Premenstrual syndrome

Scientists think they might have figured out the cause of severe PMS

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Women are often mocked about their bad moods at ‘that time of the month’. But scientists have found evidence that women going through severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) aren’t just ‘grumpy’ – their mood fluctuations could be caused by a genetic mutation that’s sending their cells haywire.

While regular PMS is bad enough, 2 to 5 percent of women suffer from an even more extreme version of the syndrome, called premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which causes such intense irritability, sadness, anxiety, bloating, and general achiness in the days leading up to a woman’s period that she’s unable to go about her normal life.

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Researchers know that women with PMDD have normal hormone levels, but for some reason their bodies are much more sensitive to them, which sends their PMS into overdrive. But up until now, no one had been able to figure out what was causing this sensitivity.

The new study has finally revealed the molecular mechanisms that appear to be triggering the debilitating condition, showing once and for all that severe mood-related PMS is very real.

“This is a big moment for women’s health, because it establishes that women with PMDD have an intrinsic difference in their molecular apparatus for response to sex hormones – not just emotional behaviours they should be able to voluntarily control,” said David Goldman, from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).

To figure out what was going on, the team took 10 women with PMDD and nine controls without the condition, and ‘turned off’ progesterone and oestrogen in their system.

The women with PMDD stopped having mood symptoms when the hormones stopped, and their symptoms started again when they reintroduced them, while the control group didn’t experience the same change.

This indicated that the brain cells of the women with PMDD were reacting differently to the hormones somehow. To better understand why, the researchers cultured their white blood cells – which express many of the same genes as brain cells – both in the presence of hormones and without them. (They used white blood cells because brain cells are incredibly hard to harvest).

The researchers found that a large gene complex was different between the two groups.

The complex is known as the ESC/E(Z) (Extra Sex Combs/Enhancer of Zeste) gene complex, and it controls which genes are turned on and off in response to environmental inputs such as hormones and stressors.

It now appears that mutations in this gene complex could be the cause of many of the intense mood symptoms experienced by women with PMDD.

The team showed that in the cells of those with PMDD, many of the genes controlled by the ESC/E(Z) complex were over-expressed, while others were under-expressed compared to the control group.

And when the team added sex hormones, the differences were even more pronounced, suggesting that something about the ESC/E(Z) gene complex in women with PMDD is making their molecular pathways go haywire, and making them more sensitive to sex hormones that ramp up right before their periods.

To be clear, this is a small study performed on a limited group of women. More research needs to be done before we can say for sure what’s causing PMDD. But this is the first time the underlying cellular activity has been identified, so it’s a promising first step.

The good news is that now we have more insight into the condition, we might finally be able to find some effective treatments – currently, women have little options during intense PMS other than to take painkillers, ‘cheer up’ and ‘get over it’.

“For the first time, we now have cellular evidence of abnormal signalling in cells derived from women with PMDD, and a plausible biological cause for their abnormal behavioural sensitivity to oestrogen and progesterone,” explained Peter Schmidt from the NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health.

“Learning more about the role of this gene complex holds hope for improved treatment of such prevalent reproductive endocrine-related mood disorders.”

The team is now looking at the role this gene complex plays in brains cells induced from the stem cells of PMDD patients, which should help them get a better idea of what’s going on.

What is Heavy Metal Toxicity and What Can you Do About It?

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Heavy metal toxicity is something i think we don’t talk enough about in the holistic industry. However, heavy metals are everywhere, surrounding us in our daily lives and activities.

First of all, i would like to give you a definition of what toxicity means:

-Toxins are proteins formed by bacteria, animals or plants. We talk about toxicity when we evaluate the property of a toxin of being poisonous. Toxicity spreads around the body, taking differents paths through the blood and tissues. When not flushed properly through natural excretion pathways like stolls, urine and sweat, build up and accumulation of toxins appears and usually get stored in our fatty tissues. This is what we call Toxaemia. Toxaemia results in the overall body malfunctions. The immune system is compromised, Ph of blood and tissues acidifies, depression symptoms appears, skin rashes, thyroid problems, chronic migraines, mental and neurological disorders like Alzheimer, Parkinson’s, MS, ADD, metallic taste in mouth and chronic inflammation, low libido, PMS, prostate problems, impotence, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease and many more might be the result of toxaemia.

Your body is clever and know how to flush those toxins, but sometimes overload might occurs and this is when trouble comes. Overlaod is most of the time the result of poor lifestyle choices and nutrition. Daily heavy metal poisoning can be due to many factors like cigarettes smoking, high alcohol intake, acidic diet made of too much meat, refined product, inflammatory foods and not enough alkaline forming foods, drinking tap water, conventional dental fillings, lack of physical exercise and recreational drug intake, non-organic foods.

Now there are different types of Heavy metals:

-Arsenic affects neurological functions and can lead to chronic migraines, apathy, confusion. Ways to find out if you are toxic in arsenic is to see if your breath smells like garlic even though you didn’t eat any garlic lately. White spots on the nails can also be a high toxicity in arsenic (as well as deficiency in zinc and iron).

-Lead affects hormonal functions and memory. High toxicity can lead to insomnia, tingling of the limb, depression, unusual taste in mouth, light blue pigmentation on the skin might appear in severe cases. Lead is found in water pipes, canned fruits, car batteries.

–Cadmium affects the kidneys, respiratory and squeletal system. High toxicity can lead to bone fragility, gout, loss of smell, hair loss, zinc deficiency, raise in blood pressure. Cadmium is heavily absorb by the lungs. It used in fertilisers, industrial beers production, cigarettes, sodas. So if someone for example drinks too many beers and sodas and smokes too much, a accumulation of cadmuim might occurs and lower zinc levels which could be a result of prostate problems as prostate needs a lot of zinc to maintain proper functions.

-Mercury affect many things like coordination, gums problems, excessive salivation, neuropathy, depression, irritability, fibromyalgia, fear, apathy, abnormal heartbeat. Mercury is all over the place, from longer fish, to vaccines, passing by tap water and conventional dental fillings, it is hard to avoid mercury.

-Aluminium is a neurotoxin which lead to hypersensitivity, migraines, lower kidney functions, sleep disorders and neuro-muscular disease. It is found everywhere too and especially in vaccines.

-Copper affects mainly the emotions. Mood swing, depression, agitation, ADD, anxiety, chronic stress, insomnia, fibromyalgia, raise of blood pressure and hair loss can all be results of high copper toxicity. Copper can also accumulate in the thyroid leading to hyperthyroism. The pill increase the accumulation and retention of copper in the kidneys. It is mainly found in hot water tabs as the hot water pipes are made of copper.

There are many ways to remove and facilitate the excretion of those nasty little things.

My favorite is fresh crushed garlic, everyday with a green salad, with turmeric and cayenne pepper or just the way you like it the most. (avoid on a first date 😉 ) Then Coriander is excellent is the removal of heavy metal, take it as a tea, infuse for 5 to 10 minutes with fresh orange peal, 3 times daily for 2 months minimum. Then there is Chlorophyl, fresh juice of it, around 50ml everyday, in the morning before breakfast is absolutely amazing in the general detox of the body and removal of heavy metals. Then, there is the Glutathione-skin brushing-epsom salt-exercise combo which works very well too.

In all cases, keep a balance lifestyle, exercise, eat fresh and organic as much as possible, have fun, be happy, dream a lot, explore your limits, do regular mini detox, socialise and don’t be a purist, just be realistic and live your life the way you think is best for you and gives you the motivation to get up every morning and looking forward to a new day.

Source: theholisticdirectory.co.uk

8 Foods High in Magnesium: A Mineral for Diabetes, Insomnia and More .

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Magnesium allows the body to absorb calcium, but it also carries out over 300 other functions in the body. This essential mineral makes sure that our nerves can communicate properly, our body maintains a regulated temperature (homeostasis) and can carry out important tasks like detoxification, supplying us with energy, and yes, making healthy teeth and bones. Everyone should know of foods high in magnesium as well as magnesium deficiency symptoms given the importance of this mineral, 

Magnesium is not only helpful in maintaining bone strength as we age, it can also improve the symptoms of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) as well as menopause for women. Magnesium even helps the body utilize vitamin B6 and reduces migraines, lowers high blood pressure, gets rid of constipation and can even help to remove gallstones.

Wondering – how do I get enough magnesium? There are many foods that will supply magnesium to your body in its most natural form. After checking to see if you have these magnesium deficiency symptoms, come back here to view this list of 8 foods high in magnesium.

magnesium foods 263x164 8 Foods High in Magnesium: A Mineral for Diabetes, Insomnia and More

8 Foods High in Magnesium

  • 1. Rice Bran – This food is hard to find since it often isn’t stocked at regular grocery stores, but rice bran is worth hunting down. In just 100 grams of this healthy food you can find 781 mg of magnesium – almost twice the recommended RDA.
  • 2. Dried Herbs Coriander, Sage, or Basil – In terms of density, these great herbs not only supply the body with lots of micronutrients and other trace minerals, they are loaded with magnesium. You can find around 690 mg per tablespoon. Add these spices and herbs to your favorite dishes to make them magnesium-magic.
  • 3. Dark Chocolate – Want a reason to indulge in one of your favorite foods? Real, dark chocolate, or cacao is full of antioxidants and loads of magnesium. Just 100 grams of dark chocolate offers about 230 mg of magnesium. Check out 7 other dark chocolate health benefits here.
  • 4. Dark Leafy Greens – Kale, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, and any dark leafy vegetables, including beet greens and dandelion greens will supply high levels of magnesium. 1 cup of cooked spinach, for example will contain 157 mg.
  • 5. Whole Grains – Brown rice, quinoa, bulgar, barley, whole oats, and non-GMO wheat will contain high levels of magnesium. I cup of cooked brown rice, for example, contains around 86 mg.
  • 6. Beans and Lentils – Although there is a lot of concern about xeno-estrogens in GMO soy, non-GMO soy, chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans and other types of beans are a great source of magnesium. Some beans provide up to 150 mg per one cup serving.
  • 7. Avocados – Not only is this food full of healthy fats, it is also a great source of magnesium. Just one avocado of a decent size will provide more than 60 mg of magnesium.
  • 8. Dairy – You have to be careful with some yogurts and cheeses because food manufacturers like to load them with hormones and sugars, but plain, unsweetened yogurts, and unpasteurized cheeses will provide loads of magnesium without polluting your body with traditional dairy.

Of course there are other foods high in magnesium, but this list should be enough to get you started.