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This Issue
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The goal of hormone replacement therapy is to restore
female hormones to relieve menopausal symptoms.
HRT also has a dark side because of connections to several forms of cancer. Squalene appears to stimulate the body's own production of DHEA. Squalene is produced in large quantities in the shark's liver and is also found in smaller amounts in cod-liver oil and olive oil. |
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DHEA AND HORMONE THERAPY
In addition to the mind/body connection and the free radical breakthroughs there are other approaches to the aging problem being tried, like hormone therapy.
Veterans Administration hospitals in Chicago and Milwaukee are giving elderly patients a weekly injection of growth hormone and the results are very encouraging. Early results indicate an increase in physical strength and energy.
Some of the hormone treatments are:
* DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) which is produced by the adrenal glands, it helps to reduce cholesterol and burn body fat, and may help increase muscle mass. DHEA-S is the most widely circulated hormone in the body and research indicates that high levels are associated with fewer free radicals.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin wrote, "The role DHEA plays in aging and disease is perhaps the greatest discovery of this century!" Sufferers from almost all catastrophic diseases have one thing in common ... Extraordinary low levels of DHEA in their systems!
DHEA is often referred to as "the youth hormone" by the scientific community and is recognized as an anti-aging substance. It is most highly concentrated at the age of 25 (approx.) and sharply decreases with age. At the age of 80, it only produces 10-20% of what was produced at age 25.
DHEA is called the "mother of hormones" because it is used by the body to manufacture many other hormones, including our sex hormones (estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisone, etc.). The body produces DHEA and then converts it on demand to whatever hormone is needed to maintain balance.
Thousands of senior citizens have reported a return to youthful vigor after taking DHEA for only a few months.
National Geographic published an article in 1992 entitled "Under the Spell of the Trobriand Islands." The most prized commodity in these islands which are a part of New Guinea is the miraculous yam! It is the staple of their diet. These are the most youthful people on earth. Catastrophic diseases there is virtually unknown.
A 1988 study at Johns Hopkins University showed a 50% reduction in arterial plaque in rabbits ... A study at Temple University revealed that supplemental DHEA was able to prevent breast cancer in mice that were likely to develop it ... a study in Guernsey, Britain showed that women who were likely to develop breast cancer had low DHEA levels up to nine years previous ... Doctors at the Medical College of Virginia revealed that artherosclerotic plaque was related to low DHEA levels.
Maintaining DHEA levels is beneficial for improving memory, preventing Alzheimer's disease ans osteoporosis in post menopausal women.
A 12 year study published by the respected New England Journal of Medicine in 1986 (315.1519-24) showed that men who were aged 50 to 79 gained the following benefits with a 100 microgram per deciliter increase of DHEA sulfate concentration ... 1) a 48% reduction in mortality due to cardiovascular disease and a 36% reduction of mortality for all reasons. Subjects with higher levels lived longer and had a much lower risk of heart disease.
* Melatonin is produced by the brain and current evidence suggests that it is a super anti-oxidant.
* Phytoestrogens come from soy products and are similar to estrogen but without the dangerous side effects.
Trials with growth hormones have shown-up a disturbing side-effect ... namely, inflammation of the joints.