Christina Ferrare: Straight Talk on Menopause and Sex
MIRACLE TREATMENT?
When she used it for the first time, Ferrare relates in her book, "I instantaneously felt a warm, tingly sensation. The cream also works as a lubricant if you have any vaginal dryness." While the cream got results for her rather quickly, Ferrare notes, "My doctor told me that this was unusual." The cream is by no means a miracle cure but is "one of the elements that can help improve hormone levels and heighten libido," Ferrare says, along with diet and exercise, which not only regulate hormone levels but also decrease stress and build bone mass.
IMPORTANCE OF DIET
Women approaching menopause should carefully choose the foods they eat -- and eliminate some. "I had to give up chocolate, caffeine, butter, red meat and other things I love...because they were stressing me out and making my symptoms worse," says Ferrare. Another part of the change-of-life diet plan presented in "Okay, So I Don't Have a Headache" is to eat natural plant estrogens, which can act like the body's own estrogen and thus reduce hot flashes, mood swings and other symptoms of the change.
Plant estrogens are present in certain foods, especially soy and soy products (such as tofu, soy milk, soybeans, and soy nuts) and flax seed and flax seed oil, which are available at many supermarkets and health food stores. Medical research also indicates that eating soy and flax seed allows the body to reap the benefits of estrogen while decreasing the risk of breast cancer.
EXERCISE FOR THE BONES
Ferrare's book states that regular weight-bearing exercise such as running, weight-training and step aerobics are good strategies for preventing bone loss, along with taking magnesium, boron and vitamins D and C. Weight-bearing exercise also stimulates the formation of new bone in women who have low bone density. According to Ferrare, "Many doctors suggest that women who are approaching or going through the change or who have risk factors for osteoporosis go for a bone density test." Known as DEXA, which stands for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, this can be an invaluable aid to improving menopausal health.
