Women, O, pause! The book
If you’ve ever visited the ‘About’ section, you know that a key reason I started this blog was that I took a look around the interwebz to see what was being written about menopause and it gave me “pause.” I felt that there were voices that were being ignored or talked down to. And, I felt that the information was too limiting, too medical, not broad enough.
Hence, when I was approached by the publicity folks at Planned Television Arts/Ruder Finn to examine a new self-help book on menopause: Womenopause: Stop Pausing and Start Living (Authors Lovera Wolf Miller MD and David C Miller, MD), I thought, “sure, why not?”
Womenopause has an interesting approach in that it encourages women to be proactive rather than reactive to menopause. This philosophy is one that I’ve long ascribed to because I do believe that prevention is often the best medicine. In fact, when younger women tell me that this blog is not for them, I usually tell them that there are steps that they can take now to prevent some of the challenges that accompany the transition, such as weight gain/redistribution, bone loss and heart disease.
Moreover, I love that the authors acknowledge menopause as a milestone, not for its finality but for the fact that is simply another stage that “transforms women within the context of an already convoluted life and within the complexities of a marriage and/or dynamic relationships.” I love that Womenopause offers thorough, readable information about the processes that are going on in a woman’s body to cause various symptoms of menopause, an area that I’ve been hesitant to approach simply because I feel that there is a lot of good information out there, if you know where to look (for example, check out the Flashfree Blogroll on the home page). And I applaud the authors for their inclusion of real-life cases.
However, this is where my love affair with the book ends and the questions begin.
The authors of Womenopause ask their readers to chart their baseline symptoms and basic health and then record their course through four weeks using something they have named the ‘ωScore.’ Theoretically the goal is to help identify health problems, for example, the severity and emotionality of hot flashes, sexual or skin issues or sleep problems to raise awareness and potentially, spark conversations with their healthcare practitioners. Each of these areas is thoroughly discussed in the book in both a serious and thoughtful fashion, accompanied by an attempt at a lighter side. Although I think that records can help identify issues and promote helpful dialogue, I know that personally, I don’t want to take a quiz, keep a journal or score a “hot dread.” Huh? Hot dread is defined as emotional components – aura and anxiety, that may accompany a hot flash. The overall tone of the Womenopause interactive program — “fit, feminine and fabulous in four weeks,” feels a wee bit touchy feelie, “woo woo” to me, and frankly, when I am night sweating or flashing, I’m really not feeling my fabulosity or my femininity. As I’ve mentioned time and again, this ain’t no tropical vacation and I’m not really interested in ‘Menopauseland,’ the theme park.
When it comes to physical information, Womenopause is truly, a great guide. However, buyer beware! The majority of solutions to the common problems of menopause are medically/pharmaceutically-based and in fact, the authors repeatedly dismiss alternative and complementary therapies as unproven and no better than placebo. As someone who is well-versed in reading and analyzing data, and who has devoted the past two years to examining and sharing the evidence behind alternatives to hormone replacement, I take great issue with this approach and it makes me pause; by not taking adequate time to thoroughly explore studies on alternative approaches, the authors have truly done a huge disservice to women who are hungry for information and need to be empowered to make the right decision for themselves, even if that decision does not involve HRT. Moreover, for a book that devotes more than on thorough discussion to sexual desire and other menopausal issues, I am very surprised not to find Christiane Northrup, MD, listed in the Recommended Books section.
Overall, I would encourage readers of this blog to take a look at Womenopause, with the full understanding that this may not be your cup of tea. It certainly is not mine. However, if you are looking for concise medical information about the changes that are occurring in your body during the transition, and a wee smattering of helpful advice, Womenopause is a great resource. Just be mindful that fab, fabulous and fit in four weeks sounds like a dream, not a reality.
Tell me, what are your favourite resources or reads?
[Disclosure: I was not paid to review Womanopause. However, the publicity folks did send me a free copy of the book.]
Read MoreWednesday Bubble: The “De’s” have it
This week’s Bubble is truly straight out of bubble-land. Flashing? There’s a drink for that. Not on your game? There’s a drink for that. Finding that you can’t handle the demands of daily life? There’s a drink for that too?
Sigh.
Yes ladies, you can ‘deFlash,” deBug” and “deCompress” with EYL – Enrich your Life drinks.
Look, I’m a huge supporter of alternative therapies, Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbal remedies, etc, so long as they are thoroughly studied. But time and again, we see enriched nutritional products that are long on promises and short on delivery. And while functional foods — foods that deliver more than nutritional benefits — are certainly the wave of the future, I do believe that these foods need regulation and evidence behind them. Japan may be one of the few countries that actually regulates functional foods.
So before you spend your hard-earned dollars on drinking your flashes away, why not do some research and see which alternatives actually pack a powerful punch beyond their marketing claims?
The “De’s?” How about “deceptive?”
Read MoreLooking for the Big Sleep?
Those of you who are going through hormonal shifts, night sweats or hot flashes knows exactly what I’m talking about. Sleep. Sleep, the elusive gold ring that plagues many of us going through the transition. How many sheep have you counted this evening? Or last night? Or last week? Heck, I’m ready to start my own version of Farmville. Any takers?
Experts say that as many as 63% of postmenopausal women have insomnia. Frankly, I’m tired.
So, before you let another sleepless, toss and turn type of night go by, you might want to pay attention: isoflavones may just take away the awakenings that go bump in the your night. Say what?! Mind you, this is a very small study, enlisting only 38 menopausal women. However, I can dare to dream (or think about dreaming), can’t I? Participants were selected on the basis of their sleep complaints, meaning that they had to have difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, or constantly experience nonrestorative, insufficient sleep to avoid fatigue and lack of alertness during the day. They were given a lecture about sleep hygiene, menopausal symptoms and general healthcare and then had a general checkup, after which time, they were asked to take an 80 mg soy isoflavone (estrogen-like plant compounds tablet (containing mostly of a type of soy isoflavone called genistein) or a sugar tablet daily for four months. Thereafter, they were assessed for sleeping habits, general complaints and any changes in their condition.
The researchers say that not only did use of isoflavones decrease the frequency of moderate and severe insomnia in the women studied by more than 60%, but they also increased sleep efficiency, that is, the degree of alertness the women felt the day following a night of sleep and their ability to perform everyday activities and feel good while doing it. They attribute improved sleep patterns to a significant decline in the number and intensity of hot flashes.
There are several unanswered questions left by this information, such as whether or not soy will have this effect on a majority of women (remember, the study was small), how soy might affect lifelong insomniacs who also have menopausal symptoms, and if other soy compounds might provide equal benefits. I’d love to see more on this before drawing any conclusions. However, it’s good to know that eventually, tossing and turning might be a thing of the past.
Want more information on sleep and menopause? Check out these posts and please, share your experiences as well!
Read MoreMenopausal symptoms? Treat them with Ease…
Or not.
I just wind of a new product called EaseFemin™, a supplement with a proprietery formulation that the manufacturers are calling IsoFactor™. These specific isoflavones and flavare derived from a unique Brazilian red propolis, which is a resin collected by honeybees. Evidently, propolis has been used in folk medicine since around 300 BC and clinical data show that it is non-toxic.
Theoretically, Ease-Femin™ taken once-daily, addresses irritability, hot flashes and night sweats. Moreover, an antioxidant has been added to fight cellular damage caused by free radicals circulating in the bloodstream.
Does this sound a bit too good to be true?
I would say, yes.
My first concern is that I did a search on propolis. And as an isoflavone compound, it’s not been studied extensively in menopause or any other condition. The second concern I have lies with isoflavones themselves. As I’ve written of late, it seems that only specific isoflavone compounds, namely S-Equol and daidzein, appear to have any sort of demonstrable effect on hormonal symptoms. So I am not entirely convinced about whether or not this is an exciting new avenue or the promise of spending money ($36.99 a month) for a product that won’t do much of anything.
This is another case of buyer beware. The research simply isn’t there to back the use of the product. At least not yet.
Read MoreWednesday Bubble: protein, weight and bones – keep it in balance
Weight loss improves health, right? Well, yes, and no. Because it turns out that weight loss also increases the rate that the bone loses density, so in midlife and menopause, weight loss can be a double-edged sword.
In two recent studies published in the online edition of the Journal of Gerontology, researchers are reporting that women already at risk for osteoporosis due to their age and menopausal status may want to pay attention to what they eat when they try to lose weight. In fact, consuming large amounts of protein derived primarily from animal sources, e.g. lean meats like pork, beef and chicken, may negatively impact bone density and in turn, further increase osteoporosis risk.
Here’w what you need to know:
- In the first study, women between the ages of 43 and 80 reduced their daily caloric intake by 750 calories. Over three months, about half of the women ate meat-free diets that derived about 18% of their daily protein from vegetarian, dairy and egg sources and other half, ate diets comprised of about 30% protein derived from lean pork.
- In the second study, women between the same ages consumed about 1,250 calories a day in five meals over nine weeks. While the bulk of these calories were from a vegetarian diet, women were asked to eat either 250 calories of carbs daily (shortbread cookies, sugar coated chocolates), chicken (plus 10 grams of butter) or the equivalent in fat/saturated fat but as beef.
- Although women in the first study lost about the same amount of weight (~19 lbs), those eating animal protein has a 1.4% greater loss of bone mass. Likewise, in the second study, all the women lost weight but those women eating animal protein sources lost significantly more bone mass compared to women eating carbs.
- Women in both of these studies were considered overweight or obese based on their body-mass indices (BMI).
Importantly, many of the today’s popular diets for weight loss (e.g. South Beach, Atkins) emphasize increased intake of protein over carbohydrates (although the former also emphasizes good versus bad (i.e. glycemic index) carbs. What this means is that while you are cutting back, you may also be losing more bone mass than you normally would with weight loss.
Consequently, one of best approaches for women who are going through menopause and trying to keep the weight off may be to increase the daily amount of so-called “good fats,” which as my friend Mollie Katzen, suggests should include nuts, avocados and fatty fish like salmon. Many of these foods are also good sources of protein and while not necessarily working to build bone, may stave off bone mass loss while you are trying to lose a few pounds or maintain your current weight.
At the end of the day, it’s all about balancing the good, the bad and the ugly. Our skeleton is fragile and it’s critical that we do all we can to keep it in one piece.
Want to learn more? I’ve dedicated several posts to osteoporosis, bone loss and bone health.
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