I am currently reading the book "Food-Your Miracle Medicine" and it states that eating a couple of apples everyday and 3 and a half ounces of peanuts can boost estrogen levels the same as a woman on estrogen replacement therapy.......could this really be possible?

Apples and peanuts are heart healthy, but regarding the estrogenic effect, beats me. I'd do a Google seach, looking for a legitimate looking source.

I have read about so many "phytoestrogen" foods that it seems like most things can take credit. (Especially meat, but that's because they shoot cows up with synthetic hormones!) Anyway, I've read about the apples many, many times and they say it is due to all of the boron in them. I eat a lot of them, but they never made me feel better. I've read cashews have a lot more phytoestrogens than peanuts. But then, peanuts are actually legumes, not a nut, and beans in general have lots of phytoestrogens.

Oh my, peanuts are a legume and I'm THE FLATULATOR. I've been eating a handful a day. Now that I think of it when my gut is revolting everything causes gas. And, this isn't a little gas, as it's made me want to puke. I eat little animal flesh, and I have hormones from hell. I knew Aimee would know about this one. I almost wrote go ask Aimee. You should do a nutritional column called ask Aimee.lol I love apples, particulary the fall harvest in New England.

Jade, I heard that eating apples will boost estrogen levels. I have recently started eating two apples a day - hopefully it will work!! Never heard about the peanuts, though. But I bet I'm going to add a few to my diet now!! lol...what can it hurt? They are healthy for you either way!

Since reading that in the book,i have been eating 2 apples a day....and since i don't like peanuts all that well,i've been eating peanut butter,which,by the way,tastes great with the apples.

Apples and peanut butter do taste good together.

LOL! I feel like I spend half of my time reading health junk. Actually, it's not a feeling, it's a fact. But I only do it because I am such a hypochondriac that it makes me feel "safe" (an illusion, to be sure) to be up on as much as possible. ANYWAY, cris have you tried Pepogest? My dh's gastro told him to take it three times a day. I have horrible gas also, and it really helps! You may have already mentioned it, but if not, be sure you follow label directions (1/2 hour before eating, not after--I did it wrong at first). It's enteric coated. I also take a digestive enzyme with EVERY meal, no exceptions. And Beano with beans and broccoli. And THEN I sometimes have to use GasX on top of it. It's ridiculous.

Yup, I have the Pepogest, Aimee. I may have to start popping it again. My stomach has been a mess and I never know whether it's IBS and UC. Another interesting thing I read in the NY Times, said more than two alcoholic drinks a day, or red meat consumption can cause a UC relapse. I know your dh has UC, but obviously don't know his dietary habits. I quit drinking, but never noticed an association between liquor and a attack of UC. Another good reason to stay stopped.lol Red meat, I eat so rarely. Fruits and vegis were associated with less relapse. Fiber didn't matter, but since fruits and vegis have fiber, this was slightly contradictory. I'm sure they meant grain type fiber. Dairy also didn't cause an attack. I know this is irrelevant to peanuts and apples, but wanted to let you know. I'm a hypochondriac too. You're a good source of nutritional tips. When my stomach is bad, everything gives me gas. Beano, or not. It does get ridiculous.

It's the high concentration of sulfur in protein rich foods that seems to be the link to UC relapse. Also, many alcoholic drinks contain large amounts of sulfites as additives. Eggs were linked too, but not a much as red and processed meat. I want an apple, I'm out.

Glad to see I am in the company of alot of "gassy" friends. I eat a good 1-2 big handfulls of frosted mini-wheats (dry) plus a All-Bran or two granola bar each morning. I thought I was the gas-queen and it is becoming a problem due to all the fiber but it keeps me regular. It's embarassing when I walk out of the office and "squeak" while I am walking. Guess I better cut-down on the fiber for a while. The thing is, I have always eaten this way and it's never affected me like this. I am wondering if perhaps the constant gum chewing is attributing to my gas problem. I'll give up gum for a few days and see what happens. Well, it's past my bed-time and I just got home from work an hour ago. My eyes are drooping. Take care everyone, XOXO Tina

cris, my poor dh has never drunk alcohol (I was the lush for a time) and only eats chicken and fish, not red meat (and tons of veggies). He was raised by a health fanatic (ahead of his time in 1960's Los Angeles), and his father grew a lot of their vegetables and had fruit trees (back in the days in CA where you still had large backyards). Anyway, he is the absolute last person on earth you would think would ever get this disease. His doctor said that in his case it is only a case of a gene going wrong, it's not related to diet (but doctors never know what they are talking about, IMO). I grew up on 100% junk food, however. But only recently have I had any gastro problems, primarily constipation and (constant) gas. Two years ago I went and got the tests, and when they can't figure out what's wrong, they say you have "irritable bowel syndrome." I think it's just menopause, in a lot of cases (I mean when you only have vague stuff like gas, not colitis). Mattia, it IS embarrassing! When I was younger, even when I'd get an occasional bit of gas, I could always hold it in! But now, it has a mind of its own.

I have this gas problem also, definitely related to menpause. It is frankly my most disturbing symptom, even including hot flashes, night sweats, and menopausal migraines!

I am interested in the Pepogest, but I must warn you that I used to take enteric coated peppermint oil caps for my IBS...they work, but they are really strong and caustic to the digestive tract. I ended up on Protonix, a proton pump inhibitor, because I have terrible esophagitis, possibly from that and ginger.

Darn.

Can't seem to win.

I'll accept all comments and advice with joy!

kwanyin

Really Kwanyin? I thought that was the idea about enteric, so it didn't dissolve til it gets in your stomach? I only take them now and again though.

I also can't tolerate peppermint oil capsules, as they cause bladder burn.

Which is sad, because they HELPED the IBS.

I've never heard of this book you mention. In fact, the only reason I'm in this forum is to reply to this post, due to what I've personally discovered about apples and peanuts over the last couple years (I was surprised to find this, actually). I was searching for natural ways out of depression and acne (symptoms of hormonal imbalance) when I discovered this information, but I don't have menopause. I did find ways out of them, by the way.

I would certainly think this is likely, what the book says. I would not definitely say it is true, and less yet for everyone. I would definitely say that both apples and peanuts have a hormonal effect (especially when both are eaten). Pumpkin is another thing I would recommend looking into for similar effects. Apples probably won't do much without peanuts, and I suspect the same is true for pumpkin (but, it seems that peanuts probably have an effect on their own, and are the strongest contributer). I would highly recommend staying away from traditional peanut butter, however, as it is full of hydrogenated oils (not just partially hydrogenated, usually). Natural peanut butter, ground in a health food store, or such, is a better alternative (it should contain no trans fats, such as are found in hydrogenated oil).

Apples are said to help the liver remove excess hormones from the body (I don't know if this is all hormones, or just certain ones). As far as why apples could have an estrogenic effect, that is uncertain. I suppose using it in conjunction with peanuts could do the following: apples remove all types of excess hormones (probably including DHT and testosterone), while peanuts increase estrogens (or at least phytoestrogens). The lessening of testosterone could make it seem like the estrogen is more prevalent (especially with the increase from the peanuts, thus allowing for a stronger effect). From my experience, apples don't do a lot hormonally without eating them around the same time as eating peanuts (nuts in general--even though peanuts aren't true nuts--seem to do about the same thing as peanuts).

I would highly recommend eating broccoli while doing this, as it has good effects not found in peanut butter, and will likely help balance the hormones well. Eggs might help as well, if you don't mind the cholesterol (that's why they might help, actually, since pregnonolone, a prohormone, or a precursor to other hormones, is synthesized from cholesterol--but, they might hurt, too, seeing as there's no sure way to tell which hormones will increase, without trying it; I suppose it would increase mostly estrogen for women and mostly testosterone for men, but I can't be sure; eating apples and peanuts along with them would help to make the estrogen higher, I'm sure). Beans, though related to peanuts, do not have the same effect (I have no idea why).

Be careful with the peanut butter, though; it is high in fat. Any experimentation with hormones can be dangerous/risky, and though doing it with food is probably safer than any other known way, caution, research, and analysis are key to survival. You probably don't have to eat a high amounts of peanut butter every day, so much as to eat it, or peanuts, often (depending on the need). It seems that both peanut butter and broccoli could increase certain types of fat storage (but I suppose this is due to the hormonal effects you're looking for).

Anyway, in my experience, eating broccoli, peanut butter, and apples reduced depression and acne while eating eggs promoted it. There actually came a time when broccoli caused depression instead of took it away (then I just stopped eating it and I was fine thereafter; I think eating nuts was a more permanent solution, though, but it's not something I have to keep doing, like with the broccoli; the broccoli never caused acne, though, in my experience).

I would also suggest doing some research on the following other foods: flax seed (not the oil), soy (an estrogen can be produced if you eat soy if your stomach contains certain kinds of bacteria), yams, figs, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas (they're in the peanut family), perhaps other squash than pumpkin, and such. From figs and beyond might take experimentation to figure anything out, though, as those are things I have suspicions about, rather than things I've found someone else's research on. Figs seem to have some kind of hormonal effect, but I'm not sure what it is, to be quite honest.

I've seen a rumor that apples and pumpkin help to increase aromatase (maybe peanuts too), but I don't know if this is true; it would certainly seem so, as there are other things with phytoestrogens that don't do half of what these do. Aromatase converts testosterone into estrogen (estradiol). So, if this is true, even if eggs increased your testosterone, the extra aromatase would convert much of it (and this would likely produce more severe results than phytoestrogens alone, as it would be a full estrogen) into a more desirable form for those with menopause (likely not for me).

Anyway, a lot of what I'm saying is a set of hypotheses, after having seen some smaller-scale results, and seen hints here and there from other people, and not actual fact tested sufficiently for science--so be careful; do your own research, too. I do suspect, though, that the writer of that book had something going there, quite worth looking into.

Also, if you can manage to increase your aromatase, looking into things that increase testosterone could also help. One thing that is said to increase testosterone is eating saturated fat and garlic at the same time (I think the garlic might need to be raw, but I'm not sure). Boron, which they say is in apples, interestingly enough, also is said to increase testosterone (and hence, if you have a sufficient amount of aromatase, it may increase your estrogen levels). The boron in apples could support the idea that apples increase aromatase levels, if the effect they have is true, but that would mean apples do more than just help the liver rid excess hormones from the body.

Be very careful with aromatase, though, because once it gets up you'll have a very hard time getting it down again without some extra knowledge; ask me if you need to know, though I admit my answer is only an educated guess, and I think not something you'd find elsewhere.

Forgive my ignorance of menopause. It seems high cholesterol can be a major issue with it, from something I just read. It should be noted, though, that although eggs have a lot of cholesterol, they do have other things that help to keep heart disease in check, but you'll want to search that yourself; I understand people have their views. I would make sure if you do eat eggs that you don't leave them out exposed to the air long, before you eat them; I've heard that cholesterol is more risky when it is oxidized. I don't know if this is true, but it would be nice to know for sure. Oxidation doesn't seem like a good thing, in general (antioxidants like vitamin C and E might be good to take if you do have high cholesterol, or decide to eat eggs).

Anyway, I hypothesize that the higher cholesterol rates with menopause are the body's attempts to create more pregnonolone, and thus create more of the missing hormones. Apparently, this doesn't work enough by itself, if this is true. I suppose this is because the ovaries probably need to be functional for this to happen.