In this second instalment from Brett Sanders, last month's Ask the Expert, he gives his advice to community members dealing with the onset of menopause.
You asked: I am two years into a surgical menopause. I am 48. How do I keep the weight off and just how to feel good?
Brett answered: In order for you to feel good during the surgical menopause it is important that in every sense of the term you live a "healthy lifestyle". This is my recommendation to every person but for some people the advice will vary. For you, I would focus not on "keeping the weight off", but on "feeling good." You will keep the weight off as a symptom of feeling good!
So, what makes you feel good? People need a balanced lifestyle that will both nurture them, and challenge them in all the right areas. Here are my four suggestions for you:
1. Eat a diet of high quality, organic foods, and if possible find out your Metabolic Type. Your Metabolic Type is the ratio of animal foods to plant foods that are right for your body - or the ratio of carbs to proteins to fats that are right for you! You can do this on-line. If you are unable to do this then experiment with different amounts of protein and carbs in your diet, and have days with fat in your diet and days without, until you fine-tune your meals so that you have plenty of energy between meals and all day long. This can be a life-long challenge, but when you truly eat the foods that are right for you everything will fall in to place.
2. Exercise, in some form, every single day. I challenge you to do something (gentle) for 20 minutes each day. This might be doing some simple stretches that you know, it might mean visiting a Personal Trainer, going for a walk, or even joining a Yoga class.
3. Sleep for at least 8 hours each night after getting to bed by 10pm. We all live in a field of gravity and as a result our bodies are breaking down on a daily basis and get weaker by the time we retire for the night. Our repairing cycles are also in-built that our physical repair is done from 10pm to 2am, so if you are not in bed by 11 or 12 or later, then you are missing at least 25% of your physical repair that is necessary after a day of your body breaking down.
4. Manage your stress levels, and revisit the very essence of what it means to "Play". It's no secret that a surgical menopause is a stressful event, and of course this could not be helped for you. So your challenge is to take the other areas of your life and to make them less stressful as a means of nurturing yourself and not sacrificing who you are. Find things that make you "feel good" ... and do them! They might be active things that can also be a part of your daily exercise challenge, like playing tennis or cycling for example, or it might be finding the time to get in the kitchen and cook again now that you have a new challenge of eating fun things. Or you might do all of these things! Simply find time to enjoy the things you do - remember what it was like as a child to run around and play, or when you would cook things from scratch as a child and get messy in the process. Just don't worry about it!
You asked: Could you recommend skin care products to use after the menopause, my skin has become all dry and flaky, but wasn’t before a hysterectomy.
Brett answered: The skin becoming drier is a common complaint of post-menopausal women, and most certainly those who have had hysterectomies. When choosing any skin care products it is important that you avoid products that contain chemicals and synthetic ingredients as these will only serve to imbalance your body further and increase your toxic load. Ideally search for products that are 'Organic' and be cautious of the term 'Natural' as this doesn't tell us much about where the ingredient comes from.
When you are reading the ingredients if you cannot pronounce a term then it is likely to be a chemical and not too good for your body - however this can sometimes be confused with many Latin names of ingredients, so be careful there. The best option is to use a search engine on any ingredient and the Internet will usually tell you whether it is safe or not. For example, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is known to be used in engine de-greasers and garage floor cleaners - not something you want to put on your face! I personally use Young Living Essential Oils and Neal's Yard Remedies products.
However, with this all said, I suggest you also look at the root cause of the dry skin. Whilst it is very common to have dry skin post-menopause, it is not normal. The dry skin is caused by the body's estrogen levels gradually lowering.
Typically, the first place I look at when somebody has hormonal instabilities is to their diet. It is imperative that you avoid all packaged and processed foods, eat organically where possible, and minimise the plastics and Teflon that you consume. Also, ensure that you are eating plenty of good quality fats. We are designed to function optimally on an equal ratio of Omega-3's and Omega-6's - most people have far too many Omega-6's. To increase your Omega-3 ratio I recommend supplementing with a high quality Cod Liver Oil or Fish Oil daily.
Lastly, you may want to evaluate your stress levels. If you are in a "Fight-or-Flight" state your body will sacrifice all of the other hormones in your body, like estrogen, until you are away from the stressful situation.
