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Withania Somniferum – Ashwagandha
When diving into the world of Ashwagandha, it’s fascinating to see what research has uncovered about this ancient herb. Studies on Ashwagandha root and leaf extracts have shown some impressive anti-stress and anti-anxiety effects in trials. It’s like nature’s way of giving us a chill pill! Sleep poromotion: Ashwagandha doesn’t just stop at anxiety; it also seems to help with symptoms of depression and insomnia. Although there are fewer studies exploring these benefits. The magic behind Ashwagandha appears to lie in how it interacts with our body’s stress response systems. Specifically, the HPA axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medullary axis. Plus, it plays nice with our brain’s GABAergic and serotonergic pathways,…
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It` s JUST the Menopause!
Before I get absolutely lambasted by a large proportion of hormonal women experiencing the fun of menopause, please let me explain…. My story of menopause: I was 41 when my periods stopped – up until then all had been as regular as clockwork. I was getting night sweats and was incredibly thirsty all the time. I was aware that at my age things can start to go awry with my hormones. However, I knew that as well as peri menopausal symptoms, what I was experiencing could indicate more sinister diseases. Ironic I know as I pride myself on looking at the whole patient, not just the symptoms. Blood tests: I…
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Perimenopause
Let’s talk perimenopause… For those of you who don`t know what this is – it is the time in your hormonal cycle before your periods stop and you enter into menopause proper. Perimenopause is the transitional period before menopause. Menopause is defined as the time when you have not had a period for 365 days – after this you are now postmenopausal. During perimenopause, levels of oestrogen start to decrease. You may begin having menopause-like symptoms, such as hot flashes or irregular periods. This time of hormonal upheaval can last years or if you`re lucky you may not be aware of any change at all. Normally you will be in your…
