How Can Acupuncture Help With Menopause Symptoms?

 

Menopause marks the permanent ending of a person’s periods, and it is the last phase of the reproductive cycle.

During menopause, your body goes through significant hormonal changes, including reduced estrogen production by your ovaries.

These hormonal changes can affect your whole body; but there is natural menopause management available which may aid in controlling the symptoms.

One of the treatments available to help with symptoms of menopause is acupuncture.

But what is menopause, and how can acupuncture help with menopause symptoms?

Keep reading to find out.

What Is Menopause?

Menopause is the ceasing of menstruation, and the term can describe any of the changes you go through just before or just after stopping menstruation.

Menstruation ceases because you are born with a limited number of eggs in your ovaries; when there are no eggs remaining, menopause begins.

In most cases, menopause occurs naturally after the age of 40.

It can also occur due to a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) or damage to the ovaries, such as due to chemotherapy.

If menopause occurs before the age of 40, it is considered to be premature menopause.

Natural menopause occurs in three stages:
● Perimenopause occurs several years before menopause; the ovaries begin to produce less estrogen, and menopausal symptoms may occur

● Menopause begins a year after the last menstrual period; ovaries are no longer releasing eggs and are releasing reduced levels of estrogen

● Postmenopause is the years after menopause; symptoms of menopause usually lessen, but health risks due to lower estrogen levels increase

Common Symptoms Of Menopause

The most common symptom associated with menopause is hot flashes, or the sudden feeling of warmth throughout the upper body.

It can also be associated with sweating and redness.

Other symptoms that you may experience include:
● Irregular periods
● Headaches
● Depression or anxiety
● Joint pain
● Muscle pain
● Insomnia
● Bladder control problems

Symptoms vary on a person-to-person basis.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is the use of very thin needles, heat, or pressure on specific points on the body.

The theory behind acupuncture is that stimulating these points affects the body’s “Qi”, or natural energy, either by release or redirection.

Acupuncture can also stimulate endorphins, which can help block pain signals.

Acupuncture For Menopause

Although acupuncture cannot affect the onset of menopause, it can help with menopausal symptom management.

Here are some of the ways acupuncture can be effective in reducing menopause symptoms.

1. It Can Reduce Hot Flashes

A recent study found that acupuncture significantly reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes.

Furthermore, this study found acupuncture has positive long-term effects on hot flashes.

2. It Can Reduce The Effects Of Lost Libido

One of the potential symptoms of menopause is that it can cause a lowered libido.

A 2016 study was done with premenopausal patients with HSDD, or hypoactive sexual desire disorder, which is the most common type of sexual dysfunction in women.

In this study, they tested the effects of twice-weekly 25-minute acupuncture sessions, and found sexual function improved within 5 weeks of receiving consecutive acupuncture treatment.

3. It Can Help Manage Weight Gain

Changes in hormone levels can cause weight gain during menopause.

A clinical trial in 2012 studied the effects of acupuncture on weight gain, lipid profile, immunogenic and inflammatory markers.

The study combined lower calorie diets with acupuncture treatment in obese patients.

When the effects of lower calorie diets alone were compared with the effects when combined with acupuncture, it was found that changes in most of the parameters (weight gain, lipid profile, immunogenic and inflammatory markers) were more significant when acupuncture was used in addition to a diet change.

4. It May Help Reduce Symptoms Of Anxiety And Depression

Acupuncture treatment can release endorphins, which can help in the treatment of patients with depressive or anxiety disorders.

Multiple studies are being performed to test the correlation between acupuncture treatment and anxiety and depression; although research is still being done, results are promising so far.

Contact The Mindful Healing Clinic

Acupuncture has many potential benefits if you are premenopausal, menopausal, or postmenopausal.

If you are in one of the stages of menopause, contact me, Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, at the Mindful Healing Clinic.

During your initial appointment, you and I will sit down and chat about your menopause and if acupuncture will be an effective treatment for your symptoms.

From there, we’ll create a treatment plan based on your unique health needs.

Contact the Mindful Healing Clinic to book your FREE 15-minute introductory session today.

Until next time,

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, N.D

Mindful Healing Integrative Naturopathy
251 Queen St S Unit 4,
Mississauga, ON L5M 1L7
- https://goo.gl/maps/KYspifT7J232

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi is a medical doctor from Colombia where she practiced as a family physician for 8 years until she moved to Canada 16 years ago.

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Making Sense Of Your Blood Pressure

Just like you should know your blood type, you should also understand what your blood pressure is at its normal rate.

If you know about naturopathic medicine, you know that what we encourage is for you to have knowledge about your own body so that you can be aware of when things are not right.

As a naturopathic doctor, I always try to help my clients understand what is healthy, so that they can make good choices about their wellness.

Blood pressure is an important component in understanding your health, so let's talk about it.

What Does Blood Pressure Mean?

When doctors take your blood pressure, what they are measuring is the pressure in your blood vessels – however, this requires two separate measurements: systolic (the ‘top’ number) and diastolic (the ‘bottom’ number).

More on those in a moment.

Being hypotensive describes when your blood pressure is low; being hypertensive is when your blood pressure is too high, which is absolutely the more common of the two.

Hypotension

Having low blood pressure can be dangerous, and can indicate underlying conditions, illnesses and issues, such as:

• Anaphylaxis
• Blood loss
• Dehydration
• Endocrine problems
• Heart problems
• Lacking nutrients in your diet
• Pregnancy
• Septicemia

If you notice any of these symptoms of low blood pressure, you should see your doctor:

• Blurred vision
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Fainting (syncope)
• Fatigue
• Lack of concentration
• Nausea

These next 4 symptoms suggest extreme hypotension, which means you should call 911.

• Confusion, especially in older people
• Cold, clammy, pale skin
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Weak and rapid pulse

Hypertension

Hypertension – high blood pressure – can present very differently, and here are some of the symptoms:

• Blood in the urine
• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigueor confusion
• Irregular heartbeat
• Pounding in your chest, neck, or ears
• Severe headache
• Vision problems

Now that we know what it looks like, let’s look at how to measure it.

Systolic Blood Pressure

When your heart beats, it contracts, pushing blood through your arteries; systolic blood pressure is the measurement of the pressure in your blood vessels while the heart is contracting.

A normal, healthy person has a systolic pressure below 120, and hypertension is when it is elevated beyond that, up to 140 or more.

If you measure your blood pressure and the systolic is 180, that qualifies as a hypertensive crisis, and you should seek immediate medical attention.

Diastolic Blood Pressure

The second, bottom number is the diastolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in your arteries in the pause between heartbeats.

Normal diastolic readings are lower than 80, but if your systolic is still reading over 120, then you are nevertheless considered to have elevated blood pressure.

If your diastolic blood pressure is above 80, you are hypertensive.

120 is considered a hypertensive crisis; call 911 immediately.

Measuring Your Blood Pressure

To measure your blood pressure, professionals will either use a machine or a cuff and stethoscope.

Some people find the procedure uncomfortable, but it isn't painful.

Your doctor might have you take your pressure reading at home – or possibly using a machine at your local drug store – if they suspect you have ‘white coat hypertension,’ whereby your blood pressure is only elevated due to the stress of being at the doctor’s office. If it returns to normal once you’ve left, then your blood pressure is not a cause for concern.

When doing the reading, your doctor starts by inflating the cuff to a pressure higher than your systolic blood pressure.

It will momentarily feel tight around your arm, but then your doctor allows it to deflate, until they can hear your blood rushing again through the stethoscope – this gives the systolic reading.

Still watching the pressure gauge on the cuff, the doctor listens until the sound of pumping blood pauses, and that point gives the diastolic reading.

Blood Pressure Levels - What Is Considered Healthy?

I mentioned above about hypertension, but – in fact – there are different levels of hypertension.

Slightly above the reading would be considered an elevated blood pressure, but then there are stages 1 and 2, and finally hypertensive crisis, which can be fatal if not treated.

For systolic, the breakdown is as follows:

• Normal: 120 or below
• Elevated: 120-129
• Stage 1 hypertension: 130-139
• Stage 2 hypertension: 140 and above
• Hypertensive crisis: 180 and above

For diastolic, here are the stages:

• Normal: 80 and below
• Elevated: below 80 with a systolic over 120
• Stage 1 hypertension: 80-89
• Stage 2 hypertension: 90 and above
• Hypertensive crisis: 120 and above

Contact The Mindful Healing Clinic

While blood pressure readings may seem complicated to the average person, they can be easy to understand with a little help.

I have helped many patients adjust their lifestyle in order to correct their hypertension, and monitor their blood pressure.

If you’ve been concerned with your blood pressure, call me and book an appointment, and let’s discuss if you have cause for concern or not.

Until next time,

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, N.D

Mindful Healing Integrative Naturopathy
251 Queen St S Unit 4,
Mississauga, ON L5M 1L7
- https://goo.gl/maps/KYspifT7J232

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi is a medical doctor from Colombia where she practiced as a family physician for 8 years until she moved to Canada 16 years ago.

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To get more information on health, wellness, and alternative medicine, please visit us here: naturopathy

Why Are Avocados So Good for You?

Our round, green avocado friends have become an extremely popular superfood in the last few years, largely because of all their health benefits, but also because of the wide variety of ways they can be used.

My name is Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, a naturopathic doctor in Mississauga, and I am a firm believer that food is nature’s medicine.

In this article, my goal is to educate you on how avocados are excellent for your health, as well as help you understand all the benefits they contain.

The Story Behind Avocados

Avocados are the fruit from the Persea americana tree, and are also known by the very descriptive names ‘alligator pear’ and ‘butter fruit.’

The Hass avocado is the most popular, but avocados can differ greatly in size and shape.

Potential Risks Of Eating Avocados

There are only a couple of risks to eating avocados, so let’s deal with those first.

For those who are on blood thinners, it’s important to be careful with any food containing large amounts of vitamin K, because that controls your body’s blood clotting.

There is another risk to all our health that comes with mass consumption of avocados, and that’s the environmental impact – avocados can only grow in tropical temperatures, and the costs of transporting them to North America do take their toll in pollution.

Pollution is an environmental factor that affects people everywhere, triggering all kinds of conditions and diseases.

Nutritious Value Of Avocados

Avocados have over 20 different vitamins and minerals; here are some quick stats on nutritious avocados before we delve into what they can do for you. Note that the numbers below are taken from 1 serving of avocado, which is about 100g – the average avocado weighs about 170g.

• Avocados contain no cholesterol or sodium
• They are low in saturated fat, which is unhealthy fat, but high in healthy fats
• They are considered a low-carb food, because most of the carbs come from fiber
• Very high in vitamin K, one serving is 26% of your daily recommended intake
• Avocados are also very high in vitamins B5, B6, C, E, Potassium and Folate.
• They also contain magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorous, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin A

Health Benefits Of Avocados

Here’s where we look at what all those vitamins and minerals can do for you.

While it’s important to have a varied diet, it’s good to know how foods impact your health so that you can make wise choices.

Part of learning about your body’s functions is so that you can recognize opportunities in your health and take action on them naturally, holistically.

1. They Help Keep Your Eyes Healthy

Avocados are high in antioxidants, but they also help the antioxidants in other foods get absorbed in your body (thanks to their monounsaturated fatty acids) – like an antioxidant facilitator of sorts.

There has been research into the reduction of risk for cataracts and macular degeneration – this is because of the beta-carotene that they boast.

Lutein and zeaxanthin are two phytochemicals in avocados that help protect against the damage caused by ultraviolet light.

2. They Have High Levels Of Healthy Fats

Healthy fats are important to consume, because we all need some fats in order to properly process other nutrients that we take in through our diet.

Similar to turmeric, which can be better absorbed into your bloodstream by the presence of black pepper, certain nutrients are fat-soluble, which means they are useless to your body – and excreted – unless combined with fat.

Examples of fat-soluble nutrients are vitamins A, D, E and K, along with other compounds, such as the antioxidant carotenoids.

3. They Can Lower Cholesterol Levels

Avocados have caught the attention of the scientific community enough that this 1996 study by Lopez Ledesma et al explored and determined that avocados may very well be able to lower cholesterol levels.

It’s possible that just one avocado a day can lower LDL levels; low-density lipoprotein is known as ‘bad cholesterol.’

4. They Can Help Prevent Osteoporosis

After all you know about avocados, can you believe they can even prevent osteoporosis?

Well, we talked about the fact that avocadoes are loaded with vitamin K, which is a problem if you’re on blood thinners, but great if you want strong bones.

It's fairly common knowledge that calcium and vitamin D help with bones, but those need to be absorbed properly in the body, and only vitamin K can do that.

Great news: vitamin K is available in abundance in avocados, and it also helps to reduce the amount of calcium that is lost, protecting the work it does in absorbing it.

5. They Can Improve Your Digestion

We’ve already talked about how high in fiber avocados are, and here is why it’s important.

Your digestive system requires fibre to move waste effectively and also allow proper nutrient absorption.

The high fibre content in avocados can help prevent constipation, which helps to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Contact The Mindful Healing Clinic

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but if it’s brunch with avocado toast, then it may also be the healthiest.

While it’s important to remember that all foods are healthy in moderation, avocados definitely are among the top of the list for healthy options.

If you recognize that you would like to improve your health and wellness through better diet, call The Mindful Healing Clinic now and book with me to learn all you need to know.

Until next time,

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, N.D

Mindful Healing Integrative Naturopathy
251 Queen St S Unit 4,
Mississauga, ON L5M 1L7
- https://goo.gl/maps/KYspifT7J232

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi is a medical doctor from Colombia where she practiced as a family physician for 8 years until she moved to Canada 16 years ago.

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Health Benefits Of Cinnamon

Of all the natural dietary ideas that we have in our arsenal to keep you well, cinnamon is probably one of the most delicious.

A valuable spice, traded as far back as 2000 BC, it was long recognized for its medicinal capacities, and even used to treat sore throats and arthritis in the middle ages.

Now that fall is here and winter isn't too far around the corner, you might find yourself enjoying some cinnamon flavoured foods.

Let's talk about this popular spice and what it can do for your health.

What Is Cinnamon?

Cinnamon is a spice derived from a tree bark; Cinnamomum trees can be found in the Caribbean, South America and Southeast Asia.

The stems or bark are removed from the tree, and the inner bark is left to dry before being ground into a powder, which is what you buy at the store for your baklava.

However, you can also use essential oil or extracts, which contain the phenolic compounds, flavonoids and antioxidants that make it such a powerhouse.

Cinnamon's Active Ingredient: Cinnamaldehyde

Cinnamaldehyde is the active compound found in the oily part of cinnamon sticks – the oil is what gives cinnamon its smell and flavor.

Cinnamaldehyde has many beneficial properties, such as:
• Antioxidant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-diabetic
• Anti-microbial
• Protects against heart disease
• Boosts immunity
• Can protect against some cancers

Different Types Of Cinnamon

There are two different trees that produce cinnamon: Cinnamomum verum and Cinnamomum zeylanicum.

The first is Ceylon cinnamon, which is called “true cinnamon” – the latter is Cassia cinnamon, a more common and cheaper variety that is what is widely available is stores.

Cassia tends to be a darker brownish-red colour and a stronger, spicier flavour.

It's cheaper and easier to find, since it's far more commonly found around the world. It has far more cinnamaldehyde in its essential oil, giving it its stronger flavour.

Ceylon, on the other hand, is more tanned brown, and has a sweeter flavour.

It's far more expensive than its cousin, owing to its rarity. It has less cinnamaldehyde in its essential oil.

Research has been done on the health benefits of cinnamon, but not enough has been done on the difference between Cassia and Ceylon.

However, Cassia does have a far higher amount of coumarin, a naturally occurring substance in plants with known carcinogenic properties.

The daily recommended limit of coumarin intake is 0.1 mg/kg.

While you still need to eat a fair amount of Cassia to reach that limit, it's worth considering that if you're eating a lot of cinnamon you may want to consider switching to Ceylon.

Health Benefits Of Cinnamon

Cinnamon has such a wide variety of crucial nutrients, vitamins, and minerals - especially fiber and manganese - all in just one serving.

Manganese is important for normal brain and nerve function, but it also helps build healthy connective tissue and bones, and is linked to blood-clotting abilities, metabolism of fats and carbohydrates, calcium absorption, blood sugar regulation and sex hormone production.

However, it has more important benefits, which we will look at below.

1. It Has Antioxidant Properties

An incredible antioxidant, it is so potent that it can even be used as a natural food preservative.

The polyphenols found in cinnamon protect your body from the damage of oxidative stress caused by free radicals.

2. It Reduces Insulin Resistance

Insulin is a hormone that regulates metabolism and energy, as well as helping transport blood sugar from your bloodstream to your cells.

Some people are resistant to insulin, which leads to type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, but only 1-2 tsp of cinnamon can help manage this effectively, as shown in this 2008 study by RA Anderson.

3. It Reduces Blood Sugar Levels

As well as reducing insulin resistance, it also helps reduce blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon does two things very well: it decreases how much glucose enters your bloodstream after eating, and it also mimics insulin, allowing for far better glucose uptake by your cells.

By blocking digestive enzymes, it slows the absorption of sugar; making cinnamon supplements a good option for diabetics.

4. It May Have Anti-Cancer Properties

Excitingly, a 2007 study by Bhattacharjee, Rana, and Sengupta done on cinnamon and cardamom to assess their anti-oxidative potential in fighting cancer (particularly colon cancer), shows that it does, in fact, help in two ways: by enhancing levels of the detoxifying enzymes, as well as decreasing peroxidation levels.

Note, however, that this study was done on mice, and human trials are still needed in order to solidify that link, but with such a favourable forecast, many people are turning to cinnamon to bolster their anti-cancer and cancer-recovery treatments.

5. It Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Inflammation is a culprit behind a great many conditions, including arthritis, depression, multiple sclerosis, and others.

Inflammation is helpful when it is fighting infections and repairing tissue damage, but it is a problem when it turns against your own body or becomes chronic.

Cinnamon can help reduce chronic inflammation, so it’s only doing the good work it should.

Contact The Mindful Healing Clinic

With all the information on natural remedies and the health benefits of spices, herbs and food, it’s hard to know, sometimes, what you should focus on.

That’s where I can step in to help.

Call now to book your appointment at The Mindful Healing Clinic and let us help you sift through the data, applying what you need and discarding what you don’t.

Every body’s journey is different – let us help you find your way.

Until next time,

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi, N.D

Mindful Healing Integrative Naturopathy
251 Queen St S Unit 4,
Mississauga, ON L5M 1L7
- https://goo.gl/maps/KYspifT7J232

Dr. Maria Cavallazzi is a medical doctor from Colombia where she practiced as a family physician for 8 years until she moved to Canada 16 years ago.

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To read additional information about health, wellness, and alternative medicine, please visit us here: naturopathic doctor