To Your Health
February, 2011 (Vol. 05, Issue 02) |
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Certain herbs are extremely safe to use and, in the right combination, are reported by many of the practitioners whom I have taught to relieve menopausal symptoms in over 80 percent of cases.
To help combat the effects of menopause naturally, I encourage women to take a supplement containing black cohosh, soy extract and gamma-oryzanol (a natural agent from rice bran oil used in Japan as a prescription drug to manage menopausal symptoms). These three natural agents have been show to minimize menopausal symptoms, help support bone density, maintain natural vaginal secretions, improve feeling of well-being, and provide key anti-aging effects in women 50 and older.
A supplement of this kind is safe to take with any other medication and does not increase risk of internal bleeding or high blood pressure, as can occur with the use of other herbs such as don quai (angelica species), red clover and licorice.
Mid-50s: Memory-Support Nutrients
During our mid-50s, the brain decreases its ability to make optimal amounts of a key memory chemical (acetylcholine), which leads to failing memory as we age. A brain with sufficient acetylcholine enables you to maintain your memory, whereas a brain with deficient acetylcholine creates memory-loss problems. It's that simple.
Anti-aging research has shown that several natural agents can boost the brain's ability to synthesize memory chemicals and preserve brain cell communication, even in individuals over the age of 55. These nutrients include CDP-choline, phosphatidylserine, Bacopa monnieri and huperzine A. These nutrients are so effective at raising brain levels of the memory chemical (acetylcholine) that clinical studies have shown that each of these nutrients has improved outcomes in patients suffering from compromised memory and/or other mental performance difficulties.
It's important to protect your brain, in addition to your body, from decline, decay and deterioration; thus, I suggest that individuals over 54 years of age ingest a well-designed memory support supplement each day that contains meaningful doses and standardized grades of the nutrients mentioned above. A supplement of this nature can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life as they age, as left in the hands of the body's aging clock alone, we all make less acetylcholine as we age. Memory support nutrients are the only proven method to boost the brain's synthesis of acetylcholine to combat the aging process.
After age 40, the body's aging clock stages-in a number of metabolic changes that increase our risk for many common degenerative diseases associated with aging. Anti-aging researchers have unlocked many of the mysteries of the aging clock in recent years, with the realization that introducing targeted nutritional supplements at critical points in our timeline can actually combat many of the genetic time bombs that lead to arthritis, congestive heart failure, prostate enlargement, prostate cancer, immune breakdown, decline in memory and other age-related maladies. Talk to your doctor for more information on how you can slow down the aging clock and stay active and vital into your golden years.
Slowing Down Time: Key Anti-Aging Supplements
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General
Multivitamin/mineral
Antioxidants / B complex
Essential fatty acids
Bone Support
Glucosamine sulfate
Bromelain
Quercetin
Prostate (Men)
Saw palmetto
Pygeum Africanum
Soy extract
Beta-sitosterol
Stinging nettle
Lycopene powder
Pumpkin seed
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Cell Function
Coenzyme Q10
Hawthorn
Immune/Detox
Reishi mushroom extract
Astragalus
Indole-3-carbinol
Milk thistle
Menopause (Women)
Black cohosh
Soy extract
Gamma-oryzanol
Memory Support
CDP-choline
Phosphatidylserine
Bacopa monnieri
Huperzine A
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James Meschino, DC, MS, practices in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is the author of four nutrition books, including The Meschino Optimal Living Program and Break the Weight Loss Barrier.
