Good Herbal Health

Women cannot escape that stage of their life when the menstrual cycle ends.  This stage is called menopause.  It happens between the ages 45 and 60.  But there are a few women who reach this stage earlier.  What actually happens is that the ovaries no longer produce the hormone estrogens.

“Estrogens”, which are composed of estradiol, estriol, and estrone, is a group of major female sex hormones which are responsible for the development of secondary female characteristics.  Estrogen is responsible for the female sexual drive.  Without estrogen, a woman feels fatigued and depressed.  She has lesser enthusiasm and energy to do the activities that she used to do.  And she is less capable in coping with her environment.

A woman may allow the drastic hormonal changes in her body to dominate her daily life.  Or she may take control by seeking relief from her menopausal symptoms.  Some may use estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) but this medical method is not for women who had a history of cancer.  Others may choose hormonal therapy (HRT) but this produces side effects such as cyclical bleeding.

Another alternative is to use supplements made up of naturally occurring substances.  One substance which is believed to bring relief to menopausal symptoms is vitamin E.  This vitamin is also known as d-Alpha tocopheryl acetate.  It is best known as an anti-oxidant.

An anti-oxidant is a substance that basically reduces body reactions that involves oxygen (called oxidation).  Such reactions leads to the formation of harmful products described only as “free radicals”.  Free radicals are like scavengers who grab any material along their way and change it into something less desirable.  The presence of free radicals lead to premature aging, high blood pressure, heart diseases, cancer, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases.

With vitamin E, the production of free radicals is prevented.  This means that vitamin E can stop premature aging.  It can also make a woman (or man) look younger.  Thus, vitamin E earned the name “youth vitamin”.

Vitamin E also enhances the ability of muscles to function well, even with little amounts of oxygen.  And a woman (or man) does have lesser oxygen available in her body each time she performs an activity.  With vitamin E, she doesn’t feel the strain of having lesser oxygen.  Her muscles still work effectively.  This implies that vitamin E gave her endurance and stamina.  Vitamin E helped the menopausal woman cope with her environment.

A woman may obtain vitamin E from raw nuts and seeds, peanuts, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus, and cornmeal.  Or she may get vitamin E from Menozac, a supplement which is especially formulated to relieve menopausal symptoms and support the hormonal balance of a woman’s body.