Herb Consults

How often do you drink water from a plastic bottle?

Many communities are starting to ban plastic bottles in the past few years. All types are being banned from the soft, easily crushed bottles to the very hard almost glass looking plastics.

Concerns have been raised over the resources used to manufacture the bottles, the problems with disposal of the bottles and how many plastics release a chemical known as bisphenol A or BPA.

First it was discovered that plastic bottles released this chemical when they got warm. Such as being transported in a delivery truck, or being left in your car exposed to the heat. This particularly affected the soft plastic used in bottled water.

Then, it was discovered that even the hard plastic emitted these dangerous chemicals. Plus it didn’t matter what the temperature was or the type of plastic – whenever scientists tested the contents of plastic containers, they all showed some level of BPA.

BPA acts as a xeno-estrogen. Xeno means foreign. This means it acts like the female hormone estrogen and takes the place of your natural estrogen in the body.

This can play havoc if you’re prone to hot flashes and night sweats, suffer from PMS, and even migraines.

BPA’s have a large range of harmful effects. Women with high levels of BPA are more prone to developing breast cancer. Birth defects and miscarriages have already been linked to BPA’s.  Read more... (364 words, estimated 1:27 mins reading time)

Tags: birth defects, BPA, hot flashes, night sweats, plastics, pms, Women's Health, xeno-estrogen

Women will often experience hot flashes and night sweats during menopause.

Frequently, these symptoms will interfere with a decent nights sleep, often for months on end. The hormone fluctuations of menopause and peri-menopause are a common cause of sleep problems and insomnia.

An estimated 75% of menopausal women suffer from hot flashes. The hot flashes can be mild to severe. Sometimes the hot flashes can be so severe, you feel as if you are burning up. This is called “steaming bones” in Chinese Medicine.

Hot flashes and night sweats respond very well to acupuncture and herbal formulas. I’ve treated quite a few woman with both, with just acupuncture and with just herbal medicines. All had noticeable and lasting improvement.

To read the full article click here > > > Menopausal Sleep Problems – Tips to Help You Sleep

Tags: herbal formulas, herbal medicines, Herbs, hot flashes, menopause, night sweats, peri-menopause, Women's Health

By Christine Hasinger, DOM

Are Hot Flashes & Night Sweats Keeping You Up?

Women will often experience hot flashes and night sweats during menopause leading to trouble sleeping.

Frequently, these sleep symptoms will interfere with a decent nights sleep, often for months on end.   The hormone fluctuations of menopause and perimenopause are a common cause of sleep problems and insomnia.

An estimated 75% of menopausal women suffer from hot flashes.   The hot flashes can be mild to severe.  Sometimes the hot flashes can be so severe, you feel as if you are burning up.  This is called “steaming bones” in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Night sweats follow the hot flashes.  Again these sweats can be mild to severe.  I’ve even heard of women complaining that their nightclothes are soaked or the bed linens are drenched in sweat.  Many have to get up and change their nightgown or sheets in the middle of the night, and then have difficulty getting back to sleep.

Once a sweat passes, your body gets chilled and that’s what tends to wake most women up.

I frequently hear my patients complaining of insomnia without realizing that their hot flashes and night sweats are a major contributing factor in their sleep disturbances.

The hot flashes and night sweats can start years before the onset of menopause and generally are the first symptoms of your body changing.  These can occur during the day as well.  Read more... (882 words, estimated 3:32 mins reading time)

Tags: disturbed sleep, herbal formulas, Herbal Medicine, hot flashes, insomnia, menopausal sleep problems, menopause, night sweats, sleep disturbances, sleep problems, trouble sleeping, Uncategorized