I am a great believer in quality of life and making sure every day is the best one yet. After a near death experience and being forced have a full hysterectomy at 48, it was a no brainer for me to begin talking hormone replacement therapy or HRT. I am a big fan of this medicine which helps keep menopause at bay and me from becoming itchy, bitchy, scratchy, moody, bloated, dried up and miserable.
My top tip for menopause, if HRT is out, is to start introducing houmous and chick peas as much as you can eat, in your daily diet. If you can mix this pulses food group with some cold red peppers, some oily fish and a five mile daily walk, I can guarantee you will feel less like a bloated pig and more like a healthy goddess. The latest and greatest all natural suppliment to hit the west is bio elixir powders of which there are many ranging in price from a few pounds to expensive. Although they are not the best tasting some preport being loaded with 25 billion probiotics and free-radical-fighting plants and herbs that counteract beauty’s greatest nemesis: aging.
As we age like everything else our ability to digest food deteriorates, the reason products like Gaviscon and Rennie in the UK and Pepcid AC, Tums, Mylanta and Maalox in the US have become household names and essential go to for antacid sufferers. Your digestion system is vital for absorbion of all the positive nutrients in your food choices, antioxidants (free radical fighters), omegas (anti-inflammatory agents and phyto-estrogens), and superfoods (antioxidants and adaptogens). So if you're suffering with indigestion regularly you can be sure your guts are not in harmony.
Why not try all natural Kombucha instead of your over the counter medicine? It's a concoction of fermented yeast and bacteria, sounds unappetizing I know and green tea. Kombucha said to hail from China or Japan and consumed for it's anti aging benefits for over a thousand years is made from Scoby, an acronym for "symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast" It has a very distinctive and aquired sour taste but you can find varieties with fruit making it way more paletable. I have found it really helps with digestion, rids your body of toxins, and boosts your energy. It's also said to boost your immune system, help you lose weight, ward off high blood pressure and heart disease, and prevent cancer. Many people have been eating probiotic yogurt for good gut health, kombucha is the same idea just in a drink.
Women got the short end of the deal when it comes to middle age and without air brushing, botox, trout pout lips and HRT, turning 50 is the most dreaded mountain for any of us to climb. Add the discomfort from heart burn or acid reflux as it's known in the US into the mix too and it's not surprising we need some heartburn relief.
These are real ways to stay looking and feeling younger, fitter and healthier, helping get rid of that constant bloating round the middle that always has a mind of its own and always appears when you least want it to.
The truth is simple when it comes to feeling good after 50, you must give up alcohol, smoking, chocolate unless 70% cacao, meat, caffeine, any white carbs and replace them with water, fruit, brown rice, mint tea, fish, vegetables, loads of houmous and a bio elixir or two then, before you know it you will look and feel like you again.
Photo by: Hari Nandakumar Unsplash