I’m going to talk about sex  because I get many questions from women who notice their sex drive isn’t what it used to be as they begin experiencing hormonal changes.

Even if you’re not in menopause yet, keep reading because as the old saying goes, “nothing is guaranteed but death, taxes and menopause.”

OK, so menopause wasn’t mentioned, but if it weren’t such a taboo subject it would have been!!

I read in a recent poll that 40% of women stated they had not had sex in over 6 months and that 75% of women polled said they weren’t having enough sex.

Getting healthy is the best way to supercharge your sex life and start feeling sexy again.

Getting healthier will reverse aging and bring your sex life back on track.

And when I talk about getting healthier, I’m referring to getting your hormones balanced again. You see, one of the main reasons you age prematurely and lose your sex drive is an imbalance in your hormones.

This can be caused by many different factors but the most common are eating junk food and general lack of good nutrition, eating too much meat and milk, stress, lack of exercise, and living in a toxic body.

A hormone imbalance can also contribute to depression, anxiety, fatigue, endometriosis, hair loss, facial hair growth, and osteoporosis.

So if not feeling like you’re in the mood for sex isn’t much of a motivator for getting those hormones balanced, maybe one of these other potential outcomes of hormone imbalance will motivate you!

Having more sex will also help you live longer, look younger, feel better and experience a happier mood state.

I wish I made all that up because it sounds so good, but in fact a recent study at Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital concluded that more sex slows the aging process. Many other studies also show through the use of CT scans that during orgasm, the areas of the brain that involve fear, anxiety, depression and other “negative” emotions are deactivated. I interpret this to mean that sex and orgasms really relax you and help you to let yourself go.

Three herbs in particular are popular when going the herbal route to balancing hormones for increased sex drive. They are Dong Quai Root, Chaste Tree Berry and Wild Yam Root.

These three powerful herbs are thought to affect the pituitary and hypothalamus in the brain, which both control the manufacture and release of hormones from the ovaries through the release of metabolic chemicals.

Licorice Root and Hops Flowers have also been used to treat hormonal imbalances. They also give you the sense of well being.

Of course it is important to get healthy and stay FIT.

So here are three simple steps to improving your sex life based on what I’ve covered.

1. RELAX. Do not be afraid to discuss how you’re feeling with your sex partner. How can you expect to enjoy sex without any communication with your partner? Talk and share what’s going on.

2. Herbs can be used as sexual stimulants. They both increase circulation to the sexual organs and boost up the hormones. Herbal formulas are one option for firing up your sex drive.

3. Get HEALTHY! When you are healthy and fit you naturally feel sexy and want to have more sex. A healthy lifestyle that includes nutrition, exercise and stress management (and the kinds of things we talk about each week in this blog) is the key to balancing hormones and experiencing a fulfilling sex life.

Vitality and passion are yours for the taking, so take good care of yourself (and your hormones) and the rest will follow!

shelli

Menopause is usually thought of in a few different ways.

Sometimes it feels like a curse, sometimes like the hell of old age, and sometimes like a beautiful natural change of life.

Kind of depends on which side of the bed you wake up on that morning, huh?

This can be the best part of life, not the worst.

It can be a time of contemplation, deeper spiritual awareness, and helping to educate and influence others around us with our wisdom and experience.

As for what actually causes menopause, the ovaries slow down and eventually stop functioning. This is marked by a reduction in the female hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone. In some women, this hormone drop is barely noticed. Most women do notice something and for many it’s debilitating.

The most common symptoms are hot flashes or lushes caused by vasodilator instability. Other symptoms are nervousness, fatigue, mental depression, crying episodes, insomnia and headaches.

It is very similar to PMS, which is also caused by hormone levels dropping. But, it does not stop in 5 or 10 days and can continue indefinitely. In some cases, menopause can lead to bone loss, osteoporosis and artery disease.

For some women menses just stops one day.

For others it gradually reduces over months, until it finally stops.

For some women the length of the menstrual cycle gets longer and then eventually ends.

Women who smoke cigarettes go into menopause on the average of one to two years earlier than non-smoking women. That statistic alone makes me glad I stopped smoking during college!

There are 4 things I find that make the hormonal changes and fluctuations easier for most women.

Step 1: Hormonal support and balance.

There are many natural options for bringing your hormones back into balance. That’s why I wrote Navigating Hormone Health. It’s a great guide to assess what’s OUT OF BALANCE and then understand what to do to get that balance back.

Without proper understanding of your hormones and an intelligent approach to balance, you really are missing the link to feeling well and performing at your best during the changes of your middle years and beyond.

Step 2: Improve your nutrition.

Any time your body is being challenged and is changing, as it is during menopause, it’s a good idea to make sure your nutrition is top notch because of the levels of both physical and emotional stress.

Fatigue and low energy are often chief complaints of women during menopause and optimal nutrition really will restore your energy.

I can’t say enough about the importance of a good healthy food program during this time of change. Junk food, too much salt, artificial anything, and overly acidic foods all contribute to increasing the symptoms of menopause.

Step 3: Keep your channels of elimination healthy.

The physical location of the uterus between the colon, rectum and bladder, makes keeping a clean colon important. If you have bowel issues, see that you get these handled.

Same goes for your kidneys. You want to keep your urinary tract clean, disease-free and functional. Keeping your elimination systems clean and working properly takes physical stress off the female reproductive organs and eases the transition through menopause.

Step 4: Get enough exercise and increase circulation.

Maintaining a routine exercise program during menopause is NOT AN OPTION, it’s a must.

It helps with everything from circulatory disturbances to bone loss.

Not walking? Start walking 45 minutes to an hour 4-5 times a week. Hot flashes are the biggest menopausal symptom and exercise which benefits the circulatory system works wonders for flushes.

Even if you’re not in menopause yet, it’s coming down the pike.

If you’re over 40 and notice the effects of aging like a loss of energy and stamina and a general slowing down, NOW is the time to make what could very well be some of the most important decisions you’ll ever make involving your self care program.

EVERY woman needs these 4 steps in place so that we age well, protect our health, and have the peace of mind to live a vibrant and happy life!

shelli

If you are not familiar with lecithin and why it’s such an important nutritional ingredient, you will find the following  3 facts interesting.

1. Lecithin is found in every living cell.

2. Its highest concentration is in the vital organs: the brain, heart, liver and kidneys.

3. In our bodies, it performs a wide range of vital functions directly affecting our health and well-being.

Here are some of the benefits lecithin provides:

1. In the brain: Lecithin is a vital compound for the transmission of messages from one nerve to another. This has a proven effect on memory, thinking ability and muscle control.

2. In the bloodstream: Lecithin helps prevent cholesterol and other fats from accumulating on the walls of arteries and may help dissolve deposits that are already there.

3. In the liver: Lecithin metabolizes clogging fat and could reduce the chance of liver degeneration.

4. In the intestinal tract: Lecithin helps the absorption of Vitamins A and D and influences the utilization of other fat-soluble nutrients such as Vitamins E and K.

Lecithin also has positive effects on the skin, nervous system, and how you distribute body fat.

How lecithin works as an emulsifier and as a brain tonic seem to be of the most interest to people.

As an emulsifier, it helps dissolve fats and cholesterol.

While fats and oils are essential in your diet, it is important that they journey through your arteries rather than getting deposited on the walls of your blood vessels. Lecithin keeps these fat-like cholesterol particles in a clear solution so they move through your system properly.

To explain lecithin as a brain tonic, let’s go back to 1975.

That’s when scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that lecithin choline has a prompt effect on the ability of the brain to make an important chemical for nerve signal transmission called acetycholine.

In other words, they discovered that lecithin penetrated the blood-brain barrier.

At the time, only a few substances like alcohol and narcotics were known to be able to do this.

And it was also discovered that choline is taken up by the brain directly from the circulating blood. This meant that each time you took in lecithin there could be an immediate effect on the chemicals essential for signal transmission to the brain.

Why is this important and why am I taking the time to explain this to you?

Good question. Here’s my answer……..

We know all animals, including humans, show some degree of memory loss with aging. It’s a huge topic of conversation, right?

More and more we are seeing exciting possibilities of memory loss prevention.

There are studies that indicate that we can repress or minimize those age-related memory changes by using lecithin. If you’re noticing changes in your memory, think about experimenting with lecithin and see what happens.

Fish, egg yolks, cauliflower, cabbage, and grains (wheat germ) are some dietary sources of lecithin.

If you use a lecithin product, read your label carefully. Choline chloride is often listed as lecithin but it’s synthetic. Make sure it’s true lecithin and is natural phosphatidyl choline.

Don’t use gel capsules. Also, watch those labels because lecithin contains no protein or amino acids.

I know sometimes I can get pretty technical in these articles but I always want you to have the easiest, most actionable information at your fingertips so that should you decide to add something like lecithin to your diet you know WHY and have all the information you need boiled down to the basics!

So thanks for bearing with me when I get technical. I think we all benefit, and in the case of lecithin I know my memory and brain power have gotten better just from writing about it!

shelli

Do you use the words stress and overwhelm when someone asks, “How’s it going?”

Do you feel like there are times when your life is OUT of balance?

To each their own when it comes to what the word “balance” means, HOWEVER I feel there are certain steps we can all take and choices we can make in our lives that will put things in balance.

Remember though, that balance is a dynamic state of being so finding your own sense of balance is important. It will help you lead a happier, healthier and less stressful life.

So let’s get right to it with my top ten suggestions!

1. Have more fun.

Build fun into your life. Make fun a focus.

Even when you have to do things that are not fun, ask yourself, “How can I make this more fun?” Bringing attention to fun will help you seek it out!

2. Take five……or ten….or twenty!

Make sure you’re getting enough “me” time. When you do you’ll create the space to ponder questions and ideas about what a balanced life means to you.

3. Learn to say “yes” and “no”.

This may be one of the hardest ones to put into practice. Every no creates the space for a yes and every yes means you’ll have to say no to something else.

It seems to me if you can’t say no then you really can’t say yes! Does that make sense?

4. Go for quality.

Keep what’s working great in your life.

What’s not so great can be modified or let go of. The roller coaster rides are very stressful between the ups of great and the downs of what’s not working.

5. Establish quantity.

Think of your life as a pie with many slices.

It’s not that different things must take up the same amount of time, but rather that the pie reflects what you consider a good balance between the different areas of your life.

Take the time to actually draw a picture of a pie and label the slices and how much of the pie they occupy. Look at things like work, exercise, family and other important parts of your life. This visual representation of your pie will help!

6. Think positively.

Negative thoughts and energy are a huge drain on you both physically and emotionally. Choose to be a positive thinker and you’ll notice a difference in your energy and attitude. This always helps bring back balance and give you perspective on your life.

7. Listen to your body.

It’s a messenger of whether or not you’re in balance. Learn to tune in so you can tune up your life.

8. Appreciate both the process of life and the progress you make.

You’ll learn about yourself through observing your process when you make change and bring balance to your life. Too many times we forget to notice progress because we’re not THERE yet. Each step gets us closer, so don’t forget to pat yourself on the back and notice progress.

9. Creating balance is an evolutionary practice.

Your needs change, what matters to you changes, all kinds of things change. Allow yourself to re-evaluate your balance pie regularly.

10. Manage your stress.

How?

By practicing suggestions 1 through 9. They will help you create a balanced life that is less stressful!

shelli

Learn to love healthy fats.

It’s as simple as that.

There are 3 types of fat – saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated.

Forget about that old “eating fat makes you fat” saying. I know it’s a hard one to let go of, so do yourself a favor and let it go!

Eating all three kinds of fat in a healthy balance (about equal parts of each) can dramatically improve your health, and even help you LOSE fat.

Your saturated fat should come from animal products. You can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking. I wrote about making ghee (a form of butter) in a Joyinmovement newsletter so you can access that at www.joyinmovement.com. All my newsletters are archived.

Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil.

And your polyunsaturated fat should come from flaxseed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.

Eat appropriate amounts of fat each day and vary your sources.

See, it’s as easy at that!!??

shelli

Here’s a potpourri of useful suggestions!

Want to halt a headache in its tracks?

Eat a handful of almonds. The painkiller in aspirin is salicylates. Almonds contain them as well! Almonds also have high levels of magnesium. Magnesium reduces muscle tension, which is usually present when you have a headache.

Need a healthy pick-me-up?

Next time you wash your hands, put some energy into rubbing your hands together while holding them under the water. A friend of mine who’s a long time Qigong practitioner told me that flowing water releases negative ions. Negative ions are charged particles that will send your energy levels soaring. Rubbing your hands together unblocks the flow of chi (energy) to absorb that abundance of energy from the negative ions.

Looking to improve your mood?

For a mood boosting yoga pose, try this. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed. Take five deep breaths in and out through your nose. After the last breath in, exhale quickly through your nose in 10 short bursts. This is a form of Kapalabhati. It will help you expel negative thoughts and leave you with a burst of energy.

Do you think you have an iron deficiency?

Iron deficiency will sap your energy and alertness. It shortchanges your thyroid from getting the iron it needs, leaving you feeling tired and like you’re in a brain fog. Try drinking chicory-root tea. It contains inulin which nourishes cells in the intestines that are responsible for iron uptake. Chicory-root tea tastes like coffee but lacks the iron-blocking caffeine found in coffee. Try drinking two cups daily and see how you feel.

shelli

If your brain is too excited, you’ll likely have trouble falling asleep.

One of the things that may be happening is that your brain is excited from TOXINS.

This may also be the case if you have trouble staying asleep.

One culprit may be the additives in your food.

Aspartame, MSG, artificial coloring, nitrates, and even soy contain “excitotoxins.” These chemicals can alter brain chemistry and lead to insomnia.

Stay away from foods with these additives. You’ll get a better night’s sleep, and you’ll lower the risk of damaging your brain’s sensitive nerves.

Read labels carefully. Notice how the quality of your sleep changes when you’re more vigilant about eliminating toxic food additives.

And that’s not the only reason to avoid these toxins. They can cause many health problems, including obesity, migraines, memory loss, and hearing loss.

Without a good night’s sleep it’s very difficult to function well during the day. We all know this.

So, if you’re having sleep issues look to your food as a possible disruptive source.

shelli

Think of two words that strike fear into women everywhere and you’re likely to come up with breast cancer.

And there’s a good reason for that.

In 2008, according to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 182,460 women were diagnosed with and 40,480 women died of breast cancer.

With these alarming statistics, it’s tragic that most women just wait until a self-exam or mammogram shows an unusual lump in their breast. Often, by that point, the cancer has taken hold and it becomes a life and death challenge.

So there’s something I want to share with you.

Most breast cancer is determined by how estrogen is metabolized in the body and whether it is balanced by adequate levels of progesterone.

Here’s what you need to know and do and pass on to your mother, your sisters, and your friends so they’ll do it too.

1. Have your estradiol, estrogen metabolites, and progesterone levels tested. If you have a progesterone deficiency, you are at least four times more likely to develop breast cancer. If testing shows you are deficient in this hormone, there are several progesterone creams available without a prescription. Ask your healthcare professionals for a recommendation.

2. Estrogen testing will tell you whether your body is breaking down estradiol, your primary estrogen, into safe or dangerous metabolites. For instance, 2OH (one of the metabolites of estradiol) actually inhibits breast cancer. But 4OH and 16OH increase your risks, so you don’t want those levels elevated.

3. The good news is that you can encourage your body to make more good estrogen while getting rid of the bad stuff simply by maintaining healthy gut flora and modifying your diet to include more antioxidant-rich and omega-3 foods and fewer carbs. The insulin resistance and inflammation caused by carbs significantly increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer.

4. You might not be aware that your thyroid plays a role in breast health too. If you have an underactive thyroid or thyroid antibodies (autoimmune thyroiditis), your body may not be making enough NK (natural killer) cells. These are the immune cells that search out cancer cells and destroy them. That’s why it’s vitally important to have your thyroid checked regularly.

5. Did you realize that it is in your power to dramatically reduce your risk of breast cancer by balancing your hormones and eating a nutritious diet?

Many believe it’s fate or genetics that determine whether or not they’re faced with breast cancer.

Whether you answer yes or no, you now know it is in your power to reduce your risk.

And if you thought a yearly mammogram was the most you could do to protect yourself from breast cancer, think again. Make hormone and thyroid testing a part of your yearly checkup.

It’s important that women are properly educated about real breast cancer prevention.

Carry this message to women everywhere, and together we can reverse those statistics.

shelli

Warning: this blog post contains a humorous yet thoughtful look at
fear!

We hate to admit it but most of our fears are irrational.

And I’ll even admit that most of my fears are irrational.

On one hand, everyday life just isn’t that dangerous anymore.

Technology, engineering, and modern medicine have eliminated so
many of the things that people used to fear.

Fears rise up in response to perceived threats, and trigger a “fight or
flight” response from us. They evolved as a basic survival mechanism.

Studies show what we fear is fairly universal: spiders,
snakes, heights, public speaking, and death.

As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “According to most studies,
people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death.
Does that sound right? This means at a funeral most people would
rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

We all might agree that one of our greatest, if not THE greatest
fear, is fear of failure.

Whether we are aware of it or not, it can paralyze us and keep
us from taking action, taking risks, and having experiences that
might benefit us greatly.

It’s easier for all of us to stick with what we perceive as
safe, comfortable and familiar.

Yet many times when we choose safety we reinforce fear.

We nurture fear. We let it dictate the terms by which we live our
lives and make our choices.

When we overcome our fears we begin to live.

“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the
secret of life,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

How is fear conquered?

That can be a complicated question that keeps you from ever
actually conquering your fears.

So let’s keep it simple.

We conquer fears by doing what we think we can’t do, again and
again.

Let me give you a personal example.

When I was young, and even to this day, I stutter. Being called
on in class or in any social outing terrified me.

Today however, I seek out opportunities to speak in public. It’s
one of the best ways for me to meet people and let them know who
I am and what I can offer them.

I see fear as a barrier to success.

It can give a small thing a big shadow.

I also see fear as the opposite of faith.

It keeps us stuck in between regret over the past and anxiety about the
future.

These days I’m feeling like very few things warrant the fear
energy we give them. Often we’re running not from genuine threats
but from what we’re imagining.

That’s why my favorite acronym for fear is False Evidence
Appearing Real.

There are many rewards for conquering fear. The biggest one is
the other F word; freedom.

Freedom from anxiety.

Freedom from regret.

Freedom from a life unlived.

Do you think fortune really does favor the brave? I do.

As Marianne Williamson wrote, “Our deepest fear is not that we
are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond
measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens
us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? … We
are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do
the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence
automatically liberates others.”

As middle aged women, we have lived enough life to know which
fears are still holding us back.

Air them out, one at a time.

Know them, and work through them and don’t let “false evidence
appear real.”

As for me, I’d much much rather be the one giving the eulogy
than the one in the casket!

What do you think?

shelli

If I asked you, “Why do we eat protein?” I’m wondering what you would answer.

One of the most common answers is, “For energy.”

How about this protein question, “Does it matter which sources of protein we eat to get maximum protein nutritional value?”

Most people would answer that gram for gram all protein sources are the same.

While it is somewhat true that protein provides energy, it is not the main reason why our bodies require protein.

And, all protein sources are not the same when it comes to their nutritional and usable benefits.

Let’s look more closely at protein so you understand the correct answers to these protein questions.

Your body is built of protein.

Protein makes up your organs, bones, tendons, ligaments and blood.

It also makes up many of your hormones (insulin, growth hormone), immune system, neurotransmitters and all of the enzymes of metabolism, digestion and detoxification.

In other words, it plays a huge role.

Because of the acts of daily living, proteins break down. They need to be repaired or replaced so that all the structures they comprise stay healthy and functional.

That’s why getting enough daily high quality dietary protein is essential. So, protein is a key nutrient for both recovery and longevity.

If you’re working on increasing your fitness, your needs for quality protein increases so that you’ll be able to support your structure as you increase your workload. If you don’t do this, you’ll likely feel less energetic, experience irritability and poor sleep, and perhaps injure yourself or feel ill.

Protein is a complex structure made up of smaller units called amino acids.

There are 22 different ones in nature that are used in your body to make protein. Only eight of them must be in your diet on a daily basis. So when it comes to making proteins, you can’t make them without the 8 essential amino acids.

They are called “essential” because your body cannot make them and must get them from food.

Eat enough of these eight essential amino acids and your body can make all of the other proteins it needs. Therefore, a protein’s quality is attributed to the amount and proportion of these eight essential amino acids. For instance, animal proteins have all of the essential amino acids and vegetable proteins are often missing one or more of them.

In order to make sure you are getting enough protein to maintain your body in an optimum state, make sure you don’t fall into one of these two groups.

1. People who are not eating enough quality protein. This can be due to a lack of accurate information about which foods have high quality protein. If you are a vegan and don’t eat animal protein, make sure to learn what your best sources of high quality protein are. Also, many dieters who cut calories are likely not eating enough high quality protein.

2. People who cannot digest protein fully, so it does not enter their bodies. Protein digestion begins in the stomach with an enzyme called pepsin. Pepsin only works if the pH (acidity) of the stomach is very low, between 1-2. If the pH of your stomach is too high (from taking antacids or other medications for instance), your protein digestion will be compromised. So, you may be eating enough protein but not digesting or absorbing it.

Now let’s say that you ARE eating enough protein and you ARE absorbing it. What happens next?

One of two things will happen. Either the amino acids are used by your body to make protein, OR your body uses the amino acids for energy.

What determines whether the amino acids from your diet go down the “make protein” or “make energy” pathway?

The answer to this question was only recently discovered.

The route that a dietary protein takes is determined by the ratio and amounts of the eight essential amino acids in that protein. If the makeup of a protein has a ratio of essential amino acids that is correct to what your body needs, that will be a “quality protein.” If it is missing certain of the essential amino acids, or if they are in an improper ratio, it is considered a lesser quality protein.

Nutritionists measure the quality of a protein using an index called NNU or Net Nitrogen Utilization. Of the three major food groups, proteins, fats and carbohydrates, only proteins have nitrogen.

Scientists can measure how many grams of nitrogen go in the body when a certain amount of protein is eaten and then they collect the urine and stool to measure how much nitrogen came out. What didn’t come out is what the body used to make its own proteins. That’s the NNU of that food.

Here are some examples of the NNU in foods you commonly eat:

Beef, poultry, fish and eggs have an average NNU of 32%. This means that if you ate a can of tuna with 28 grams of protein, the actual amount of that protein that your body could use would be 32% of that or about 9-10 grams.

For dairy products and soy products the NNU is much lower at 17%. Remember when looking at the NNU you are measuring the quality factor of the protein.

Vegetables and nuts have much lower NNUs (under 10%). This is why it is more challenging to get adequate protein if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, since the NNU quality of those proteins is lower.

As active women you must get enough high quality protein in your diet.

You need enough quality protein to keep up with your body needs, and then some if you’re looking to improve performance and not break down.

Use this information to keep enhancing the quality of your protein intake so that you can improve performance and optimize your health.

If you feel you are eating enough quality protein and yet feel you are not digesting or absorbing it properly, seek the advice of a qualified health professional.

Keep the protein coming, and keep it of the highest quality possible!

shelli