Menopause Monday: Menopause Basics

in , , ,

Thinking about menopause ? I didn't think so. But chances are, you or someone you care about is in menopause or will be facing it someday. Menopause is a natural life transition. At its essence, it means the cessation of reproductive functioning. It need not mean the loss of health, intellect or vibrancy. On the contrary, it can be a time for better self care and creativity. Click HERE to learn more. 

Food Friday: Snacks !

in

Snacks can be your dietary downfall or your salvation. So often a snack is the easiest thing we can get our hands on, and as such, it is often processed and of poor nutritional quality. (Think granola bars and the like which are full of fat, sugars and refined flours.) But with a little planning, healthy snacks can be a great contribution to your nutrition, fitness and weight optimization plan. 

Learn more here. 

Medical Monday: Menopause, A Philosophical Introduction

in , ,
It's cool to be hot in menopause. 

It's cool to be hot in menopause. 

The average lifespan in the United States in the year 1900 was about 51, and in 1800 it was 39. The average age of menopause is about 51. Thus, in all of human history, menopause is a relatively new life stage. Most women simply did not live long enough to reach it, and those that did , did not spend much time in it. 

Currently, the average lifespan for a women in the United States is 81. It is interesting to think about what may explain this. I think we have nutrition and health care to thank. As we were, before the modern age, we were able to reproduce for the majority of our lifespan. Could it be that we are outliving our design ? Or could it be that our nutrition and health have unlocked heretofore unexpressed genetic potential for long life? Either way, a modern woman will spend nearly 40% of her life in menopause, and this percentage will only increase as lifespan increases. Moreover, the number of people in menopause will increase as the population ages. 

In the developed world, we can now eat a scientifically based, nutritionally optimal meal 365 days per year. We can do evidence based physical activities that counteract the physical deteriorations of age, such as fat deposition, bone density loss, and muscle loss.

Menopause is no longer a thing to be dreaded. Menopause is life cycle phase like adolescence and pregnancy, and people deserve support during such times. As an Ob/Gyn, I rely on a constantly improving body of data and recommendations about the care of menopausal women. They involve increased surveillance in the form of mammograms, bloodwork, bone scans, colonoscopy and the like. We evaluate and make recommendations about enhanced nutrition, specialized supplements, tailored fitness training, and yes, medications including hormones, all in the service of optimal health. 

Older women should take note, and see that they are up to date on their health care. Younger women should picture themselves how they would like to be in menopause. 

Stay tuned as we devote a few Medical Mondays to menopause, an increasingly important topic. 

Structure Sunday: Structure your mind

in ,

I am not one to say we are just a complex well organized set of chemicals and electrical impulses. I believe we are so much more than that; so much more the sum of our parts. That said, it is really helpful to be familiar with the parts, especially the brain. 

This blog post could easily be titled, " The Care and Feeding of Your Brain". I could say it requires lots of exotic supplements. But that would be wrong. 

You already know the basics. Optimal brain health requires all of these : Good hydration, good nutrition taken through the day, regular exercise and adequate sleep. ( Check out my pages on these topics which are hyperlinked ! ) 

What you may not think about as much is reading. Technically speaking, reading is exercise for your brain. But I would say it is exercise for the mind and food for the soul. Read more HERE. 

 

 

Medical Monday: Miscarriage

This is nobody's favorite topic. But it happens with fair regularity. I would like to honor and support all of my patients and all others who have gone through this by posting on this unfortunate life event. 

Miscarriage is private, but is should not be a source of shame. It is sad, but should not destroy hope. It is no one's fault. It is not from sex, hard work, or stress. 

Those around the patient want to help but it is hard to know how. I have posted for them too. For a link that will inform all concerned about this common and difficult life event, click here. Please note that this material is medically graphic but appropriate for mature teen and adult audiences. 

Structure Sunday: What's behind the Structure

in , ,

How do you find the energy and motivation to do the things you want to do ? That is going to be the topic for at least a couple blog posts this week.  Why ? because you have indicated that you find this a challenge. 

It's all a matter of inspiration. But who can rely on inspiration ? Can you find it or make it ? Click here to find some surprisingly old wisdom and new science on this critical issue. 

Food Friday: The Nutrition section is done !

in ,

Happy Friday ! 

Please let me invite you to peruse the entire Nutrition section of our blog, which is the first section of the Health pages to be finished. 

I think you will find some novelty here, such as information on how to obtain healthy food on a budget. There also the standard information about nutrients, but also information about the timing of meals and combinations of different foods. 

I hope you enjoy the content, including the graphics and photos, most of which I produced myself. 

 

Wellness Wednesday: What does it take to exercise ?

in , , ,
Gina at the summit of the " Dish"  run at Stanford, after her 20th reunion. http://web.stanford.edu/group/runningclub/Runs/Dish.htm

Gina at the summit of the " Dish"  run at Stanford, after her 20th reunion. http://web.stanford.edu/group/runningclub/Runs/Dish.htm

There is a great deal one could say about exercise. However, talking or writing about exercise is only useful if it leads to people actually doing it. So, since I am committing the Wednesday column to the topic of exercise, I decided to reach out and ask about your interests and needs on the subject of exercise. I would like to tailor the column to meet these needs. Here is a link to a short survey that will be fun and illuminating to take. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6K8MQP6

Gina with Zumba Royalty Acea Theroux Zes and Nancy Mehring  

Gina with Zumba Royalty Acea Theroux Zes and Nancy Mehring 

 

I have really decided to give exercise some serious focus because I really feel it is at the center of optimal mental and physical health. If you have mediocre exercise and excellent nutrition you are probably moderately healthy. However if you have mediocre nutrition and excellent exercise you are probably very healthy. Plus, good nutrition seems to follow in the wake of good exercise, but not as much the other way around. And of course, the worst attitude can be fixed better by a good workout than a good meal.

I realize there are serious and challenging obstacles to exercise, from money to peer support to childcare challenges, injury, chronic illness, social culture, motivation, depression and more. But I would like to explore and deconstruct these and look for solutions. 

I am hoping this survey and its results will help pin some of these reasons down and help us solve them. 

Next Wednesday I will post the results, and add a few thoughts of my own from over twenty years in medical practice and over 40 years exercising regularly. 

Many thanks, Dr. Gina 

Medical Monday: Another Obstacle to Health Care: Anti-science

in , , ,

What does vagina steaming and the recent measles outbreak having common ? Need a hint ? OK. What can make people on both sides of the political spectrum mad ? You guessed it ! The anti - science movement. 

According to that venerable site rationalwiki.org, anti science 

" refers to persons or organizations that promote their ideology over scientifically-verified evidence,[3] usually either by denying said evidence and/or creating their own." 

Recall that science is advanced through the scientific method, which involves testing hypotheses with experiments, then revising said hypotheses. Experiments should be on done on that which is measurable, done blinded, controlled, and should be reproducible and peer reviewed by the appropriate scientific institution. Science is always undergoing a process of refinement based on observable facts. 

This should be clear. Yet the media and advertising to which we are daily exposed has become a brew of fake science and real science. How is a person to know the difference ? Well you can use your gut feeling of course. ( And I have a bad feeling about vagina steaming.)  Or, you can have a look at my section of this site where I try to give some help on this issue. It is called Information and Learning. I try to give you some tools with which to navigate the information stream coming at you every day. 

Let's look at some hot news topics where anti-science is in play: climate change, genetic engineering, vaccines, juice cleanses, GMO food, stem cell research, and yes vagina steaming. These topics are especially hot in election years, and when money is involved. 

Here is a great article in Scientific American about a science quiz given to presidential candidates 2012. 

Click here to either laugh or cry. 

Here too, is a fair handed look at anti-vaccine sentiment on both sides of the aisle from Slate. 

Here is fantastic compendium of articles from various writers on the anti-science movement from Huffington Post. 

I would like everyone to take a charitable look at the nature of our national dialog. Feelings are running high, especially in the wake of the recent measles outbreak. In this climate, where there are many voices clamoring to be heard, let us keep the dialog civil and ahem, scientific, whenever possible. 

In that spirit, I will share with you an article about one of my favorite most well intentioned celebrity health gurus, Gwyneth Paltrow. Don't get me wrong, I love Gwyneth. Her site, Goop.com is full of lovely recipes and pretty unaffordable clothes. She has a holistic approach and a lovely positive attitude which really does count for a lot. HOWEVER, I cite this article below to show that sweet well intentioned people can get it wrong. Enjoy, and remember that laughter and affection are the best medicines. 

Three Reasons You Definitely Shouldn't Get Your Vagina Steamed , from Women's Health 

Structure Sunday: The structure of food and eating

in

I am working hard on the section of the website under Health entitled " Nutrition". I am really enjoying this since I am a great foodie. However, my section is not finished quite yet. I am really looking forward to you seeing it a a unified whole. 

But have written a great deal already, and plenty for you to look at today. 

So start by considering that your knowledge of nutrition will depend on your knowledge of the structure of food. Food divides itself fairly neatly into three categories, protein,  fat and carbohydrates. I invite you to read around in these particular sections, since they are pretty well rounded out. 

Then begin thinking about the fact that nutrition is not only about what you eat, it is about when you eat food and about what you eat it with. In the very near future I will have some content for you on just these topics. Stay tuned for some tasty posts.