Oral Contraceptives vs Libido

Oral contraceptives have not only been found to cause a recurrence in Candida but have also been found to negatively affect libido or sex drive.

A survey was performed to identify the response of oral contraceptives on achieving an orgasm, achieving sexual desire and sexual satisfaction, the release of lubrication during foreplay and intercourse as well as the level of pain experienced during intercourse. The study turned up a positive relation to the birth control pill and lowered sex drive / libido however the effects of stress and cigarette smoking also show a positive relationship to a lowered sex drive / libido so lifestyle habits cannot be ruled out here either.

The oral contraceptive is jam packed full of hormones, required to allow women to regulate reproduction, however as with all medications, side effects may be experience so be sure to read the insert carefully before starting a course and monitor your body carefully whilst on the course. You are your own best judge when it comes to changes in your body.

Worms linked to Candida

TapeWorm

A worm infestation is often the last thing a person wants to hear about and coupled with Candida, is often highly unwelcome, however there may be a link and as a result, a solution to your Candida by getting rid of the pesky worms.

Worms are toxin releasing parasites that invade the stomach and intestines and in severe cases, can even progress into the vital organs, eating holes and passageways as they go.

Different types of worms that affect the human body include roundworms, hookworms, pinworms and whipworms. Toxins released by these parasites are reabsorbed by the body, decreasing the immune system response, affecting the metabolism and even respiration. The toxins can even result in an imbalance to delicate intestinal flora and fauna in the stomach and gut, resulting in yeast overgrowth and Candida. As the digestive system is all linked by a single tube, Candida yeast is able to progress to all areas of the digestive system.

Be sure to take a broad spectrum anti-wormer when treating persistent Candida as the overgrowth of yeast may be linked to a sinister worm infestation… a condition which is often overlooked yet easily treated.

Vaginal Infections

Vaginal infections or vaginitis is the inflammation of the vagina that creates discharge, odor, irritation or itching. It is difficult to diagnose and has many causes.

Vaginitis occurs when the vaginal ecosystem has been changed by certain medications such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptive preparations (oral and topical), douches, vaginal medication, sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted diseases, stress and change in sexual partners.

Not all vaginal Infections are caused by sexual contact. It is advisable to see a Doctor any time you have burning, itching or pain, in order to get the right treatment.

Types of Vaginal Infections

There are two common vaginal infections; Yeast infections and Bacterial Vaginosis.

Yeast Infections – are mainly caused by a fungus called Candida Albicans.  A yeast infection can spread to other parts of the body including skin, mucous membranes, heart valves and esophagus. The possible symptoms include:

• Redness, burning and swelling of the vulva and the vagina.
• Pain during urination.
• Painful sexual intercourse.
• A white thick discharge that does not smell bad.
• A rash on the outside of the vagina.

Possible causes:

•  Antibiotics
• Diabetes
• Pregnancy
• Birth control pills
• Hormonal changes such as ovulation or menopause
• Steroid use
• Use of douches, perfumed feminine hygiene sprays
• Scratches in the vagina (during insertion of a tampon or other objects)

Lot of women think that they have a yeast infection when they actually have something else. Before you start treating herself with an over the counter medicine, it is important to consult your Doctor.

Bacterial Vaginosis – this occurs when there in an imbalance in the system which causes an overgrowth of organisms such as Gardnerella vaginalis.

Possible symptoms include:

• More discharge from the vagina than normal.
• A bad “fishy” smell from the vagina.
• Itching around the vagina.
• Grey or white or milky discharge.

Possible causes:

• Pregnancy
• Intrauterine device (IUD)
• Frequent douching
• Sexual activity, and possibly a new sexual partner or multiple sexual partners.
• You do not get bacterial vaginosis from toilet seats, bedding or swimming pools.

It is important to consult a Doctor if you notice these symptoms. Bacterial Vaginosis can be treated with homeopathic products. If it is left untreated, it can cause other serious health problems.

 

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) – bacteria that enter the urinary tract are rapidly removed by the body before they cause symptoms. However, sometimes bacteria overcome the body’s natural defences and cause an infection. An infection in the urethra is called urethritis, a bladder infection is called cystitis and a kidney infection is called pyelonephritis.

Symptoms of the urinary tract infection include:

• A burning sensation when urinating.
• Frequent need to urinate.
• Stomach or back pain.
• Strong feeling to urinate but only little comes out.
• Dark or cloudy urine.
• Blood in urine (if this occurs see a doctor immediately).

Most UTIs are caused by bacteria that live in the bowel. Sexual activity can move microbes from the bowel or vaginal cavity to the urethral opening. However, some forms of birth control can also increase the risk of UTI.

For more information on yeast infection and Candida and treatment visit BellaWars.com

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the genital organs of the female for non-medical reasons. It is also known as female genital cutting or the female circumcision.

FGM is typically carried out on girls from a few days old to puberty. This practice is usually carried out without anesthesia using a knife, razor, or scissors by traditional circumcisers who usually plays central role in the community. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is practiced in 28 countries in western, eastern, and north-eastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australasia.

The practice is carried out by some communities who believe girls are regarded as having been cleansed by the removal of “male” body parts. It ensures pre-marital virginity and inhibits extra-marital sex, because it reduces women’s libido. While in other s societies, daughters are an essential part of their parents “retirement plan”. Arranged marriages are a vital part of a family’s income, especially as the parents get older and may no longer be able to work. In societies where FGM is the norm, not mutilating one’s daughters would make it very difficult, if not impossible to marry them off. This is a huge financial and social risk for a mother to take.

Procedure

There are four major types of genital mutilation:

• Type1 – Clitoridectomy: is the partial or total removal of the clitoris.
• Type 2 – Excision: this is the partial or total removal of the labia minora and clitoris.
• Type3 – Infibulation: the removal of all or part of the inner and outer labia, and usually the clitoris, and the fusion of the wound, leaving a small hole for the passage of urine and menstrual blood—the fused wound is opened for intercourse and childbirth
• Other: this can include all other harmful procedures on the female genitals for non-medical reasons e.g. piercing, scraping, cauterizing, pricking and introducing corrosive substances to tighten it.

Internationally the Female Genital Mutilation is recognized as a violation of the Human Rights against females. It is considered as a reflection of deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and it also constitute an extreme form of discrimination against women. FGM is usually carried out on minors, and such is regarded as a violation of children’s rights. This practice also violates a human’s health rights, physical integrity and security.

Opposition to FGM focuses on human rights violations, lack of informed consent, and health risks, which include fatal hemorrhaging, epidermoid cysts, recurrent urinary and vaginal infections, chronic pain and obstetrical complications.

The Long-term consequences may include recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, infertility, cysts and complications when giving birth.

Prevalence of FGM around the world, Source: Waris Dirie Foundation

Raising a “SuperMan” as a single mother

Raising children alone can be difficult and scary for any woman, but there is a special worry reserved for mothers of boys. After all, don’t boys need a man around the house, who will show him how to be strong, capable male?

Increasingly, tough, women are plunging ahead anyway and raising sons on their own. There is an estimated 8 million women who are parenting alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The same source says that at least another 100 000 families have lesbian partners. In fact, according to census figures, married couples with kids now total less than 25% of the nation’s households.

Peggy Drexler, PhD, a research psychologist and married mother of two children, decided to find out how these mothers and their sons are faring. Since 1996, she has been studying 32 boys in San Francisco, ages 5 through 13, comparing the sons of married parents to boys raised by single mothers or by either lesbian couples.

This was not a random sampling of families, most of the moms are well educated, older and have a devoted a lot of thought to how to parent. Still, given the stats, Drexler’s findings are reassuring: boys who are raised without fathers “exhibited striking levels of stability, independence, creativity, and caring”.

Go Moms, you can do it!!!

Does losing weight increase fertility levels?

Obesity is said to cause an increase in infertility and may be attributed to increased insulin levels affecting the insulin-sensitive pituitary receptors/cells responsible for releasing necessary reproductive hormones; however does losing the weight lead to an increase in fertility with the general principle being a healthy you makes for a more fertile you.

To answer this question we need to look at obese individuals that have undergone procedures such as a gastric bypass? In a study following individuals that had undergone gastric bypass, it found that losing weight didn’t affect the ovarian cycle very much. The only real affect the weight loss had was that it shortened the follicular phase (the phase between the end of menstrual flow and ovulation) which is found to be longer in obese individuals.

One of the major differences losing weight has on an individual is that it increases a women’s sexual function, increasing both sexual desire and arousal which may in essence attribute for increase fertility as opposed to it being all about a more healthier weight.

 

IVF increases the risk of Birth Defects

When looking at statistics, a recent study done by the Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA found that 9% of babies conceived via IVF have birth defects compared to 6.6% of children naturally conceived. Common defects found in IVF babies included eye malformations, heart defects and genitourinary (reproductive organs and the urinary system) system defects. This study means that around 1.25% of babies conceived as a result of IVF are at a higher risk of being born with birth defects.

IVF or In Vitro fertilization is made up of two words, in vitro which means glass and fertilization. This means that the male sperm is introduced to the female egg in a laboratory and thereafter placed back in the mothers worm between 3-5 days after being in an incubator. IVF makes it possible for many women who cannot convenience naturally to have a baby.

When looking at health and wellness, one can argue that an increase in 1.25% is high however how does this rate with the possibility of never being able to conceive or give birth to a child. When looking at it this way, there is a possibility that the benefits greatly outweigh the risks.

 

Vaginal Discharge or Cervical Mucus

It is normal to have vaginal discharge, since it is its way of self-cleansing the vagina and helps it stay moist. This discharge helps get rid of dead cells and bacteria from the vagina and is released from the glands in the neck of the womb (cervix).   

A woman discharge is made up of about 3 grams of mucus and about 2 grams of dead cells which is discharged from the vagina every day. It varies from woman to woman regarding the amount of discharge, and where she is in her menstrual cycle.

During the first weeks and last weeks of your menstrual cycle, vaginal discharge is thick, white and sticky which means that the body is trying to prevent a pregnancy. Sperm cannot easily swim through thick, sticky cervical mucus, but that doesn’t mean you can have unprotected intercourse during this time without threat of pregnancy.

Towards the middle of their cycle, the amount of discharge increases and it may become slippery, thin and clear which is perfect for allowing sperm to reach the matured egg.

Discharge may increase during pregnancy and during sexual excitement. There are two glands near the vaginal opening that secrete slippery mucus and it acts as a lubricant during intercourse.

No matter the color of your vaginal discharge, if there is a foul-smelling scent, thicker than normal or there are chunks in discharge, you could have an infection. Typically, vaginal discharge will change from white or clear to yellow or green is an infection is present.

Abnormal Discharge

A discharge may be abnormal if:

• It has a fishy smell.
• Thick and chunky.
• Thick, white, cheesy
• Greenish in color.
• It causes irritation and itching in the vaginal area.
• It has blood it (except when you are on your periods).

Causes of abnormal discharger:

Any change in the vagina’s balance of normal bacteria can affect the smell, color, or discharge texture, these include:

• Antibiotic
• Yeast infections
• Bacterial vaginosis, a bacterial infection more common in pregnant women or women who have multiple sexual partners
• Birth control pills
• Cervical cancer
• Chlamydia or Gonorrhea (STDs)
• Diabetes
• Douches, scented soaps or lotions, bubble bath
• Pelvic infection after surgery
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Vaginitis –  irritation in or around the vagina

Contact Details:

Tel: 1-800-275-5795
email: sales@bellawars.com
Website: http://www.bellawars.com/index.asp

 

The ABC’s of Calcium

Ever wondered what all the fuss over Calcium is about…. Mmmmmm…  this coming in response to my mom who’s not getting any younger and is currently in the beginning stages of dreaded osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

Calcium

From my recent research, calcium is a vital mineral which the body needs for normal growth and maintenance of not just our bones but also our teeth, together with muscle contraction, the secretion of hormones and enzymes, blood vessel expansion and contraction together with impulse transmission (wow, that does sound like an awful lot of functions for one tiny mineral…)

According to recent studies, Calcium in one’s body has also been found to decrease blood pressure and lower ones risk of hypertension so it’s no wonder my GP recommended I take a calcium supplement daily when I progressed over the age of 25.

Then there’s an important finding on BMC or what is termed Bone Mineral Content. This indicator is said to be an ideal gauge of bone health and has been used to show that children who increased their intake of calcium, whether through diet or supplementation have greatly increased the BMC which is a positive step towards continued bone health throughout adulthood.

Then, and possibly the most important benefit of calcium that I seem to have found is that it helps with weight management…. Yes, I’m rarely speechless but this is a shocker; I can see myself now, instead of 10 minutes on the dreaded stationary exercise bicycle which I must say has recently been collecting dust, I can just pop a pill of calcium 🙂  then I finished the article which had a slight warning tone at the end… calcium is not the only factor affecting the weight management equation… oh drat, what a pity!

No, but the findings are true and performed by professors at Creighton University. According to these studies, increased calcium intake helps reduce fat mass and body weight.

Then we got the other side, too much calcium… wow, how does one find a suitable medium!  The right amount of calcium in the body is said to decrease blood pressure however too much is said to increase blood pressure and result in kidney failure. Then there’s a condition called milk-alkali or calcium alkali or hypercalcemia, all three terms resulting in hypertension and possible kidney failure; not to mention in men, too much calcium increases the risk of fatal prostate cancer (according to research done by Wake Forest University)… and last but certainly not least is the possibility of developing kidney stones as excess levels of calcium prevents the kidneys from cleaning the blood and stops it from properly eliminating fluids.

 There is one thing my research does show which I will be putting into good practice in recommending a suitable remedy for my mom… 1,200 mg of calcium is the RDA (recommended daily allowance) whether eaten in one’s diet or supplemented; then there’s homeopathic calcium which falls under the tissue salts range with some homeopathic ingredients such as Carcarea Carbonica being used to treat nervousness, exhaustion and even depression.  One such homeopathic calcium is the OriCalc Remedy by Orion Remedies http://www.bellawars.com/products/OriCal-tablets.asp … It looks to contain all the homeopathic “calc” ingredients which I came across in my research so will definitely be giving this a try for both myself and my Mom.

In a prime environment Candida Albicans can double its colony in just One Hour!

Are fungicides and conventional medications still an effective treatment against a Candida Outgrowth? If not what other alternatives can be done to keep Yeast or Candida growth in-check.

Candida Cells

Oxygen isn’t a must and neither is light… all this devastating and resilient condition needs is food (yummy sugary items), water and a nice warm habitat; and what better place to find all these things than in the human body.

Candida Albicans is in essence a fungus that has neither female nor male properties. It can therefore multiply quite easily without the need to propagate, doubling its population in just under an hour, every hour.

If we take a closer look inside our bodies, we notice that the body contains both good and bad bacteria. It is paramount that good bacteria outweigh bad bacteria as these good organisms are the key health providers and immune system stabilizers. Any contributing factor that causes an increase in bad bacterial growth can result in a flurry of Candida Albicans; but what exactly are the contributing factors? These include junk foods we consume on a daily basis, polluted air which we unfortunately cannot seem to completely get away from, stress which is part of our daily lives and even the water we drink which almost always does contain added chemicals. Food items are also bombarded with chemical additives to ensure shelf life and what was once considered a nutritious meal in years gone by has now lost most of its nutritional qualities through over processing. We then need to look at the amount of prescription medications we take on a yearly basis. This has increased exponentially over the last couple of years and when added to the delicate-scale-of-health of one’s body severely detriments good bacteria levels.

Over the years the Candida Albicans yeast/fungus has also learnt to adapt to ensure its survival and has now been found to have the innate ability transform not only its structure from being greyish in color, flat and elongated, to a smooth, white organism and even a coarse, hairy yeast/fungus but to also be able to change its species to adapt to a changing environment thereby safeguarding its survival. It is this last key feature that makes Candida Albicans so very robust in any bodily organ not just the digestive system.

So what exactly can be done to treat Candida?

Antibiotics work by killing both good and bad bacteria and with the removal of good bacteria; any bad bacteria are allowed to flourish hence snowballing Candida Albicans growth within the body. Perhaps a diet overhaul would be best however we all know completely abstaining from sugar and wheat containing foods is more easily said than done. One can then look at fungicides (either oral or topically applied to the affected area) such as Triazoles, Imidaxoles, Polyenesyet or Cancidas however one should keep in mind that a few of these have been found to be slightly toxic to vital organs such as the liver. Other natural alternatives include consuming daily probiotics, coconut oil, the consumption of raw garlic and olive leaf or grapefruit seed extract.

Is there anything else that can be done?

At www.bellawars.com a new product has been formulated to aid in the treatment of Candida Albicans yeast/fungus by working on the correct balance of good versus bad bacteria with an amalgamation of enzymes, herbs and minerals. An added benefit is the addition of a range of naturally occurring antifungal agents to help kill off excess Candida growth within the digestive system thereby winning the war for your bodies good bacteria.

For more information on the CandiBella Remedy:
Visit us: www.bellawars.com
Call us: 1-800-275-5795
Email us: b2b@bellawars.com

Have a Candida Free day! 🙂