"Open your heart to me, my own," whispers Grandmother Growth so softly you aren't certain you hear her. "Open the wisdom way of compassion here in your heart and draw me inside. Let Grandmother Growth be inside you, helping you encompass the whole, in the beat of your own heart, my heart, Crone's heart."
Step 0: Do Nothing
Thinking of taking hormone replacement to keep your heart healthy? Think again. Data released in April of the year 2000, from the federal government's Women's Health Initiative, showed "a small increase in the number of heart attacks, strokes and blood clots in the lungs of women on hormone replacement compared with women on placebo." The Heart and Estrogen/Progestin Replacement Study (HERS), completed in 1998, found the same connection. For a healthy heart, don't take hormones.
"Recently released data from the federal government's Women's Health Initiative suggests that during the first two years of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy there is a slightly greater risk of heart attack, stroke and blood clots."
Heart disease is America's top killer (claiming a life every 34 seconds). Women aged 30-50 have far less risk of heart disease than a man their age. But postmenopausal women die from heart disease at rates as high as men's. (Women account for 51 percent of all cardiovascular deaths; men, 49 percent.) Is it lack of estrogen?
No. Estrogen does lower LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol, but cholesterol is only weakly linked to heart disease, especially in women. (Most heart attacks happen to people with normal cholesterol levels.)
Estrogen raises blood pressure (one of the top three reasons for heart attacks in women), increases triglycerides, promotes clotting (a leading factor in heart attacks and strokes), and raises levels of C-reactive protein (a marker for inflammation associated with heart disease). Take progestins/progesterone too and you increase your risk of heart disease even more. Hormone replacement really isn't heart healthy.
Aren't there studies linking estrogen usage to lowered risk of heart disease? Only retrospective ones, which cannot establish a cause-and-effect link. And the women in those studies ate well, exercised regularly, and were unlikely to smoke - behaviors that are critical to heart health. The simple truth is more than 90 percent of all heart disease is preventable with lifestyle choices.
The three top risk factors for heart disease in women are too much belly fat, smoking, and untreated hypertension. High cholesterol is one of the top three risk factors for men, but not for women. (This is because, after menopause, we make heart healthy hormones from our cholesterol.)
Step 1: Collect Information
The Nurses Health Study - which followed 86,000 women for 14 years - shows what happens to those wise old Crones who follow heart healthy behaviors:
Step 2: Engage the Energy
Step 3: Nourish & Tonify
"What emerges is a clear association of heart disease with ... consumption of devitalized, processed, fabricated food items, including sugar and fructose, soft drinks, fortified white flour, milk and egg powders, caffeine, imitation broth products, synthetic vitamins, vegetable oils, and hydrogenated fats." - Sally Fallon
Don't like raw garlic? Use powdered! A four-year study found women who ingested 900 mg (1/4 teaspoonful) of garlic powder daily had 18 percent less arterial plaque than those taking a placebo.
Injectable forms of Crataegus were used by MDs up until the 1950s to treat vascular heart disease, high blood pressure, inflammation of the heart muscle, and arteriosclerosis.
The action of hawthorn is slow but complete. It strengthens the heart, establishes a regular heartbeat, relieves water build-up around the heart, and resolves stress throughout the cardiovascular system. Dose is 25-40 drops of the berry tincture, up to 4 times a day. Expect results no sooner than 6-8 weeks.
Chocolate's flavonoids are more powerful than vitamin C in limiting oxidation of LDL; they protect all lipids in the blood from free-radical damage. Procyanidins are flavonoids that work like mild aspirins, keeping the blood thin and free-flowing.
Polyphenols are heart-healthy substances found abundantly in red wine, green tea, and chocolate. Daily use may prevent stroke by delaying blood clotting time. (75 ounces/20 grams of dark chocolate = one-half cup tea = one glass red wine.)
Chocolate also prevents blood platelet fragmentation (which occurs when platelets get sticky), and boosts HDL (good) cholesterol. No wonder it often comes in heart-shaped boxes!
See New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90 for Heart Healthy steps 4, 5, and 6 of the Six Steps of Healing
HEART HEALTHY LIFE STYLE HINTS
STOP SMOKING - HEART HEALTHY HINTS
Tobacco is highly addictive and you can beat it. Get an extra edge on quitting by nourishing yourself with a handful of freshly toasted sunflower seeds and a cup of nettle or oatstraw infusion daily for 4-6 weeks before you stop smoking. Sunflower seeds reduce cravings for nicotine by filling nicotine receptor sites. Nettles and oatstraw strengthen nerves and cushion the impact of withdrawal. Nourish yourself the Wise Woman Way when you want tobacco:
See New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90 for more great Heart Healthy tips and hints.
Legal Disclaimer: This content is not intended to replace conventional medical treatment. Any suggestions made and all herbs listed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, condition or symptom. Personal directions and use should be provided by a clinical herbalist or other qualified healthcare practitioner with a specific formula for you. All material contained herein is provided for general information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Contact a reputable healthcare practitioner if you are in need of medical care. Exercise self-empowerment by seeking a second opinion.
Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative.
Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. Learn more at http://www.susunweed.com
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