Philbrick

Symptoms of hormone imbalance in women may begin as early as the late 20's to the 40's. Symptoms of hormone imbalance in women tend to increase as a woman ages, especially if ignored in the earlier years. Hormone imbalance symptoms can be any one or more of the following:

Allergy symptoms
Depression, fatigue and anxiety
Endometriosis
Fibrocystic breasts
Hair loss and facial hair growth
Headaches, dizziness and foggy thinking
Low sex drive
Osteoporosis
PMS
Urinary tract infections and incontinence
Uterine fibroids
Weight gain, water retention and bloating
Wrinkly skin

Symptoms of hormone imbalance are caused primarily by the incorrect relationship between progesterone and estrogen levels in the body. The two female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, exist in a delicate balance. Variations in that balance can have a dramatic effect on your health, resulting in symptoms of hormone imbalance. The amounts of these hormones that the woman's body produces from month to month can vary, depending on factors such as stress, nutrition, exercise and most importantly -- ovulation or the lack of ovulation.

In the first 10-12 days of the menstrual cycle, only estrogen is produced in the female body. If ovulation occurs, then progesterone is produced by the ovaries. On day 28 or so, levels of both hormones drop, resulting in menstruation. However, if ovulation did not occur, you can still have the menstrual period, but the estrogen is never "balanced" by progesterone, which needed ovulation to trigger its production. And this results in symptoms of hormone imbalance appearing -- you have estrogen but progesterone production drops to very low levels.

In the industrialized countries, women take birth control pills, are exposed to household chemicals at home, car exhaust and other environmental xenoestrogens. In addition, women often have stressful lives, eat processed foods or skip meals, take synthetic estrogen HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and have hysterectomies. All these factors can add more estrogen to the female body, resulting in excess estrogen which will cause hormone imbalance symptoms.

How can a woman tell if she is experiencing hormone imbalance symptoms? An easy, fast and effective way is to take the online test provided by a leading womens health clinic for early signs of menopause and symptoms of hormone imbalance in women. The online test takes just a few minutes and is free. Learn more about your health, symptoms, what the symptoms are telling you and what to do about it based on your answers to important questions. Read more about hormone imbalance, estrogen dominance symptoms and physician-recommended natural treatments for eliminating the symptoms of hormone imbalance.

Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing

Read more about symptoms of hormone imbalance and natural treatment. Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - visit the website, take the online women's hormone health test and find information on a variety of women's health issues.

As a visual artist, I am always discovering ways that art can be used to enhance the lives of others. One of those ways is to aid in the healing of those mentally or physically ill.

My Tools

This year I started traveling with a small watercolor kit. The size of the kit is a 4x6 block. I also use the Strathmore blank post cards. The imperial watercolor paper works well for this kind of thing.

I went to a physical rehabilitation facility on a Monday evening equipped with these tools. The woman and friend I was visiting was in her seventies and recovering from surgery on her neck. After we chatted for a while, I asked her if she would like a picture for her room. Her answer was a resounding YES. I should note that she already had an assortment of my prints in her home. Consequently, it was not a hard to convince her to allow me to paint.

A support while I worked

My wife entertained her with a modern day version of a familiar bible story while I worked. I drew the rose first and completed it with the watercolors in her favorite color-Yellow. This enabled me to complete the work quickly.

When the rose was completed, this woman with hands still fighting for mobility reached out to touch the painting. Her face glowed as she looked with awe at her picture. I signed it and wrote a note of encouragement before I hung it where she could see it at all times.

Her roommate then begged me to paint a picture for her also. I did.

I am convinced, as many artists reading this will agree that artists must constantly work on their craft. Therefore, if you work on your art while visiting someone it can be a win-win situation.

You do not have to give away your masterpieces

Please know that I AM NOT SUGGESTING THAT YOU GIVE AWAY YOUR MASTERPIECES. However, believe that the person who is ill will see what ever you can contribute as a masterpiece. You will also be donating your time and healing concern. Isnt that what art is all about?

Lets all keep working to bring healing art to the world.

Ray Horner is a fine artist, inspirational speaker and art instructor

www.hornerartworkshop.com

A lot of people have been talking lately about the "New Cabbage Soup Diet". I would not pay any attention to this usually but I have been hearing so much about this diet. First it was the cabbage soup diet, then it was the stuffed cabbage soup diet, then the sweet and sour cabbage soup diet, and now the new cabbage soup diet... yeah the diets are getting out of hand.

My friend Joel tried the stuffed cabbage soup diet and quit after two days because he thought it was the stupidest diet ever. People quit this diet too fast because it's not a very appetizing diet. One thing to give it more zest is to add cider vinegar for a sweet taste. That is not the same as the sweet and sour cabbage soup diet but it adds nice flavor.

Here's the recipe basically

- Two parts cabbage
- One part soup
- One part love

I'm just kidding but here is the actual recipe

-2 green peppers
-6 larger green onions
-3 Carrots
-1 or 2 cans of tomatoes diced
-1 full celery stalk
-10 oz. Mushrooms
-1/2 a head of cabbage
-1 pack or Lipton soup mix
Spice with pepper, salt, curry, parsley, garlic powder, etc.

The diet will help you lose 2-3 pounds a week if followed correctly. But as any diet eating the same repetition of food is boring and easy to give up on. One way to make it easier to stick to the diet is to try the diet with friends. That gives you more motivation not to give up. A good side to have with the cabbage soup is applesauce with cinnamon or celery with peanut butter. If you do the celery idea use the peanut butter sparingly.

Good luck to those trying the cabbage soup diet.

If you enjoyed this article you can find more information on effective diets and weight loss strategies at http://matthewcorgan.blogspot.com

or email questions to matthew.corgan@yahoo.com