My flip chart with notes. I ran out of room!

Yesterday’s Power Hour with master nutrition expert Patti Milligan, MS, RD was so full of good information I had to remind myself I was conducting the call and stop taking notes. Thankfully I have a recording! 

The subject was supplements for midlife women who want to look and feel better than ever and boy did Patti deliver. Top of mind for many of the participants was managing or eliminating hot flashes and the meno pot–you know sort of like the muffin top but it tends to sit in the front of us, below the belly button? Patti’s research indicates that the first thing we must do is take good care of our liver.What and why? The liver is one of the three primary organs of detoxification; the other two are the skin and the kidneys. In relation to hormones and how they get used in the body the liver is the go to organ.

Without going in to the science of it in detail–Patti is really good at that, me? not so much–suffice to say this, if you take 30 days, implement what I’m about to share, and then check in on  your symptoms you may find they have abated entirely or that they are diminished.

I know, everyone wants the instant relief. It’s possible to get that if you want to go the Bio-Indentical Hormone route to start with. Many aren’t ready to think about hormone replacement and really want to transition naturally through this stage of life. If that’s you then grab a pen.

The 30 day Challenge:

1)Look at your consumption of caffeine, sugar and preservatives.Patti pointed out that it’s often not sugar per se that’s bad–though we know that too much of it is not good–it’s the chlorine used in the process of refining it. CHLORINE? OY

2) Include unsweetened cranberry juice into your daily routine. She suggested 16 oz of juice to 32 oz or more of water and sip that throughout the day

3)Add more active fiber such as flax seed meal–2 – 4 TBLS per day or psyllium husk (I use Yerba Prima Daily Fiber Formula every morning. It’s a blend of psyllium, oat bran, apple pectin, and a few other types of fiber. I buy the orange flavored and mix it in some Vit C, water, a wee splash of fresh juice and have that in the morning)

4)Milk Thistle in capsules but only for this 30 days, this is not an every day supplement

Patti added artichoke in the form of tea or capsules as well during this time.

After 30 days you should be less hot and fluffy in the belly. If you still feel you need symptomatic relief then I’d suggest you get your hormones tested to see if you can add some of the good ones back with the help of a physician who specializes in bio identical hormone replacement and functional medicine.

There’s more to come but I wanted to give you this tidbit today because it’s an easy way to start getting relief and improving our health over all. When the liver is happy the whole girl is happy and looks great too.