Support for the Female Body (Part I) www.centrachiropractic.com

This US study by the University of Pittsburgh, looked at 140,000 post-menopausal women and found that those who breastfed for more than a year were 10% less likely to develop the above health conditions than those who did not breastfed.

Amazingly, even breastfeeding for a month can cut the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  What’s most incredible is that on average, it had been 35 years since the women had last breastfed which suggests the beneficial impact of breastfeeding lasts for decades.  Breastfeeding reduced the risk of heart problems, and breastfeeding for more than a year cut the risk of high blood pressure by 12%, and diabetes and high cholesterol by around 20%.

Some have suggested that breastfeeding may reduce cardiovascular risk by reducing fat stores in the body but it is likely that the release of hormones stimulated by breastfeeding also plays a more important role.  Breastfeeding is an important part of the way women’s bodies recover from pregnancy and when this does not occur women are more likely to have a number of health problems, so it seems that the longer a mother nurses her baby, the better for both of them.

Interestingly, these effects were greater for women, suggesting that women may be more sensitive to interactions among emotion, behavior and biology and, therefore, be more predisposed to certain health risks, such as heart disease.  No differences in these effects were found across race or ethnicity.  Of the sample, 76 % reported good or excellent health and 18 percent reported illnesses.  The researchers found that this longitudinal study provides even more evidence that behavior and emotions generally linked to certain temperaments play a crucial role in long-term health, and fortunately, early childhood characteristics can be shaped and guided by social, family and peer interactions. Interventions can focus on changing particular ways of responding and behaviors that frequently go along with particular traits in order to prevent the development of some diseases.

Previous studies have shown positive effects with coffee, caffeine, or chlorogenic acid supplementation in improving oxidative stress and its associated cell death mechanisms and now a new study on the role of dietary intervention focused on coffee. The researchers examined the effect of coffee, caffeine and chlorogenic acid supplementation on markers of oxidative stress, antioxidant enzyme protein content and cell death in male and female mice models of ALS.  The researchers found that coffee appears to be beneficial for men, both reducing oxidative stress and cell death, and increasing antioxidants, but for women, caffeine appears to be harmful. The researchers recommended that women with the disorder may want to restrict caffeine consumption, or switch to decaffeinated products which contain the antioxidants, but with little caffeine.

The issue of low sex drive is a more pressing concern for women who are post surgically-induced menopause, as the lack of female sexual organs further affects hormone levels.  One solution for this problem is the result of new research which supports the claim that women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), or the persistent or recurrent deficiency and/or the absence of sexual fantasies or thoughts, and desire for sexual activity show great improvement in desire and sexual function following low dose testosterone treatment.  Two randomized double-blind, placebo controlled trials in surgically postmenopausal women with HSDD demonstrated that use of the transdermal testosterone patch treatment resulted in significant improvements in the frequency of satisfying sexual activity and sexual desire, as well as a decrease in sexual distress.

Results revealed a significant increase in frequency of satisfying sexual activity and sexual desire based on women experiencing the treatment as beneficial.  More women on testosterone experienced a meaningful benefit and, in fact, the odds of experiencing a meaningful benefit on testosterone were 2.4 times greater than with the placebo.  Since the women were also able to judge for themselves whether or not the treatment was beneficial, those who experienced benefit were interested in continuing treatment (no surprise!). These results are seriously significant for the field of sexual health and gives hope to women suffering from HSDD and their partners that there is a treatment–the low dose testosterone patch– which can bring to the quality-of-life of surgically post-menopausal women with HSDD.

While there are many potential positive effects of the duo, DHEA may not be so great in certain cells like pre-cancer or inflamed tissues as these cells can induce DHEA to become more androgenic.  But red clover isoflavones may modify androgenic effects in the prostate caused by DHEA which makes the two a great team, potentially.

Bottom line is, the jury is still out and while much more work in the laboratory and clinic is needed to validate the effects of these supplements, red clover may be one that’s pretty safe to use in the meantime.  The herb is a source of many nutrients including calcium, chromium, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and vitamin C—that’s why its considered an overall tonic by herbalists too, and its richness in isoflavones makes it great for menopause, such as hot flashes, cardiovascular health, and osteoporosis as well.  Also: red clover ointments have long been applied as a skin treatment to treat psoriasis, eczema, and other rashes and the herb also has a history of use as a cough remedy for children.  Because of its isoflavones, pregnant and breastfeeding women shouldn’t take it.

On a related subject, though many men complain about the emotional mishmash of living with woman (especially considering the above!), most men living in a house full of ladies really wouldn’t have it any other way and love the sweetness of living with women. Interestingly, Science Daily recently reported that a study on mice revealed that living with a female can extend the reproductive life of a male by as much as 20 %, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (online January 22 in the Journal Biology of Reproduction).
Apparently, the females’ effect on the environment of the spermatogonial stem cells occurs through the male’s endocrine and nervous systems, but other systems are likely involved. And what does the change amount to? A reduction of fertility six months earlier in “lonely” mice as opposed to those who have female companionship.  These study results actually have significant implications for the maintenance of male fertility in wildlife and livestock and maybe even human populations.  Imagine a program that begins to put males with low fertility in group houses filled with women!  Whether this female influence occurs in other species is not known, but it is known that the female strongly modifies a variety of responses in males in areas of male physiology and psychology.  As different as we are, it turns out that our hormones, even through the air, affect each other!  A truly fascinating finding worthy of exploration, no doubt!