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Volume 2, Issue 7

Welcome to Heartland's NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY newsletter. We are excited to share relevant news about natural health topics and offer alternative and complimentary options for you and your family. We are committed to helping you find more complete answers to your health concerns, and look forward to being a friend as you seek greater health through innovative natural products, ideas, and educational resources. For personalized direction, call our helpline at 1-888-772-2345.

TOPICS IN TODAY'S ISSUE:
-Did You Know? Stress can be a major contributor to progesterone deficiency.
-Q&A: What do you do when exercise and diet don’t help anymore for tummy fat?
-Alkalizing Your Body
-Recipes for Health

“If you want better eyes, try to see the best in people.”
- K. Hughes

“Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
- Chinese Proverb

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DID YOU KNOW?

Stress can be a major contributor to progesterone deficiency, the most common hormonal deficiency in women. Progesterone is a hormone produced either by the corpus luteum after ovulation or, in smaller quantities, by the adrenal gland.1 According to Virginia Hopkins’s research, progesterone deficiency affects 50% of women over age 35. Stress isn’t just stress. It’s a big part of hormonal balance and women’s health.

This is seen most dramatically in women whose stress level affects their fertility or bone health. Take for example young female athletes like ballerinas or gymnasts that actually stop menstruating because of the stressful, physical demands of their profession. Another example is a hip fracture in a young female track star because of fragile bones. One would expect greater strength because of the good diet and exercise these women have. But when women stop ovulating because of ongoing high stress levels, or have “tired adrenals” by living a “tired but wired” lifestyle, progesterone production is compromised, creating health issues even for young, apparently healthy women.

Besides progesterone deficiency, stress can create excess of another hormone – cortisol, also produced by the adrenal gland. Chronic stress causes chronically elevated levels of cortisol2. According to Dr. John Lee, the symptoms of too much cortisol include:

- Weight gain (especially around the midsection)
- Blood sugar imbalances (a good clue to these symptoms is whether you’re a sugar junkie and/or get shaky when you don’t eat regularly)
- Thinning or papery skin
- Muscle wasting
- Memory loss

It is possible for a woman to have both the symptoms of excess cortisol, from years of chronic stress, and the symptoms of adrenal exhaustion. Any woman experiencing high stress, chronic stress or a hectic lifestyle needs to be aware of the hormonal influences of stress. The most stress-free way of learning about hormonal balance is to read Dr. John Lee’s books, especially “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Premenopause”. He keeps things simple while providing reliable documentation and enjoyable reading. You can also call Heartland’s helpline at 1-888-772-2345 with any questions on hormonal balancing – we’ll take the time to help you find answers to your concerns.

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Q&A

Q: What do you do when exercise and diet don’t help anymore for tummy fat?

A: The December 2000 issue of The John R. Lee, M.D. Medical Letter gives research documentation of the relationship between tummy fat and stress:

“One of the pieces of advice I find myself giving most often to middle-aged women is to reduce stress levels or at least learn stress management techniques and practice them daily. Chronic stress increases the risk of many diseases, including cancer, arthritis, chronic fatigue and heart disease. However, when you’re not sick, it’s hard for a woman who’s going a hundred miles an hour keeping a career and family going to slow down and smell the roses. Now I have a possible motivator: tummy fat.

As women near middle age, many acquire a “tummy” that stays put regardless of diet and exercise. Thanks to some new research, the possible cause of this unwanted bulge may encourage women to reduce their stress levels. According to Elissa S. Epel and colleagues at Yale, stress can increase abdominal fat, even in premenopausal women who are otherwise lean. The researchers found that such women were found to have higher stress-related cortisol levels. This correlates with the central (abdominal) fat deposition that is common in Cushing’s disease, a disease of elevated serum cortisol.

The results observed by the Yale researchers should not be surprising. Short-term response to stress involves adrenaline production, which reduces progesterone production. Long-term stress increases cortisol, which further inhibits progesterone production and blockades progesterone receptors. Thus, these two mechanisms result in estrogen dominance as well as higher cortisol levels with the net effect of excess central fat deposition regardless of diet and exercise. For stressed-out premenopausal women with increased abdominal fat, stress reduction and stress management techniques are certainly indicated, along with progesterone supplementation if estrogen dominance is evident.”

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ALKALIZING YOUR BODY

Emotions aren’t neutral. Negative emotions create an acid ash in the system while quiet downtimes create an alkaline ash. In order to avoid the damaging effects of excess acid in the body, we must consider an 80/20 balance from our emotional/spiritual “diet” just as much as the 80/20 alkaline/acid balance in the foods we consume. Remember, 80/20 is a general guideline – just like it varies for climates, it will vary for the emotional culture of your region, family, and personality. Whether you use an 80/20 or 50/50 as your guideline, it still takes multiple positives to balance the effects of an emotional negative. Since the world easily dishes out the negative, it becomes paramount to incorporate the alkalizing and “neutralizing” effects of quiet and restorative practices.

ALKALINE HIGHLIGHT: Meditation, Prayer, Peace, Kindness, Love
These rank a 7.5, along with lemons and watermelons, for their extraordinary alkalizing effects.

ACID HIGHLIGHT: Overwork, Anger, Stress, Fear, Jealousy
These rank a 0.5, along with artificial sweeteners for their most acid-forming effects on the system (not just the stomach). Don’t hide from your negative emotions – but manage them with the balancing effects of the quiet disciplines. Don’t expect overwork or stress to be the “norm” even if everyone else seems to consider them so. Rather, create a shift in expectations by proactively loving others and prioritizing restful habits.

Ref: Dr. Baroody, Alkalize or Die

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RECIPES FOR HEALTH
Don’t get stressed out over not having time to quietly enjoy a salad. Here’s a way to feel better eating your greens when you’re short on time (or you don’t like greens). This simple recipe doesn’t require exotic ingredients or fancy juicers.

HALLELUJAH ACRES BLENDED SALAD
From Rhonda Malkmus’ book, “Recipes For Life”.

“One of George’s favorite ways to fix a salad is to blend it into a coarse or fine cold soup. He learned this method of preparing salads at the Shangri-La Health Resort in Florida. There it was used for people who had difficulty chewing or digesting raw foods. However, this is a nice variation for anyone, including children. As the name denotes, this salad does require a blender.”

1 medium tomato
¼ cucumber
½ ripe avocado
¼ cup broccoli florets
½ tsp. herb seasoning
2 cups leaf lettuce or greens
1 stalk of celery
¼ tsp. Celtic Sea Salt (optional)
¼ cup cauliflower florets

Blend tomato, cucumber, avocado, Celtic Sea Salt and seasoning to make the dressing. Then add the remainder of the ingredients to the blender except the celery. As you push the veggies down into the blades with celery stalk, quickly turn the blender on and off until all the veggies are mixed into the dressing. Then continue turning the blender on and off until the desired consistency is reached. If the dressing is too dry, a little distilled water may be added. (If you turn your blender on and leave it on instead of pulsing it on and off rapidly, your salad will be too fine.) The dressing part of this salad can be used on a vegetable salad as well.

Send us your own favorite recipes for keeping your family healthy naturally! E-mail to recipes@heartlandnatural.com.

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REFERENCES:
1. Lee, John R., MD, “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Premenopause”, p. 58.
2. Lee, John R., MD, “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Premenopause”, p. 152.
Quote sources thanks to coolquotescollection.com

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NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY is written, copyrighted and produced by Heartland Products, Inc. All trademarks are representative of the company that owns them and in no way endorse Heartland Products, Inc. Additionally, Heartland Products, Inc. provides this material for informational purposes only and is not responsible for the use of the information. For information about reprinting the NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY newsletter or an article from the newsletter please send an email to info@heartlandnatural.com .