Breast-feeding may protect mom's heart after menopause

A story heard from CNN about a mother named Lana Phillip, now 45, who decided to breast-feed her baby, never imagined she would continue for three whole years.
Breast-feeding produces a surge in oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which may help protect the heart.

"I was living in Jamaica at the time where we say 'breast is best,' but I continued for so long mainly because my daughter wouldn't take anything else," she recalls. Sure, she knew that breast-fed babies tended to be healthier, but she didn't know that she also might be doing her own heart a favor -- an added bonus, as Phillip has a strong family history of heart disease and diabetes.

Women who breast-feed for longer than one year seem to be 10 to 15 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease after menopause than women who don't breast-feed, according to a study in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"At my last physical, I had no signs of any heart problems," says Phillip, who has been living in Brooklyn, New York, since 2000.

The U.S. surgeon general currently recommends that babies be fed exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of life, but "the longer women nurse their babies, the better for both of their health," says lead study author Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care in Pennsylvania. Health.com: Diet tips for nursing mothers

In the study, the researchers looked at 139,681 women with an average age of 63 who had at least one child. Those who had a lifetime history of more than 12 months of breast-feeding had a lower risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease than women who also had at least one child, but did not breast-feed. What's more, the longer they breast-fed, the greater the apparent benefit to their hearts -- even after the researchers adjusted for factors that could affect heart disease risk, such as obesity.

Among women who breast-feed for more than one year, the researchers estimate that 38.6 percent will develop high blood pressure, 12.3 percent high cholesterol and 9.1 percent cardiovascular disease. In comparison, 42.1 percent of women who don't breast-feed may develop high blood pressure, 14.8 percent high cholesterol, and 9.9 percent cardiovascular disease. Health.com: Quiz: What's your cholesterol IQ?

According to Schwarz, these new findings should help tip the scale for women who are considering breast-feeding as well as encourage those who already are breast-feeding to do so for longer periods of time. "Heart disease is the leading killer of U.S. women," she says. "To prevent heart disease, I recommend that all my patients exercise regularly, watch their diet, avoid cigarettes, and breast-feed their babies," she says.

"All of these health behaviors are hard for some people, so my message is always 'do the best you can; the more you can do, the better for you'" she adds. "And when we're talking about breast-feeding, of course women get double credit, because breast-feeding is good for mom and good for the baby."

Donnica Moore, M.D., president of the Sapphire Women's Health Group in Far Hills, New Jersey and an author of "Women's Health for Life," advocates breast-feeding for infants, but points out that one year is a long time.

"We know that breast-feeding has numerous benefits for the baby, and this study is one more piece of information that suggests it also has benefits for the mother," she says. Health.com: Breast cancer during pregnancy: What you need to know

However, the study does have its weaknesses, she points out. For starters, the women were about 63 years old, which means they breast-fed a long time ago. A women's memory may not be all that accurate 30-plus years later, says Moore. In addition, the study was not specifically designed to look at breast-feeding and heart disease risk; these results were part of a secondary analysis from another study.

That said, "it's interesting that women who breast-fed more than 12 months showed risk reduction for heart disease, but that may say more about the health choices made by women who are going to breast-feed for that long," says Moore. These women may simply lead healthier lives, she adds. Those who choose to breast-feed tend to be better educated and have a higher socioeconomic status than women who do not -- factors that can also affect the risk of heart disease. (The researchers did take these factors into account.)

However, hormones may also be at play. Breast-feeding produces a surge in oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which may help protect the heart. Health.com: 6 Rules for a healthy postpartum slim-down
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Some women and infants do have trouble with breast-feeding. "Breast-feeding is like riding a bike: It can be tricky at first, and almost everyone needs a little bit of help getting started, but it's really important to learn how to do it," Schwarz says. "Don't hesitate to ask for help, and don't doubt your body's abilities to continue to provide for your baby the way it did throughout pregnancy."

Calling the findings "dramatic and persuasive," Edward R. Newton, M.D., a professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, stresses that "it is imperative that health care providers and our society support and educate women concerning the maternal benefits of prolonged breast-feeding as well as the documented benefits of breast-feeding for the children." Newton wrote an editorial that accompanied the new study.

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Home Remedies for Menopause

Menopause is not a disease, but a new phase in an older woman’s life, it usually causes ovulation to cease and consequently menstruation stops. This natural progression in life starts many years before menopause symptoms actually begin to show. Hormone levels can fluctuate for several years before eventually becoming so low that the endometrium stays thin and does not bleed. Normally the ovaries start to slow the production of hormones like estrogen, testosterone and progesterone. Although estrogen is an important sex and reproductive hormone, it is also present in many non reproductive organs and the body uses estrogen for many other functions, like bone formation, heart, liver breast and bladder function, it is need as well to keep the skin moist and healthy, and to regulate body temperature.


Low estrogen levels causes changes in collagen production, affecting hair, nails, skin and tendons. The skin may become dryer, thinner, less elastic, more prone to bruising and skin itching may occur. The main symptoms of menopause are Hot flushes, Night sweats, Palpitations, Insomnia, Joint aches, Headaches, Vaginal dryness.
On the long run the shortage of estrogen contributes to developing heart disease, cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis, tooth decay, and a variety of vaginal complications.

The average age of the natural menopause is 51 years, but can occur much earlier or later. Menopause occurring before the age of 45 is called early menopause and before the age of 40 is premature menopause. Perimenopause is the stage from the beginning of menopausal symptoms to the postmenopause.

Postmenopause is the time following the last period, and is usually defined as more than 12 months with no periods in someone with intact ovaries, or immediately following surgery if the ovaries have been removed.

Complete symptom list:

Hot Flashes:
Our body’s thermostat is located in the hypothalamus are of the brain, which stops working properly if level of estrogen are not sufficient. This will cause you to experience extremely hot or cold sensations; sometimes you could feel so hot that you would want to strip your close in public while other people feel very comfortable with the temperature and other times you could feel shivering cold in 90 degrees F.

Sleep Problems:
It is not certain if estrogen have an effect on sleeping patterns, however other symptoms caused by estrogen deficiency could be culprit of sleep problems during and after menopause, irritability, hot flashes during the night. Hormone replacement has shown to improve insomnia and sleeping problems, but this could be related to the reduction of hot flushes, mood swings and irritability all of which are helped by increasing levels of estrogen.

Vaginal Dryness:
And inadequate vaginal lubrication can be a very disturbing for most women due to the pain, discomfort and sometimes bleeding experienced during sexual intercourse. Without estrogen

Aches and Pains:
One peculiar symptom of menopause is an increase in frequency of normal aches, such as, headaches, neck, joint and back pains are most common.

Bladder Problems:
Most women going through menopause complain of the following bladder problems, bladder infection, low bladder capacity, inability to contain urine, frequent urination. These problems start when bladder tissue becomes to be deprived of estrogen.

Skin Problems:
Our skin and collagen fibers are very sensitive to levels of estrogen, a hormone deficiency causes, dry, thinner and aging looking skin, irritation, and wrinkles.

Emotions:
Irritability, depression, personality changes and anxiety are very common during depression; these changes can carry a loss of sexual desire. Although these problems are related to the shortage of estrogen, some may be caused by the inability to cope with the psychological impact caused by all the other symptoms. Added to all this is the fact that in many cases women going through menopause might also be under a number of other stressful situations during this period. Things like teenage children, children moving out, aging parents and spouse’s mid-life crisis can also influence in the state of mind of menopausal women.

Many of the symptoms and discomforts experienced during menopause can be relieved by using natural home remedies, things like changing your diet and using some very specific herbs have shown remarkable improvements in women going through menopause.

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Home Remedies for menopause #1: To increase your levels of estrogen try increasing your consumption of plants which contain estrogenic substances:
Alfalfa, soybeans, soy sprouts, crushed flaxseeds, garlic, green beans, sesame seeds, wheat, yams, pumpkin seeds, cucumbers, corn, apples, anise seeds, cabbage, beets, olive oil, olives, papaya, oats, peas, sunflower seeds, are all important sources of natural estrogens and as you can imagine they are loaded with vitamins, fiber and minerals essential not only for menopause, but to maintain an overall good health.

Home Remedies for menopause #2: To reduce hot flashes:
Drink 8 glasses of steam-distilled water.
Take 800 mg. of evening primerose oil, three times a day.

Home Remedies for menopause #3: Hot Flashes Reducing tincture.
2 teaspoons of cohosh root tincture.
1 teaspoon of don quai root tincture.
1 teaspoon of sarsaparilla tincture.
1 teaspoon of licorice root tincture.
1 teaspoon of chaste tree tincture.
1 teaspoon ginseng root tincture.
Mix all the ingredients and take 3 dropperfuls a day.

Home Remedies for menopause #4:Toner for Dry Skin.
Toners are used to improve the appearance of the skin, to soothe and to nourish. Men can use toners as aftershaves.
2 ounces aloe vera gel.
2 ounces orange-blossom water.
1 tsp. wine vinegar.
6 drops rose geranium essential oil.
4 drops sandalwood essential oil.
1 drop chamomile essential oil. *
800 UI vitamin E oil. (Puncture a gel capsule with a needle)

Home Remedies for menopause #5: Cream for Dry Skin.
3/4 ounces beeswax, shaved. (do not use paraffin)
1 cup vegetable oil.
1 cup of distilled water.
800 IU vitamin E (from a liquid gel)
24 drops rose geranium essential oil.
Heat beeswax and oil in a pot until beeswax melts (it should be warm enough to the touch but without discomfort). In a separate pot heat water until is warm to the touch. Remove the center part of your blender’s lid and pour the water in. Turn the blender on high speed and slowly but steadily add the oil and wax mixture. The whole concoction should begin to solidify. Keep adding oil until the mixture does not take any more. Turn off the blender and using a spatula, place the cream in a wide mouthed container.

Home Remedies for menopause #6: Take 50mcg. of selenium 2,000 mg of vitamin C and 10 mg of beta-carotene, once a day to improve skin and help with vaginal dryness.

Home Remedies for menopause #7: Vaginal Dryness lotion
1 ounce of almond oil.
2 drops of geranium essential oil.
One capsule of 1,000 IU of Vitamin E.
Mix all the ingredients and apply inside and outside the vagina twice a day.

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