Remember “Our Bodies Ourselves” ? I was still a teenager when the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective published this landmark book. It was the beginning of the feminist movement and it was the first book that talked about women’s health, reproduction and sexuality openly and honestly. It was a big deal and everyone I knew had a copy on their bookshelf. It has since been translated and/or adapted into 20 languages.
Our bodies go through a lot of changes during our middle years. Some of these can be attributed to fluctuating (in our 40s) or decreasing (in our 50s) hormone levels and some can’t.However, according to the Harvard Women’s Health Watch report on Menopause, the four most commonly reported changes include:
Mood changes and depression
Insomnia or other sleep problems
Cognitive or memory problems
Decline in sexual desire and/or function
The domino effect of sleep deprivation can potentially cause all of these symptoms so it is understandable that these complaints would be at the top of the list.
Other changes that often occur, but cannot be positively attributed to hormonal changes include:
Weight gain
Urinary incontinence
Heart palpitations
Dry skin and hair
Headaches
If you’re noticing changes – however vague– in your own body, you can check out a published list of 35 symptoms of Menopause, which was compiled by a group of women for Project Aware.
Last month, I wrote about the FDA’s action restricting certain compounding pharmacists from dipsensing bio-identical hormones containing estriol – a form of estrogen. Wyeth, the biggest seller of prescription menopause hormones (Premarin and Prempro), had petitioned the FDA in April, 2006, to take this action complaining that many compounders make false claims about the drugs’ safety. The FDA says the two actions aren’t linked, but I say, what a coincidence!
Vitamin D is one of 13 vitamins our bodies need to function properly, according to the American Dietetic Association. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin that promotes the absorption of calcium and phosphorus and helps deposit these minerals in bones and teeth to make them strong. It’s so important to our well-being that a group of prominent scientists have formed The Vitamin D Council, a non-profit organization with a mission to educate the public and professionals about Vitamin D deficiency and its numerous associated diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, depression).
It’s known as the “sunshine” vitamin because our bodies can only produce it with enough sun exposure – a couple of hours a week is often sufficient. Foods such as cheese, eggs, fortified milk, breakfast cereals and some fish (such as salmon and sardines) are also good sources for this important nutrient. If you’re between 51 and 70, the FDA recommends 400 IU daily (and 600 IU thereafter). However, some physicians (including mine) don’t think that’s enough. As reported in the American Journal of Clinicial Nutrition, physicians at the Boston University School of Medicine recommend that in the absence of exposure to sunlight, a minimum of 1000 IU of Vitamin D is required to maintain healthy concentrations in the blood.
Vitamin D supplementation is beneficial throughout our lives, but it is particularly important for women in mid-life. Why? Because it…
There has been a lot of research and discussion about the benefits of Vitamin D (search Google for “vitamin D and menopause,” and you’ll see 423,000 articles on this topic), and I have been asked by more than one doctor if I’m taking enough of it. It does seem to be the new “it” vitamin: remember how we were inundated with data about Vitamins A (for skin), B (for energy), and C (for colds) – we’re clearly teed up for a barrage of information about the merits of D and we’ll be seeing more and more foods in the grocery store that are fortified with it.
P.S. For more information about the importance of Vitamin D in our diets, be sure to read Jane Brody’s “Personal Health” column of 2/19/08, “An Oldie Vies for Nutrient of the Decade.”
I mentioned several weeks ago that I had begun a daily regimen of Black Cohosh, Flax Seed and Fish Oil. I’m happy to report that the hot flashes that I had been experiencing for more than a year have completely stopped. Based on everything I’ve read, I attributed this to the Black Cohosh, while the Flax Seeds have undoubtedly benefited me in other ways. But a new study suggests that it could have been the flax seed after all.
In my interview with Shaila Schwartz, a Naturopathic Doctor in San Francisco, I asked her about botanical medicines that she has found to be most helpful with her patients. Her response follows: … [Read more]
There's a great line-up of speakers including Dr. Wayne Dyer, Cheryl Richardson and Dr. Lissa Rankin ("Owning Pink") at the next "I Can Do It" Ignite conference in San Jose, CA, March 17-18. Click here for details: I Can Do It IGNITE!
Quinoa isn't the only whole grain out there. This WSJ article describes seven of them. http://on.wsj.com/w5f8D6
For some people, Yoga can do more harm than good. Read this excerpt from “The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards,” by William J. Broad, http://nyti.ms/wm6AHB
