The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change
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Menopause is every woman s awakening a stage that holds enormous promise for healing our bodies, minds, and spirits on the deepest levels. Dr. Christiane Northrup destroys myths and challenges convention. Now in her groundbreaking new book, The Wisdom of Menopause, she will forever change your views on menopause. Filled with remarkable new health choices, research, and Dr. Northrup s own candid personal experience, The Wisdom of Menopause is the ultimate guide for every woman ready to come into her own. Publishers Weekly Northrup (Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom), cofounder of the Women to Women health-care center in Maine, offers a celebratory, "psychospiritual" approach in her comprehensive guide to menopausal health and well-being. Beginning with the premise that, though difficult, the "hormone-driven changes that affect the brain... give a woman a sharper eye for inequity... and a voice that insists on speaking up," Northrup details hormonal imbalances, mood swings, serious illnesses, treatment options and all the other symptoms, side effects and decisions women face in midlife. Middle-aged herself, Northrup writes from experience and, more important, from her professional expertise as a physician who has treated many women and researched menopause. While much of the health-care material here is available in other sources, Northrup's approach a description of symptoms, followed by both traditional and alternative treatment options along with some anecdotes is particularly useful. Occasionally she veers off into New Age jargon, but she is a firm believer in the relevance of tangential influences on physical health, including emotional and financial well-being. The specific medical advice on sleep, diet, breast health and the empowerment motif will bring insight, comfort and confidence to women embarked on "the change." Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
List of FiguresxiiiAcknowledgmentsxvIntroduction: The Journey Begins1Midlife: Redefining Creativity and Home3Why I'm Writing a Menopause Book Now5Blazing a New Trail6Chapter 1Menopause Puts Your Life Under a Microscope9"Not Me, My Marriage Is Fine"10The Childbearing Years: Balancing Personal and Professional Lives12Why Marriages Must Change at Midlife16My Personal Fibroid Story: The Final Chapter20Feeling the Joy of Co-creative Partnership23The Forces That Change the Goose Also Change the Gander26Real Menopause Hits27My Marriage Goes Bankrupt28Armadillo Medicine: The Power of Vulnerability31Celebrating the Past While Creating a New Future33Chapter 2The Brain Catches Fire at Menopause36Our Cultural Inheritance36Our Brains Catch Fire at Menopause38Learning to Recognize and Heed Our Wake-up Calls39Is It Me or Is It My Hormones? Debunking the Myth of Raging Hormones42The Multiple Roles of Your "Reproductive" Hormones48Embracing the Message Behind Our Menopausal Anger53Emotions, Hormones, and Your Health57How Our Midlife Brains and Bodies Are Set Up to Heal Our Past66Finding a Larger Meaning71Chapter 3Coming Home to Yourself: From Dependence to Healthy Autonomy76The Empty-Nest Syndrome76Boomerang Babies80Powerful Feelings, Powerful Healing82Caring for Ourselves, Caring for Others: Finding the Balance84Hitting Pay Dirt: Getting Clear About Money at Midlife90Coming Home to Yourself97Vocational Awakening at Midlife99A Road Map for Navigating Unknown Territory102Chapter 4This Can't Be Menopause, Can It? The Physical Foundation of the Change105What Is Happening in Your Body: Hormonal Changes106Perimenopause Is a Normal Process, Not a Disease107The Three Types of Menopause110Perimenopause and Hormonal Levels112Is There a Test I Can Take?114Menopause and Thyroid Function118Menopause and Adrenal Function119What to Expect in Your Transition124Chapter 5Hormone Replacement: An Individual Choice134A Brief History of Hormone Replacement134Bioidentical Hormones: Nature's Ideal Design138A Hormone Primer: Essential Information Every Woman Should Know142How to Decide Whether or Not to Take Hormones154A Dusting of Hormones169How Long Should You Stay on Hormones?170Chapter 6Foods and Supplements to Support the Change172Basic Principles of Herbal Therapy at Menopause174Menopausal Healing Foods178Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for Menopause187Start Somewhere190Chapter 7The Menopause Food Plan: A Program to Balance Your Hormones and Prevent Middle-Age Spread191Making Peace (Once Again) with My Weight192Five Steps to Midlife Weight Control194The Elements of Imbalance199The Hormone-Balancing Food Plan205Optimizing Midlife Digestion219The Final Frontier: Accepting Our Bodies225Chapter 8Creating Pelvic Health and Power227What Is Yours, What Is Mine, What Is Ours? Reclaiming Our Boundaries228Hormonal Imbalance: Fuel to the Fire231Menstrual Cramps and Pelvic Pain231Heavy Bleeding235Fibroids240An Empowered Approach to Surgery or Invasive Procedures247Strengthen Your Urinary Health and Pelvic Floor Muscles254Chapter 9Sex and Menopause: Myths and Reality264The Anatomy of Desire265Sexuality at Menopause: Our Cultural Inheritance267Menopause Is a Time to Redefine and Update Our Relationships274Hormone Levels Are Only One Part of Libido277Secondary Libidinal Support: Estrogen and Progesterone279Testosterone: The Hormone of Desire?281Aids to Lubrication283Telling the Truth287Nine Steps to Rekindling Libido289Chapter 10Nurturing Your Brain: Sleep, Depression, and Memory292Enhancing Midlife Sleep296Depression: An Opportunity for Growth304Memory Loss at Menopause: Is This Alzheimer's?314Estrogen and Alzheimer's316Non-hormonal Ways to Protect Your Brain319Maximizing Midlife Wisdom323Chapter 11From Rosebud to Rose Hip: Cultivating Midlife Beauty328Making Peace with Your Changing Skin330Preventing or Treating Wrinkles336Midlife Acne347Rosacea351Hair in the Wrong Places354When Good Skin Care Isn't Enough: Deciding on Cosmetic Procedures360Varicose Veins364Chapter 12Standing Tall for Life: Building Healthy Bones369Osteoporosis: The Scope of the Problem370We're Designed for Lifetime Sturdiness371How Healthy Bone Is Made372Are You at Risk for Osteoporosis?377Measuring Bone Density381Bone-Building Program385What About Bone-Building Drugs?393Get Strong394The Sunlight-Bone Health Connection403Shore Up Your Earth Connection with Plant Medicine408Chapter 13Creating Breast Health409Our Cultural Inheritance: Nurturing and Self-Sacrifice410The Emotional Anatomy of Breast Cancer412Lifestyle and Breast Health417Eating for Breast Health420Breast Cancer Screening423Putting Breast Cancer Risk in Perspective431The Breast Cancer Gene: Should You Be Tested?433The Effect of HRT on Breast Health434Bioidentical Hormones and Cancer Risk437The Tamoxifen Dilemma444Chapter 14Living with Heart, Passion, and Joy: How to Listen to and Love Your Midlife Heart449The Heart Has Its Say at Menopause: My Personal Story450Cardiovascular Disease: When the Flow of Life Is Blocked454Palpitations: Your Heart's Wake-up Call456Gender Bias and Heart Disease: Our Cultural Inheritance459Arteriosclerosis: Reducing Your Risk462Carbohydrates, Sugar, and Heart Health: What Every Woman Should Know472Cardioprotective Supplements475Foods for Heart Health480What About Aspirin?482Get Moving!483Is Estrogen Replacement Necessary to Prevent Heart Disease?487How to Love and Respect Your Midlife Heart492The Heart-Opening Effect of Pets493Epilogue: The Calm After the Storm495Notes499Resources538Index567About the Author591
