Category Archives: Experts Talk

The 5 Best Books on Brain Fitness

If brain fog and too many senior moments have you worried about the future of your aging brain, you should know about AARP’s List of Best Brain Fitness Books. Among the top five is a book that I reviewed and highly recommended last year: The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of Middle-Aged Mind by Barbara Strauch who thinks that “the middle-aged mind is vastly under-estimated.”

Another top-five book is The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain Sharp, which provides a macro view of the latest science, products and trends in brain health. … [Read more]

Women’s Health in Midlife: Scientists Present the Most Up To Date Research Findings at the NAMS Conference

Last week, I attended the annual conference of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), where 1500 attendees – physicians and scientists– gathered to hear the latest research findings concerning women’s health in midlife. The conference began appropriately with a full day devoted to hormone therapy:  what is known about the risks and benefits; the safety and impact of different delivery methods (transdermal vs. oral); the effects of
estrogen on mood and memory; and a look at the myths and facts about Bioidenticals.

Research presentations on subsequent days covered a wide range of health concerns including the possible link between hot flashes and cardiovascular disease; vaginal health, and hormone-free remedies for hot-flashes.  In the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing what I learned from these presentations as well as my conversations with physicians. For now, here are some of my initial take-aways:

1. Mention bio-identicals to 1500 gynecologists, as Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, Director of the Midlife Health Center, University of Virginia, did in her presentation and you’ll hear a loud, collective groan. Suzanne Sommers and even Oprah continue to be a flash point for this group. Many of their patients want what they have without really knowing what it is they’re asking for.
2. “Adrenal fatigue” gets the same response. “It’s not a medical term,” Dr. Pinkerton explained to me. “Adrenal insufficiency, on the other hand, is a diagnosable condition that you can test for. Often, she told me, her patients self-diagnose their “constellation of conditions” such as fatigue, lethargy, and cravings for sweets, as adrenal fatigue, based on what they’re reading on the internet or in popular books. … [Read more]

Managing Stress Will Ease Your Journey Through Menopause

Of the many menopausal women I see in my practice, stress is a very common theme.  Managing one’s stress reaction while working towards better work/life balance are extremely helpful to decreasing one’s menopausal symptoms and helps the body to safeguard and increase necessary energy needed for our “golden years.”  Aside from the question of “What can I do to get rid of these horrible hot flashes and night sweats?  I feel like I’m going crazy…”, I also am asked, “Could I have prevented this (menopausal symptoms) from being so horrible?”  The answer is yes. … [Read more]

Try Eastern Medicine’s Approach to Menopause and Aging Well

Menopause seems to creep up on us. It doesn’t start with a big bang. Rather, for most women, it starts like a whisper, in our mid to late-forties, with symptoms like insomnia, foggy brain, and sometimes depression.  So, you consult your physician who, after a 10-minute office visit, gives you prescriptions for Ambien to help you sleep better and maybe an anti-depressant for the mood swings. A year or two later, perhaps your blood pressure or cholesterol has risen to a level requiring medication, a common problem for midlife women. Now you’re up to four pills a day. And you’re still feeling really crummy.  Isn’t there a better way to take care of ourselves during the menopause transition? … [Read more]

Your Risk Factors for Stroke May Be Higher Than You Know

Do you know if you are at risk for a stroke?  If you think you’re not old enough to suffer this fate consider the fact that stroke, which is caused by a sudden loss of blood flow to the brain, is the number three cause of death and the leading cause of disability in the U.S.   The two most important risk factors are hypertension (high blood pressure), which damages arteries so they clog or burst more easily; and high LDL Cholesterol, a fatty substance in the blood, which builds up plaque on artery walls, causing arteries to narrow.   Because blood pressure and LDL cholesterol markers rise as estrogen declines, midlife women should be concerned.

So, to find out what you can do to reduce your risk of stroke, start by reading the April issue of Consumer Reports onHealth Newsletter , which devoted its cover story to new guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association for preventing a first stroke. As they explain, controlling your blood pressure and keeping your LDL cholesterol in a healthful range, through lifestyle changes and/or medication, can reduce your risks by a third.  I asked Dr. Orly Avitzur, a board-certified neurologist and medical advisor for Consumer Reports Health, how diet also influences our risk of stroke: … [Read more]

Paced Breathing Can Help with Hot Flashes

In an online discussion today about Menopause solutions, Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, a medical doctor and herbalist,  suggested three natural approaches that can help with common symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, and anxiety.
At the top of her list is paced breathing, which she said has been shown in randomized, controlled studies to be very effective in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes and night sweats. “Breath work can be so powerful for reducing anxiety as well,” she explained.  ”It quiets the sympathetic nervous system and enhances circulation and promotes a relaxation state.”  She recommends to her patients that they do breathing exercises two to four times daily:  breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds and then exhale slowly for 8. Do this four times a day. … [Read more]

Join an Online Chat with Medical Experts About Women’s Sexual Health in MidLife

The Chicago Tribune’s health reporter, Judith Graham, will be hosting an online chat tomorrow about older women’s sexual health with two panelists: Dr. Lauren Streicher (top photo), a gynecologistwith a particular interest and expertise in sexual health, menopause and alternatives to hysterectomies; and Sheryl A. Kingsberg, Ph.D., (bottom photo) a clinical psychologist and researcher with a special interest in female sexual function and thepsychological aspects of infertility and menopause.

If you have a question that you’ve been too embarrassed to ask, or didn’t know who to turn to for answers, this is your opportunity to submit your question and hear from the experts.  If you can’t make the chat, you can email Judith Graham with your question and check the archived transcript at a later date.

In searching the paper’s archive of earlier live health chats, I found a conversation with two experts on hormone therapy that you will find informative and helpful in understanding the benefits and risks of hormone supplementation.

Get Free Expert Advice on Menopause Solutions with a Leading Expert on Natural Remedies

Pharmaca, an integrative pharmacy, is hosting a free webinar on Menopause Solutions with Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, a recognized expert in herbal medicine and integrative approaches to women’s health. (She’s a trained herbalist AND a physician — a rare combination!) When you register for the April 6th session, you’ll have an opportunity to submit a question for her. I’ve heard Dr. Low Dog speak and if there’s anyone that can give you the straight talk on herbal remedies for menopause related problems such as insomnia or anxiety, she’s the one you want to hear from.  (See my 2009 interview with her here). … [Read more]

Menopause and Insomnia: Hear Expert Advice on a Holistic Approach to Better Sleep

If you’re like me and can’t remember the last time you slept four consecutive hours, you’ve probably tried a “natural” sleep remedy like L-Theanine, Kava, Gaba or a botanical like Valerian and Passionflower. The shelves of Integrative Medicine retailers like Pharmaca and medical centers such as The Institute of Health and Healing, located in San Francisco, are full of products that offer the chance of a good night’s sleep. But what really works for your type of sleep problem? And are they safe to experiment with? … [Read more]

The Real Culprits of Belly Fat

Belly Fat. We fret about it so much.  We do endless crunches, wear tight, abdominal body shapers, and take risky hormone therapy all in an effort to reclaim our circa 1980 bodies.  Is the solution as simple as eat less and exercise more and accept the transformation in our bodies that is a natural part of aging?  Here’s what Rebecca Hulem, “The Menopause Expert,” said to me in a recent email exchange on this topic.   Take it to heart.

It is so interesting to me that human nature is such that we are desperate to blame our “belly fat” on an imbalance of hormones. And the suggested cure is balancing hormones with bioidenticals. What happened to common sense; that as we age metabolism changes, body fat shifts, and it takes more exercise and fewer calories to maintain our desired 30 year old bodies. There are millions of women walking around with way too much body fat and nowhere near the age of  midlife. Endocrine hormones change too at midlife – like thyroid and cortisol from the adrenals – yet if tested the levels would look normal. So my opinion is the solution is much more complicated than just balancing hormones. Even Suzanne Somers takes a gazillion vitamins and works out like a maniac everyday to maintain her body and she stills looks like she is in midlife.  Sometimes accepting the change and then doing the best we can to stay in a healthy state is a gentler way to go. We women are way too hard on ourselves.