Not Going Down Without a Fight! Herbal Hormones and Longevity

When I’m not teaching or caring for my family, I work at my second job as a CNA- working with elderly people in their own homes. It’s a blessing to work with these wonderful people but also gives me some pointers on how I want to be when I’m their age.  It seems that those who do not actively care for themselves spend the last 20 years of their life in a “Groundhog Day” like routine in their favorite recliner barely able to walk around. Then I see the 96 years olds that are still moving around and getting out there, what are they doing?

I am determined to be that active 96 year old living their life to the fullest to the very end. Part of that anti-aging goes beyond vanity of course. I do exercise, and eat right. But one other proactive anti-aging activity that I do I learned from my mother ( we’re all natural born wildcrafters I swear). I found many don’t know about taking herbal hormone supplements.

I’ll take you back…

We have not been living past forty until the turn of the 1900 century. Menopause is something new for all of us- women were bearing children in their late teens and early twenties. It’s only the last hundred years us women have decided to hang around another 40 years while our bodies have not caught up. Our hormones begin to slow down when we get to 30 years old- our hair thins and our cells do not turn over as quickly. Around 20 years ago it was common for menopausal women to take Premarin to put symptoms at bay, unfortunately that led to increased breast cancer.

So now what? And what about young women and other pre-menopausal women? There has been significant research at Mayo Clinic done about using herbal supplements as an alternative. Another buzzword  is called “Bioidentical” hormones. You can pay large amount of dollars to swab your mouth to get the right balance of what you’re lacking. This helps ease the aging process and keeps you healthy and active longer. However studies are not clear yet about its safety- so please proceed with caution, this is truly cutting edge.

Since I turned 30 many years ago, I noticed I was experiencing peri-menapausal symptoms and added Estroven and DHEA to my morning supplement. Taking them early on decreases the severity of aging you would have experienced.

Estroven has Black Co-hosh and mimics a VERY mild form of estrogen- the hormone that keeps us girls! I notice that my body feels like it did, cycle wise, when I was 24 years old. DHEA is a hormone that is found naturally in a human’s body that makes either estrogen or testosterone. In low doses in can increase lean muscle, energy level, sex drive- woohoo, and vitality.  This vitamin is my exercise motivator in a pill. Seriously.

I purchase mine from Swanson Health products, I trust their safety processing and their price- 3 month supply for DHEA 3.99 plus shipping. I can buy Estroven there as well or at Wal-Mart- both cheaper alternatives than Bioidentical “doctors”. Safer too. 

Plant Stem Cells- Cellular Fountain of Youth

As Shirley McClaine says in Postcards from the Edge “ I don’t mind getting old, I do mind looking old.” If science could find a way to stop the aging process, at least the in the epidermis layer (i.e. esthetic skin layer) I would be all for it! Thankfully we are living in a highly technical age where we are beyond moisturizing creams .

In my early twenties, I worked for a biotech company while they played with programmed cell death- or apoptosis.  Our genetics are programmed when to start shutting down. What could happen if we could simply- “reprogram” our genes to stop aging? I do feel science is getting close to finding these answers because of progress in cancer treatments and with nanotechnology.

So what does this newfound research mean for us frugal gals looking for real answers that are also effective? Scientific articles in the Life Extension field have shown that plant stem cells as well as topical DNA technology are effective in anti-aging.

Let’s discuss the effects of using plant stem cells as a topical treatment. Miebelle Bio Chemistry in Switzerland discovered the use of a rare Swiss apple known for its ability to stay fresh for an extended period of time. Most of us know about stem cell research in the news- mostly from embryonic sources. Scientist wanted to know if plant stem cells would “show” animal cells how to not age, and help the new cells keep their longevity. Through research, it showed that there were some positive results. They measured line depth of the face in20 subjects over 28 days.  All confirmed shallower line depth and each cell sample proved to be more effective in “rejuvenating” itself.

Are there any side effects? None so far, like any new technology long term effects are not documented yet.

I have been using Apple Stem Cell with 35% active for about a year now, three drops in my emu oil “medley” morning and night. I also put it directly on my face after a chemical peel to get it right to the new layer of skin asap.  I have done a lot of research on the best product of apple stem cell and so far the product with the highest percent of active is… you guessed it, Platinumskincare.com at 35%. I’ve used Life Extension ($28.00)and other healthcare brands, as well as cream that cost about 130.00, and  none of them disclose the amount of active in their formula.  This product for me is a little pricey- 42.95 but it seems to last me about 4 months.   I notice that before I used it my laugh lines would return about 10 days after a peel, now with the stem cell it is about 35 days for the lines to return.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Happy Face Saving!