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The Heart of the Matter: Menopause and Heart Health
By Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C. | September 17, 2008
Revealed in this week’s issue…
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The Number One Killer of Women: Heart Disease…and How to Keep Your Heart Healthy During and After Menopause… |
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The Ayurvedic Path Toward Heart Health: Understanding Our Pitta Disorders… |
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The Heart Health-Menopause Connection: Going Beyond Hormones and Into Our Entire Bodies with Ayurveda… |
I don’t want to start out this ezine with a depressing tone, but there are a few statistics out there that we should…no, we NEED to be aware of, and they concern heart disease. The number one killer of women is heart disease; in fact, 1 out of 3 women will die because of it, according to an article published in TIME Magazine, “The No. 1 Killer of Women” by Christine Gorman. This article goes on to say that “more than 500,000 women die in the U.S. each year of cardiovascular disease, making it, not breast cancer (40,000 deaths annually), their No. 1 killer.”
Those are sobering statistics indeed. And because the natural cycle of menopause causes so many changes of our bodies, it can also increase our risks in developing imbalances and disorders (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, to name a few) that are directly responsible for even greater health issues - especially heart disease.
BACK TO THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS HEALTH: KNOWING YOUR DOSHA
Heart health starts with learning about the three doshas - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - and pinpointing the dosha that is predominate in your body. Do you know your dosha? My guide “What Is Ayurveda? Understanding the Principles of Ayurveda and the Ayurvedic Body Types” has everything you need to figure out which dosha best represents you. (Receive it FREE when you sign up for my Ayurveda 3-Step Menopausal Balance Program - details below.)
When you know your dosha, you can then eat and live according to the regimen that supports your body type (regimens for Vata, Pitta and Kapha are also available in my “What Is Ayurveda?” guide). By following these practices, you’ll not only recover from (and avoid) the doshic imbalances that cause the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause, you’ll also be on a path toward greater heart health!
HEART-BREAKERS: PROBLEMS WITH YOUR HEART
My old “friends” in the pharmaceutical industry will have you believing that heart attacks and other heart ailments are all about cholesterol and clogged arteries. But if you’ve been reading my ezines, like “Stop Blaming Cholesterol,” you know that this is a dangerously narrow point of view. So narrow, in fact, that it’s misleading to women searching for ways to combat their health problems and sending these women in the wrong direction.
There are two basic problems concerning the heart:
1. Heart “plumbing” problems such as clogged arteries, and
2. Heart “electrical” problems such as a racing heart (leading to the implementation of a pacemaker)
Ayurveda addresses each of these types of problems by examining the body as a whole, not just one tiny area of it! These issues, in Ayurveda, are connected to digestion, enzymes, hormones and how the electricity of the brain works with the electricity of the heart. Ayurveda uniquely maps out how each body type - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - is more or less likely to get which type of heart disease: electric or plumbing.
And because menopause affects digestion, enzymes and hormones, this is crucial for every menopausal women to understand if they want a healthy heart! (And I’ll go into more depth about the heart health-menopause connection in my Ayurveda 3-Step Menopausal Balance Program tele-seminar - details below.)
I “PITTA” THE FOOL WHO DOESN’T LEARN THE AYURVEDIC PATH TO HEART HEALTH
In Ayurveda, the heart is intimately connected to digestive health. As a matter of fact, heart function is one of the five main functions of Pitta. As you know from our last discussion, “The Hot Flash Culprit: Fat Tissues, Hot Feet and Menopause,” Pitta is the fire that makes all metabolism work in the body. Fat tissue imbalances are directly linked to common menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, hot feet and water retention, and they are also a cause of obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, and heart disease.
But that’s not the whole story: hormones are also involved, and Ayurveda expands on that knowledge and teaches methods and practices that can prevent heart disease and heart attacks - the main focus for women in menopause and after menopause who are experiencing fluctuations in their hormone levels.
Heart function, and specifically problems with heart function, fall under the category of Pitta disorders and eventually (if not properly addressed through Ayurvedic treatment) Pitta diseases. Now, try and turn off your western “science” mind and switch gears to your Ayurveda fascination for a minute. Ready? Okay. Now say the word “sadhak” (pronounced like “saw dak”). Sadhak is the Sanskrit word for the energy signature of the heart muscle. It refers to the unique physiology of chemistry and emotions that work together to bring us our physical power and our emotional reality. Our focus in Ayurveda is to attain balance and health in our sadhak, particularly during and after menopause.
UNDERSTANDING OUR HEARTS THE AYURVEDIC WAY
Because of the strong connection between the physical energy of our heart and our emotions, when the heart is unhealthy, our understanding, our perception and our emotional and physical selves suffer. The heart is responsible for the relationship we have to our ego, emotions, thinking processes, and how we understand the world and people around us. That’s why it’s so important that we take care of our beautiful hearts for our total well-being and health!
If you allow me to get medical for a moment, it’s our hearts’ involvement with the neuroelectric and neurochemical health of our brain cells that allow us to communicate our emotions - including compassion, our highest emotion - to the world. The heart also secretes enzymes and amino acids for the physiology of our nervous systems.
During menopause, the emotional menopausal symptoms we feel - selfishness, confusion, egotism, unhealthy attachment, jealousy, and other negative emotional states - are caused by imbalances in the energy of our hearts, imbalances in our doshas, and imbalances in our fat tissues.
Physically, many of our menopausal symptoms are related to heart and Pitta disorders and can manifest themselves as other diseases and ailments such as herpes, shingles, stiffness in our shoulders, and problems with our muscles (fever, soreness and inflammation).
In short, every aspect of the body is directly or indirectly involved with the heart. This should come as no surprise: when our hearts cease to function, we cease to function.
THE HEART-MENOPAUSE CONNECTION
So much has been written about the role of hormones play in menopause as well as how they affect the causes of and prevention heart disease (and stroke) in women. Simply Googling the term “hormones and heart health” will give you over 500,000 results.
As you know, during menopause, women begin to produce lower levels of estrogen and other hormones (“Menopausal Self-Care the Ayurvedic Way“). The varying levels of these hormones cause different changes in the organ systems, particularly the heart and blood vessels, which may increase or decrease the risks of heart disease. So it becomes ever more important to understand how to take care of your heart during and after menopause using the safe, natural ways of Ayurveda.
Ayurveda addresses everything you need to know to stay healthy because it focuses on the entire body and all of its symptoms - not just one specific area. How can you maintain health if you have a narrow view of where the problem lies? Your body has hundreds of pieces, all working together, and so Ayurveda teaches you now to keep them ALL in balance for vitality and health.
To prevent heart disease - and save ourselves from suffering through menopausal symptoms - we must treat our doshic, hormonal, and fat tissue imbalances! Help me help you re-align your entire body by signing up to be part of my amazing Ayurveda 3-Step Menopausal Balance Program! This combination of guides, recipes, regimens and a tele-seminar (where YOU can ask me questions about your personal journey through menopause) is guaranteed to set you on a path of wellness and vitality through menopause and beyond.
*STEP 1: The “What Is Ayurveda? Understanding the Principles of Ayurveda and the Ayurvedic Body Types” downloadable PDF booklet. Determine which of the three doshas - Vata, Pitta, or Kapha - guides you and discover which regimens will work with your body type and digestive tendencies.
STEP 2: The “Menopausal (And Menstrual) Remedies for Your Body Type” downloadable PDF pamphlet. Soothe your menopausal and menstrual symptoms with five-sense therapy and daily lifestyle regimens to re-align your doshic imbalances.
*NOTE: Both booklets will be presented in one, easy-to-download PDF file, available after you finish the purchasing process.
STEP 3: The “Ayurvedic Menopausal Balance Tele-Seminar” on Wednesday, September 17th at 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET. There’s only so much information I can give you in my e-zines and booklets, and because every woman’s journey through menopause is unique, I want to address YOUR specific issues and offer you personal Ayurvedic insights and knowledge. On this call, I’ll go into more depth about everything we’ve discussed so far and answer any questions you may have.
We’ve only scratched the surface of the wonders of Ayurvedic treatments for menopausal balance! By purchasing my Ayurveda 3-Step Menopausal Balance Program for the low price of $29.95 (or you could spend thousands of dollars on other “remedies” that may do more harm than good), you’re opening yourself up to a world without the suffering of menopausal symptoms.
Enjoy this beautiful time in your life by attaining balance through menopause the Ayurvedic way!
Ordering this program is safe and easy (brought to you by Michelle Y. Drake and The Cove Group, Inc.). When you complete the purchasing process, you’ll be e-mailed both pamphlets - in easy-to-download PDF format - and the information on the tele-seminar call-in number and access code.
Take your menopausal care into your own hands and order today!
Link not working? Copy and paste the following URL into your browser to purchase this program today:
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Topics: Ayurveda & Heart Health, Ayurveda and Menopause |
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