How convenient to have experienced this life passage myself and, therefore, be able to speak first-hand of the ease with which it can be navigated.
I get a bit het up, kind of snitty and snappy by all the suggestions that we women become ill-tempered at menopause!! Don’t we all have this anyway, including the male of our species? Generally, known as being in a mood? Some people are moodier than others, it is true, but let’s not make a passing emotion into a ‘symptom’ that needs ‘medicating’.
I didn’t expect to menopause until my mid-50s, and perimenopause hadn’t been invented when I began thinking about my future hormonal agenda, so it is only looking back I realised it commenced when I was 48.
Totally coincidentally, the same year, I made the big leap to raw after hovering around the edges, procrastinating away for years (12 to be precise), since I first came across the concept.
I am convinced – with no room for doubt – that this is what gave me virtually symptom free menopausal years. I had some hot flushing, which I did not enjoy (too much akin to the panic /anxiety attacks I had suffered in my 30’s), but never to the point of sweats, even at night. The other issue was that my skin elasticity had altered. Nothing else. Nada. Zilch.
My raw diet was almost vegan as I consumed bee pollen and honey. Coconut oil, sprouted wheat breads, sweet potato raw crisps, and homemade raw chocolate played a large and delicious part of my diet, as well as plenty of salads and smoothies.
In the early years, I was not woman enough to go hardcore with green juices, but once I did, I gave myself a mental slapping for being so stubborn. I loved them and loved the effect of them even more. These became the mainstay of my diet for years until the juicer died (I am still saving up for a replacement). Now, I walk past nettle patches, positively groaning with frustration at the inability to utilise them in a juice.
So why is a highly alkaline diet good for our hormonal bodies? Well, of course it is good at any stage of life, but when there is a sudden extra load on the body for whatever reason, it needs more than usual support to keep the equilibrium it is always seeking for us.
If nature hasn’t packed it in a natural shell, skin or peel, then chances are it’s not going to do the best work in your body, for your body, for YOU.
The liver has much work to do in menopause because of the surging and swirling about of hormones. So it needs simple foods and meals that assist it, not processed and acidic foods that make extra work for it to break down and disperse as harmlessly as possible. An acidic body is an inflamed body, an unnatural state, meaning our body is always trying to repair this but can get no foothold.
Other causes of acidity in the body apart from food are: stress, chemicals used in the home or on the body, electromagnetic fields, and not surprisingly – worry. All these need due consideration too.
Healing is a holistic process, thoughts need watching, not calories. Whichever portal you enter to balance the body in menopause, be it raw food, herbs, yoga, or meditation, the combination of these is greater than the part.
Menopause does not create wise women out of fools despite our hopes! However, a high raw, vegan, alkaline diet will give you menopause that has your brain and other organs working so well you end up feeling zestfully blissed out!
Trust me, menopause can be just a blip. Let’s not make it more than that. Let’s not blow it up to the metaphorical equivalent of a cross-mountain trek in blizzard conditions. Skip barefoot instead across the green plains and valleys. The choice is yours.
Susan P.
