What we eat is hardly a new idea, but many, if not all, of the menopause symptoms can be addressed, reduced and even eradicated by altering our dietary habits.
There are foods which seem to trigger or intensify certain menopausal symptoms and transversely there are foods which, when added to our regular diet, help to relieve symptoms.
Eat a diet loaded with plant foods, especially fresh vegetables and sprouting seeds, normal seeds and all nuts except peanuts. These contain phytosterols, naturally occurring nutrients that have a hormone-balancing effect. You’ll also get the fiber you need to keep your heart healthy and the nutrients that will encourage a strong, vibrant response to menopause. Flaxseeds have excellent sources of phytoestrogens. Add these to your diet, every day.
Essential fatty acids protect the heart and promote smooth, radiant skin. Good sources are cold-water fish like salmon, cod, and tuna (beware of mercury pollution), as well as flaxseeds.
Vitamin E regulates estrogen production. Make sure to include cold-pressed nuts and seed oils in your diet, perhaps as a dressing for a green salad.
Consume 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds daily. They contain lignans, which are phytonutrients that have estrogen-balancing properties and that lower cholesterol. Take each serving with 10 ounces of water.
Drink a glass of clean, quality water every two waking hours. You’ll flush out toxins and replace the fluid you may have lost during hot flashes.
A balanced, healthy diet is conducive to optimum health at any time of life, but it is especially important for women going through the menopause.
Eating healthy will help control the weight gain and contribute positively to your wellbeing, but what’s more, there are specific foods which seem to alleviate many of the symptoms of menopause.
The Epigenetic Myth-Buster Chart – your 5-point blueprint and lifelong passport to the happy realm of total weight control and permanent residence in the Land of Fitter and Leaner
Let’s compare the myths and truths of being fitter and leaner!
CMR Conventional Medical Recommendation.
DEFINITION: The old view of what is supposed to be good for you.
SPS Super Paradigm Shift.
DEFINITION: The revolutionary new advances in medicine and science research that will transform your health
Let’s get serious. Fact: If the old ways worked, we wouldn’t be having an explosion of obesity in the developed world and we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we? Clearly, something is missing. Our mission is to show you what the problem really is, how to fix the problem and fix it forever.
The human genome hasn’t changed very much during our lifetime but our diet and lifestyle have diverged dramatically from the way our ancestors lived before the introduction of agriculture. It is believed that many of our contemporary diseases have arisen as a result of this revolution in our dietary habits.
We’ll take a closer look at these important issues as we explore the great behaviors you can use to transform your weight and your life. For now let’s concentrate on the more obvious consequences of the way we eat.
You’ve probably already guessed the most obvious outcome of these changes in our diet; an astonishing increase in disease at a time of unprecedented medical advances. Scientists are beginning to suspect a common cause to this tendency towards disease: it’s all in our diet. Seven thousand years might not have been long enough for humans to have adapted successfully to a grain-oriented diet. And then, of course, we have the strange phenomenon of obesity. The problem, like many waistlines, is getting bigger.
In 1980 there were approximately 875 million overweight and obese people in the world. In 2013, the number had grown to 2.1 billion. That’s an increase of 28% in adult obesity and, more alarmingly, a 47% increase in the number of overweight children in just the past thirty-three years. What could be causing such a radical shift in the average size and weight of humans in such a dramatically short period of time? The answer might lie within us. Or, to be more precise, within our gut.
Recent discoveries about the trillions of microorganisms that live in and on the human body are now changing the traditional perspective on human health and disease. In terms of obesity, we’re learning that it’s not just heredity and gene expression related to our human genome that play a role, but also the trillions of microorganisms that make up the vastly larger (in terms of unique genetic material) second genome in our body, the human microbiome.
Studies have begun to describe each human gut as a highly complex ecosystem, populated by communities of bacteria as well by viruses, fungi and molds. The contents of our gut seem to exert an extraordinary influence on our digestive system, but these microflora also affect our health in general, our wellbeing and even our mental and emotional balance. Imbalances in the microflora of the gut have now been identified as an important cause of obesity. The gut microbiome, that miniature universe within our digestive system, is where many of our health and weight issues are focused.
One of the disorders that we now know is associated with an altered gut microflora is obesity.
There is a wealth of fascinating evidence from initial studies that reveal a distinct connection between the microbes in our gut and the way our bodies regulate fat storage. These results have been widely replicated and numerous other reports have confirmed this relationship. By now it’s well established that obesity is characterised by an obese-oriented microbiota and that gut microbes really can influence fat storage through a variety of mechanisms.
Adding depth to our understanding of the obesity problem, we know that obesity is virtually unheard of in hunter-gatherer populations and the same observation holds true for many non-westernised societies. So we can conclude that obesity is predominantly a disease of civilised, grain-consuming societies. There’s a major clue here about some of the causes of unhealthy weight gain that dominate developed societies.
We can look a little deeper into this question about the influence of our gut flora. Obese or overweight people have different gut flora compared to lean individuals. Yes they do. Hunter gatherers also have a very different microbiome compared to the intestinal flora of westernised peoples. And we know that hunter gatherers don’t do fat! It also seems clear that flora in the gut can influence metabolic hormones such as leptin and insulin, key influencers in the body’s inflammatory response. Research is identifying the extraordinary role of prebiotics, probiotics and other microbiome stabilisers in encouraging fat loss in humans and animals. Surprised? Utterly amazed that changing and re-balancing your gut flora can be so beneficial for your health and weight loss issues? Stay with me, my friend. We’re just getting started!
More On The Importance Of Correct Sun Exposure.
5 Steps to Reorganizing Your Permanent Weight Reduction and LEANER Pathway!
Time to reprogramme your food choices and eating behavior
We are going to learn how to:
I’ve heard it so often, it’s almost become the mantra of the unwilling, the permanent excuse for letting things slide. “There just isn’t enough time to eat healthily and plan special meals, let alone shop or cook them or take them with me when I’m out of the house.”
Sound familiar? Here are more excuses:
The result is a fairly miserable outlook and a lack of confidence, an unwillingness to recognize what is possible. The mindset of the victim. But we’re here to address these issues. We want you to feel the confidence that comes from daily, planned success. And getting organized takes all the pain and doubt from the process.
The irony is that the people who claim there’s no time to incorporate these important changes in their lives have often been completely successful in other areas of their lives. Their success shows up in an infinite number of ways: they were incredibly accomplished managers or employees, highly creative, artistic individuals, massively good parents or even someone who was good at something else. Every time you make a decision to do something, you’re engaging your creative power. All we have to do is harness that potential.
Unhappiness can undoubtedly play its part in the way we treat our bodies. If you have doubts about your self-worth – I know, welcome to the human condition! – It often shows up in unhealthy eating habits and poor choices. It’s a huge area and so important that it will be the subject of a future book.
That’s why I’d like to encourage you to do something incredibly powerful right now. I want you to look in the mirror for a few moments. And smile. That’s right. Smile. Look at yourself and smile. Your conscious mind might feel that the act is a little silly, but your subconscious – and your body – will begin to get the message that you’re giving them your personal stamp of approval. Have you ever noticed how a small child lights up when you really smile at them? Your body needs exactly that same recognition, that same high wattage smile of approval. Do it every time you step into the bathroom. Look into the mirror and smile. The results will amaze you.
We want your body and your subconscious to work with you. Give them that dazzling smile and you will find your body begins to cooperate in the most extraordinary ways. Try it. It’s a very powerful technique for removing behavioral obstacles and we want to make this entire process as easy and comfortable as possible.
This entire book is designed to help you take control of your health, your weight and ultimately your happiness. Being kind to yourself, respecting the miracle of your body, learning to enjoy living in such an extraordinary structure, optimizing its potential and being at peace with yourself. These are powerful keys to a very fulfilling way of experiencing the gift of life.
So, the underlying theme to these methods is to be kind to yourself. To do things that benefit rather than harm your health. To respect your body’s needs and live life to the full.
An abiding love and acceptance of yourself, despite all the imperfections, really helps you to overcome any harmful habits and behaviors and puts an end to the self-criticism and self-loathing that lowers self-esteem and sabotages our efforts. It really is extraordinary how quickly we can change our lives simply by learning to accept ourselves and focus not on what might be amiss but on how we truly want to be.
Take a moment. Listen to that inner voice, the way you speak to yourself; check the way you feed yourself; think about your hygiene and sleeping habits.
Which of these areas make you feel uncomfortable in any way?
If you catch yourself in the cycle of doing something that you really know you shouldn’t, it’s an important indicator that there are unresolved issues at work in the subconscious that continue to influence your behavior.
You might discover that these behaviors and habits are very effective at preventing you from having the things you really want, particularly in terms of having a fit and healthy body that you can really appreciate.
In every moment we are thinking, feeling and doing things that either bring us closer to the person we want to be and the life we want to have or our behaviours take us away from those precious possibilities.
Behaviors ultimately reflect how we really feel about ourselves. Learn to accept yourself right now and the process of transformation will flow so much more smoothly. Learn to smile at yourself and your deepest resources will turn their power towards your new, healthier goals and desires.
So much of our behavior was laid down during our early childhoods that we completely forget how we came to be the way we are. Much of our conditioning is no more than a series of programmed reflexes that were given to us at a very impressionable age and those behaviours have survived in our attitudes, thoughts, feelings and beliefs ever since.
Whether they are entirely appropriate can only be measured in terms of whether you’re really experiencing all the health, self expression and happiness that is available to you. Most people are not. Sad. But true. Take a look around you. Not too many happy smiling faces, are there? I rest my case. If you’re feeling unhappy, comfort is something that is obviously missing and food is one of the easiest sources of a temporary quick fix.
Yes. We’re talking chocolate here! So many people reach for the chocolate for an instant rush of pleasure, a way to escape the reality of a stressed and unfulfilled life. Pure comfort food. And I like chocolate too. The intention always seems positive. You give yourself a measure of much needed comfort and an ounce of joy. Unfortunately, it isn’t the healthiest way to give yourself those things and it comes with the undesired effects of insulin spikes, sugar crashes and the inevitable weight gain followed by a bout of guilt and quiet despair! There has to be a better way. (There is a better way to eat chocolate too… I promise!)
As adults, we’re expected to understand the consequences of engaging in a particular thought or behaviour but we often do it anyway. The motivation is always moving away from pain or increasing pleasure. And so many of these actions are a product of that early (and now unconscious) conditioning. It’s as if the adult has to be driven so often by a rebellious four year old! No wonder much of our behavior doesn’t make sense. No wonder we don’t always behave like a truly responsible grown-up.
Comfort food can be very satisfying. We know that many unhealthy behaviours feel good in the short-term (the sugar rush, the comfort, the satisfaction) but we have to recognize that they have long-term detrimental effects. There can also be that familiar hint of the rebel, the thrill of ignoring good advice and breaking the rules. What is it about ourselves that prompts us to do these things to our bodies?
Awareness is very helpful in these circumstances. Spotting the moment when you get a kick from doing the wrong thing helps you to question what’s really happening. The adult gets a chance to intervene and make a better choice. That moment when you pause for an instant and wonder why you’re doing something, even wondering who is really making the decision. Consciously and deliberately making a wiser, healthier choice. Feeling really good because you’ve done the right thing. A positive feedback loop that reinforces good behavior, good choices, adult decisions.
Parents make rules because they understand that their children might not have the right perspective for good judgement. Parents can see the consequences that are usually beyond the child’s range of experience.
If you have a particularly hard habit to break and you know it’s not good for your wellbeing, consider making it a “house rule” never to have that habit in the home. When something is non-negotiable it removes the inner dialogue where we bargain with ourselves and the simple rule reinforces the right decisions.
Be kind to yourself. Most people don’t respond well to punishment. Treat yourself gently and with consideration. You’ve embarked on an important journey and that requires courage and a large measure of recognition.
Be infinitely patient with yourself, as you would be with a child. If you slip up once, instead of throwing everything out the window, learn to accept the failure and resolve to do better.
Understand why you did what you did. What did you need at that moment? Use your new set of rules to support your new behaviour. The rules are your friends. They are there to help you.
What are your new “house eating rules”? How can you maintain your new habits in a way that is supportive, effective and nurturing?
Here are some examples:
These tried and tested methods allow you to exercise control over your feelings and your environment, removing many of the challenging decisions about food choices by making one powerful, healthy choice for all future situations. As you become more aware of how you feel, catching yourself thinking, feeling and about to do things that are no longer in line with your new commitment to total health, you can let go of the old behaviour and make really great choices that will support your vision of a newer, healthier, happier, slimmer you!
To give you some ideas about typical eating behaviour choices, we’ve prepared a list of situations to see if any of them partly or completely describe your own personal reactions. Remember, you’re the only person who’ll see the answers so be honest with yourself. It isn’t a test. It’s just a lens to help us focus more clearly on the issues.
Please tick those statements that apply to you – even a tiny bit!
Even if there was just one tick, there is room for improvement, because just that one item of behavioral change can make a huge difference to your permanent weight loss outcome!
In order to ensure that you use the natural medicines correctly, we recommend the following supplements that correspond with your level of concern mentioned in your health.
