Hormones

THE MOST POWERFUL force in the universe is not any kind of nuclear energy. It is not magnetism, gravity or the IRS. The most powerful force in the universe is hormones. If you don't believe me, conduct the following simple scientific experiment:1. Take a normal woman.2. Get her pregnant.3. See if she can walk past a display of baby shoes without stopping.I've been conducting this experiment for several months now with my wife, Michelle. She's pregnant, and I have reason to believe that I'm the father.

This episode's title couldn't be more accurate. Snooki was a complete hormonal b-----.  Granted I feel guilty talking about a fellow female in her pregnant state, but she definitely was a bit more uptight compared to her former crazy party-girl self.  JWOWW takes her two pups, Bella and Noel to K9garten to get some obedience training so that they stop peeing and pooping all over their new apartment.   While checking out the place, Snooki...

Stories of the sexual prowess of athletes may or may not b locker-room hype. Yet, in any case, the sexual vigor of athletes is not caused by their training -- because being in great physical shape does not improve one's ability to make love.Lovemaking doesn't take a lot of energy. In fact, it takes the same amount of energy necessary to walk up two flights of stairs. And if you can do that, you can be a good lover.We all know that exercise can be good for you, and in most cases, it is. But too much can be bad. It can reduce your sex drive.

Call her Maryland's Iron Lady. U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski was lauded Wednesday on the floor of the Senate for setting the record as the longest-serving woman in Congress, a streak that her colleague, Sen. Ben Cardin, likened to that of another Marylander: baseball's Iron Man. "Marylanders understand longevity records. We're very proud of our Cal Ripken," Maryland's junior senator said of the holder of baseball's consecutive-games streak. "Senator Mikulski's, like Cal Ripken's, legacy is what she has done in office, not the length of it. " For several hours, fellow senators from both parties rose to pay tribute to Mikulski, who joined the House of Representatives in 1976 and the Senate in 1986.

Scientists are still a long way from figuring out what women and men really want, but they are getting a lot closer to understanding what makes their brains so different. That women and men think differently has little to do with whether they are handed dolls or trucks to play with as infants. After all, when infant monkeys are given a choice of human toys, females prefer dolls and males go after cars and trucks. The differences, researchers are beginning to discover, may have a lot more to do with how powerful hormones wire the female and male brain during early development and later in life.

Is it true that lavender oil can increase female hormones in men and boys? If so, shouldn't there be a warning on soaps, shampoos and shower gels? A lot of personal-care products have lavender fragrance, whether you notice it or not. Lavender does not increase female hormone levels in the body. Nevertheless, this herbal oil may act like estrogen on its own. The lavender link was brought to public attention in the New England Journal of Medicine (Feb. 1, 2007). Researchers reported that three boys developed enlarged breasts (gynecomastia)

My doctor is urging me to take hormones. She says that estrogen will help me through menopause, keep my bones strong and prevent heart disease. I don't like taking pills, but when she told me estrogen could also ward off Alzheimer's disease, she got my attention.My grandmother is in a nursing home and cannot remember who we are. It breaks my heart. If estrogen can prevent that, then I am ready.Are there any side effects? My doctor makes hormones sound very appealing, but she never talks about problems.

True confession time: Just when I thought I had made peace with the Great Post-Menopausal Hormone Decision -- in my case, sticking with very low dose oral hormones, despite the risks revealed in a 2002 study -- I have plunged into the murk again. This time, my curiosity and my game plan are focused on "bioidentical" hormones, which are synthesized from soy and yams. They are made to be very similar to the hormones your body already produces -- much more similar, for instance, than the hormones post-menopausal woman swallowed in pills like Prempro and Premarin.

Men whose mothers ate a lot of beef during their pregnancy have a sperm count about 25 percent below normal and three times the normal risk of fertility problems, researchers reported this week. The problem may be because of anabolic steroids used in the United States to fatten the cattle, Dr. Shanna H. Swan of the University of Rochester Medical Center reported in the journal Human Reproduction. It could also be because of pesticides and other environmental contaminants, she said. If the sperm deficit is related to the hormones in beef, Swan's findings may be "just the tip of the iceberg," wrote biologist Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri- Columbia in an editorial accompanying the paper.

All right, ladies, here we go again. About 20 months ago, postmenopausal women taking combined estrogen and progestin therapy panicked at the news that a popular hormone pill, Prempro, carried more risks than benefits overall. Some swore off hormones, causing Prempro sales to fall by 66 percent. Some began cutting back on doses or trying different formulations, such as creams or patches, in hopes of improving the risk-benefit equation. Still others stopped, then shopped around for doctors who would put them back on hormones because of intolerable menopausal symptoms.

As the state of Maryland considers whether to continue its suspension of Dr. Mark Geier's medical license ("Discredited Lupron therapy for autism still has backers," June 17), I think it's critical for readers of The Sun to fully understand the remarkable impact that his therapies are having for families like mine around the country. When our son Kit, who has autism, first started showing signs of violence more than two years ago, we were afraid that his unprovoked bursts of rage would result in disastrous consequences — to another child, or teacher at his school, or to my husband or me at home.

When Lynn Patterson resolved to lose weight early this year, she took a hormone normally associated with pregnancy, not dieting. The 53-year-old Catonsville nurse went on the hCG diet, named for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that is produced naturally in pregnant women and often used in fertility treatments to trigger ovulation. Promoters of the diet say hCG suppresses the appetite, making it easy to stick to a diet of just 500 calories a day. They also say it helps the body burn fat while retaining muscle.

The NFL apparently wants more than just a bigger cut of the league's revenue pool. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that the league is insisting on human growth hormone testing as part of the new collective bargaining agreement with the players. He stressed the need to keep such banned substances out of the sport after telling 700 Baltimore-area high school football players at Woodlawn High about the dangers and repercussions of using performance-enhancing drugs. "The integrity of the NFL is critical," Goodell said.

Realignment in Major League Baseball, which could move the Orioles out of the American League East one day, was touched on Thursday during the players' annual spring meeting with their union chief. But because it is only conceptual, not a lot of time was dedicated to it, according to new union chief Michael Weiner , who spent nearly two hours with the Orioles. "On-field issues are very important to the players, so we mentioned a number of those issues. My understanding is that realignment is not a front-burner issue," said Weiner, the union's former general counsel who took over as executive director from Don Fehr last year.

Ask Michael Cera, the star of "Youth in Revolt," if he has lost his virginity, and he answers "Yes" before adding that good, if dusty, chestnut: "Now, I'm trying to get it back." Recycled jokes about lost virginity are a lot like movies that mine the humor of the same subject: Depending on the execution, they veer wildly between trite and funny. In the case of Cera's quip - spoken with his halting, thoughtful, almost squeaky voice - it falls solidly on the humorous side. With "Youth in Revolt," in theaters today, director Miguel Arteta ("The Good Girl")

Rainbow Theatre at Slayton House in the Wilde Lake Village Green will continue its series of performances for children with a musical Little Red Riding Hood at 10 a.m. Friday. Carousel Puppets will dramatize the story with hand and rod puppets. Tickets are $5 in advance and $6 at the door, if available. Group rates are available. The series is sponsored by the Wilde Lake Community Association. Information: 410-730-3987. Natural balance Local naturopathic physician Dr. Julie Kniess will discuss "How to Balance Female Hormones ... Naturally" from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Slayton House.

Remember "raging hormones," those glandular gremlins responsible for every embarrassing act of youth? Not only have they become respectable, they're all the rage.Estrogen, testosterone, DHEA and melatonin are seen by millions of Americans as capsule versions of the fountain of youth. Best-selling books like "The Melatonin Miracle" and "The Super Hormone Promise" tout the ability of hormones to ward off the effects of aging. Even testosterone, so often blamed for aggressive behavior in men, is getting better press.

Have you ever wondered how a plant knows it's time to wake from its winter slumber? Or how all those spring flowering bulbs you planted last fall know it's time to begin that journey upward, especially when buried beneath snow? To understand how this spring phenomenon happens, we have to know what causes the plant to go into dormancy in the first place. A plant's dormant cycle begins in autumn, when daylight hours shorten and temperatures begin to drop. These key environmental changes cause a bit of hormonal upheaval in the plant, resulting in a slowing down to an almost virtual standstill of its metabolism.

Is it true that lavender oil can increase female hormones in men and boys? If so, shouldn't there be a warning on soaps, shampoos and shower gels? A lot of personal-care products have lavender fragrance, whether you notice it or not. Lavender does not increase female hormone levels in the body. Nevertheless, this herbal oil may act like estrogen on its own. The lavender link was brought to public attention in the New England Journal of Medicine (Feb. 1, 2007). Researchers reported that three boys developed enlarged breasts (gynecomastia)