Brevail — Natural Help for Perimenopause
Reprint of The Doctor’s Prescription for Healthy Living article by Christine Horner M.D.

Perimenopause is a natural process that for some women brings on a myriad of uncomfortable symptoms. These symptoms usually come from imbalances in the physiology that stem from poor choices in diet and lifestyle. Common perimenopausal complaints include:

• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Hot flashes
• Headaches
• Loss of libido
• Dry skin
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Memory problems
• Insomnia or sleep difficulties
• Joint pain
• Muscle aches and pains

After menopause, the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease also increases dramatically.

The Western Allopathic Approach

To combat perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms, Western medicine developed synthetic feminine hormones. Quick to seize on a marketing bonanza, drug companies promoted hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as the long-sought fountain of youth. HRT, women were told, can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis. But such was not the case. More recent studies, including the federally funded Women’s Health Initiative, found mostly the opposite is true: women who take HRT have an increased risk of heart disease, strokes, blood clots, gall bladder disease, and invasive breast and ovarian cancer. It is true that HRT does help to fight osteoporosis, but not any more so than a little weight-bearing exercise and a diet high in calcium. Plus, for women who quit HRT, their bone loss is faster than if they never used hormones.

Pharmaceutical companies as well as many doctors still downplay the level of risk associated with these drugs. But research published in August 2003 in the prestigious journal The Lancet found the risk was not small. One million women in Britain between the ages of 50-64 were followed from 1996 until 2002. Women who took hormone replacement therapy had a 66 percent increased incidence of breast cancer and a 22 percent greater incidence of dying from it. Women who took HRT that was made of a combination of estrogen and progestin had a 100 percent higher risk of breast cancer compared to women who never took hormones. The longer women took hormones, the higher their risk became.

Of the women who developed breast cancer, the ones who had taken hormones had more aggressive tumors than those who had never taken them. Aggressive tumors are very dangerous because they are more likely to spread throughout the body and cause early death.

The researchers of this landmark study estimated that hormone replacement therapy was responsible for causing 20,000 cases of breast cancer in England over the ten-year period from roughly 1992-2002.

Researchers have also discovered that HRT causes a more unusual type of breast cancer called “invasive lobular carcinoma.” The majority of all breast cancers start in the breast ducts. They are called ductal carcinoma. Lobular carcinoma originates in the terminal lobules or milk glands.

A 2003 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that women who took a combination of estrogen/progestin had a 50 percent increased incidence of lobular carcinoma. They also noted that the overall incidence in this country of this far less common type of breast cancer increased from 9.5 percent in 1987 to 15.6 percent in 1999. Hormone replacement therapy is thought to be the primary cause of this alarming escalation.

Ovarian Cancer, Too

Ovarian cancer is relatively uncommon. The average woman has a 1.7 percent chance of developing this disease over her lifetime, whereas the risk of breast cancer for the average woman is 13.3 percent. Taking HRT substantially increases the risk of ovarian cancer. In a 2002 study published by in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women who took HRT for 10 to 19 years had an 80 percent increased risk of ovarian cancer.

Restoring Balance: Improve Your Habits, Use of Brevail

Do you smoke? Do you eat too many sweets? Are you eating enough fruits and vegetables? Do you exercise? What are you stress levels like? Do you take time every day for yourself to counter the effects of stress? These are the kinds of hard questions you have to ask yourself to really truly improve your life.

The best way to improve and control menopausal symptoms is to restore balance to the physiology through healthy diet and lifestyle choices.

Then, if any symptoms are still present after you have made these changes, herbs and supplements may be added. If you don’t correct the things you are doing and eating that are creating the imbalances first, herbs and supplements usually don’t work very well. It’s like trying to mop up the floor, but forgetting to turn off the faucet.

Brevail—Help from Lignans

I am a fan of Brevail®, an all-natural nutraceutical, and one of the most effective supplements you can take to help to alleviate your perimenopausal symptoms. As a reconstructive surgeon with a specialty in breast reconstruction, I have seen too many women whose breast cancers may well be the result of HRT, environmental toxins, and other unnatural causes.

When my own mother was diagnosed and then died from breast cancer, I began an intensive search of the medical literature to find what—if anything—could help women to restore hormonal balance and also prevent breast cancer. What I found was a tremendous amount of little-known research proving that women with a high intake of flax lignans can not only restore hormonal balance but also significantly reduce their risk of breast cancer and of any other chronic disease. That’s why when I learned about Brevail, I was ready to embrace this safe and natural alternative to medication. I hope you are too.

Brevail is made from a nutrient compound called lignans, a type of natural plant estrogen (phytoestrogen), which is found in the outer hull of flaxseeds. Lignans are also found in the fibrous portion of fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and grains and were once abundant in the average diet. But, the amount of lignans in these plants is miniscule when compared to flaxseeds. Flaxseeds contain some 100 times more lignans than any other known edible plant!

Most Americans don’t eat a diet high in fresh whole organically grown fruits, vegetables, whole grains and flaxseeds. Instead, they eat altogether too many processed foods, and modern food processing strips most of the lignans out of these foods.

According to the Framingham Offspring study, American women are ingesting less than one milligram of lignans today. Compare this to Japanese women who consume an average of 20 to 80 mg a day of lignan phytoestrogens and rarely suffer from menopausal or menstrual symptoms, or breast cancer.

Brevail—Smart Choice

Lignans have many health promoting and protecting properties, especially balancing female hormones. In a trial of 100 women using Brevail, many women with perimenopausal symptoms including hot flashes, headaches, and mood swings reported that Brevail improved their symptoms. Additionally, their hormone levels were restored to an optimal balance seen in women who traditionally enjoy extraordinary breast health.

Other studies show lignans to very effective at protecting against postmenopausal diseases like heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer.

Remember that you do have tremendous power to influence your health naturally. Perimenopausal symptoms, as well as most chronic disorders including cancer, stem from imbalances caused by poor choices in foods and lifestyle. Whereas, the right foods, lifestyle, and intelligent supplements like Brevail, can help you to achieve and maintain extraordinary health.

Ways Lignans Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer

It is also important to keep in mind that all women are at risk for breast cancer, and the risk of breast cancer increases with age. So you will want to do everything research shows will help to lower your risk of breast cancer. Taking Brevail is one simple and effective thing you can do. Lignans help to lower the risk of and fight breast cancer in many different ways:

• They lower the overall production of estrogen in our bodies.
• Block the estrogen receptors.
• Block environmental estrogens from attaching to breast tissue.
• Create more of the “good” protective estrogen.
• Safeguard breast tissue from the damaging effects of environmental toxins.
• Block aromatase, an enzyme needed in the production of estrogen.
• Decrease three different growth factors that fuel the initiation and growth breast cancer.
• Lengthen the menstrual cycle (helping to close the estrogen window).
• Decrease tumor growth and invasiveness.

Dr. Horner’s Hormone Wellness Prescription

Research shows that there are many diet and lifestyle choices that significantly lower your risk of breast cancer and improve your chances of survival if you have this disease. These same choices also help to balance female hormones, improve menopausal symptoms and lower your risk of many other diseases, including heart disease.

In my forthcoming book Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner's Program to Protect Against and Fight Breast Cancer to be published in March 2005 by Basic Health Publishing, I detailed some 40 different natural approaches based on solid research. Here are a few of my favorite recommendations:

• Favor a plant-based diet high in fresh organically grown fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Eat 3 tablespoons of ground organic flaxseeds every day (or simply take Brevail) along with 1 tablespoon of fresh highest lignan organic flax oil (Barlean’s is best).
• Drink six to eight cups of green tea per day or take a green tea supplement.
• Take a good multivitamin every day (see Garden of Life or New Chapter)
• Cook with spices like turmeric, garlic, and rosemary or take them as supplements.
• Avoid red meat—especially grilled or well-done meat, which is rich in heterocyclic amines that have been linked with increased cancer risk.
• Avoid sugar, alcohol, smoking, saturated animal fats, and trans-fats from hydrogenated oils.
• The following supplements have been found to lower your risk: Brevail, coenzyme Q10, maitake mushroom, conjugated linoleic acid, wakame seaweed, chaste tree berry, black cohosh, licorice root, and hops.
• Exercise aerobically for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
• Go to bed by 10 PM in a completely dark room (even a dim night-light can inhibit the pineal gland’s secretions of melatonin, which protects against breast cancer).

Resources

Women experiencing symptoms associated with PMS and menopause—as well as women concerned with breast health or who are trying to quit HRT—should consider Brevail as a safe, natural and effective approach to address these concerns.

How much does it cost?

Brevail retails for $19.99 for a one-month’s supply.

Brevail is distributed by Christine’s Cleanse Corner, Inc
Click here for Brevail product or ordering information. Or visit us on the web at www.TransformYourHealth.com or call us toll-free at 877-673-0224.

References

Beral, V., et al. “Breast cancer and hormone-replacement therapy in the Million Women Study.” Lancet, 2003;362(9382):419-27.
de Kleijn, M.J., et al. “Intake of dietary phytoestrogens is low in postmenopausal women in the United States: the Framingham Study (1-4).” J Nutr, 2001;131(6):1826-32.
Li, C.I., et al. “Trends in incidence rates of invasive lobular and ductal breast carcinoma.” JAMA, 2003;289(11):1421-4.
Riman, T., et al. “Hormone replacement therapy and the risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer in Swedish women.” J Natl Cancer Inst, 2002;94(7):497-504.
Christine Horner, M.D., is a nationally known surgeon who holds two board certifications: the National Board of Surgery and the National Board of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Horner was recognized as a leader in her field shortly after starting her plastic and reconstructive surgery practice because she successfully ran a national campaign to pass laws requiring insurance companies to pay for breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Her five-year effort led to the passage of laws in thirty-five states and a federal law passed by Congress on October 21, 1998.