the intake of long-chain omega-3 fats, mostly from “dark-meat fish consumption,” by which they meant fish like sardines and salmon. This could be because of “the endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonly shown in fish,” or it could just be a statistical fluke. It would be consistent with the increased risk seen among “sport-fish consumers.” Recognizing that diet and endocrine-disrupting persistent organic pollutants have been associated with a variety of gynecologic conditions, including fibroids, researchers looked at consumers of fish fished out of the Great Lakes and found a 20 percent increased risk for every ten years they had been eating the fish. In the most comprehensive study to date, researchers compared pollutant levels in fat samples from women with fibroids to fat liposuctioned out of women without fibroids. They didn’t just find higher levels of PCBs in fibroid sufferers, but also long-banned pesticides, like DDT and hexachlorocyclohexane, PAHs, which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed when coal is burned, tobacco is smoked, and meat is grilled, as well as heavy metals, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. These levels correlated not only to fibroids, but also to seafood consumption or excess body fat. So, the researchers determined that “shedding excess weight and limiting seafood consumption would confer a protective effect” on fibroid tumor development by minimizing exposure to environmental pollutants as much as possible. Okay, so a plant-based diet may be best, but is there a plant in particular that has been shown to be particularly powerful? Plant-based compounds with disease-preventive properties, dietary phytochemicals are found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils, herbs, spices, nuts, and certain beverages. As I discuss in my video The Best Food for Fibroids, we know they can help regulate the initiation, promotion, and spread of cancerous tumors, so what about benign tumors like fibroids? Most anti-cancer drugs on the market now were originally derived from plants or plant products, so why not try to use plants to target the inflammation or blood supply of fibroids? Might fibroids be a consequence of chronic inflammation within the body? We know that women with fibroids are more likely to eat more beef and ham, and fewer fruits and green vegetables, but whole plant foods don’t just have anti-inflammatory effects but antioxidant effects as well. “If the generation of free radicals exceeds the protective effects of antioxidants, oxidative damage will occur,” which has been implicated in a variety of disease states, including gynecological conditions such as fibroids. If you collect fresh fibroids, as well as normal uterine tissue from hysterectomy surgeries, the fibroid cells have significantly fewer antioxidant enzymes, as you can see at 1:20 in my video, so might antioxidant-rich foods help? Well, if you drip some strawberries onto cells in a petri dish, you can apparently kill of some fibroid tumor cells, while leaving normal uterus cells alone. But, what good does that do us? That’s only relevant if we can show those strawberry compounds get absorbed through our gut and achieve high enough concentrations in uterine tissue. The same with curcumin, the component of the spice turmeric. One of its so-called “miraculous” properties is suppressing the growth of uterine fibroid cells, but, again, that was just in vitro. Yes, an inhibitory effect was found and at concentrations that don’t compromise the growth of normal, regular uterine tissue, but my patients are people, not petri dishes. It’s pretty neat to find out what happens to human fibroid cells as you drip higher and higher concentrations of green tea compounds on them in a test tube, as you can see for yourself at 2:19 in my video, but I care less about what happens in vitro or in mice, whether or not they have any clothes on—one study looked at “a nude mice model”—but there were no randomized, controlled clinical studies until 2013. Subjects were randomized to green tea extract or placebo for four months. In the placebo group, fibroid volume increased by 24 percent. That’s what fibroids do; they continue to grow. However, those randomized to the green tea group showed a reduction in total fibroid volume—and not just by a little. There was a dramatic decrease, shrinking by almost a third, which is a highly significant difference, as you can see at 3:02 in my video. Okay, but did the women feel any better? Yes, they experienced a dramatic decrease in symptom severity, as well. Month after month, nothing much happened in the placebo group, but those taking the pills that looked the same but happened to contain green tea compounds had consistent improvement and felt lessening symptoms, each month better than the last, as well as an improved health-related quality of life, month after month, that was significantly better than control. What’s more, their blood counts got better too. With all that continued excess blood loss every month, the blood levels kept decreasing in the placebo group, but they reversed in the green tea group. So, anemia also significantly improved, because average blood flow significantly diminished. And, all this—the fibroid shrinkage, less pain, better periods—was achieved with “no adverse effects.” So, not only were the results comparable to those for the drugs that are commonly used—again, without the side effects—but the results were also comparable to uterine artery embolization, where they try to cut the blood supply to the fibroid, which is great—unless they accidentally cut the blood supply to the rest of the uterus and cause uterine necrosis, one of many reported major complications. Others include death, not only of the fibroid, but also of the patient, along with other potential complications that may arise from accidentally clogging off non-target arteries. In my book, a side-effect-free solution as good as a more invasive procedure is potentially better than. The researchers conclude that green tea compounds show “promise as a safe and effective therapeutic agent for women with symptomatic UFs [uterine fibroids]. Such a simple, inexpensive, and orally administered therapy...

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Experimental Treatment Offers Hope of Fertility for Early Menopausal Women

AHA Publisher — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 07:00:20 +0000

The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) via EurekAlert – Menopause typically signals the end of a woman’s ability to become pregnant. However, in a small new study, a novel approach of administering platelet-rich plasma and gonadotropins near the ovarian follicles is showing promise in restoring ovarian function. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). As more women look to build their careers before pursuing motherhood, the average age of conceiving a child continues to be pushed back. For some of these women, however, their hope of becoming pregnant is cut short by the onset of early menopause, which is described as the cessation of ovarian function at or before the age of 45 years. It is estimated that roughly 12.2% of women experience early menopause. For these women, the only chance of becoming pregnant is with donor eggs. Multiple treatment options have previously been investigated, including standard, controlled ovarian stimulation. Platelet-rich plasma has been used in women with primary ovarian insufficiency, but few pregnancies and live births resulted. With the failure of these somewhat traditional treatments, more novel approaches, such as methods for inducing the growth of ovarian follicles, are being pursued. In this new, small-scale pilot study, platelet-rich plasma and gonadotropins were injected into the ovaries of study participants, with some fairly amazing results. After treatment, 11 of the 12 study participants resumed menstruation, and one achieved clinical pregnancy, defined as a pregnancy that is confirmed by ultrasound as well as a fetal heartbeat. Although more research and larger studies are needed, these early results regarding the successful resumption of ovarian function offer hope to women in early menopause who may be able to pursue pregnancy through in vitro fertilization using their own eggs. Results are published in the article “Resumed ovarian function and pregnancy in early menopausal women by whole dimension subcortical ovarian administration of platelet-rich plasma and gonadotropins.” “This pilot study investigating the use of platelet-rich plasma and gonadotropins injected into the ovaries of women with early menopause highlights the promise of regenerative medicine in restoring or prolonging fertility. Additional studies conducted prospectively and involving large numbers of women are needed to determine whether this is truly a viable option for women with early menopause hoping to achieve pregnancy using their own eggs,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director. To read the original article click here.

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Sleep Disturbances May Contribute to Weight Gain in Menopause

AHA Publisher — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 07:00:24 +0000

Endocrine Society via Newswise – WASHINGTON—Addressing sleep symptoms during menopause may reduce susceptibility to weight gain, according to a small study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. “Our findings suggest that not only estrogen withdrawal but also sleep disturbances during menopause may contribute to changes in a woman’s body that could predispose midlife women to weight gain,” said lead researcher Leilah Grant, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. “Helping women sleep better during menopause may therefore reduce the chances a woman will gain weight, which in turn will lower her risk of diabetes and other related diseases.” Rates of obesity increase in women around the age of menopause. Menopause-related weight gain is often thought to be caused by the withdrawal of the female hormone estrogen. Estrogen is unlikely to be to be the only contributing factor, however, since all women stop producing estrogen in menopause while only about half of women gain weight, Grant said. Another common symptom, also affecting around half of women during menopause, is sleep disturbance, which has independently been linked to changes in metabolism that might increase the risk of weight gain. To better understand the role of sleep disturbances and hormonal changes in menopausal weight gain, the researchers studied 21 healthy pre-menopausal women. They used an experimental model simulating the sleep disturbance experienced in menopause to examine the effects of poor sleep on the body’s use of fat. Participants had two nights of uninterrupted sleep followed by three nights of interrupted sleep, where they were woken by an alarm every 15 minutes for 2 minutes each time. The researchers then restudied a subset of nine participants in the same sleep interruption protocol after they were given a drug called leuprolide, which temporarily suppressed estrogen to levels similar to menopause. Compared to a normal night of sleep, after three nights of disturbed sleep there was a significant reduction in the rate at which the women’s bodies used fat. A similar reduction in fat utilization was also seen when estrogen was suppressed, even during normal sleep. The combination of low estrogen and sleep disturbance also reduced fat utilization, but the effect was not larger than either exposure on their own. “In addition to estrogen withdrawal, sleep disturbances decrease fat utilization,” Grant said. “This may increase the likelihood of fat storage and subsequent weight gain during menopause.” To read the original article click here.

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