Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

I was really hoping to finish up my final post on natural herbs to treat PMS by now.  Unfortunately, between an increase work load in the office and planning the final details to my honeymoon, that post will have to wait until I get back from my vacation.

The hubby and I are flying out to Rome Saturday morning.  I am super excited.  We will spend a few days honeymooning in Rome and then flying into Athens to visit some family members.

Being deadly afraid of catching the flu (swine?) from my office before my vacation, I have been drinking Emergen-C at the slightly hint that I might come down with something.  Hearing all these stories of co-workers with young children sick from the flu, makes me take drastic measures such as washing my hands, using a paper towel to open door handles, and using hand sanitizer.  Usually I am not as conscious about germs.  Though at this point, I think it is all in my head.

So I will see you guys in two weeks.  Stay healthy.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

I have a problem with maintaining my healthy eating habits this time of year.  My cube neighbors are placing bowlful of candies at their desk and trying to outdo one another with the best candies.  This means chocolate.  And what woman can resist chocolate!  Sure there is some antioxidant in chocolate that is good for your health, but that is not found in the milk chocolate bars with the cute Halloween pictures on them!

Take a look at what I am facing at work:

One of the first steps to changing any kind of behavior is holding yourself accountable, whether it is through food journaling or taking pictures of everything that goes into your mouth, just as long as you have something that provides a visual on how much you have been eating.

I can do that.  I can hold myself accountable by providing a visual on how much Halloween candy I am eating.  Here is my great idea of tracking how much candy I have been eating at work:

Maybe I will have the other side taped with candy wrappers by the time Halloween rolls around.  So is my brilliant idea of holding myself accountable to all the Halloween candy I have been eating working?  Well… I get a lot of questions from my co-workers about my “monitor of shame.”  I feel two seconds of guilt, one second of hesitation, and then I shove another candy in my mouth.  Oh well, I tried.  And it is Halloween.  I deserve some fun!

Warning to my readers:  I might make the same excuse for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.  I just love this time of year! 

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

A few days ago, I was at a local university giving a speech about how great it is to be an engineer to a group of incoming freshmen.  When the request came from the university, they asked for young engineers to talk about their “successful” careers.

I guess by conventional standard I am “successful” in my chosen career.  I make a decent salary that will probably be over 6 figures within the next three years and am well respected among my colleagues.  I am not passionate about what I am doing, but I am relatively happy to be an engineer.

The common question that these freshmen asked was ‘how much money I make?’  That is no surprise.

But what is surprising is that no one ask how much time I spend in the office — typing at my desk, sitting in meetings, and returning phone calls.  I felt compel to discuss how as a young engineer I spent 40% of my time doing field work and inspections.  I loved it!  My body loved it!  But as I advance, I now spend 100% of my time in the office.  Some days after back to back meetings, I just want to run far away.

So do I consider myself successful?  No.  I do not feel that I am at my optimal health.  Success to me is link to my overall health and wellness.  On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being optimal health, I would say that I am a 7.5.

Would I be willing to give up $10,000 of my annual salary to be as healthy as when I was in college? In a heartbeat.  What about $20,000?  I might hesitate, but deep down inside, I know the answer is yes.

How much of your annual salary would you be willing to give up to have the health or a 20 year again?

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Photo by:  Wolfgang Staudt.

Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

This post is a discussion of common medication prescribed for PMS and how they do not address the underlining problem of balancing your hormones to prevent PMS.

As discussed in my last post, the four categories of PMS is often caused by an imbalance in our hormones. Common PMS medication include birth control pills, Valium, Prozac, and Naproxen. The problem with these medication is that they only mask the symptoms, getting us through the month, but we will have to rinse and repeat for months afterward. Do you really want to rely on drugs to get you through your period?

Using birth control pills to treat PMS

The problem with birth control pills is that it often depletes the same vitamins and nutrients needed in our bodies that help minimize PMS. For example, women with high estrogen and low progesterone often have low B6 (a vitamin used in the manufacturing of serotonin). And serotonin is important because it is our natural antidepressant.

This is not to say that birth control pills are to be avoided at all cause. But to understand that if you have out of control PMS, your birth control pills might be the culprit.

Using Valium to treat PMS

Valium is an addictive drug and not designed for long term use, but it is a commonly prescribed medication for PMS. Valium is used to correct anxiety and relief pain. The problem with Valium is the severe side effects of drowsiness, nausea, confusion, irritability, blurred vision, hallucinations, panic, and insomnia.

If you are looking for long term treatment of PMS, Valium is not the answer.

Using Prozac to treat PMS

Prozac is a drug used for the treatment of depression. But the root cause of PMS is often high estrogen and low progesterone. This hormone imbalance leads to low serotonin. Using Prozac will mask the depression we might be feeling from PMS.

However, the most frightening side effects of Prozac is the destructive outbursts and suicidal reactions that a lot of women experience while on this drug. Supposedly I am taking Prozac to get relief from my PMS, but I might end up feeling so bad about myself that I throw myself off a bridge (exaggerating here, but you get the idea).

Using Naproxen to treat PMS

Naproxen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDS) that acts like aspirin for pain relief.  As with most pain medication, we have to worry about stomach ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney dysnfuction, and liver damage.  NSAIDs erode the cartilage around joints and prevent joint repair, which can lead to joint damage like arthritis.  Naproxen will only provide temporary relief from PMS.

If not these common PMS medication, what else is there?

I will talk about the dietary changes and the natural herbs and supplements that will help you manage your PMS during my next post.  In the meantime, if you are already taking PMS medication, do not go cold turkey.  You need to slowly wean your body off these drugs with the care of a qualified natural practitioner.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Photo by:  yananine.

Welcome to Small Steps to Health where we do not take orders from a cookie!

This post is the first of a series of posts about our periods and other womanly issues that are related to our reproductive system. Men, you can stop here and wonder off for a while.

With dread or excitement, most of us get a visit every month from our periods.  But how much do you know about your period?

We know what it means when we have one and when we don’t.  We know that an egg is released.  We know that at some point in the distant future we stop having them.  But what is a “normal period?”  How does one have a “happy” period?  And is it normal to have pain and bloating?

What is a “normal” period?

Our monthly menstrual cycle is regulated mainly by two sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone.  They ensure that our ovaries release an egg, the lining of our uterus is ready to house the egg, and breaks down the lining when the egg is not fertilized.  There is a very delicate balance between when estrogen and progesterone levels at any given time.  The estrogen-progesterone balance impacts our entire life from our PMS symptoms and menopause symptoms. I will discuss menopause in follow-up posts.

Our menstrual cycle is broken up into three phases – follicular, ovulatory, and luteal – that last for approximately 28 days, give or take a few days.

During the follicular phase (approximately 10-14 days), estrogen level is progressively rising to help mature the egg in the ovaries.  At the peak of estrogen level, the egg is release.  As soon as the matured egg is released from the follicle in the ovaries, the empty follicle starts making progesterone.  While the egg is traveling in the fallopian tube to our uterus, progesterone is building up the lining to house the egg.

The ovulatory phase is only 36 hours long.  It is a very small window to get pregnant!  But sperm can live in the uterus for up to 7 days, waiting for that 36 hours window.  This must be enough time when you consider that there are over 5 billion people in this planet.

The luteal phase is approximately 7 days long.  When the egg is not fertilized, progesterone production goes down and your period begins shortly after.  This cycle begins again and continues until we reach menopause.

The four categories of PMS

According to the alternative medicine books I am reading, when our hormones (particularly estrogen and progesterone) are balanced, we should only experience mild discomfort during our periods (aka. a “happy” period) instead of the cramping, bloating, moodiness, acne, and food cravings known as premenstrual symptom (PMS).

PMS falls into four different categories depending on the hormonal imbalance.  But most women often experience 2 or 3 categories.

PMS Category 1:  high estrogen, low progesterone

High estrogen and low progesterone’s main symptoms include anxiety, tension, irritability, and craving for sweets and carbohydrates.  High estrogen can result in low serotonin levels which can cause depression.  This occurs when the empty follicle in the ovaries do not produce enough progesterone.  PMS category 1 is most common in women.

PMS Category 2:  excessive aldosterone (a hormone produced by our adrenal glands)

Excessive aldosterone’s symptoms include water and sodium retention, bloating, breast pain, and weight gain.

PMS Category 3:  low magnesium

Low magnesium’s symptoms include cravings for sweets, a racing heart, an increase in appetite, fatigue, headaches, mood swings, and fainting.

PMS Category 4:  low estrogen, high progesterone

Low estrogen and high progesterone’s symptoms include sleep disturbances, lack of coordination, and loss of concentration, confusion, and depression.  This is least common in women.

Why is high estrogen a problem?

Higher estrogen and low progesterone hormone levels produce multitude of health problems for women, both during our fertile years and afterward in menopause.  As mentioned under PMS category 1, this hormone imbalance can result in lower serotonin levels in our bodies.

Serotonin is our brain’s version of an anti-depressant drug.  As mentioned in Gender Matters when it comes to Sugar Addiction, low serotonin means we will have a hard time saying no to a cookie.

The pharmaceuticals solution to our depression from low serotonin level?  Prozac and painkillers.  More than 80% of the 12 million Americans on Prozac are women between 25 and 50 years old.  A coincidence that so many women are on Prozac during their fertile years when it is likely for them to experience PMS?  I think not.

Drugs prescribed for PMS do not correct the hormone imbalance

Historically, PMS is not recognized by the medical community as an actual physical problem.  Doctors believe that it is all in our heads and prescribe antidepressants or other drugs that mask the problems of hormonal imbalance with possible side effects.  Sadly that is still common practice today.

Until next time and thanks for stopping by.

Photo by:  K?vanç Ni?.