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Alison Cullen is a Nutritionist
with a special interest in Phytotherapy
I
am menopausal and have been coping quite well apart from the
hot flushes. I find these increasingly difficult to cope with,
especially in public, and recently they have started getting
worse at night, which is making it hard to sleep.
It
is very important to get sufficient sleep, as without it everything
seems harder! There are several things that you can do.
Make sure you are drinking at least 1.5 litres of still water
every day, and avoid tea and coffee as they can trigger flushes.
Take 200i.u. vitamin E daily. This can sometimes be more effective
if you take selenium with it.
The herb to try first is Sage (Salvia officinalis), as it
alleviates the sweats without affecting your hormones.
If the sweats are worse at night, take 15 drops during the
day and 30 drops at night. If you have no other symptoms,
this herb will probably work for you.
You may find that later on in the menopause Sage becomes less
effective, in which case it is worth switching to Black Cohosh.
Many women, however, find that Sage is all they need to get
them through – there is no reason why the menopause
should be accompanied by a plethora of symptoms, so if you
have none, don’t worry!
I
have started waking up early in the morning – about
4am – and being unable to get back to sleep again. It's
driving me demented. What can I do?
One
of the reasons for early waking is low blood sugar. If you
are eating your last meal at 5 to 6pm, by the time you get
to 4 to 5am you haven’t had anything to eat for nearly
12 hours and your blood sugar levels can have fallen quite
substantially. This is particularly likely if you feel quite
nauseous when you get up, as low blood sugar in the morning
causes this. Have a snack before you go to bed – it
doesn’t have to be anything huge, maybe some oatcakes
or some mixed seeds (pumpkin, sesame and sunflower) –
and see if that helps.
My
husband has been told he has a prostate problem – prostatic
hypertrophy. It is not cancerous or anything, but he doesn’t
want to take the medication because it may make him impotent.
Benign
Prostatic Hypertrophy is a common problem in men over 50,
and even in some younger men. The prostate gland surrounds
the bladder opening and when it becomes enlarged (which is
pretty much inevitable as men get older) it makes it harder
to urinate effectively.
It is true that many of the available medications have side
effects such as impotence and erectile dysfunction.
Saw Palmetto is a useful herb in this situation as it is as
good as the conventional medication at improving the symptoms,
but has no side effects. Several clinical trials have found
this to be the case, so I can confidently recommend it as
an alternative for your husband.
Is
there a natural deodorant/anti-perspirant I can use as I am
worried by the latest research linking chemical products to
breast cancer?
There
are many natural deodorants available that contain no harmful
contents and are perfectly safe to apply in the sensitive
area under the arm (in close proximity to lymph glands). Crystal
Spring is one that will last you many months, benefiting your
wallet as well as your body. When you apply it to your skin
a thin layer of minerals is deposited which inhibit the growth
of the bacteria that make you smell. The minerals do not,
however, clog up your pores and prevent you from sweating,
as this is a dangerous thing to do: the body needs to be able
to eliminate toxins and waste products through the pores.
Crystal Spring is hypoallergenic and contains no worrying
ingredients. It will not stain your clothes and has not been
tested on animals. Perfect!
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