Women Over 35:  Overcoming Five Common Concerns, Part II

Age, as they say, is just a number. But the truth is that age can bring along with it a number of health changes. Some can be simply annoying, some may be serious, and some may make you pause for a bit and think about whether or not you truly feel good – or if can you feel better.

For women over 35, the following five major areas of health or medical considerations can be quite common:

• High Blood Pressure
• Perimenopause
• Anxiety/Depression
• Osteoporosis
• Decreased Libido

What’s Behind These Five Health Issues?

Sure, the passing of years can bring about a whole lot of life changes, including those related to work, family, finances, and health. But health changes don’t necessarily come about strictly from aging; they can be initiated, impacted, and influenced by three causes you might not have previously considered: mold, parasites, and heavy metals.

The Dangers Of Mold

A damp basement, a moisture-filled bathroom, and a leaky pipe are all things that can create toxic indoor mold, which can cause health issues, including mold-induced toxicity. Symptoms of mold toxicity include gut irregularities, memory issues, muscle aches, and unusual fatigue. Because these symptoms are somewhat generic and can be attributed to a wide range of health concerns, mold toxicity can be difficult to recognize and diagnose.

Mold illness can significantly affect inflammatory response and result in chronic health issues. Frequent or prolonged exposure to mold toxins can cause chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), and trigger other significant health problems, including high blood pressure.

Just because you can’t see mold, doesn’t mean it’s not there. A mold kit can help you determine if mold is present in your home.

Parasites

Parasites are a force (often near invisible) to be reckoned with. Harmful and largely unseen, they can be the culprits behind everything from sub-par health to complex chronic illness. Parasites can be picked up as a result of day-to-day activities such as playing outside in the grass, eating insufficiently cooked meat, or cleaning out a pet’s litter box.

Most often, your body naturally clears out parasites, but in some instances, the parasites outwit the body’s natural defenses and find a way to remain longer in your system. It’s not impossible for parasites to actually alter the landscape of your internal systems in order to survive longer. Because we live in an increasingly toxic environment adversely affected by everything from pollution to environmental damage, our bodies can become weakened by the prevalence of toxins that, in turn, can limit our defenses against parasite activity.

Parasitic infection symptoms can include disruptions in sleep and sex drive, as well as cognitive health. Consult with a healthcare provider if you think you may have been exposed to parasites.

Heavy Metals

Yes, heavy metal isn’t just a band that plays loud music to your ears. We’re talking about heavy metal that’s applied to the manufacture of buildings and machinery, cars and computers, and so much more. In fact, heavy metals are all around us, in food and water, soil, and air. So if these metals are dangerous, why are they so prevalent?

All heavy metals occur naturally and can be found in our environment in rocks, plants, soil, animals, and water. Some heavy metals – we’re looking at you, zinc and iron – are needed in very small amounts to maintain good health. But that’s the good stuff. Other heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, can be found in unclean drinking water, fungicides, pollution, and fertilizers.

In the human body, heavy metals can accumulate and wreak havoc, even going so far as to impact your DNA. They can lead to chronic health conditions and inflammation brought on by oxidative stress, and lead to degenerative bone disease. The damage from heavy metals can also extend to the nervous system: Heavy metals can alter cognitive well-being, increase the risk of developing mental illness, and lead to problems with depression and anxiety.

Heavy metal testing is available and is usually performed by analyzing a blood or urine sample. Special metal-free blood or acid-washed urine containers are used to collect the sample to lower the risk of sample contamination by any outside sources of metal.