How should a 40 year old woman, eat?

[laura]

I hit that magic number this year, and would like to know how should I eat?
Should I take vitamins?

We eat well, most of the time.
Very little / to no fast food.
No frozen dinners.
We watch the salt and "chemicals" on the labels. We avoid the products laden with them at all costs.

I have 3 VERY picky eaters, so I don't want to blow them out of the water with a totally new way of eating, but I would like to incorporate new / healthy things into the menu.

I would love you advice / suggestions.

Thank you in advance,

Laura

[Mom2boys]

somebody , please bump this up for me over the weekend so I can put my full attention into answering it. I'm off to our midweek service.
Tina

[Mom2boys]

Hi Laura,
Sorry it took me so long. Flax seed has wonderful natural phytoestrogens as well as your omegas. You can grind it in a coffee grinder and eat it on salads , otmeal , yogurt etc.

Things that shoudl be avoided are chocolate, alcohol and sugar because they actually aggravate PMS symptoms. I have heard that dark chocolate has some good properties.

There are all natural progesterone creams on the market now that work very well. I use one myself.

I would not eat any soy products. It has been touted for years to be so good for menopausal women. Just recently that has been proven incorrect. Most soy is genetically modified .

I find that eating all natural foods give me so much more energy. I just posted under raw foods a salad and salad dressing that I have eaten all week. I've had so much energy and felt awesome!

There is a book out called What your Doctor May or May Not Tell you About Menopause. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

[laura]

Tina,

Thanks for your reply.
Without being too crude........"Aunt Flo" still comes to "visit" me once a month........just like she has for the last 25 years.........

So what would be the "signs / symptoms" of this change coming??

Flax seed:
Where do you buy it?
What is its purpose?
What is its benefits?
What are its drawbacks?

Avoid sugar:
Why? What are the bad things sugar does?
What do I use in its place to cook / bake with?

I am SO in the dark about these things, and would greatly appreciate being "enlightened!!".

Thanks so much
Laura

[Mom2boys]

Sometimes the signs are very faint. You'll have more PMS than usual. Your breasts will be more tender. AF will come more frequently (less days in between) . This is because most women will have a decrease in progesterone starting in their early thirties, but this depends greatly on what your diet has been like. If you have eaten high sugar foods with lots of processing you are more likely to show symptoms quicker.

I don't know of any drawbacks with flax seed. The phytoestrogens (plant estrogen)fill the estrogen receptors if they need filling. If there is too much estrogen , they will bind it and take it out of your body. This is a benefit because high levels of estrogen have been linked to uterine cancer. It is also great fiber to help keep you moving.It has lots of good Omega fatty acids which feed your hormone producing glands.

White sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever because it is all processed out.There are some sugars that are left the way that God made them that can be used instead. Sucanat , sucanat with honey, molasses, and honey. White sugar has all of the vitamins and minerals needed to digest it taken out, so the body will pull those from itself to digest the sugar. It actually takes vitamins and minerals from your body when you eat it!
I bake with sucanat and sucanat with honey and it tastes great!

[laura]

The phytoestrogens (plant estrogen)fill the estrogen receptors if they need filling.

***If I am low on estrogen, what would be the symptoms?
Where would I buy flax seed?
How much daily / how long before I would notice a difference?*****



White sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever because it is all processed out.

***Since I have eaten white sugar all of my life.....if I were to bake with sucanat / honey / molasses instead, how long before I would notice a difference?
Are there any cook books that use recipes with these products instead of sugar so I can try it out??
((I can check them out at my local library))


You'll have more PMS than usual.

***As an "anger management flunkie"......I have noticed that 2-4 days before I start, I am an explosive person ((not like a bomb, but don't shake me too hard HA HA)) I can just feel frustration / anger just boil in my. Stuff that rolls off my back the other 24-28 days a month....if they happen in this 2-4 day time frame....Yikes. This has been the case in the last 2 years. I have really struggled with this spiritually.......why I cannot seem to overcome this ignorant behavior. Could this be "extreme PMS" ((I hate "labels" / "excuses", but if this is for-real, I can do something about it!!))

The last 2 cycles, when I ovulate......WOW DOES THAT HURT. You'd think I was passing a kidney stone.
That has never happened before.

Thanks so much for your input, it means a lot to me!!

Laura

[Mom2boys]

On the flax seed, I have never done it by itself. When I started having problems, I used a natural progesterone cream with the flax seed. Emerita makes a good brand. I order mine from Nature's Sunshine because it has wild yam in it.You should work yourself up to about 3 T per day of the flax seed. You should notice a difference the first month. My family did.

I look for some links for you on signs of estrogen deficiency.

the great thing about changing sugars is that you should see a difference in about two weeks. The difference will be that you won't crave the sweets .

Go to www.breadbeckers.com and click on recipes. I highly reccomend the oatmeal flax chocolate chip cookies.Use all of your old recipes and just exchange the healthy sugars. I haven't been able to make cookies with honey yet that were worth eating. If anyone has a tried and true recipe, please post it here.

[Mom2boys]

Here's a link with a list of estrogen deficiency symptoms. I did not check out this site. Only the specific page I'm linking to.

www.drnorthrup.com/menopause-4a.php