Effects of Estrogen on Woman's Health - Angels and Demons

There are things in life that save us from every little danger like a guardian angel looking over us and never letting us feel insecure. But when the angel sets to flicker with the wind the demons don't wait to descend. God made sure there shouldn't exist anything more beautiful than a woman but he also made sure she is tortured through it all and needless to say people around her. But all that can be brought under fair amount of control if females from age 15 to 50 understand what really goes underneath the beauty they behold within. Estrogen can be quite a blessing for a young girl and also the woman but take away a little or fluctuate it in blood stream and hell hath no fury like a troubled woman. So what is the secret of estrogen's effect on women's health and why take away something so blissful ? Let us discover........

Angel Eyed Estrogen - As it can protect a woman's heart from any kind of an attack or disease it can also give her more lean shape around the waist, keep her metabolic rate high, along with androgens keeps her sexual arousal going, and her appetite for food and sex steady. It helps in skin care, prevents the bones to lose calcium into the blood stream. It does however increase fat stores but not allow obesity. It also helps in protein synthesis and especially those that are binding proteins helpful to connect or prohibit excess of hormones or enzymes or cellular agents.It is also responsible to increase your immunity to diseases, increase coagulation agents and decrease antithrombin agent. Estrogen protects your heart in a way that it maintains vascular tissue and increases HDL cholesterol (good) and helps keep under control the LDL cholesterol (bad) and thus you never see a woman suffering from heart problems except for a heartbreaks until menopause hits. Estrogen also helps the female body balance fluid retention and electrolytes thereby you see swollen ankles and hands when there is slight change in the estrogen levels even in younger females. It maintains gastric health by reducing motility and allowing the food to be absorbed well and increasing the cholesterol in bile, the enzyme that breaks down fat in the food we consume.
The most important effect of estrogen is the one that prevents all hell to break loose in the brain and thereby outside. Estrogen is the key factor in the brain function of a woman. It is part of the brain’s signaling system. Studies have shown that estrogen helps direct blood to parts of the brain that are more active. The idea that female hormones are needed for the brain to work well is backed up by reports that some have more memory problems after menopause. Apart from all these it also helps in lung function support its units.

Demons of estrogen dwindling in Menopause - If estrogen is responsible for more than half the female's body function the fact that it is taken away after 45 - 50 years just because reproductive mechanism stops as the ovary stops ovulating. But so much for not ovulating the world around each menopausal woman suffers this estrogen withdrawal and how. Firstly the thermostat of the body is shaky and there are gushes of heat inside that makes the woman feel irritated. Add to that is the misery that tops all miseries the brain gets anxious, obsessive, compulsive and is troubled with fears, doubts, non existent crisis which leads to bouts of depression and agitation. These of course are mildly termed as mood swings but the real life terrors are something we all go through once our mothers or wives or sisters or girlfriends are even near this phase of life. Withdrawals to estrogen was also seen as OCD in some research studies which may exhaust them into mild to severe depression or unprovoked arguments and agitations with loved ones. Aromatase deficiency is ultimately suspected which is involved in the synthesis of estrogen in humans and has therapeutic implications in humans having obsessive-compulsive disorder. Beyond the mental illness women suffer heart disease post 55 years, they lose great amount of bone calcium resulting in osteoporosis and multiple bone fractures of hip, spine and legs. This is very debilitating physically than the mental health. The withdrawal also leads to fat deposition around abdomen and further loss of strength and zest due to slowing down of metabolism. Lethargy is very common in menopausal women and so is water retention and sodium imbalance, vaginal dryness and irritation. Sexual drive is lost and so is uterine muscular tissue.

What can be done to reduce this mess in life ? Firstly all females from the age of 20 should be a great fan of resistance training as it is the only way they can achieve happiness hormonally by endorphin and balance in other hormones plus weight maintainance. Secondly in their 30's females should consume a hormonal balance formula which contains wild oats, netties, ginseng, saw palmetto but from a authorized store only under prescription. These formulas are made up of herbs and have shown great impact in men and women to balance hormones in 30's to lead a normal and healthy life. When menopause is nearing around mid 40's I urge all females to get your estrogen levels checked and get either estrogen replacement therapy or medication for same to replace it. Unless you intend to wreck a havoc in your personal life for no apparent reason or inflame an already sensitive situation which does cause a lot of irrevocable hurt in your loved one's life please get yourself diet and exercise therapy and medical help.


A woman is best known for her smile and her sensibilities why challenge that theory and make a mess of your 10 years in life when you can control it. Make life as easy as it should be to be happy because you deserve it. For menopause & osteoporosis management you can take a free trial consultation by registering your appointment.


Wish you wellness.

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Diet to Regulate Insulin Secretion for Fat Busting

Insulin secretion and its regulation has a significant influence on how our metabolism is carried forward. Metabolic processes like carbohydrate breakdown to generate energy, fat metabolism and protein metabolism are all linked to each other via insulin. Insulin as we know through previous post is our passport / visa to let glucose molecules enter our cells so as to produce energy by their breakdown, if there is a surge of sugar or carbohydrates in the intestine the insulin would gush in the blood stream in high concentration leading to a sudden drop in the blood glucose level. The sudden rise and fall of blood glucose leads to the body responding to the effect of hunger or in some extreme cases similar to starvation. In order to combat this hunger pang the body immediately gorges on to the first sight of food. Another surge another ping pong effect of glucose and so on and so forth. This ping pong effect of glucose and insulin secretion in the blood stream results in an imbalanced carbohydrate metabolism which then gets converted into fat by entering the fat metabolism. When excess of glucose gets converted into fat it means the body is storing the fat as adipose tissue and of course making you gain excess baggage. We do know now about Insulin resistance due to fat deposition on the organs.

In order to curb the imbalance in insulin secretion and metabolism the food that you eat and the duration that you maintain between two meals is the deciding point. The first meal of the day is the most important one and hence it is called breaking a fast from the previous day. The time period between your previous dinner and breakfast is easily nothing less than 9 - 10 hours and thats a longtime to be without any source of energy to the body. If now you eat a meal loaded with sugar or carbs, fat or a combination of both be certain you have just tilted the balance haywire. Remember on an empty stomach never give into a sugar surge but balance it with equal or just a little bit more portion of lean protein food. Protein molecules help control the sudden surge of insulin into te blood stream due to meal loaded with carbs. Choosing food in equal or double portion like chicken, egg white, soy, cottage cheese (skim), skim fruit/ plain yoghurt (non sweetened), beans, sprouts, and a handful of greens to go with it helps you balance the sugar - insulin levels that come along with the breads/ pasta, lactose, coffee/ tea added sugar, fruits, and root veggies like mash/ sweet potatoes. This was about breakfast but there is another time and most important time of the day when your body needs a handsome portion of protein before it needs those carbs, its the exercise time. 

Usually people eat judicious amount of carbs and simple sugar drinks an hour before workout but it usually translates into sudden spurt of insulin during exercise. Now of course you need to have adequate amount of glucose in the blood while exercising but if you're loaded the insulin secretion will cause one more of its side effects that you do not wish to occur. When insulin is secreted in heavy concentration it does not permit fat breakdown to take place but the opposite. The logic to this is that when you have ample of energy source as glucose in the blood the insulin's priority becomes glucose to enter the cells as energy source and it can do this successfully and completely if it haults fat catabolism for a while. Why do we workout ? So that we burn the excess fat and build up on muscular strength, and this won't happen if you let insulin surge just before the workout. My ideal pre workout snack is 250 ml of fruit shake with added 5 gm of whey protein and 1 tsp of honey or I just bite a whole wheat or soy bread 2 egg whites sandwich with 500 ml of water a hour before exercise. Keep drinking sufficiently balanced mineral and glucose drink upto 250 ml till the end of the workout. This will ensure hydration and a balance of the nutrient and energy flow to your muscles. If your workout is before breakfast you are lucky but even if it isn't stick to the plan. 

Make sure each of your meal breakfast, lunch and dinner aren't over burdened with fat and carb but are equally balanced with lean proteins. Do not out balance any one nutrient of the three (carb, fat, protein) in your meals and you should be fine. Like the Cinderella story I'd like to inform you that you can have any lean protein but before you down that piece of chicken, turkey, lean meat, fish, egg white or cottage cheese and beans there is one thing you cannot do with it.....you can't load it with fat, fry it or else the magic will disappear.

Wish you wellness.

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Diabetes and the chronic complications - Heart Disease

Previously I had written about the acute complications of diabetes mellitus and today I will start a series of blog posts throwing light from my experiences about the chronic or long term complications of the disorder. Chronic complications and its therapy is very close to my life as a wellness coach it has been my subject even when I was doing my post graduate research work on the diabetes. So I will begin with a long term complication thats close to every one's heart - Heart Disease.

While we all know the cause & effects of heart disease and also why and how it occurs, you need some clarity over how it all starts in a diabetic condition of the body. Well diabetes as I mentioned in earlier posts too isn't the killer its an open invitation to all the diseases that can occur in the body. So what does diabetes aid in to call upon its dear friend heart disease to come and visit for a longish holiday ? We're about to find out. You remember I had written about stress in diabetes previously, well that is the biggest crack in the pandora box. During the progression of diabetes over the years the metabolic stress causes oxidation of the biomolecules by means of free radicals. Free radicals or molecules with extra electron or oxygen molecule with extra electron act as stress producing agents in the blood and in the tissues. How do they do that? Well for starters lets take a peek into our blood stream where along with the usual molecules that constitute the blood (proteins, cells, platelets, gases, fatty acids, cholesterol, antibodies etc) there are molecules that are desperate to react freely with the other constituents of blood. The reason they are so desperate to react or as we chemically put it are highly reactive agents, is because they carry that extra electron which is not necessary for them. In order to rid them of the burden of carrying that electron they seek molecules to accept this electron so as to be oxidized. This reactivity is then passed on to whoever gets that electron leading to a series of reactions amongst molecules either of the same biochemical function or different. This reactivity passing on the electron like playing passing the parcel leads to high reactivity of the all those molecules in the way and accumulates sheer chaos in the blood stream of that part of the body. Chaotic situation leads to stress, stress leads to fatigue after a prolonged time and fatigue leads to collapsing of the body part.

Same is true for development of heart disease in diabetes. After a prolonged uncontrolled hyperglycemia or blood sugar levels there is enough stress accumulation due to the oxidation reactions in the blood stream. This stress leads to the highly reactive oxidated - LDL (bad cholesterol) from the LDL in the blood to create plaques on the walls of the coronary arteries. How does it do that ? It simply damages the wall by reacting to it since its only purpose in life is cause severe reactivity with anything in its way thanks to that oxidized electron it has received. So the sooner the plaque is formed there comes a boat load of other constituents like serum protein, antibodies, platelets, more fatty acids like triglycerols, VLDLs, etc to an extent where these all begin depositing themselves into the dented artery wall. Now the deposited debri of the blood on the wall hardens over a period of time casing the lumen of the artery (passage for blood to flow) to contrict. Remember we are talking about the Coronary Artery here (the one that supplies oxygenated blood to the heart). Which only means that if the heart which pumps oxygenated blood into the body is itself falling short of the same supply how will it carry out its primary function? Its like your fuel provider hasn't had its share of fuel so that its efficient to provide fuel to others. When the arterial wall hardens the supply of oxygenated blood suffers slowly and steadily to an almost trickle. As this condition progresses the high sugar levels in the blood do not help the situation as the body is perennially exhausted and needs oxygen and fuel constantly to combat the burden of burning subsidiary fuel for energy. In addition to that the heart is exhausted to an extent where at one point it starts regurgitating blood in the opposite direction causing fluid accumulation in the body, lack of enough oxygen, no glucose for fuel, and only toxin filled blood to live by. This gives birth to another common chronic complication of diabetes - Chronic Kidney Failure, but that is another post. When the heart has given up the condition is called Congestive Cardiac Failure (CCF). It is so named as the heart is congested with blood and is not physically any blood from its left ventricle into the body. The entire blood circulation is congested with no fresh blood coming in and water accumulation taking place.

There are however many stages of heart disease where you can stop this final stage to occur and sometimes the heart gives up due to excessive sugar levels and stress and succumbs to cardiac arrest instantly. But if you trap the condition at stages of Hypertension, Hypercholestroleamia, or even the first heart attack you can still save the heart from arrest. I will enlist and explain the stages of heart disease upto CCF in my next post, till then if you have any memories or questions regarding the topic please comment or write to me may be we can find a solution for you or your loved one.

Wish you wellness.

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Acute Complications in Diabetes Mellitus

Previously I explained how is the metabolic stress in our body caused in Diabetes. Today we see the acute stage complications in Diabetes caused due to this metabolic stress. When I say acute stage complications it is immediate reaction of the body to high blood sugar or lack or increase of insulin/ drugs. In this case scenario the body gives no time and can sometimes go straight into coma. There have been cases where coma is bypassed into sudden death as well. The acute complications of diabetes mellitus are Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Non- Ketotic Syndrome , Hypoglycemia, and Diabetic Ketoacidosis. Let us go through the pathophysiology of each separately.

1. Diabetic Ketoacidosis - This is seen mainly in diabetes type I (complete lack of insulin secretion) or sometimes even type II (insulin resistance induced or inadequate insulin secretion). It is a fatal complication and can directly lead to death if undiagnosed or untreated. As I had previously mentioned ketoacidosis is a stage when the body breaks down fatty acids in the absence of glucose. Since the breakdown of fats is an anaerobic activity it is incomplete which leaves behind ketone bodies in the blood. Ketonic accumulation in the system leads to high acidity of the blood. Ketoacidosis leads to vomiting, dehydration due to the excessive urination and water accumulation in the blood vessels, ketone bodies also have an effect of disorientation of the brain leading to a state of confusion. There exist abdominal pain and a palpable abdomen, excessive thirst and deep labored breathing. The other symptoms are fruity odored breath and urine (ketone bodies smell fruity). Therapy requires immediate intravenous hydration and insulin dosage to prevent more ketone formation.

2. Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Non-Ketotic Syndrome - Although the name is too long it simply means dehydration of the body tissue without any ketone formation. Like the Ketoacidosis the high blood glucose level reaches a point (> 600mg/dl) where osmosis leads to the water in the cells (tissue) to come out into the blood vessels just so that the solute : solvent ratio is maintained on both ends. However due to extremely high glucose levels in the blood the water shift from the cells to the blood is quite high leading to extreme dehydration, polyuria. This leads to disordered mental functioning, confusion, tremors, and could also go into coma or death. Ketone formation is inhibited due to some insulin presence.

3. Hypoglycemia - One of the most dreaded conditions in diabetes is low blood glucose levels. Due to inaccurate insulin therapy or over dose of diabetic drugs the blood glucose level may hit an all time low. This leaves no glucose in the blood to be metabolized for energy. Due to lowered levels in the blood of glucose the body is depleted of any energy source. The brain takes the first hit where a state of dizziness sets in and leads to coma or unconsciousness.

Treating acute complications of diabetes is extremely important especially with the paucity of time given by the body. When the nutritional and pharmacological therapy of diabetes mellitus are balanced with each other this stage will not be experienced. Next post would be on the chronic complications of diabetes. Let me know through comments of your experiences with the disorder or contact me to know more about it.

Wish you wellness.
Neha Wasnik, R.D

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Metabolic stress in Diabetes Mellitus

It is a well known fact that Diabetes Mellitus otherwise known as DM is a metabolic disorder caused due to the inadequacy of insulin hormone. Metabolic disorders like this one brings in metabolic stress along with it needless to say. However it takes a real long time before the body starts giving out symptoms of this built up stress. What we need to understand is what are the implications of this metabolic stress caused due to DM and how does it all begin? This dual question takes us back to the previous posts of understanding Diabetes Mellitus.


Now lets understand the stress caused in our metabolism due to DM. Stress is caused due to accumulation of reactive oxygen molecules or free radicals in the body. In diabetes this is usually caused by the metabolic impairment of fat and protein metabolism. Due to the resistance to insulin especially in the muscles, liver and fat cells or adipocytes there is increase in free fatty acid deposition in the skeletal muscle cells, this impairs the cellular or mitochondrial energy molecule formation in muscles leading to anaerobic energy formation. Due to the release of free fatty acids on improper fat metabolism to generate energy, there is increase in reactive oxygen molecules forming reactive lipoproteins in the blood or oxidated VLDL or LDL (low density lipoprotein a.k.a bad cholestrol). Oxidated LDL and is the key to the formation of arterial plaques leading to the much infamous atherosclerosis or blockage in the coronary arteries.

Free radicals aren't so easily removed from the body as they tend to engage other molecules with them to cause major damage to the tissues in a matter of time. Fat metabolism impairment due to resistance to insulin and lack of readily available glucose molecules to enter the Kreb's Cycle which eventually generates energy in our body leads to the overall metabolic stress caused by the reactive oxygen molecules attached to fatty acids or even protein molecules. Now there is another metabolic stress built up on the side while the free fatty acids and protein molecules are on play and this is due to ketoacidosis. I had earlier mentioned about diabetic ketoacidsis when due to the incomplete breakdown of fats to generate energy there is a formation of ketone bodies or molecules which are the end products of the incomplete fat decomposition cycle. This cycle palys fatal to the liver, kidneys and brain as the level of ketone directly harmful to kidney and brain rises. Primarily this cycle comes to play if the body is thoroughly malnourished and is left with no option but to enter the fat decomposition cycle. Now I have witnessed people fall prey to this and with adequate insulin therapy and nourishment being monitored on an hourly basis this can be reversed. However the danger of this stage is something you don't want to see. The metabolic stress developed with ketone bodies causes disorientation, high acidity in the blood and kidney failure too which inturn is sufficient for the entire body collapse including heart and lungs.

Metabolic stress in DM has major and direct implications on vital organs like kidney, liver, heart and the lungs too. Due to the increasing free radical formation there is an obvious enagagement of visceral or central organs and tissues causing them regular and consistent damage. If the levels of these free radicals isn't controlled physically and biochemically there is no doubt that a major secondary complication will arise soon. I will discuss about the acute complications of Diabetes in my next post. Till then if you have anything about diabetes you want me to write on please leave a comment.
Wish you wellness,
Neha Wasnik
R.D
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Basic metabolic changes in Diabetes Mellitus

Previously on Wellness and I the disorder of Diabetes Mellitus or DM was explained. But as mentioned earlier DM is the metabolic disorder and it largely determines how your body will function there after. Today I will share how to understand DM by knowing about its metabolic changes in the body.
DM as mentioned earlier occurs due to inadequate or complete lack of insulin hormone from the pancreas. This in turn leads to accumulation of glucose molecules in the blood as duely explained previously. This alone changes the original metabolism of our body, but forcing the cells to look out for other sources of energy already stored or easily available in the blood. There are 3 major energy producing biomolecules our body can utilize, viz carbohydrates or sugars, protein or protein molecules and fats. So now due to the unavailability of glucose for the cell it is forced to burn either the fat or the protein whichever is easier. Our body is also a smart piece of engineering designed to save itself first and burn out for the last and that is why it will go for fat deposits in the body before it can burn protein molecules as they are vital for basic functioning of the organs and tissues. However burning up fats doesn't seem to happen completely in the body and it leaves behind at the end of the metabolic cycle keto acids or by products that are not metabolised properly to be ridden from the body. If they start accumulating it can go on to be fatal for the brain and liver. There comes this time where the body can choose to metabolise protein molecules if there isn't enough fatty deposits in the body, this causes rapid increase in the blood acidity and muscle wasting which then weakens the already energy depleted body. As muscle and bone protein form the basic structure of the body if they get utilised to run the body energy station can you imagine how weak our basic structre would become?

You must now wonder if all this is a natural option chosen by our body if it becomes diabetic or doesn't secrete insulin enough how is it that people suffering from it before being diagnosed appear and live so normally without having problems? Let me throw some light on that one again as I mentioned earlier the body doesn't let it all go untill it can't handle the situation anymore, so its obvious why the symptoms aren't out there for all to see at first. But yes if ignored all hell can easily break loose to the outside. Another part of the metabolic change is the blood content that changes with the growing sugar content and rapid increase in the acidity. The requirement for the water content due to increased solutes in blood shoots up leading to increase in thirst constantly. Due to the breakdown of fats and some protein in the body with the lack of sugar content the body constantly craves for nutrients and hunger pangs increase in rapid succession. The depletion of energy deposits lead to loss of body weight. The idea to keep the metabolism in control is to first get a calculated diet plan and follow it to the TEE as there isn't any other choice and get your medication on time. Controlling the hunger and the wastage of the body can go a long way in dealing with the basics of metabolic changes in diabetes.
There is more on metabolism that we need to understand in diabetes which will follow in the next post.

Wish you wellness,
Neha Wasnik
R.D

Diabetes Mellitus : Bitter sweet tale

This new series of my blog is dedicated to the reason of my being, my grandma who passed away yesterday due to heart failure secondary to diabetes.

Everybody in this world has a story to tell with the subject of Diabetes in one way or the other. We all somehow have been intertwined into this bitter sweet symphony of life called Diabetes whether its in a childhood form or adult form. Some more unlucky of us have lost the dearest parts of our life to it and some are awaiting to face that dreadful moment. I have unfortunately lived through it recently. I am about to share with you through this new series on Diabetes the various obvious things to prevent if A) you or your dear one is diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) or B) you would want to prevent lifestyle developed DM.

Diabetes Mellitus or DM as I would refer to it often ahead is an adult onset metabolic disorder of the hormone insulin secreted by the endocrine cells of the pancreas. Insulin to put it in simplest of metaphorical terms acts as a visa for every glucose molecule in our blood to enter any cell. The passport being the sodium molecule which acts as active transporter of the glucose into the cells of the body from the blood stream. To understand how it all occurs or even how it all goes wrong in the case of DM imagine our body cells to be a foreign land and the blood stream to be the airports, glucose molecules as people and sodium channels being airplanes while sodium being the passport carried while boarding the plane, insulin is the visa that needs to be validated before entering the airplane to go abroad. Now imagine what happens if you have the passport but don't get your visa validated at the immigration desk? What happens if there is no visa validation at all for anybody at the airports across the country? What happens to the airports' premises if people are stamping over the other but get no visa to board the plane? Can you see the chaos at all airports bursting out at the seams with people? This is what happens outside every cell in our body when there is lack of insulin secreted or too inadequate to help glucose enter the cell. The glucose molecules start accumulating outside in the blood stream unable to enter the cells to generate energy and hence fuel for the body. This increases the viscosity of the blood and hence the blood pressure over a period of time. Due to the increased pressure there is an increased demand on the heart. Our body is engineered to absorb as much stress to a certain extent without disturbing the outside environment of the body and it is this ability of the body that prevents the diagnosis of DM too soon untill of course the body starts letting out symptoms.

DM like AIDS is not the threatening reason people die but because these disorders easily bring in the diseases that cause death. It is never the immediate cause of death but it sure is the easiest way to introduce it to the body. DM is known to have secondary complications the primary being ophthalmic, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, skin disease, diabetic foot. All these secondary to DM ailments are the reason for death due to DM not DM alone. Its only when the body goes into ketoacidosis due to extreme acidity of the blood raised by the incomplete breakdown of fat instead of glucose in the body, does it lead to death.

Diabetes alone can be easily kept under control with lifestyle adaptation however it is the general myth that it can be ridden out of our body that needs to be clarified. Insulin secretion stops from pancreas naturally or due to obesity where the fat deposition exceeds on the cells making them resistant to insulin uptake. If insulin secretion stops or is inadequate it will result into diabetes mellitus and that is permanent. However, if that is the diagnosis it should not be necessarily taken as if you were handed your death certificate but instead as a chance to survive keeping your life as normal as it were with some mandatory changes in lifestyle. In the next part I shall reveal more obvious truths about DM and busts some myths too.

Wish you wellness,

Neha Wasnik
R.D