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
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. … [Read more]
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! … [Read more]
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? … [Read more]
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. … [Read more]
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.
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. … [Read more]
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.
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.”
For an explanation of Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) — a term that the FDA does not recognize — and the issues that led to the FDA’s action this week against certain compounding pharmacies, see the agency’s latest update, “Bio-Identicals: Sorting Myths from Facts.”
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
