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Aging Well

How to Feel Better About Growing Older: Your Story Isn’t Over, It’s Just Getting Good!

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How to feel happier about aging

Live. Love. Laugh… Then Laugh a Little More!

First of all, allow me to say that if you’re feeling unhappy, sad, or in any way negative about growing older or looking older, there’s nothing wrong with that! We feel how we feel and we are entitled to these feelings. So when I try to make you feel happier, I am not (in any way) suggesting you are wrong to feel sad or unhappy. I just want you to be happy – I like your smile.

The loss of youth, a youthful appearance, and of being able to do all we once did can be unsettling. In fact, isn’t it the last two things that get to us the most? I don’t know about you, but the number doesn’t bother me… even when I hit the fifties, I didn’t mind the number. I mean a number is just that… a number. I do mind not being able to walk as far or jog like I used to. I mind not being able to eat certain foods or eat late into the evening like I once did.

And boy oh boy, did I mind the peculiar things that began to happen on my arms (there used to be more tone and definition, if memory serves!), face, and (Lord have mercy) neck.

Seriously… why does the neck turn on a person so quickly?! The one body part it’s almost impossible to cover, camouflage, or paint?!?

We all have moments, don’t we? I almost never stress over appearance, I do my nails, spritz on my perfume, fluff my curls, apply makeup, ask my neck, “Why, though?” and get on with life. I have always (even as a teenager) cared 100 percent more about what was inside a person more than what was outside, including myself.

Whether it’s me or someone else, I am infinitely attracted to a great sense of humor, a love of life, a non-judgmental attitude, and a personality that draws you in its direction. We live in a world that focuses entirely too much on appearance (thanks a lot social media, selfies, and fad diets). How much better would it be if we praised personalities, compassion, being well-read, etc.

NOTHING in the world wrong with wanting to be healthy, look your best, and feel your best – but what’s going on INSIDE is so much more important and I’m willing to die on that hill.

If you’re reading this, odds are you’re feeling a little (or a lot) down about aging. Whether it was something you saw in the mirror (it was the neck, wasn’t it?) or something you weren’t able to do as well as you once were, you may simply have a case of the “sads.”

I want very much to see if I can help you get past the sads and dive head-first into the glads like a puppy in a pile of leaves.

Below are a few tips and tricks of the trade I’ve learned in the fabulous fifties (they really are fabulous in many ways):

  1. Keep a sense of humor – it will serve you well! I’ve listed this first for a reason – I think it may just be the most important one. Having a sense of humor and being able to see the humor in most situations is vital throughout life, but never more so than in the golden years (50-100+).  When you’re laughing, you aren’t ignoring things that bother or bug you (more about those in a minute), you’re simply letting them know you will NOT be brought down by them. You will NOT allow them to trample on your joy or let the air out of your happiness. Laughing doesn’t just feel good, it is healthy for your body and mind. I highly, highly, highly recommend watching The Golden Girls and (if colorful language doesn’t offend you) the Grumpy Old Men movies. They’re hilarious and will absolutely remind you to laugh. The Golden Girls could actually be prescribed therapy for us women who are growing older. They wear it so well and have so much fun with life, it reminds us that we can too!
  2. Eat right, sleep right, and keep your doctor’s appointments. I want to see you happy, but I also want to see you healthy. Some people get a certain age and they do all they can to avoid doctors. Horrible idea! Getting a great checkup could make a world of difference in how you feel. So very often, someone feels “off” or “not quite themselves” and bloodwork shows that all they need is a little more Vitamin D or Iron. Both of these make a whole world of difference in how you feel.  I’ve also found that Magnesium is something else that helps a great deal. Be sure to ask your doctor about each of these. Also, be sure you’re eating right and getting enough sleep. Both are vital to looking and feeling your best.
  3. Address those things that bug you! If you don’t like something about yourself (weight, hair, skin… whatever), research ways to improve it and get to work. Once you start working on something, you feel instantly better – long before you see even a hint of improvement, you feel a world better.
  4. Don’t focus on what LEFT… focus on what REMAINS. If you’ve suffered a loss in relationships, family member, health, a pet, home, business, or you feel like you’ve lost a piece of yourself, try very hard not to focus too much energy on what you have lost (or even perceive that you’ve lost). Focus, instead, on what or who remains. It’s a trick many use when dealing with an empty nest. They go from focusing on the child or children who had the audacity to leave the nest (how dare they grow up?!) and they focus on who and/or what remains. When you feel every bit of your age, try to switch your focus to the fact that you’re still bright, still funny, and (on some days) even downright sassy. Don’t spend too much time looking at those gray hairs… look, instead, at how your eyes still sparkle. It sounds simple, but it is absolutely therapeutic. Focus on what remains. Focus on what remains. Focus on what remains.
  5. Do not look to the future with fear or sadness, look instead at the life you’ve lived with awe and gladness! Think of the love, the laughs, the things you’ve seen, and the things you’ve done. Your life is a wonderful story and it is in NO WAY over yet! Heck, the best chapters may still lie ahead.

I don’t want to keep you much longer, I want you to get out there and enjoy your wonderful life, but I’ll just leave you with this. The next time you’re thinking anything like…

  • “I can’t do this, I’m too old…”
  • “I will never be okay with how I look..”
  • “What is with these creaking knees?”

… I want you to think back on your life. I want you to name times when you were your own hero.  Did you overcome cancer, a gallbladder operation, an especially bad car wreck, or a scary trip to the emergency room? Have you had to say goodbye (for now!) to your mom, dad, husband, wife, or other loved one at a funeral home? Did you have a dream home you had to drive away from… or close a business you worked half your life for? Think of the times you’ve had to step up, be tougher than you ever thought possible, and come walking out of the rubble… maybe even limping at first. Now tell yourself, “I’ve lived through the worst. This will be a cakewalk.”

Be your own hero. Hey, you’ve done it before… you’re good at this!

Make each moment count double and stay in the fight! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

How to feel happier about aging

Your Story Isn’t Over… It’s Just Getting Good!

Essential Oils for Sore Feet (EVEN Plantar Fasciitis)

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Cute Sandals

A Tale of “Super Cute Sandals” Leading to “Anything But Cute” Foot Pain!

As I said a while back on the Self Help Blog, I have fallen in love with essential oils. I’ve always been a HUGE fan of aromatherapy but am fairly new to the world of essential oils.

Trust me, I’m making up for lost time!

Years of living every single day of summer in “super cute” sandals and “comfy” flip flops has led to recurring Plantar Fasciitis. Talk about painful. If you’ve never had this horrible foot condition, please do all you can to never invite it into your life. PAINFUL! Annoyingly, it will often go away for a while, only to return. Check out the best flip flops for plantar fasciitis.

Recently, after a 2-3 year absence, mine returned with a vengeance – in both feet, no less! I turned to essential oils to see if they’d make it more bearable. I’ve found a few that have proven very helpful for me.

  1. Peppermint Essential Oil. Peppermint essential oil (my “go to” for headaches and stiff necks) is helpful for several reasons when it comes to relieving pain – It increases circulation and is also a natural pain reliever. If you have muscle pain of any kind, it is also wonderful when it comes to stopping muscle spasms.
  2. Rosemary Essential Oil.  Rosemary is a new oil in my arsenal but I absolutely love it. Like Peppermint Oil, Rosemary oil relieves pain – EVEN arthritis pain.
  3. Lavender Essential Oil. Lavender does more than just relax your mind, it relaxes your body and – when it comes to pain – this is a glorious thing. While I use lavender essential oil in many ways, I actually turn to Lavender Bath Salts for soaking my feet. Heavenly!

You can use the essential oils by adding 5 drops to warm water and soaking your feet. When I don’t want to be confined to the bathroom tub or sing, I simply soak a washcloth in the essential oil water and wrap my foot in the rag (after ringing it out, of course). Wrapping a grocery bag around the wrapped foot keeps it from drying out too fast. The wrap is good (and downright delightful) for about 15-20 minutes.

This morning, while searching for a few new bottles of Peppermint Essential Oil on Amazon, I came across something BRILLIANT that I plan to stock up on: Peppermint Essential Oil Roll On! This will be the most effective way to apply Peppermint Essential oil to my feet (as well as my forehead when a headache strikes). The link I just used goes to a two-pack (which is the same, or even less, price as many single packs). I want the 2 pack because one can stay at home and I can keep the other in my purse to keep with me at all times. If you’ve ever tried to apply essential oil while in public, you know all to well how cool these roll ons are! There are even Lavender Essential Oil Roll Ons available.

Seriously, my world just shifted!

I’m doing more research on natural foot pain relief and will post more information as it is uncovered. In the meantime, take good care of your feet. They’ll settle the score in the years to come if you don’t.

Doing Away With the “Permanence” Mindset at Any Age

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Never Too Late Quote Graphic

Whether you’re green behind the ears, just graduated and eager to begin your new life as a hard-working business person — or maybe you’ve been in the workforce longer than most college grads have even been alive, chances are you’ve felt the weight of mental and physical exhaustion on your back. From being hunched over a textbook in the library, hunched over a computer in the office, or hunched over a hot stove cooking dinner for the family, you can likely pinpoint the moment you first felt “old.”

As we all know, aging is an inevitable fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be an unpredictable, scary one. While aging can indeed be a cruel mistress, there are so many methods of setting her back, of keeping her placated before she turns on you. Rather than punishing you for your advanced years, you can always appease her for longer, more youthful years, despite the changing of months on the calendar. Going back to school as a non-traditional student, making a sudden career change, pursuing new hobbies — nothing scares aging more than change.

First and foremost, there are the obvious side effects of aging, particularly visual ones. Perhaps lately you’re finding that your coworkers suddenly have to raise their voices around you — or maybe you have to address a hearing problem yourself, in a close friend you’ve known since high school who spent her formative years shrieking in glee every night with a drink in her hand. Maybe your memory isn’t quite as good as it used to be, maybe your grip is a little shakier than you remember.

All of these things are to be expected, but they don’t have to be things that hold you back.

Particularly when you’re still an active member of the workforce, age should be the last thing to hold you back. Of course, there are always things you can do to help fight the side effects of growing older; things such as regular exercise and a healthy diet, which has been shown to decrease the prevalence of dementia in older generations, as well as encouraging an overall positive attitude and outlook on life.

For some, retiring at the “suggested” age either isn’t feasible or perhaps isn’t actually a desire for those who love what they do for a living. Whether that be careers in writing, art, mathematics, or engineering, many people were blessed in the career path they wanted, and now get to reap the benefits of enjoying every day at work.

If you aren’t one of those people, though, it’s important to remember that it’s never too late to make a change in your life, either — if you always really wanted to be an artist, or a doctor, or a chef, or an astronaut … what’s stopping you?

Maybe you’ve been working at a desk your entire life, but realize you’d rather go back to school because charity work and other public service roles would better suit your career or life goals. Maybe you’d prefer to be in a sunlit painting studio all day, reminiscing on the trip to took to France in your earlier years. Maybe you’d even prefer the socialization that working in an energetic office space brings.

Whether it’s your age, your finances, or the thought of escaping your comfort zone, the idea of permanence is a dangerous one. Whether you’re 18 or 80, the thought that you only have a few singular choices in life, or that you have to follow a certain timeline in order to be “successful,” is how people end up unhappy with their lives. The sooner people realize that, the sooner they can turn their lives around into something they’d rather have or be, even if that “something” was never on the radar until recently.

The number of non-traditional students seeking higher education in the US continues to grow every year. Whether they be attending in person, or online, there are more adult students signing up for classes every year. More and more adults are realizing the dangers of a mindset revolving around permanence.

Maybe your goals don’t include returning to school — even just applying yourself with a new zeal into your work is certain to boost your mood and your overall self of being. Maybe your productivity has slipped in the past few years — what’s stopping you from tightening your belt, and going after it wholeheartedly again? Even if you don’t seek any promotions, or a raise in pay, simply seeking out what once inspired you to work hard is enough of a rewarding endeavor in itself. Even just simple day to day things, like developing new, positive habits in your work or home life, are certain to boost your mood and self esteem.

So, whether you’re just settling into a new career you hope to be your one and only or you’ve been working hard at it for decades now, there are so many ways to keep the inspiration and the spark alive. Dedicate yourself to the things you love, don’t be afraid to pursue others you expect you’d love, and make sure to put yourself and your own mental health first, before all else. Throw out the mindset of permanence, and you’re destined for a long life full of positive motivation and happy memories.


Why You Should Seek Out Reliable Sources of Healthy Information

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Bulletproof Diet Book and Cookbook
The Bulletproof Diet (book and cookbook)

The more you know… Remember the series of ads that ran on tv a while back (on NBC, I believe). Heck, they may still run, I don’t know. Our television seldom ventures from baseball, the History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, and TVLand (Come on, how’re you expected to get through the week without Gunsmoke and Andy Griffith?!)

I was talking with my youngest daughter, Stephany, recently about seeking out information and hunting down truth. We were talking, at the time, about the big brouhaha surrounding “fake news.” While we both agree that news sources are entirely in too big of a hurry to “break news” before double-checking their facts AND while we certainly feel… well, KNOW… that the media’s number one goal is sensationalism and trying to get a reaction…. ALL the blame cannot be placed on them.

Individuals who take a news item or see a picture without actually looking into the situation (or date of said picture, even) are possibly even more to blame.

After all, they (the media) have an agenda – get ratings, sell papers – we don’t. Our only motive should be to educate ourselves and keep ourselves abreast of what’s going on around us.  If we take one person’s word for something, without taking a few minutes to verify what we’ve read, we’re failing to “adult” properly.

What’s worse is that many people will take a sensationalist bit of news and will run with it – spreading the false story everywhere. That’s not just stupid – it’s dangerous.

I don’t want to bring up any particular cases where this has happened, but if you live in America (as I do), you’ve seen a DANGEROUS amount of this over the past few years.

Yes, the media carries a large amount of the blame, but so do we when we don’t look into something before shooting off our mouths on social media or anywhere else.

The more you know… also rings true on a more personal level.  If you want to eat healthier, live longer, avoid as many diseases as possible, and feel better – you have to put in a little work seeking out information. Of course, you have to do more than just read… you have to respond.

My personal suggestion is to find several reputable sources and read everything you can get your hungry eyes on.  Why several? Again, it’s kind of like the media – if you limit yourself to one source of information, you are completely at their mercy. However, if you have multiple sources who are in agreement, you’re in a pretty good position!

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Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers
Tox-Sick by Suzanne Somers

For example,many of my own personal sources of health information have been touting the benefits of healthy fat in your diet lately. Their information is all in agreement and I feel confident about my big juicy grass-fed burgers.

Naturally, when you follow a nutritionist, doctor, or health-field researcher, you may not agree with everything they say and you certainly won’t follow their every suggestion to the letter – but each step you take toward a healthier you is greatly beneficial. For example, some of my favorite sources… ahem… would be positively aghast if they saw me eating my beloved gluten-free fried catfish but this gal has zero intention of stepping away from it. Zero. As far as I’m concerned, fried catfish is the fifth food group. However, I do follow their teachings and preachings and eat crazy amounts of veggies and fruits and have cut just about all added sugar out of my world.

But… yes… I’m clinging to my fried catfish.

Below are a few of my personal favorite websites and books for health information, listed in no particular order.

When you find your favorite websites and authors, subscribe to their e-mail newsletters, follow them on Twitter, and (by all means) read their books. Let them help you carve out a healthier you and a better life.

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Chopped Salad
My Beloved: A Huge Salad with My Crunchy Faves

When reading about a new “diet” (which is, more times than not, simply learning a healthier way to eat), don’t make any snap judgments. Give the process time and see where it takes you – you may be in for a shock.  This is exactly what happened to me with the Bulletproof Diet (you can read my initial review – Bulletproof Diet Book Review).  I happen to have a freaky little condition with my blood sugar. It’s low and, if I go too long without calories, I find myself in a world of hurt. The feeling defies description – but suffice to say it feels like you’re on death’s doorstep with one weak hand on the doorknob. Because of this, I didn’t believe I could actually make it through the morning with simply a “bulletproof coffee.” I believe I even say in my review that I “know” I won’t be able to do this.

Ha! I cannot explain the science behind it, but I am absolutely able to have my bulletproof coffee each morning without a typical breakfast and I am perfectly fine for hours. I’ve even gone all the way to lunch many times without even thinking about food… let alone stepping on doom’s doorstep.  You have to make the bulletproof coffee the way the author, Dave Asprey, says too, however. You can’t get creative or tricky. If you follow his instructions to the letter, you’re going to be amazed at the energy and lack of morning and mid-morning hunger you experience.  Let’s be honest, this could be a life-changer.

I guess I need to go edit that review sometime.

One more suggestion: When my oldest daughter, Emily, and I had to give up gluten years ago (health reasons), we didn’t have the downward mental spiral that a lot of people seem to have.  Sure there was a little shock at first, but there were no tears or overwhelming sadness. We didn’t really suffer from a feeling of loss and I believe it was primarily because we both focused on the foods we COULD eat instead of the ones we COULD NOT eat.

To this day, we don’t sit around and talk about the doughnuts or fast food meals we no longer have or the restaurants we can’t visit anymore. We talk about how cool Jimmy John’s is to have “Unwiches” and how amazing a big chopped chef salad is!

The same approach will help you in any endeavor to get healthy. Focus on the good foods (heroes) and turn your back on the bad (villains).  If you keep looking at and longing for the baddies, you’ll simply go right back to them.

Keep your eyes laser-focused on those veggies, smoothies, grass-fed hamburgers, mashed cauliflower with bacon, and baked salmon with compound butter.

Hope you have a beautiful Christmas or Hanukkah! Christmas is my favorite time of year – it’s a beautiful holiday and, who knows, I may eventually get all of my shopping and menu planning done… may! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

P.S. I am obsessed when it comes to salads. They’re the perfectly delicious and deliciously perfect way to “sneak” in a lot of the foods that make you healthier and to “up” your veggie count all at meal. My favorite salad is a chopped salad – although it takes longer to prepare, the fact that you get so many different veggies on one fork makes it the most scrumptious salad in my opinion.  Be sure you don’t ruin it all by tossing on unhealthy dressings, though.  Oddly enough, I’ve found that my favorite way to dress a chopped salad is simply to drizzle a little olive oil on top, splash on a little lemon juice, and then grind black pepper over the whole production. Trust me.. it’s Heavenly!


Review: Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution

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Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution
The following review of The Menopause Solution is a fairly lengthy one, but I hope you’ll stick with me. A copy of this great book was sent to me in exchange for telling you about the book. Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution has the potential to bring A LOT of women improved health, greater confidence, and deeper joy – and if that’s not reason enough to get excited about a book, nothing is!

I remember, while growing up, seeing much-loved women in my family go through something they’d sternly refer to as “the change.”  The sternness always seemed to imply, “Don’t ever come here… save yourself!”

As I got older, I noticed other women going through this change – a change that, by then, I knew by its given name, Menopause. I also noticed it wasn’t something you could, officially, save yourself from. Not if you lived long enough – which is, of course, the goal.

Menopause. That one word carries a lot of weight, doesn’t it. It’s almost as if it comes with its own soundtrack… similar to the shark’s approach in Jaws.  Kind of makes you wonder why ‘pause is part of the word. Pause? Pause from what?! It’s more like a stop, if you ask me. Menostop would’ve made a lot more sense.

Full disclosure – I experienced perimenopause and menopause at a very early age. I actually slid into menopause in my late 40’s. Before I get to my review of a must-have manual for menopause, Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution, I want to simply give my own quick experience(s) with perimenopause and menopause.  Why? To give hope to those of you headed in my direction – it’s not the end of the world, ladies.

In fact, about a year ago, I caught a doctor very much off guard. He asked, “You haven’t entered menopause yet, have you?” I replied, “Actually I have and I have nothing bad to say about it. We’re getting along just fine!” He laughed and looked pretty shocked – right before giving me a high-five.

My personal experience:

  • The year of “perimenopause” was more of a deal than actual menopause. I’d get uncommonly emotional over little things. Commercials would make me cry for a good 10 minutes.
  • No hot flashes. Thank God! I’d seen my mom struggle with these and I honestly prayed, off and on over the years, that I’d never succumb to their evil ways.
  • No difficulty sleeping.
  • No mood swings.
  • Weight gain? Oh, yes.  I found myself eating less than ever – yet I suddenly had the superhero ability to gain weight overnight. In places weight never dared to show up prior to menopause. While I was relieved not to experience the mood swings, interrupted sleep, or hot flashes – the fact that weight became harder than ever to lose or manage was a very unwelcome guest.

Did you know that, these days, we are spending 1/3 of our lives in menopause?! 1/3! It only makes sense that we should be on the lookout for what to expect and, even more importantly, what we can do about them when they show up on our doorstep.

One of the things I love most about Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution is the fact it acknowledges, respects, and adheres to a fundamental truth – one size does not fit all. I loathe books that come from a standpoint of, “This works for me… this will work for you.” No, no, and no. We are all different and we each require our own techniques, tweaks, diets, and “approaches” to menopause.

The author of The Menopause Solution, Stephanie S. Faubion, M.D., gets that as well as I’ve ever seen anyone get it and she delivers on the promise of the book’s title – a solution.

Confront menopause symptoms such as weight gain, mood swings, and low sex drive with clear advice from a trusted source.

Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution is the definitive guide to making your life change a positive one. Drawing on the latest information, leading women’s health expert Dr. Stephanie Faubion covers common questions, lifestyle strategies, and treatment options.

Unlike other books, Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution is comprehensive, easy to navigate, and authoritative.

Features include:

  • A complete look at what happens to your body before, during, and after menopause.
  • Up-to-date information on over-the-counter medications, nutritional supplements, and hormone therapy
  • Sidebars, lists, and summaries to make finding information a cinch

Dr. Faubion knows that what works for one woman doesn’t necessarily work for another. In approachable terms, she presents a balanced, unbiased overview of what to expect in midlife and beyond. You’ll find accurate information on perimenopause, premature menopause, menopause symptoms, long-term effects of estrogen loss, and a wide variety of therapies to enhance health.

Professional, accessible, and essential for any woman entering menopause, Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution offers everything you need to take charge of your own health and get the best care from your doctor.

As one of the nation’s leading experts on menopause who regularly treats women with menopause-related conditions, Dr. Faubion combines years of research into a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate reference tool for women seeking answers about the stages before, during, and after menopause.

Drawing on the latest research, Dr. Faubion debunks common myths and misconceptions, provides answers to everyday questions and offers practical lifestyle strategies and treatment options.

Did You Know?

  • An estimated 6,000 US women reach menopause every day.
  • By 2020, the number of women who will be older than 55 is estimated to total 46 million.
  • With increasing life expectancy, many women will spend up to 40% of their lives in the postmenopausal stage.
  • Half of women who reach age 50 will live to be at least age 80.
  • Menopause symptoms can last a decade or more. Although this seems discouraging, Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution offers priceless tips on how to either completely eliminate or “temper” the symptoms.
  • Many symptoms of menopause (including the infamous hot flashes) are brought on by personal “triggers.” Dr. Faubion helps you identify these triggers and shows you the escape route around them!
  • Weight gain is one of the most common symptoms or side-effects of menopause. Dr. Faubion explains WHY this is and clearly lays out what can be done about it.

Menopause and Your Heart

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women. One of my favorite chapters in The Menopause Solution is the one dealing with heart disease. Dr. Faubion cleared up a lot of questions I had in my own mind about menopause and its relationship with the heart.

From Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution:

Before menopause, women are less likely to have heart disease than are men of the same age. But once you enter menopause, your risk of heart disease increases significantly. Menopause itself doesn’t cause heart disease, but declining levels of estrogen may play a role. Estrogen is thought to have a protective effect on a woman’s blood vessels….

Going through menopause early has an even greater effect on your chances of developing heart disease. If you’ve experienced menopause between the ages of 40 and 45, your risk of heart disease doubles compared with that of women your age who haven’t yet gone through menopause.

All of this news might be unsettling, but you can do a great deal to reduce your risk of heart disease. Many of the most significant risk factors for heart disease are ones you can control.

The author goes on to clearly give you a course of action to prevent heart disease. It’s always encouraging to realize that we have a great deal of control over many things that could potentially harm us.

{Review Continued Below….}

Mayo Clinic The Menopause Solution
Knowledge is power and this book is filled with it.

Your Brain and Menopause

Another favorite chapter was the one dealing with the brain. Many times, over the past few years, when I lose a train of thought, I picture the man in the commercial with a fried egg – “This is your brain on drugs..” (hopefully you know the commercial, otherwise you’ll think I’m nuts right now). Instead of the man with the fried egg, I imagine myself standing in the middle of a field (definitely holding one of my cats) saying, “This is your brain on menopause…”

I’m nothing if not dramatic.

I was greatly relieved to read that this is very normal and that, in fact, almost every other woman experiences the same thing.

  • What IS the word I’m looking for?!?! (my personal solution is to simply make one up)
  •  What was the name of the actress who was “Vera” in the sitcom Alice? (I lost two hours of sleep one night – I refused to nod off until my brain found the missing file)
  • What was I about to say???
  • WHERE IS MY CELLPHONE?!?! (the lost cellphone is the new lost keys)

From The Menopause Solution:

It’s been shown that estrogen does indeed have an influence on key aspects of brain processing and metabolism. Multiple studies have been launched in an attempt to tease out the link between the hormonal fluctuations of menopause and the cognitive symptoms that commonly occur during this period…

The chapter goes on to detail what happens in the brain during aging and menopause, how hormones affect the brain and, most importantly, how to keep the brain healthy. You even learn how to cross-train your brain!

A Few Other Chapters in The Menopause Solution:

  • Taking Care of Your Body (hair problems/solutions, eyes, smile, skin – anti-wrinkle products are outlined and put into plain English – it’s easier to shop for something when you actually know what you should be looking for)
  • When Menopause Comes too Early
  • Embracing the Image in the Mirror
  • Finding Balance and Happiness
  • Keeping Your Bones Strong
  • Caring For Your Breasts
  • Hormones and Other Prescription Therapies
  • When You Can’t Sleep
  • Moods And You
  • Hot Flashes and Night Sweats
  • Body Changes from Head to Toe
  • And more…

I can’t say enough about this book. One of the biggest benefits I’ve gotten from this book is the realization that many things I experience are not rare and isolated. There’s a great, great, great comfort in recognizing your own story in other stories.

Especially when they’re accompanied by solutions and tips you can use to make YOUR story a better place in which to live.

If you are approaching menopause or already live with it on a first-name basis, I strongly urge you to grab a copy of Mayo Clinic: The Menopause Solution – it is a life-changer and sanity-preserver.