For Breast Cancer Patients Magnesium Oxide May Ease Hot Flashes

The Mayo Clinic just released this information:

Data released from a pilot phase II trial from Virginia Commonwealth University Health System suggests that magnesium supplements in daily routine taken by women suffering from breast cancer may provide resistance to menopausal hot flashes. Researchers conducting the study reported that women with breast cancer who took 400 mg of magnesium oxide every day for 4 weeks reported a 41.4% reduction in the frequency of hot flashes.  By the help of magnesium supplements up to 50% of hot flashes can be controlled. It was observed that the side effects were negligible and the cost of the tablet (magnesium oxide) is very low, i.e. per tablet cost is $0.02. The results from this study are being used to plan a full a placebo-controlled trial.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Acupuncture is very effective in reducing the symptoms of menopause, particularly hot flashes.  If you are suffering from hot flashes or any other symptoms of menopause, schedule an appointment with your acupucnturist to alleviate your discomfort.

Acupuncture is Effective for Breast Cancer Hot Flashes

The Journal of Complementary Medicine 2010 Oct:16(10):1047-57 has reported that "traditional acupuncture (TA) offers an effective, non-pharmaceutical method of managing the hot flushes and night sweats...associated with taking tamoxifen for breast cancer". 
Acupuncture is also highly effective in the treatment of dry mouth (xerostoma), fatigue, nausea and general malaise associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Courtesy:  Journal of Chinese Medicine, No 95, Feb 2011

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Major medical institutions, such as Memorial Sloan Kettering and NY Presbyterian don't offer acupuncture to their cancer patients for kicks...it really does work!  For more information, please contact me at k@kmondesire.com.  If you know someone who is going through this life struggle, pass this blog on to them, so they may obtain a referral for a practitioner in their area.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Drug-Free Method And The Treatment of Menopause

Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Drug-Free Method And The Treatment of Menopause The combined modalities of Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can balance the body’s energetics and expediently give relief to menopausal symptoms.

Part Two of a Two Part Blog
Traditional Chinese Medicine does not recognize menopause as a disease. Rather, it considers the symptoms of menopause to be imbalances within the body. After a complete medical intake and examination, several modalities (Acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies, gentle breathing and physical exercises, and meditation) may be employed to effectively treat a woman in this stage of life to alleviate and ultimately eliminate the symptoms she is experiencing. Some dietary and lifestyle modifications may be recommended. As each female is very different, so will each woman’s treatment differ from another. One treatment, each week, for 12 weeks is par for the course. During the course of the 12 weeks, slight modifications are made to the treatment plan as the condition of the patient transforms. After the twelfth session, the patient’s condition is re-evaluated.

Clinical Trials of Acupuncture and Menopause
Clinical studies have suggested that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are effective treatments for the various symptoms of menopause.  The World Health Organization has approved acupuncture as a treatment modality for symptoms associated with menopause.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  A Few Helpful Hints for a Smooth Ride through Menopause
Before you arrive at this stage of life, if you’re carrying around that extra 10 pounds, then lose them now. No time like the present! Introduce and/or increase into your daily diet more fruits and veggies and cut out the sugar. Sugar will destabilize your moods and cause you to become a ’loose cannon’ Dairy, high concentrations of red meats, alcohol, spicy foods and caffeine can contribute to more hot flashes than you’d like to have…so be judicious with these food choices. If you smoke…QUIT!!! No one needs to have stress in their lives, especially when ovulation ceases, so take the dog for more walks - dogs are great stress busters, meditate, treat yourself to a manicure, pedicure or a nice warm bubble bath, and there’s nothing like sharing some great laughs with your girlfriends. You’re not alone…all the ladies can relate to this time of life. So relax…it’s just a normal process. You’re not getting older; think of yourself as a fabulous bottle of red wine - as it ages and matures, it becomes bolder, better, effervescent and appreciated and valued in high esteem!

Acupuncture Relieves Menopausal Symptoms

Acupuncture has been found to be highly effective in decreasing hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.  This was the conclusion of yet another randomised, single-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial performed in Brazil that was published this past May.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Acupuncture with the addition of herbal pills will eliminate the hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings and depression associated with menopause.  Ladies...you'll be able to attend a cocktail party and not worry about sweat marks on you dress, nor will your makeup melt before the salad is served.  Your self esteem will recover and so will your sex life.  Call or email the office today and you'll be feeling a whole lot cooler and calmer in no time at all!
917-701-7582
k@kmondesire.com

Acupuncture For the Side Effects of Prostate Cancer Treatments

AAT (androgen ablation therapy) is a common procedure for prostate cancer patients.  Patients who receive this therapy can quite often experience the same type of hot flashes women have during menopause or during ovarian or breast cancer treatments.  Urology Magazine 2010, May 20, reported on a study carried out here in the United States that reported that 41% of participants receiving acupuncture during AAT experienced over a 50% reduction in hot flashes.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you or someone you know is experiencing hot flashes due to AAT, send them this blog and link and help make a difference in his life.
http://www.kmondesire.com/

Acupuncture Beats Drug to Treat Hot Flashes: Study

By Will Dunham, Reuters Published in the Vancouver Sun

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Acupuncture works as well as a drug commonly used to combat hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms that can accompany breast cancer treatment, and its benefits last longer, without bad side effects, researchers said on Monday.

They tested acupuncture, which began in China more than 2,000 years ago and involves inserting needles into the body, against the Wyeth antidepressant Effexor, for hot flashes in breast cancer patients. Acupuncture was just as effective as Effexor, also called venlafaxine, in managing symptoms including hot flashes and night sweats, according to researchers led by Dr. Eleanor Walker of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. After 12 weeks of treatment, symptoms were reduced for 15 additional weeks for women who had undergone acupuncture, compared with two weeks for those who had taken Effexor, Walker said. "It was a more durable effect," Walker, whose findings were presented at an American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting in Boston, said in a telephone interview. There were no bad side effects with acupuncture, and women reported increased energy, overall sense of well-being and sexual desire, the researchers said. Those taking Effexor reported side effects including nausea, headache, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, increased blood pressure, fatigue and anxiety.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence of the value of acupuncture. Earlier research had shown it can reduce chemotherapy-induced nausea and post-operative pain. "It's been tested directly against a drug that we use regularly. And it's more effective. It has benefits, as opposed to any side-effects," Walker said Breast cancer patients can develop menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes after treatment with chemotherapy and anti-estrogen hormones. Hormone replacement therapy is often used to treat such symptoms in women without breast cancer, but breast cancer patients cannot use that therapy because it may raise the risk of the cancer's return. Effexor, one of a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, is one of the most commonly used drugs to treat hot flashes in these women. But the researchers said some women opt not to take such drugs out of concern over side effects. Forty-seven breast cancer patients took part in the study, about half getting acupuncture and half getting Effexor. The women kept track of the number and severity of hot flashes before, during and after treatments. (Editing by Patricia Zengerle)© Copyright (c) Reuters