WOMENS HEALTH: OTHER BITS AND PIECES
As well as the reproductive organs, the pelvis also contains various other structures. Important amongst these are the ligaments and other vital bands that hold everything in position. In front of the uterus is the bladder which holds the urine. Behind is the bowel. On top, the large and small intestines are lot a led. All strut-lures are covered with thin slippery membranes which allow one organ to move against another.
Although most women have normal structures, occasionally there may be a developmental anomaly that can produce odd-ball anatomical effects. For example, the hymen may be devoid of a hole; when menstruation commences, blood simply builds up until it is discovered, usually by a doctor checking the girl for the non-appearance of her periods. Vagina and uterus may be choc full of accumulated blood.
Sometimes abnormalities in the shape and structure of the uterus may take place, or there may be a double uterus.
In other cases, the sex of a baby at birth may not be obvious. Male and female have com pot tents that arc physiologically similar for example, the head of the penis equates with the head of the clitoris, and testes equate with ovaries. Each comes from a similar part in the developing embryo. At birth the penis may be excessively small; there may be unusual external openings. This is called 'intersex' and. it is believed, affects 2-3 per 1000 births. Cases may be detected at birth, when a decision is made which sex the child should be called; other cases may not be detected until puberty (when menstruation fails to occur) or by chance in later life. It is a difficult subject, and a little bizarre. It is one, understandably, that those involved prefer not to discuss with others.
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Womens health
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HOW FOODS CAN PREVENT BREAST CANCER: DECREASE ESTROGENS
Here's how to counter the ill effects of bad, recycled, chemical, and free estrogens.
Bad Estrogen
Even if you produce moderate to high amounts of estrogen, there is an emerging strategy to blunt its potency. You can actually channel your estrogen into good estrogen rather than bad estrogen by eating a diet high in cruciferous vegetables. Those include cauliflower, broccoli, and cabbage. Both exercise and low body fat also increase the production of good estrogen. Alcohol, polyunsaturated fats, and too much body fat all increase the production of bad estrogen.
Recycled Estrogen
When estrogen is transported from the bloodstream through the liver and into the bowel for disposal, it is assisted by large amounts of fiber in the bowel. That fiber binds to estrogen in the intestine so that the body cannot reabsorb it, ensuring that it is excreted with other waste products. However, when there is too little fiber in the diet, the estrogen remains free in the bowel and may be reabsorbed by the body into the bloodstream, raising the amount of estrogen in the bloodstream. A study at Tufts University showed that the more a woman's bowel movement weighed, the lower was her blood estrogen level. The assumption is that the increased weight of the bowel movement was due to the fiber.
Free Estrogen
The most effective way to decrease the amount of free estrogen in the blood is to build more of the carriers that bind estrogen in the blood and keep it from estrogen receptors. Lets look at the key strategies. The prime regulator of estrogen carriers is the hormone insulin, according to Banoo Parpia of the China-Cornell-Oxford Project. The lower you can drop your insulin, the more estrogen carriers your body manufactures. A low-fat diet also reduces the amount of free estrogen in healthy postmenopausal women. Soy also manufactures more carriers. A high-fiber diet helps to bind more free estrogen in your blood and keeps it at lower, safer levels. Many of these measures also decrease estrogen production, so you are cutting your cancer risk in at least two separate ways.
Chemical Estrogen
The most aggressive prevention includes avoiding animal and fish products with high fat contents that can pick up and concentrate large quantities of chemical estrogens and pesticides. The worst offenders and how to avoid them are found in the chapter "Step 8: Avoid Chemical Estrogens." Eating organic foods that have always been pesticide-free will help you to avoid contaminating breast fat. Washing all fruits and vegetables thoroughly will help remove pesticides. Since most women already have high stores of chemical estrogens in their breast fats there are two other strategies that have proved to be beneficial. First is breast-feeding, which flushes pesticides out of their storage site in breast fat. That does mean that your infant ingests milk with chemical estrogens, but pediatricians do not believe this is harmful. The most practical strategy of all is to consume large amounts of estrogen blockers such as soy, which block the effect of these chemicals at the estrogen receptors on breast cells.
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Womens health
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