But, what you may not know is that it’s sometimes more than that painful burn in your chest. You could be suffering from Esophagus Rot. That’s where the acid flies up into your esophagus so frequently that it eats through the lining and begins “rotting” away the tissue.

This could lead to much more serious and threatening disorders like asthma and pneumonia as the acid moves into your lungs. If you’d like to know more about how to stop this process, naturally then read Reflux Remedy Report.

In addition, you may also suffer the following dangerous diseases because of ignoring your acid reflux problem:

• Ulcers – As if the acid weren’t enough to keep you up at night, ulcers are painful sores that occur after the acid has eaten the lining of your esophagus. They can inflame just like acid reflux, but the effects are much stronger. If left untreated they can bleed and cause additional problems.
• Strictures – The esophagus actually constricts stopping the flow of acid, or any food or drink for that matter, from getting where it needs to be. You may have to have your food surgically removed and the stricture repaired to boot.
• Barrett’s Esophagus – Sometimes the damage is so extensive that it actually changes the cellular make-up of your esophagus. The tissue morphs to look and act more like the lining in your stomach, which is stronger and more resilient to flowing acid. The problem is that when cells alter themselves, it opens the door to cancer.
• Esophageal Cancer – A life-threatening disease, albeit rare. Esophageal cancer happens when the lining just can’t take anymore. Barrett’s Esophagus cells transform; some cells go bad and become cancerous.

Now your doctor may suggest risky medications that you may be on the rest of your life – or worse, dangerous surgery to avoid the serious illness.

However, before you elect to take that prescription medication, or go under the knife, you should know all your options. Some of the best, all-natural options can be found in the Reflux Remedy Report: Fast, Safe & Natural Home Remedy Information.

You don’t have to suffer ever again, because Barton Publishing has put together a whole report on curing your acid reflux finally.

Without any drugs – Without any side-effects – Without any surgery – WITH natural cures and remedies found in your frig, pantry or at most, your local grocery store

In it you’ll discover:

• What kind of foods you should eat for 2 days that will soothe and promote the natural healing of your esophagus (page 6).
• How to put a stop to your acid reflux instantly with a power-combo cure that could last days between doses (page 9).
• Which apple beat out all others in putting acid to bed all night long. Usually, one slice was enough (page 11).
• While you keep the acid level down, start healing any damage that’s already been done – with these rather unusual yet simple mixtures (page 21).
• A very “weird” but effective – and very natural – remedy for hiatal hernia (page 22).

There’s even a section where customers have written in to share their experiences and what worked for them. You’ll get the added bonus of seeing winning techniques from folks in the field just like you.

You should check out Reflux Remedy Report: Fast, Safe & Natural Home Remedy Information.

Related posts:

1. Acid Reflux – Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
2. The Symptoms of GERD/Acid Reflux
3. What to Eat if You Have Frequent Heartburn or Acid Reflux

However, the good news is you can bounce back before stress causes any permanent damage to your healthy diet.

There are some natural alternatives to traditional medicines to combat stress. One way is to plan time for meditation each day. We all have busy lives with our work and raising a family.

The more we’re on the go, the more run down our body will become. When you’re rundown and tired both physically and mentally, it will make facing stress that much harder to overcome. A daily dose of meditation, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, can do wonders for your body and mind.

Having a regular exercise routine that includes a mind-body mix, such as yoga, will also help you handle stress better. It helps you clear your mind and gives you a little energy, making you feel better about yourself. When your confidence is up, you’re better equipped to battle the stress whenever it pops up.

If it’s possible for where you live, plant a garden. Horticulture can be a rewarding way to build confidence within yourself by the “fruits” of your labor. You can enjoy the results of your efforts as the fruits, vegetables, and herbs grow to maturity.

Even small planter gardens can help. Grow your own herbs and spice up your healthy dishes with what you grew. When gardening isn’t an option, just try doing another hobby that can provide stress-busting benefits.

Sometimes food seems to be the only option in your eyes. If you can’t resist food, then go for the healthier snacks. You can handle your stress and you won’t add more stress to the mix by feeling guilty about eating the wrong types of food.

Stress is inevitable for us, but it doesn’t have to control you to the point where your diet suffers. If you take time for yourself, give your body and mind a chance to thrive, it will help you face your stress and eradicate it from your life the second it shows up.

Related posts:

1. Alternative Ways to Boost Your Immune System When Coping With Stress
2. 7 Natural Ways to Ease Stress
3. Stress Reduction Tips for Women

You are still wide-awake when your bedside clock shows 1:00 am. If this is a regular problem, you may have insomnia. There could a variety of reasons for your sleep disorder. Some common causes for trouble sleeping are:

Feeling depressed, anxious or having obsessive thoughts, your mind just doesn’t shut down enough to allow sleep. If you experience a major loss and are grieving, sleep can be difficult.

Sudden changes in your lifestyle can also cause sleep interruptions. Starting a new job with different hours than what you are used to can take time to adjust your sleep cycle. Constant stress at work or school that you just can’t let go of will definitely make a good night’s sleep elusive. Trying to drown your frustrations in alcohol, caffeine, or through smoking will only cause more sleep interruption problems.

Staying up too late watching TV or surfing the Internet doesn’t give your body enough time to wind down from the day for effective sleep.

Some sleeping problems may be related to other medical conditions. Breathing problems, back or leg pain, acid reflux and indigestion can disturb the body in ways that make sleep difficult no matter how tired you are.

If you’re fed up of being tired all the time, here are 5 things you can do to overcome your sleep disorder or insomnia:

1. Don’t focus on going to sleep, instead think about relaxation. Visualize a pleasant, satisfying, relaxing place and see yourself in that place.
2. Turn down the bedroom lights. This allows your body time to wind down and adjust easier than going from a fully lit room and to a completely dark room.
3. Reset your body clock by getting on a manageable schedule. Don’t try to exhaust yourself with exercise, work or activity as a way to fall asleep. You already know that doesn’t work. Write down a schedule that allows an hour to prepare for sleep. Take a warm shower, turn off the TV, cell phones and PDAs and turn on some calming music (an instrumental CD, not the radio). Stretch and slide into bed at the scheduled time.
4. If after resetting your sleep cycle, you find yourself getting tired too early, increase your light exposure. Go outdoors in the sunshine or turn up the light in the room. The body responds to light and dark cues for sleep.
5. Cease any work or stressful activity at least three hours before bedtime. Let go of the frustrations and allow your mind to focus on less intense things.

When some of these natural methods can’t solve your sleeping problems, you may need to get on prescription medication. Whatever you do, don’t self medicate with over-the-counter sleep aids at night and wake-up pills during the day. That makes the problem worse. Don’t take any sleep medications unless a physician is monitoring you. You don’t want to develop drug dependency problems while curing your sleep disorder.

Related posts:

1. Just Tired and Sleepy During the Day or is it Narcolepsy?
2. Sleep Apnea is a More Serious Problem Than Just Snoring
3. Stress Reduction Tips for Women

Be careful what you wish for! If the snoring stops and it gets very quiet suddenly, it may not necessarily be a healthy situation for the other person.

Snoring is related to a condition known as sleep apnea. If you have sleep apnea, your nighttime breathing is interrupted and if doesn’t return promptly, it can become a life threatening situation. This breathing interruption can happen up to five times in an hour during sleep. If you snore loudly and nightly, you’re at higher risk for sleep apnea than the occasional snorer is.

Other signs of sleep apnea are episodes of daytime fatigue and emotional distress or skill deficits when you’re tired. Sleep apnea seems to start most often in mid-life and affects more men than women.

Risk factors for sleep apnea are:

1. Overweight by more than 120% of your appropriate body weight
2. Large neck girth. That’s determined by using a tape measure. The danger level is 17” or greater for men and 16” or greater for women.
3. Hypertension whether treated or untreated by medication
4. Narrow nasal passages

A medically supervised sleep study is needed to diagnose sleep apnea. A home monitor can be used for children as well as adults to monitor breathing interruptions. You have a number of options for treating sleep apnea.

You can be fitted for a dental appliance, an orthodontia device that you wear at night. This appliance changes the tongue placement so that the airway is clear for breathing.

Losing weight is also important to moderating sleep apnea. Along with losing weight, you need to be in an exercise program. Many people report that their sleep apnea completely disappears once they lose weight and get back to a normal, healthy range.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) masks are worn over the nose and mouth to force air into the nasal passages in a continuous flow. This may not be the most comfortable way to sleep, but it has been highly effective and most people get used to the machine and rely on it to deliver a good night’s sleep.

If all else fails, there are surgical procedures such as widening the palate, restructuring nasal cavities or taking out the tonsils to aid in a sleep apnea disorder. Make sure you don’t ignore your snoring and mistake it as something harmless because if it’s sleep apnea, you’re putting your life at risk!

Books about sleep apnea:

Related posts:

1. Tired but Can’t Sleep? 5 Tips to Falling Asleep Faster

However, if you have narcolepsy, you could fall asleep during the day often and without any warning. You may still fall asleep during the day despite getting plenty of sleep at night.

You gulp down several cups of coffee and no matter how hard you try to fight off the sleepiness; you still can’t force yourself to stay awake. You may be the victim of crude jokes and criticized at work for being lazy because most people are not aware of narcolepsy and its symptoms.

You know you are not lazy and neither are you faking your symptoms. What you have is a real medical disorder called narcolepsy. If you are not diagnosed correctly and treated properly, this condition can worsen, interfere with your job, social life and severely limit normal activities like driving.

What is narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia. The condition is characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in which a person experiences extreme fatigue and possibly falls asleep at inappropriate times, such as at work or school.

What are the symptoms of narcolepsy?

• Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS): This is the most common characteristic where the person often feels drowsy or fall asleep throughout the day even after adequate nighttime sleep. This urge to sleep may be physically impossible to resist and can occur at inappropriate times and places.
• Cataplexy: This is an episodic condition where there is loss of muscle function, ranging from slight weakness (such as limpness at the neck or knees, sagging facial muscles, or inability to speak clearly) to complete collapse of the body.
• Sleep paralysis: This is a temporary inability to talk or move while falling asleep or waking up. It may last a few seconds to minutes. It is often frightening but is not dangerous.
• Hypnagogic hallucinations: These vivid, often frightening, dreamlike experiences occur while dozing, falling asleep and/or while awakening.

Who is at risk of being affected by narcolepsy?

It is estimated that as many as 3 million people worldwide are affected by narcolepsy. In the United States, it is estimated that this condition afflicts as many as 200,000 Americans. Narcolepsy usually begins between the ages of 15 and 25, but it can manifest itself at any age. In many cases, narcolepsy is undiagnosed (fewer than 50,000 are diagnosed) and, therefore, left untreated.

Although the exact cause of narcolepsy is still not known, researches have discovered a strong link between narcoleptic individuals and certain genetic conditions. Narcolepsy seems to occur 8-12% more often in families with at least one close relative with this condition.

How is narcolepsy diagnosed?

The most common symptom of narcolepsy is EDS and it is not exclusive to this condition. Proper diagnosis requires a thorough clinical exam and a comprehensive medical history.

Polysomnogram (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) are two essential tests for confirming narcolepsy. These medical tests are interpreted by a physician who specializes in sleep disorders.

How is narcolepsy treated?

Although there is no cure for narcolepsy, prescription drugs can control symptoms of EDS and cataplexy. Abnormal sleep patterns may be treated by antidepressant medications.

You can help yourself by making certain lifestyle changes such as limiting or avoiding caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and heavy meals. Go to sleep at a regular time everyday, don’t work late or too close to bedtime and exercise regularly.

The key here is to explain your condition and symptoms to your family, friends, colleagues and your boss at work. You want people close to you to understand that your daytime sleepiness is not laziness or lacking of motivation but a real medical problem called narcolepsy.

Books about narcolepsy:

Related posts:

1. Tired but Can’t Sleep? 5 Tips to Falling Asleep Faster
2. Sleep Apnea is a More Serious Problem Than Just Snoring

Before listing the different types of arthritis, let’s define what it is. We have all experienced occasional joint pains or soreness in our hands, knees or shoulders. That doesn’t mean it is some type of arthritis.

Arthritis is usually caused by inflammation of the tissue lining the joints. Symptoms include redness, pain and swelling. These problems are telling you that something is wrong. In some cases, or types of arthritis, this inflammation also produces degeneration and deformity in the joint.

There are several types of arthritis. The two most common ones are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. This condition usually sets in with age and most often affects the fingers, knees, and hips. Sometimes osteoarthritis follows an injury to a joint. For example, a young person might hurt his knee badly playing football. Or someone is injured in a car accident or from a fall. He may develop arthritis in the knee many years after the injury has healed.

Rheumatoid arthritis is caused when the body’s own defense system fails to work properly. It affects joints and bones (often of the hands and feet), and may also affect internal organs and systems. You may feel sick or tired, and you may have a fever.

Crystals that build up in the joints cause another common type of arthritis known as gout. It usually affects the big toe, but many other joints may be affected.

Arthritis can also affect other parts of the body such as the skin, internal organs and eyes.

Researchers have identified several risk factors even though the exact cause of most types of arthritis is not yet known. These include obesity (being overweight puts additional stress on the joints), age (the risk increases with age), gender (arthritis appears to occur more frequently in women than men), and job related issues (repetitive movement, heavy lifting or frequent injury can lead to arthritic changes).

Arthritis affects approximately 70 million Americans. Or, put another way, it affects approximately one out of every three people. It is a major cause of lost work and disability. It can affect people of all ages but is most common among older adults. Diagnosis is done by a thorough medical evaluation and history, physical exam, blood tests and imaging studies.

The primary goals of treatment are to provide relief from pain, increase mobility in the joints and reduce strain around the joints. Physicians may recommend medication, hot or cold compresses, exercise, joint protection or surgery. With early diagnosis, most types of arthritis are managed well with pain and disability being minimized.

Although it cannot be prevented, there are steps you can take that will help reduce your risk or prevent permanent joint damage. By maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, eating a healthy diet and protecting your joints at work you reduce your risk of developing arthritis.

For more information on arthritis and related conditions, contact any of the following organizations:

• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
  Information Clearinghouse
  National Institutes of Health
  1 AMS Circle
  Bethesda, MD 20892-3675
  Phone: 301-495-4484
  Toll Free: 877-22-NIAMS (226-4267)
  TTY: 301–565–2966
  Fax: 301-718-6366
  Email: NIAMSinfo@mail.nih.gov
  Website: http://www.niams.nih.gov
• Arthritis Foundation
  P.O. Box 7669
  Atlanta, GA 30357-0669
  Phone: 404-872-7100
  Toll Free: 800-283-7800
  Website: http://www.arthritis.org
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS)
  6300 North River Road
  Rosemont, IL 60018-4262
  Phone: 847-823-7186
  Toll Free: 800-824-BONE (2663)
  Fax: 847-823-8125
  Email: pemr@aaos.org
  Website: http://www.aaos.org
• American College of Rheumatology (ACR)
  1800 Century Place, Suite 250
  Atlanta, GA 30345-4300
  Phone: 404-633-3777
  Fax: 404-633-1870
  Website: http://www.rheumatology.org

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1. 3 Types of Anti-Aging Exercises

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Thinnest of Them All?

Magazine ads, TV commercials and billboards bombard us daily with images of super-thin models and movie stars. So it is not just being a narcissist who is immersed in self-loathing and self pity. There are many influences that determine whether or not one can become susceptible to developing eating disorders.

Let’s look at some of the factors that can lead to eating disorders later in life.

• Age: For most people eating disorders start at an early age, typically as a teenager. However, there are have been many cases of both women and men where the problem surfaced in their adulthood.
• Gender: Although more women than men suffer from eating disorders, there’s an alarming rise in the number of young males experiencing the same bulimic or anorexic tendencies that their female counterparts do.
• Family influence: If you are close to someone who has an eating disorder, like a loved one in your family, your risk of developing eating disorders increases. Logically the very opposite should happen since you are sensitive to the problem. However, there is a very close connection between eating disorders and family influence, especially in your early years. When a parent or sibling constantly criticizes and tells you that you need to go on a diet, even jokingly, it can take an ugly turn into an eating disorder that wreaks havoc on your body.
• Peer pressure: Our self-image is greatly influenced by what our peers think of us. This intense peer pressure can play a critical role in developing eating disorders.
• Emotional problems: People suffering from compulsive disorders like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) sometimes develop an eating disorder. The same holds true for people who suffer from depression or anxiety disorders.
• Competitive athletes: If you’re the type of person who can’t get enough exercise, or someone who competes in athletic competitions regularly, then you might be prone to developing an eating disorder because you falsely believe it will enhance your performance.

If you fit any of these profiles, then you’ll want to take action to prevent yourself from developing eating disorders and/or developing unhealthy eating habits. Talk to your doctor about the issue and find out what a healthy weight and diet would be for your specific body type.

Instead of listening to the destructive voices that influence your thinking, work on building your confidence and socializing with positive people who don’t criticize you regularly.

Don’t get trapped in a fantasy of looking like the supermodel on the cover of the current issue of Vogue magazine. Artists using Photoshop and other computer techniques heavily retouch most cover and glamor shots. What you are looking at is not real; don’t waste your time chasing a mirage.

For more weight loss tips, visit www.athomeweightlosstips.com.

Interested in healthy eating information? Get my eBook, Eating Right for a Healthier You!

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1. Get a Better Understanding of Eating Disorders
2. Eating Healthy with 10 Nutrient Packed Foods
3. Stress Can Throw You Off Your Diet Plan

Women and girls are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. It frequently co-exists with other underlying emotional or psychiatric problems such as depression, substance abuse, or anxiety disorders. People with eating disorders may also develop serious physical health complications, such as heart disease and kidney failure.

There are two main types of eating disorders — anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. There are other variations of eating disorders, the most commonly known variant is binge-eating disorder.

There is good news — eating disorders are treatable diseases.

Treatment and prevention of eating disorders begin with awareness and education. Family and friends can get frustrated with your pickiness at the diner table. Their lack of understanding may lead to them dismissing your very real problem as “just trying to get attention” or “simply needing to find a good diet and sticking to it.” Unfortunately, neither of those comments is constructive. In fact, that kind of criticism can send a person with eating disorders spiraling downwards and further complicating the situation.

Even though a disproportionate number of girls and women suffer from eating disorders, men are not immune to this disease. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), “Men and boys account for an estimated 5 to 15 percent of patients with anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35 percent of those with binge-eating disorder.

Men complicate this already difficult problem with steroid use to bulk up muscle. Young men are discovering how painful it can be when they are criticized for their undersized bodies or when they don’t measure up to hyped up standards.

Body types are different and not everyone will respond to the same treatment. Some people have high metabolisms, thin frames and eat like linebackers without gaining weight. Other body types, particularly women, retain fat and struggle trying to squeeze into single digit dress sizes. Trying to work against your body type is something that can make you susceptible to developing eating disorders because of unrealistic expectations of results that can’t be achieved by healthy dieting.

In your formative years, your parents may have influenced you. For example, if your mom was preoccupied with her “fat thighs,” chances are you’ll inherit the same obsession.

You have to recognize that you can’t control life through your food choices. Eating a banana split will provide temporary pleasure but you are likely to feel guilty soon afterward. That’s why they are referred to as “guilty pleasures.”

In the same way, if you are on a constant cycle of binging and purging instead of eating healthy, you’re going to pay for it in the long run by developing eating disorders.

Try to identify and focus on the underlying problem that’s causing you the distress. Are you stressed out? Anxious about something you fear won’t work out? Don’t use food as your tool of comfort. If you fear that you may have already developed an eating disorder, seek professional help before it snowballs into something more permanent and damaging.

Sources for help with eating disorders:

• Academy for Eating Disorders
• National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
• National Eating Disorders Association
• Overeaters Anonymous
• T.H.E. (Treatment, Healing, Education) Center for Disordered Eating
• National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, HHS
• National Mental Health Information Center, SAMHSA, HHS
• American Psychological Association
• National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance

For more weight loss tips, visit www.athomeweightlosstips.com.

Interested in healthy eating information? Get my eBook, Eating Right for a Healthier You!

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1. Do I Have an Eating Disorder?
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3. Eating Healthy with 10 Nutrient Packed Foods

CFS is a disease that causes a person to become so fatigued that normal daily function is impaired. The tiredness that is experienced is so severe that mental and physical activity or movement make this condition worse, and rest usually doesn’t diminish the fatigue.

This disease is a difficult one to diagnose and treat because symptoms are sometimes very general, which may lead to confusion when trying to find a correct diagnosis. The major symptom used for diagnosis is chronic fatigue that has lasted longer than six months.

People with chronic fatigue may experience the following symptoms:

• Headache
• Sore throat
• Pain or tenderness in neck and armpits
• Unexplained muscle soreness
• Joint pain
• Difficulty with concentration
• Trouble sleeping
• Extreme exhaustion after exercise that lasts for more than 24 hours

Unfortunately, the causes of CFS aren’t well understood. The immune system may not be functioning well, or viruses may play a part. So how is this disease treated when there are so many unknowns?

First, consult with your doctor. If you’re experiencing a combination of the symptoms listed above, and have been for awhile, you need to get a proper diagnosis and begin a treatment plan.

So far, there is no known cure for CFS, and the medications used are generally for treating symptoms such as sleep problems, and muscle aches. If you’re experiencing depression or anxiety, you may be prescribed an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety medication as well.

Even though there is no cure, most symptoms improve with time. In the meantime, there are some effective self-treatments you can use. You can help yourself by keeping track of times of the day when you have the most energy and planning for activity during those times.

Try to keep some activity and exercise in your life, even if it isn’t as much as you would like. You can also find a chronic fatigue syndrome support group in your area. And make sure you ask your friends and family for support while you’re finding ways to recover your lost energy.

If memory and concentration are problems, become a note and list writer so you don’t forget important tasks and appointments. CFS is not well understood, hard to diagnose, and impossible to cure easily at this time.

However, with the help of your doctor, you can find ways to deal with the symptoms while time takes its course in improving them. Be sure to find support in the form of family, friends and a support group, and give your body the time it needs to ease the symptoms.

Related posts:

1. Acid Reflux – Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Fibroids are benign tumors that nearly 30% of women will experience at some point in their lives.

Many of these fibroids do not cause any symptoms at all while some women suffer from debilitating symptoms that can adversely affect personal and social lives.

Fibroid tumors are excessive growth in the muscle of the uterine wall. They are not cancerous and are not believed to be precancerous. In other words, they do not grow into a tumor that may spread to other parts of the body. In very rare cases, fibroids that begin to grow very rapidly can become cancerous.

Fibroids can be the size of a microscopic seed or exceed the size of a small basketball. It is easy to see why tiny tumors may not be detected during a routine examination nor produce any symptoms.

Unfortunately, because more and more women are delaying their childbearing until their late 30’s, fibroid tumors may affect fertility.

Current research

Researchers now understand that these fibroid tumors are dependent upon estrogen levels in the blood. In other words, estrogen hormone is required to be present in order for these tumors to continue to grow and expand.

Interestingly it turns out that fibroids and menopause have usually been mutually exclusive. This is because the levels of estrogen in the body fall dramatically during menopause and therefore no longer stimulate the growth of the fibroid tumors. This loss of hormonal stimulation usually leads to the demise of these tumor growths.

In many cases, these fibroid tumors begin to resolve or decrease as a woman enters menopause. Women who develop fibroids during menopause, or after menopause, are at greater risk for developing fibroids that are precancerous.

Although some researchers believe that 30% of women will experience fibroids in their lifetime others believe that this number is much higher because many women will not experience symptoms at all.

Scientists are still unsure of how and why fibroids grow. In some cases, fibroids have been found to grow after menopause. These growths have a higher potential of becoming cancerous.

Risk factors for developing fibroids

Researchers have also identified specific risk factors that increase the potential of a woman experiencing fibroids in her later years.

These risk factors appear to be more common among African Americans/Canadian women, suggesting that there may be a genetic link. Women who have close female relatives also have fibroids are more likely to develop fibroid tumors with resulting symptoms.

Women who develop fibroids, often have heavy menstrual bleeding that can result in anemia. They will also have feelings of heavy pressure in the lower abdomen, bladder problems, bowel problems and lower back pain.

Some women will experience constipation, bloating and pain during intercourse.

When the fibroids grow large, it is very possible to feel a hard spot in the center of the abdomen where the fibroids are positioned.

Everyday plastic bottles and containers may pose fibroid risks

Some researchers now believe that xenoestrogens, a molecule similar in structure to estrogen and commonly found in pesticides and plastics have affected the number of women who are suffering from fibroids.

In 1993, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dave Feldman, professor of medicine was experimenting with a yeast estrogen protein that binds to estrogen. He and his team found that the polycarbonate bottles, commonly used to hold bottled drinking water contained bisphenol-A.

Bisphenol-A binds to the estrogen protein found in the yeast. This polycarbonate plastic is routinely used for the giant jugs used in shipping water.

The Stanford team found that 2-5 parts per billion of bisphenol-A was enough to cause the breast cancer cells to proliferate. Professor Feldman noted that though bisphenol-A is 2000X less potent than estrogen, “it still has activity in the parts per billion range.”

A Dartmouth University Study showed that plastic wrap heated in a microwave oven with vegetable oil had 500,000 times the minimum amount of xenoestrogens needed to stimulate breast cancer cells to grow in the test tube.

Menopause and fibroids have always been mutually exclusive because of the dependence of fibroids on the presence of estrogen. Unfortunately, because of the amount of estrogen, or xenoestrogens, that is available in everyday plastic containers to hold milk, meat, dairy products and water, some women continue to experience tumors long after menopause has come and gone.

See “Natural Remedies for Treating Uterine Fibroids” >

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1. What Are Fibroids (fibromyomas, leiomyomas or myomas)?
2. Natural Remedies for Treating Uterine Fibroids
3. A Quick Summary of Female Infertility