Recommended Reading

Among the top complaints about the menopause transition – besides sleep deprivation… and hot flashes… and foggy brain –  is weight gain and belly fat (aka “muffin top”).  But it seems to be a concern shared by women of all ages, if magazine covers and book sales are any indication.  Thirteen of the top 16 best-selling women’s health books on Amazon are about how to lose belly fat including the Flat Belly! Diet series of books which have claimed the top three spots on the list. [click to continue...]

I love spreading the word about good books, especially those that offer helpful, unbiased information about women’s health. The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife and Beyond: A No Nonsense Approach to Staying Healthy After 50 is one of those books.  It is authored by two physicians, one an internist, the other a gynecologist, both in their 50s and close friends since their med school days.  Their close rapport is reflected in the way they provide information and advice. They talk about their own experiences, share patient stories and conclude each chapter with a “chat” that makes you feel that you’re among friends who are dealing with the same mid-life changes as you. [click to continue...]

Dr. Brandith Irwin is a Seattle-Based dermatologist and the author of  The Surgery-Free Makeover: All You Need to Know for Great Skin and a Younger Face.  I recommend it to anyone who is concerned about skin changes that occur during the menopause transition.  Dr. Irwin’s book does a good job explaining the reason for these changes (dryness, wrinkles, etc.) and what, if anything you can do about them.

Of particular interest to me was her chapter on brown spots and age spots.  A cluster of them have formed a big dipper constellation on one of my hands and I asked her if there was anything I could do to make them vanish.  Since I know I’m not the only 50-something woman who has contemplated wearing gloves to keep my hands pretty (or is it too late?), I’ll share her advice here.  Dr. Irwin’s own website has lots of information that you’ll find helpful too. [click to continue...]

Oprah kicked off her first program in the New Year with a show about her year-long odyssey with health problems and weight gain.  She told viewers that everything in her life –and body –was humming along until she hit 53, when, as she put it, “life took over.” She had heart palpitations. Her blood pressure was creeping up.  She was having trouble sleeping and was so exhausted during her entire 53rd year that there had been times when she didn’t even want to go to work.  (sound familiar?) She stopped exercising and ate more. Her friend, the exercise and nutrition guru, Bob Greene, told her she seemed depressed.  “There’s a dullness about you - you’re not really there,” he recalled saying to her.

Though Oprah has mentioned in the past that Dr. Christiane Northrup’s book on Menopause was helpful in figuring out what was happening to her, and her website offers several links to articles on the topic, Oprah nevertheless attributed all of these symptoms to thyroid disease (cured now) and the fact that her life was out of balance.  But to me, and probably every other 50-something viewer who has been through the same experience, it sure sounds like Menopause. Unfortunately, she didn’t utter the M word once during the one-hour show. What a missed opportunity to educate millions of women! [click to continue...]

When it comes to sage advice about menopause, Dr. Christiane Northrup is the queen bee.  Her book, The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change,” published two years ago, still tops Amazon’s list of more than 28,000 titles on the subject. Her new book, The Secret Pleasures of Menopause, set for release next week, already ranks at #11 on this list, and that’s before a publicity tour.

Dr. Northrup obviously fills a need for education about the physical changes women experience in mid-life and guidance for how to cope with them.  But I have to admit, I was skeptical about yet another book about Menopause from Dr. Northrup.  After several books and PBS specials on the subject, is there any ground left to cover?  And what pleasures of menopause can she possibly be referring to? [click to continue...]

We’ve created clever euphemisms to describe it – like muffin top, mid-life bulge, and a thickening waist. But however you want to refer to belly fat, it’s an unfortunate fact of life for most women in mid-life and getting rid of it is, as a friend of mine put it, like chiseling cement. [click to continue...]

Ripe: The Truth About Growing Older And The Beauty Of Getting On With Your Life by Janet Champ and Charlotte Moore, is not a typical book about menopause. There are no chapters on what to do about hot flashes, nor advice about losing weight. It’s more about how we handle the changes that life, age and time do to us. It’s truthful, thought-provoking and clever, which is why you won’t want to keep it tucked away with your other books. [click to continue...]

I came across a relatively new book on women’s health by Nieca Goldberg, M.D., a physician in New York City who is the medical director of NY University’s Women’s Heart Program. “Dr. Nieca Goldberg’s Complete Guide to Women’s Health” focuses on women over 35 and I have to say it’s one of the better books out there for a number of reasons.

Using case studies from her own practice, she does a particularly good job of explaining the changes that most women experience in mid-life to one degree or another (i.e. weight gain, changes in skin quality, vision and joint pain), and the problems you’re likely to bring to your physician’s attention. And that’s where she begins: how to choose the right doctor and how to be a good patient. [click to continue...]

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. [click to continue...]