Resources

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists  has recently launched a website for women who are approaching or going through menopause.  The website and the companion magazine, Pause, covers a lot of territory – from hot flashes to urinary incontinence.  The section on Menopause will likely be most helpful to women in the peri-menopause stage, who are still trying to figure out what’s happening to them.

However, there are sections on the site about Tests & Procedures, Conditions or Health Problems,  Cancer, and Your Annual Check-Up (about health screening tests women over 45 should have annually) that are all informative and important to know about.

If you’d like some help finding a blog that’s informative and relevant to your interests, check out this list of 100 Best Blogs on Boomer Health.   It’s always nice when someone does all of this research for you and even provides links, so be sure to bookmark it for future reference.The list is organized into 15 different categories and the section on blogs about women’s health includes this one on menopause (#35) and several that I follow and have included on my blogroll, including Aging Fabulous, and Our Bodies our Blog.

One blog that I’ve recently discovered that isn’t on this list is The Perimenopause Blog.  Women just beginning the mid-life transition will find this site particularly helpful, so if you know any 40-something women who are complaining about insomnia, weight gain and other unexpected changes to their bodies, send them to this blog for help.

Do you have a favorite blog that’s helped you on your mid-life journey?

There’s no shortage of information about Menopause on the web.  When you Google the “M” word, more than 13 million results show up.  If you search “symptoms of menopause,” you’ll whittle the list to just over 1 million, but that’s still a lot of information to sift through.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was someone who would review all the health sites and just give us the most relevant, high quality results? Neatly organized, of course. If that appeals to you then check out Organized Wisdom, a search site for health information that’s distinguished by its “hand-crafted, doctor guided” approach. [click to continue...]

In my previous blogpost, I introduced Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, a highly respected herbalist and family medicine physician. She’s on the faculty of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, and serves as its Director of The Fellowship, a two-year course for medical professionals “that teaches the techniques and principles of integrative medicine.”

Founded by Dr. Andrew Weil,  the Center defines integrative medicine as “healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle. It emphasizes the therapeutic relationship and makes use of all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.” You can learn more about the defining priciples of integrative medicine on their website. [click to continue...]

I recently wrote about a new home test kit that you can use to monitor your vitamin D levels.  Having an adequate amount of vitamin D is so important to your health that a worldwide public health campaign, called  D*action, has been launched to motivate people to take 2000 IU/day of  “the sunshine vitamin” to achieve adequate levels. [click to continue...]

I’ve always admired Consumer Union – the non-profit publisher of the magazine you know so well – for providing unbiased, fact-based information about the products we use in our daily lives – from vacuum cleaners and televisions to cars and food products.  I’ve relied upon their ratings for just about every major purchase I’ve made.

Last year, they expanded their research and ratings to include treatment approaches for 200+ conditions, prescription drugs  (see the one for Menopause shown below) and natural medicines; nutrition, wellness and fitness product ratings; and even health care services like nursing homes.  They also launched the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center for rating hospitals and other health-care providers.

In describing the mission of Consumer Reports Health, they state; “as consumers become increasingly involved in their own health decisions and turn to the Web for answers to their questions, they need unbiased, accurate, evidenced-based information to compare their options and to make appropriate choices for themselves and their families.” [click to continue...]

There’s a new brochure, available online, that offers detailed information on non-hormonal treatment options that may alleviate menopausal symptoms. It was developed jointly by the The University of Calgary (Canada) and Alberta Health Services to help women make sound decisions about complementary and alternative treatment options.   It’s an excellent resource for any one who is seeking straight-forward, unbiased information and it can be downloaded at no cost! [click to continue...]

I’ve just registered for the second BHRT World Summit, which begins this Monday and continues for two weeks.  The (Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy) Summit consists of a series of 10  one-hour video seminars that you can view online, at your convenience either on the date of broadcast or anytime during the Summit period, depending on the admission package you select. Costs begin at a reasonable $29 for access to all ten seminars and includes a free one-year subscription to Life Extension Magazine.

This will be a good opportunity to learn more about bio-identical hormones as well as other therapies that can improve the quality of your life as you age.

Here is the list of seminars that will be presented over a two week period.  A complete description of each seminar along with registration information can be found on the BHRT World Summit website:

• Peri-menopause & Menopause: Gracefully & In Good Health
• Clinical Uses of Insulin & Growth Hormone
• SottoPelle Therapy & How it Can Help You
• Get your Diabetes Under control
• Osteoporosis- Preventing & Reversing
• Natural Methods for Vaginal Health & Comfort
• Energy Medicine, Hormones & Health
• Menopause: A Journey Toward Self Love
• The Secret of Pueraria Mirifica Root
• Did you know that your Digestive Tract Can Be Your Biggest Drain on your Body’s Hormones?

If you do tune in beginning Monday, please let others know your opinion of it by leaving comments below.

An interesting article was just published on the Mayo Clinic website about why it’s so important to control the amount of excess abdominal fat that women (more than men) experience with age.   The authors explain that “it’s not just the stuff out front that you can grab with your hand – but it’s the deeper fat you can’t see that’s really a cause for concern.”  [click to continue...]