Best Herbs for Women

Best Herbs for Women

Have you heard of Shatavari?

One of the Best Herbs for Women!!!

Shatavari ( Asparagus racemosus ) is a climbing plant, grows up to a height of two meters. This plant is popular across Sri Lanka, India and the Himalayas.

Best Herbs for Women2

It is best known for the beneficial actions for female organs.

It is used for treatment of loss of libido and infertility – stimulates the production of healthy ova.
It is very good in pregnancy – relieves morning sickness and during the period of breastfeeding stimulates normal lactation.

Maintains balance hormones and regulate ovulation and menstruation. It relieves premenstrual symptoms – pain, bloating, irritability.

Also is used for the treatment of vaginal infections.

Best Herbs for Women3

Apart from this, helps at:

  • – rejuvenation and detoxification of cells and organs,
  • – respiratory diseases,
  • – stress reduction,
  • – problems with digestion and stomach,
  • – helps at pain from sciatica or arthritis.

Source: secretly healthy


New method for stimulating ovulation may make IVF safer, study says

New method for stimulating ovulation may make IVF safer study says

British scientists have observed a new process of stimulating ovulation that may possibly offer a safer and much more helpful solution for women going through in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In a new review revealed in the Journal of Scientific Investigation, researchers discovered that the hormone kisspeptin can be applied to induce ovulation in IVF treatment method, with out the facet results of currently made use of procedures.

Ordinarily, medical practitioners use HCG, which is also a in a natural way transpiring hormone, to stimulate ovulation throughout IVF. On the other hand, mainly because the hormone immediately targets the ovaries, use of HCG places females at risk for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and perhaps lifestyle-threatening aspect outcomes. OHSS can lead to agonizing and swollen ovaries and side outcomes can involve vomiting, rapid fat obtain and kidney failure.

“One of the major difficulties in IVF is excessive stimulation of ovaries,” review author Waljit Dhillo, a professor in endocrinology and metabolism at Imperial Higher education London, informed FoxNews.com. “Each calendar year, balanced gals finish up in the clinic and there are a quantity of deaths each yr.”

Researchers at Imperial Faculty London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Believe in in London examined a team of fifty three ladies, just about every of whom underwent a solitary injection of kisspeptin to induce ovulation. Experienced eggs made in 51 out of 53 contributors and 49 women of all ages had just one or two fertilized embryos transferred to the uterus.

From that team, twelve balanced babies were being born, which researchers deemed to be a excellent outcome when compared to standard IVF therapy.

Key infertility— when a pair has been unable to conceive for at minimum a single year— influences about six.one million people in the United States. In accordance to the Culture for Assisted Reproductive Technology, medical practitioners executed more than one hundred sixty five,172 IVF methods in 2012.

Kisspeptin is a hormone ordinarily present in the overall body and is identified to enjoy a crucial job in puberty and reproduction. It works to market copy by triggering the release of woman sex hormones and stimulating egg development. Large concentrations of kisspeptin are generally present in a healthy pregnancy, so researchers had little problem about the hormone on fetus progress, Dhillo stated.

Scientists mentioned that a profit of utilizing kisspeptin in its place of the typical HCG hormone is that kisspeptin does not specifically goal the ovaries, even though HCG does. Also, they did not notice any unfavorable side outcomes amid participants.

“If you give HCG, the hormone goes straight to the ovary and does its work. But there is no regulation,” Dhillo mentioned. “So the similar dose can have different effects for the reason that some girls may be a lot more sensitive to it.”

Dhillo and his group now approach to check the success of kisspeptin in females with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a subpopulation in particular vulnerable to OHSS.

Source: daily news


Why Stress Is Bad for Your Health

Why Stress Is Bad for Your Health

Not Just in Your Head

You don’t need a doctor to tell you that anxiety can have a negative effect on your health. But do you really know the toll that long-term stress can take?

Stress is the body’s reaction to something that taxes or exceeds its resources, says Frances Cohen, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco. When we perceive something as harmful, our brain triggers hormones such as cortisol, which flood the body and contribute to various physical responses.

Here are several ways stress can affect different aspects of your health — and how you can protect yourself against them.

Lack of Sleep

Anxiety is one of the main causes of insomnia and sleep disruption: When you think about something stressful while lying in bed, it’s harder for your body to relax and drift off to dreamland — and this nightly pattern only gets worse as your brain and body learn to dread bedtime.

You may also be deliberately robbing yourself of much-needed rest by staying up too late or rising too early: Most of us need seven to nine hours of sleep a night, but many overscheduled and overworked adults regularly get by on less. Skimping on sleep can cause fatigue and attention problems, and increase your risk of disease.

Weakened Immune System

We’ve all experienced the nasty cold that comes after a deadline — a reminder that psychological stress can weaken defenses and make us more susceptible to germs. It can also slow our recovery from illnesses; in fact, research has shown that stress hormones actually make immune cells age faster.

It’s not just minor ailments to which stress leaves us vulnerable, either: Consistently high levels of stress can reduce a woman’s ability to fight infections such as human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.

Low-Level Inflammation

Whether you scrape your knee, twist your ankle, or succumb to strep throat, the body’s reaction is the same: The immune system sends in white blood cells to destroy bacteria and repair the tissue, causing redness, swelling, and warmth. This healing process, called the inflammatory response, is one of the body’s most basic survival instincts.
But when bombarded by unrelenting stress, the immune system works overtime, releasing a stream of inflammation-promoting compounds that spread throughout the body, damaging cells and tissues. If left unchecked, low-level inflammation can simmer for years, contributing to a range of seemingly unrelated ailments such as heart disease, asthma, and cancers.
High Blood Pressure

Stress and anxiety stimulate your nervous system to raise levels of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which narrow blood vessels and therefore increase your risk of developing hypertension. Only about a third of people with hypertension (blood pressure higher than 140/90) know they have it — even though it affects around one in three American adults.
The condition can be bad news if left untreated, raising your risk of such ailments as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and blindness. Fortunately, eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly — and learning to stress less — can help you stay healthy.

Blemishes and Wrinkles

Just as inflammation can have a negative effect on your long-term health, it can also have a physical — and much more immediate — effect on your appearance. Stress and fatigue can lead to puffy skin and a blotchy complexion, dark circles under the eyes, and early wrinkles. Hormones triggered by stress can also cause breakouts well into adulthood.

In addition to getting enough sleep and reducing stress levels, you can calm redness and blemishes with serums and gels that contain extracts of anti-inflammatory herbs like chamomile, calendula, and lavender

Aches and Pains

Millions of us work at desks every day, and our bodies pay the price. From stiff necks and tension headaches to throbbing backs, head-to-toe pain can result from staring at a computer for hours on end — and when you’re stressed about your job, you’re less likely to take frequent breaks and more likely to overdo it.

Inflammation caused by stress has also been linked to migraines and rheumatoid arthritis, two chronic pain conditions that may improve with stress-reduction techniques.

Mental Health

Trying to do too much at once — whether it’s work assignments, family obligations, or social appointments — can leave you feeling burned out and empty inside. 817132d7edd2b285_stress.xxxlarge
Too often, when stressors start to pile up, the first things we push aside are the ones that can help us cope: quailty time with friends and family, alone time for reflection and enjoyment, a good night’s sleep, and regular exercise. These activities help our brains and bodies cope with the harmful effects of stress, and without them to keep us grounded, it’s easy to spin out of control.
Substance Abuse

When you’re juggling the multiple responsibilities of work and home, being frazzled can start to feel normal. Many people have never learned healthy ways of dealing with stress, instead turning to alcohol or nicotine.

Weight Gain

Stress, fatigue, and weight gain are common companions: Sleep deprivation can cue your body to release stress hormones, triggering weight gain. Studies have shown that those who sleep fewer than eight hours a night have higher body mass than people who sleep a full eight hours, and that babies who sleep fewer than 12 hours a day are twice as likely to be overweight by age 3.

Meanwhile, stress can also lead to poor food choices; this can put your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster, which causes low energy (and, in turn, makes it even harder to get to the gym or outside for a walk). And the less time you have to take care of yourself, the harder it is to make healthy changes.

Infertility

Infertility is a medical condition used to describe couples who have tried unsuccessfully to conceive for 12 months. By the time a woman or a couple receives this label, they’re often highly stressed, says Tracy Gaudet, M.D., director of Duke Integrative Medicine at Duke University — which only makes matters worse. (Read Dr. Gaudet’s guide to coping with infertility.)

The higher a woman’s stress level, the lower her fertility. Highly stressed women can stop ovulating altogether, which makes sense biologically: In the hunter-gatherer days, stress probably indicated a lack of food or an imminent threat — not wise times to bring an infant into the world

Low Libido

There are quite a few external causes of low libido and tension between you and your partner, and many of them have to do with stress. The first year or two after the birth of a baby, for instance, when both parents are often overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, is a notorious libido killer. Career-focused years can leave women depleted and stressed, with all of their passion going into their jobs. And chronic stress can lead to depression, also a cause of plummeting desire.

Gastrointestinal Issues

That feeling of butterflies in your stomach may very well have a physiological basis: Your GI tract has its own nervous system, which is why stress can cause digestive problems such as diarrhea, heartburn, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Learn to manage stress — and reduce GI problems — by exploring massage, art therapy, breathing exercises, and other relaxation techniques.

Self-Fulfilling Pessimism

There’s nothing wrong with considering the potential pitfalls of your current situation — for a little while. It’s smart to anticipate and plan for how you’ll handle a given obstacle.
But endlessly stressing over what might go wrong often proves more than unproductive. It can actually set you up for the very thing you fear the most. When you visualize a negative outcome, you approach things differently. You operate, ironically, in a way that supports the result you most want to avoid.

Source: Whole living


Men, Too: Infertility Is Not Just a Female Problem

male

Jay and Kelli Leiner were high school sweethearts, got married right after college and decided to start a family at age 26.

“I was one of those little girls who had a baby doll clutched in her hands from the beginning. I’ve always known that I wanted to be a mother,” Kelli Leiner said. But both are now 31 and they’ve found the journey to parenthood to be long and painful.

“By the time we were 28 and we had no baby yet — we never got pregnant and the friends that we had were already onto their second child — we were wondering: What’s wrong with us?” Jay Leiner said. What they discovered surprised them: She didn’t have a fertility problem. He did.

Infertility, which affects an estimated 15 percent of all couples in the United States, generally is seen as a woman’s problem. However, men now are known to be partly responsible for almost 60 percent of all couples’ infertility cases in this country, according to research by Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

At first, Kelli Leiner automatically assumed it was she who had problems conceiving. She immediately went to her gynecologist and asked for testing. But all her tests came back normal. “I didn’t have any issues with infertility. So we tested Jay. The doctors did a semen analysis,” Kelli Leiner said. “Tests showed his sperm count was about five million.”

“I’m like: That’s a lot, five million. I wish I had $5 million,” Jay Leiner said. “But when the doctor told us it needs to be more in the 100 million range, I was shocked. “And on top of the low count,” he added, “motility was also low, which means the sperm are not going anywhere, they were lazy sperm.”

Male Infertility Carries Social Stigma

Dr. Mary Hinckley, a reproductive endocrinologist, said men generally are hesitant to take fertility tests because there’s such a stigma associated with male infertility.

“They’re supposed to be macho men. They’re not supposed to have low sperm counts,” said Hinckley. Jay Leiner is one of the 9 percent of men diagnosed with male-factor infertility. Doctors now recommend that both men and women should be evaluated at the same time when they’re having trouble getting pregnant.

“It made me feel pretty bad about myself: Why can’t I do something normal that the rest of the population can?” Jay Leiner said. Various tests returned inconclusive, leading his doctor to determine he simply was born with a low sperm count and motility.

Causes and Treatments of Male Infertility

Besides genetic causes, Dr. Karen Boyle, regional director of male infertility at Shady Grove Reproductive Science Center said there are underlying medical conditions that account for male infertility. They include hormone abnormalities, varicoceles (varicose veins in the scrotum), obesity, drug use and exposure to radiation and chemotherapy. Treatment options may include surgery, hormone therapy and assisted reproductive technologies. Even though their case was was classified as “severe,” Kelli Leiner still could get pregnant through medical intervention.

After five IUIs, or intra-uterine insemination attempts, that failed over the past three years, the couple finally succeeded after undergoing one in vitro fertilization process last year. Their doctor used a special procedure called ICSI, or introcytoplasmic sperm injection.

We actually would take Jay’s sperm, find the very best-looking one and put it into each of Kelli’s eggs so that we could take a single sperm, put it in a single egg, to help with fertilization. Ultimately, that’s what made the difference for them,” Hinckley said.

The couple’s first baby boy, Gavin, was born shortly before Thanksgiving 2009. “It was the best moment of my life,” said Kelli Leiner. “It really was. It was surreal. It was so magical.” A Guide For Men Who Want to Boost Fertility

Dr. Karen Boyle, regional director of male infertility at Shady Grove Reproductive Science Center, gives some advice on how to boost male fertility.

The Dos

Be healthy. Eat right and exercise. Men with a body mass index of over 25 have a 20 percent higher chance of infertility, and obese men are three times more likely to have lower sperm counts.

Take your vitamins. Eat foods rich in antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are crucial as they repair sperm DNA. Also zinc, folic acid, selenium and amino acid are good for sperm health.

Try intercourse every other day while trying to conceive. More isn’t better. In fact, having sex every day or multiple times a day will lower sperm counts significantly. To maximize fertility potential, every other day is ideal as it allows sperm counts to normalize.

The Don’ts

Don’t use testosterone or anabolic steroids. That shuts down the signal from the brain to stimulate sperm production and will make sperm counts significantly lower if not disappear altogether.

Don’t smoke or use recreational drugs. Smoking impairs sperm motility and morphology and worsens the quality of a man’s erections. Marijuana can cause DNA damage and lower sperm counts.

Stay out of hot tubs or Jacuzzis and don’t leave a laptop computer on your lap for long periods of time. Prolonged or repetitive heat exposure can adversely affect sperm production.

Source: abc news


Stress linked to infertility in some women

Women trying to get pregnant are often told, “Relax and it’ll happen.”  It turns out that the common advice may actually have some merit, according to a new study that suggests stress is linked to fertility problems.

Women who had high levels of a biomarker for stress in their saliva took 29 percent longer to become pregnant, compared to those with lower levels, a study published Monday in the journal Human Reproduction found. And those with high levels of the stress indicator were also twice as likely as others to meet the clinical definition for infertility — having unprotected sex for 12 months without becoming pregnant —by the end of the study.

It’s a common tale: women get pregnant while on vacation, or women with infertility problems become pregnant after adopting, said the study’s lead author, Courtney Lynch, director of reproductive epidemiology at The Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. That’s not always a coincidence, she said.

The new study focused on 401 women ages 18 to 40 who had just decided to try to conceive. The women, who had no known fertility problems at the start of the study, were followed for 12 months, or until they became pregnant.

Saliva samples were collected from the women at the beginning of the study and analyzed for two stress biomarkers: cortisol and alpha-amylase, a digestive protein found in saliva. While levels of cortisol — the hormone most usually associated with stress — didn’t seem to be important, levels of alpha-amylase seemed to predict which women would have the easiest time getting pregnant.

In the big fertility picture, however, stress “is a minor issue,” compared to other factors that can affect it, such as blocked tubes, ovarian problems, smoking or age, Lynch said.

The point of the new research isn’t aimed at blaming the victim, she added. One-third to one-half of fertility issues are related to male factors. “Reducing stress won’t help if your husband has a low sperm count,” she said.

There is no current easy test to see who is is vulnerable to stressors, Lynch said, noting that’s a next step in the research. Infertility specialist Dr. Suleena Kansal Kalra, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, says the new research is interesting, but infertility is a complex problem.

“Women who are doing everything they can to get pregnant often are told by well-meaning people, ‘If you would just relax you would get pregnant.’ That can be very counterproductive.”

Still, women can try to control certain stress factors, perhaps even as soon as they decide they want to become pregnant, said Lynch. A solution can be as simple as making time to exercise 20 minutes to 30 minutes per day.

Abby David, 39, started trying to conceive a decade ago. At the time, she was teaching children with developmental disabilities from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day and also trying to start a new school for children with autism. After a year of trying, David started therapy to stimulate her ovaries, to no avail. Only after her school finally opened, did she conceive — with triplets.

If she’d known link between stress and infertility, she might have scaled back, she said. “When you don’t know if you’ll ever have kids, you’re willing to do whatever it takes,” David said.

Some studies show complementary therapies such as acupuncture can help with stress and infertility, said Dr. Joseph Sanfilippo, vice chairman of reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The bottom line, Sanfilippo said, is there is a delicate balance in the system that controls a woman’s reproductive cycles. “The hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis is the orchestra leader,” he explained. “It’s finely tuned. And stressors can affect it. Diet and exercise can help control stress. Beyond that, I say, look at the menstrual cycle if you are under a lot of stress. If it’s pretty regular, theoretically stress shouldn’t be affecting ovulation.”

Source: today


Utah Mom to Give Birth to Daughter’s Daughter

A 58-year-old Utah woman is set to give birth in a few weeks — to her first grandchild.

Julia Navarro is serving as a gestational surrogate for her daughter and son-in-law after the couple struggled with fertility problems.

Navarro’s daughter Lorena McKinnon said she began trying to have a baby with her husband, Micah McKinnon, three years ago.

The 32-year-old Provo woman said she’s had about a dozen miscarriages, with the longest pregnancy lasting 10 weeks.

After several tries, the couple began looking for a surrogate. McKinnon said a friend and sister both considered carrying her baby, but ultimately decided against it.

That’s when her mother offered to step in.

Navarro had to undergo hormone shots for three months before an embryo fertilized by her daughter and son-in-law could be implanted. Because of her age, doctors had warned there was only a 45 percent chance the implantation would be successful.

But the procedure was a success, and Navarro said she’s had a smooth pregnancy carrying a developing baby girl.

As with other surrogacy arrangements, the couple and Navarro needed three months of counseling.

“The psychologists wanted to make sure we knew what we were getting into — that we were mentally prepared,” McKinnon said. “Mostly, surrogacy contracts are with people you don’t know. It was weird to have a contract with my mom.”

It’s unclear how rare it is for a woman to carry her own grandchild, but recent news reports have detailed similar relationships.

Last year, a 53-year-old Iowa woman gave birth to her twin granddaughters. And in 2012, a 49-year-old woman in Maine gave birth to her grandson.

McKinnon said she was grateful and overwhelmed by her mother’s offer, which eases some of the obstacles and financial burdens for parents using a gestational surrogate.

According to Utah law, surrogates must be 21 or older, financially stable and must have already given birth once.

Couples must be married and are allowed to offer a reasonable payment to a surrogate.

On average, a couple can spend about $60,000 on procedures and paying the surrogate, but McKinnon said her mother’s offer to help is saving the couple about half of that.

Both she and her daughter said they’ve bonded over the experience.

The baby girl is due in early February.

Source: abc news


Scientists create ‘robotic’ sperm to fight infertility

Researchers in Germany say they have created remote-controlled sperm that could be used to help with fertilization.

These “spermbots” are made by catching sperm cells in nanotubes and fabricating them onto a wafer or “chip.” The tubes are narrower at one end and guided by a magnet to the egg, increasing a patient’s chance of getting pregnant.

How are they doing this?
The method for this technology, is simply using the tail of the sperm to do the electrical work then using a magnetic field to direct the sperm. Think of it like a compass needle aligning with the Earth’s magnetic field. It is far easier to control a single cell (like the sperm) that propels itself through fluid with its whip-like tail.

Until now, researchers had only managed to persuade groups of cells to cooperate, with the help of mathematical measurements over a distance and magnetic fields. To create the “spermbots,” the research team builds the nanotubes from using iron and titanium nanoparticles. They then add the tubes to fluid containing sperm. The nanotubes are designed with one end of each tube slightly narrower than the other. The sperm that swims into the wider end becomes trapped, headfirst, with their whip-like tail propelling it toward the egg.

What is the future of this technology?
If this technology works, you will start to see the use of this method being applied to all fields of medicine. For example, chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly. However, this can harm healthy cells that separate quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines. During chemotherapy treatment the patient will typically suffer from damaged healthy cells which can cause serious side effects.

How will this help improve chemotherapy treatment?
With this cutting-edge technology, doctors will be able to deliver chemotherapy and guide the treatment to the specific target. While in the process, eliminating organs and cells from being over exposed to toxicity from the chemotherapy agent. Overall, this method will give physicians and patients a less toxic form of cancer treatment and protect their healthy cells from being over exposed or even killed off.

Source: viral news chart


Top six health benefits of Raspberry

several health benefits of raspberry

The vibrant red-coloured, exquisite and delicate raspberry is a powerhouse of innumerable health benefits. The fruit which is a rich source of nutrients, minerals and vitamins, when included in your daily diet can help lower risk of cancer, obesity, cardiovascular diseases and even enhance fertility.
Here is a look at the many health benefits of the exotic berries:

Helps lose weight: Raspberries are low in fat and calories and high in fiber content, which makes them an excellent fruit to be included in your diet plan. The low-energy-density food helps provide larger portions for fewer calories. Raspberries make you feel fuller for long as high-fiber foods take more time to get digested. The insoluble fiber helps keep the body regular and the soluble fiber is known to lower blood cholesterol, which also promotes weight loss.

Reduces cancer risk: Raspberries contain about 10 times more antioxidants than tomatoes. The high levels of antioxidants in raspberries make it a great cancer fighting fruit, as antioxidants help protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Raspberries also contain ellagic acid that is said to be an anti-carcinogenic compound.

Maintains cardiovascular health: The potassium content in the berries help maintain the heart beat and blood pressure. Raspberries also contain good amount of other minerals like, manganese, copper and iron. Copper is essential for production of red blood cells and iron and folate helps reduce anemia risk.

Enhances fertility: According to a latest research eating raspberries can even help enhance fertility in both men and women. The high levels of Vitamin C and magnesium are very much essential for male and female fertility. The antioxidants help protect sperm, promote conception and reduce the risk of miscarriage.

Slows ageing process: The antioxidants in raspberries slow the ageing process by neutralising free radicals in the body. Anthocyanins, the flavonoids that give red raspberries their colour, can also help your skin glow. They also stimulate collagen production thus giving you a beautiful complexion. Anthocyanins also helps fight against fungi and bacteria.

Helps fight depression and other mood disorders: The fruit is a rich source of Vitamin B and folic acid. A handful of raspberries can give your mood an instant lift.

The nutrient dense fruit also helps improve vision, eases inflammation of stomach and aids digestion.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/healthy-eating/top-six-health-benefits-of-raspberry_23593.html