PMS
and related Hormonal imbalances produce brain Fog, general
mental fogginess, Mood Swings, Fatigue, Tiredness, Listlessness,
Abdominal Bloating, a feeling of general coldness
sometimes feeling both hot and cold,
fatigue, head ache or migraine, racing thoughts and related
sleeping disorders have become such a common phenomenon
among women as to be almost epidemic. This is not a new
problem but it is certainly a more frequently occurring one.
It is not insignificant that in the present day these problems are occurring more frequently
in modern industrialized societies. Some attribute the low
incidence of female hormonal imbalances in the orient to the use
of soy in the diet. This is an unreasonable assumption. The fact
that generally healthier and cleaner foods are being eaten in
the orient than in the West/USA. It should be noted that Europe
does not have these problems to the same extent. It must however
be noted that as of that this is rapidly changing there too.
The PMS itself was at one time called
hysteria. Which literally means uterus. Because presently most
of us have been conditioned to believe that PMS is being caused
by hormones being in a state of imbalance one would likely never
ask or even consider the uterus as a possible cause of PMS?
Well, for one thing the fact that PMS occurs at the time a woman
has her period is a definite clue.
The ancients were spot on in this
deduction. The uterus was also call "matrix" which is Latin for
mother. The uterus was regarded as a "world within a world"
because of its miraculous ability as the vessel of conception.
It has a life of its own. And, although it needs its own
nourishment like any other organ, it unlike the other organs
which dispose of their wastes internally and then through the
normal orifices of waste elimination; the uterus disposes of its
wastes directly through its own orifice. Apart from the obvious
anatomical reality that birthing takes place from the uterus the
disposal of its wastes is not without significance. The menstrum
once spent is evacuated otherwise it decomposes and becomes
toxic therefore it must be eliminated and be free of the regular
blood circulating to maintain the rest of the body. All organs
and the body in general are subject to constipation i.e., the
retention of wastes, which generally results in that waste being
re-absorbed which ultimately produces ailments. Should the
uterus become constipated the same thing occurs; the effect
being the same but the consequence is different.
What is being said here is not that the
actual menstrum itself is actually circulating in the blood
stream, this of course would be deadly, but that specific
components distilled out of the uterus are. Proof of this is
quite simple. Many woman when menstruating can taste in their
mouth a metallic taste from their own menstrum in their mouths,
sometimes the menstrum can be detected on their breath, and in
some extreme cases it can be detected in their body odor and the
perspiration of the body in general and palms of the hands in
particular. Consequently and historically, in the times when
there was no refrigeration, woman were not allowed to work in
the preparation of food that was going to be directly eaten or
preserved if the woman was menstruating. This was not imposed or
otherwise forced by men on women; the women imposed this on each
other based on clear understanding and principle. This was done
for reasons of health not superstition. Then, it was well known
that the food would not preserve and would spoil. This could
mean sickness or starvation. The woman themselves knew this and
accepted it as a fact of life. Anyone who is old enough and
lived in a rural setting may still be aware of this once
commonly known fact.
These statements may be considered sexist
to some but, the very real wisdom of the ancients should not be
belittled by our present day prejudice, arrogance and sometimes
ignorance. In the times when these practices were common there
was no means of food preservation other than the natural methods
which, incidentally, worked exceedingly well. Life or death
depending on hard work, a sound knowledge and understanding of
nature and her processes - calling 911 was not an option.
There would be no way for the symptoms of
PMS to occur were the menstrum to be completely evacuated
directly from the uterus. Without this the ingredients to
produce PMS would not be present. When this refined portion of
the mensturm reaches the heart it produces a psychological
effect in many women - It produces PMS. It is like being
narcoticized by ones own toxin. The effect produces an
exaggerated emotional state as well as the other typical
physical symptoms of PMS depending upon which organ is having to
deal with the non-evacuated menstrum-toxin. For instance, if it
finds itself in the liver - the breasts will feel sore. The
Orientals say this symptom is a result of "liver heat rising"
due to a pathogen, which in this case is the circulating toxin
from the uterus that the body is trying to eliminate through the
liver.
These are the reason why PMS was called
hysteria. Because the cause was the uterus not functioning
properly. Absolutely nothing has changed anatomically in present
day human beings from those of years past. The cause of PMS is
still the uterus but eerily the uterus is never being addressed
when PMS occurs because there is no "modern" uterus remedy per
se to market. So, in the absence of sense, biochemistry is
used to justify a hormonally based remedy. This approach does
not solve the problem because if it did there would be no PMS,
instead it removes the symptoms but only for some. Countless,
however, suffer the very nasty consequences.
Female problems are almost universally defined as hormonal
imbalances. This, of course, is an oversimplification because to work on hormones alone is like trying to
eliminate stress by suppressing the nerves in isolation of the
rest of the body. Clearly this very forced approach would necessarily
produce some sort of side effect.
Nerves are
one of many maintained organs in the body. The brain, blood
vessels, muscles, tendons, cartilage, hair and so on are "maintained
organs." A maintained organ is an organ that is not directly
involved in a metabolic process but is the recipient of what is produced
by these main organs through the blood. In Traditional herbal Theory
there is a very orderly and systematic relationship between the main
organs, their secondary organs and the symptoms of ailments.
Female
problems seem to affect the whole body but according to Tradition Herbal
theory the organs that figure most prominently are the Spleen and
Stomach, Liver, Uterus and Kidneys. And, to a lesser extent the Heart,
which is affected secondarily but through it the PMS related emotional symptoms are
created. The specific order that these organs need to be addressed is
very individual. However, in general the Spleen/Stomach,
Liver, and Kidney (which usually affect the
Uterus directly) followed by the Heart.
Few
consider the effects of the main organs when dealing with female
problems, yet, how can these major organs not affect, or be affected by
circulating contaminants.
The
Stomach and Spleen extract the raw
materials to produce blood and hormones among many other things. It is a
fact that the various glands all secrete hormones. Why they do this is
out of obvious necessity. How they synthesize their various unique
hormones is still a mystery. We believe that the process of producing
hormones is an interaction between soul and physical body.
The Liver, Kidney and Uterus
remove the excess hormones out of the blood stream and eliminate them.
The Uterus
eliminates
through menstruation. The Liver
removes toxins as well as excess hormones out of the bloodstream
passing them on to the Kidney
for elimination. Should the fluids attempting to be eliminated through
the Uterus
become too thick impeding their flow. Should they slow down or
coagulate, severe inflammations and menstrual cramps can occur.
Clearly, there is more to female hormone imbalances than just hormones?
The hormones are definitely in disproportion, but it is the bodily
organ's inability to balance them that is usually at fault. This
statement does not belittle the serious impact of the many estrogen
mimicking substances that pervade modern life in plastics, clothing,
house paint and so on. They effect both men women and many other
creatures downstream in the environment.
Estrogen seems to generally produces a coagulating effect. This may be why artificial
estrogen therapies have been extensively documented and are known to
produce strokes, tumors, cancers, blood clots etc. Progesterone seem to
counter the effects of estrogen producing a
thinning effect. To
complicate this the estrogen being ingested comes from pregnant mares urine
(Thus the name pre-mar-in). One could assume that the Estrogen being
produced by a horse would likely be perfectly suitable for a 2000 pound
horse but may be a little too strong for a
100 - 150 pound woman.
The entire body and each of its organs
need energy to function. This energy is produced by the spleen and it becomes
depleted due to prolonged stresses, poor
foods and environmental chemicals. These tax the ability of the spleen to supply each
of the organs with enough energy to function. As this energy diminishes
each organ slowly becomes deficient in energy and gradually becomes
unable to work at their respective optimum levels.
Gradually, what would have been expelled as
waste by normal organ functions remains in the blood stream inclusive of excess hormones that are
not being expelled by the Liver and Uterus. These circulating substances affect the heart in unusual ways. Traditional Herbal
theory teaches that the heart - not the brain - is the center of reason - The heart can over ride the brain. This
is how and why these toxins
that thicken the blood can have a narcoticizing effect
on the mind by merely circulating through the heart. This is not to be
confused with a heart disease. From this effect on the heart arise the mood swings, mental fogginess,
racing thoughts and others. These symptoms altogether are called PMS.
In
principle this effect would be the same in a man if the same substances
were to be circulating in a man's blood. Men who are taking growth
hormones like testosterone, for example, for athletic or muscular
enhancement experience aggressiveness and anger which can be seen as a
male version of
PMS.
Post partum
depression, Post partum anxiety, Post partum fatigue and anemia are
part of another overlooked factor when it comes to
a woman. That fact that the female is the host for life is overlooked.
The female body and its unique chemistry accepts and incubates life.
This most feminine of attributes permits woman to give birth. Yet as
special and miraculous as childbirth is, the process itself is for many
women very taxing.
We accept that women give birth very
matter-of-factly but what is the toll on the female body.
Imagine carrying a 2 to a 10 pound (or
more) object that is feeding off of you for a 9 month period of
time. Rest assured most athletes couldn’t do it without extreme
fatigue. Try picking up a 5-pound object and carry it around in
your hand with you all day for a week, let alone 9 months, and
see how your hand feels. The female uterus does this in addition
to feeding and disposing of the waste of the life it is carrying
for nine months (40 weeks). The energy to accomplish these tasks does not come from the uterus
itself even though it is doing the work.
All living things need energy to sustain
themselves. And if there is energy it must have a source. A car
needs gas. A light bulb needs electricity. A fireplace needs
wood. In the body, it has long been established by the ancient
herbalists that the Spleen is the producer of this "electricity
like" power in the body. This is different from and in
addition to the nutrients the body needs. By converting food the Spleen/Stomach is the source of blood
production within the human body.
If a woman’s uterus is working hard it
will draw upon this power from the Spleen. Under normal
circumstances this is not a problem. But, if the woman is eating
poorly, or is overworked, stressed or a battery of other possibilities,
the Spleen becomes overworked from having to work to hard and
becomes depleted.
After giving birth a woman that has
been over burdened from carrying her baby for 9 months and due
to the additional effort of birthing will be exhausted and
depleted.
This depletive tiredness can often last
for months even years. Some women also have multiple pregnancies
each one depleting them even further. How can this simple
problem be simplistically and universally called "hormonal
imbalance."
Women then sustain the ultimate insult by
being told that all of these symptoms "are in their head." How
unknowing, unfeeling and negligent are those who would ignore or
over complicate such a simple situation.
This depletive state leaves the body’s
energies spread very thin therefore in addition to simple
fatigue it is common for a woman to also feel very foggy
headed making it difficult to mentally focus in addition to
fatigue, depression and an inability to fall asleep due to,
"not being able to turn the brain off at night." In many
cultures around the world women use various tonics to restore
and tone the blood in general by assisting the Spleen. This aids the female system in general,
especially after childbirth. In American culture this is an
almost unheard of concept.
More than anywhere else on earth women
in industrialized societies are exposed to more environmental toxins, synthetic
additives in almost everything from food to clothing to house
paint. These substances among other things effect the
acid/alkaline balance in the blood and the oxygen carrying
capacity of the blood. The fact that some of these synthetics
mimic female hormones is beside the point when dealing with
fatigue in spite of the fact that when exposed to or ingested
these will strongly affect general female body chemistry.
In conclusion, regular hormone imbalances
and post partum issues have the same general causes the only
difference being the greater degree of depletions and the fluids
are thicker still, setting in a deeper depression in addition to
the fogginess and fatigue.
Most, if not all female problems can be
eliminated by cleansing the liver. If a woman is too weak after
childbirth her body should be strengthened before doing a liver
cleanse. (Read below.) But, a
liver cleanse is always a good
idea.
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