http://www.makemenopausecool.com/

Vital Femme, Apollo Beach, FL (2026)

10/02/2024

I did it.

I went all-in on my commitment to health and wellness: I am bringing a Pause Studio to Sarasota in early 2025. If you haven’t heard about Pause yet, you will… and not just from me!

Pause Studio is the solution to modern living – the place to go for mental and physical recovery; combining the world’s most advanced alternative healing modalities with inspired design, elevated service, and the space to just breathe.

I am so excited to help my community look better, feel better, and BE better.
studio_

09/14/2024

It’s expensive to be sick.

In 2023, the Dept of Health and Human Services published a large-scale survey detailing the annual personal medical expenditures of the U.S. population, and it is fascinating to dig through.

The survey found that the average total health spending per individual (irrespective of race/class/gender – and there are significant differences when you sort all these out) is $7,597 per person per year. People with depression and anxiety spend almost twice that. Do the math - that’s at least $633 a month – roughly what it costs to lease a new BMW, and not the cheap one, either!

When you break it down by diagnosis, arthritis, diabetes, high cholesterol and stroke each net out at +/- $1500 per year – so you can see that most people are treating multiple chronic conditions.

The thing is, all of these conditions are connected and are entirely preventable - and largely reversible - through controlling our inputs; especially nutrition, which is the greatest contributing factor across the board. Eliminate ultra-processed foods and animal products from your diet and most of these conditions will go away on their own; you’ll save a bunch of money on your grocery bill too.

Add holistic or alternative healing modalities that aid recovery and treat and prevent inflammation like cryotherapy, infrared sauna, cold plunge, and red light therapy – make sure to include movement and stress reduction in the mix – and there you have a recipe that will keep you out of the doctor’s office 99% of the time. Sure, this costs money too. But by my calculations – say $250 per month for a recovery studio membership, plus $100 for the gym – you are saving 50% of your annual out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. And honestly, even if you simply shifted that $600 per month from paying for pharmaceuticals to paying for float therapy, that still seems like a win to me.

Keep it up for long enough and you can buy that BMW outright, and be healthy enough to drive it.

06/20/2024

I was on the periphery of a conversation the other night between my husband and one of our neighbors – two middle-aged guys talking about what they eat to stay healthy – I’m sure you can guess where it went from there. Our friend mentioned that he tries to get 200-400 grams of protein a day; my husband piped up that he knows he needs more but it’s hard since I am a vegan and don’t cook any meat. Cry me a river, dude. 😊

Let’s leave aside for the moment that 400 grams of protein a day is RIDICULOUS – even if he calculated his protein requirements based on those of an elite athlete, maybe 1.2g per kg of body weight, the guy would only need slightly over 100g a day.

Anyway, it made me curious about how much protein I get in a typical day since I don’t track macros. I figured it would be a good exercise, so I measured everything I ate yesterday and calculated the nutritional values.

Here’s the math. Let’s pretend I’m an elite athlete like my friend and require 1.2g/kg of protein per day, even though most experts will tell you that .08g/kg is more than adequate. That means I need about 60 grams of protein. I double checked that number by using the online USDA calculator, selecting “very active” – the recommendation there was 43 grams per day.

Here’s the surprise: without even trying, what I eat in a typical day – a gigantic smoothie for breakfast topped with homemade granola; a delicious salad with beans and nuts and tons of veggies for lunch; and some kind of buddha bowl concoction for dinner with quinoa, roasted vegetables and tofu topped with vegan cheese – clocks in at 80 grams of protein! That’s double the RDA for someone my age and size. The bonus is that I am also getting about 55g of fiber (RDA is 28g), tons of vitamins and minerals, and ZERO cholesterol – all for 2,100 calories.

So if there is a moral to the story, it is to quit worrying about protein. You get plenty. And if that is the thing that has been preventing you from switching to a plant-based diet, well, no more excuses.

06/16/2024

I haven’t posted much in the last year, mostly because my life has been entirely consumed by flying back and forth to care for my mother as she bounces around between hospitals, rehab centers, and her assisted living facility. The truth is she is dying. It’s the very slow convergence of multiple chronic diseases and excruciating pain, and there is no joy for her in the process. Still, she fights for life.

This work is exhausting and has taken a personal toll, but it has served (among other things) to strengthen my sense of purpose. I’ve always said that I’m on a Mission to Make Menopause Cool, and that’s still true, but it is really bigger than that. I believe deeply that we all have not just the capability but the obligation to be healthy, in every sense of the word. Because you never know who is depending on you.

All you have to do is look around to see the devastating effects of our collective lifestyle habits, nutrition, and culture – I actually think it’s criminal. It’s why helping people understand that they do have choices when it comes to health and healing; that they can absolutely change their health outcomes through natural, holistic modalities and simple lifestyle shifts is what drives me. Sickness and disability are not inevitable aspects of aging!

So my purpose is pretty simple: I want to empower people to disengage from what they’ve always done (which invariably produces entirely predictable outcomes) and help them chart a path to a new level of health and true wellness that is not dependent on prescription drugs or invasive medical procedures, so that they can live longer, look better, feel better, BE better.

03/13/2024

I made a comment to one of the dieticians that visited my mom in the hospital last week that the menu seemed designed to ensure repeat customers: it over-indexed on meat, dairy, and desserts; the only green thing there was a tiny salad of romaine lettuce and shredded carrots.

I think she was genuinely surprised. She quickly pointed out that more than half of the menu was heart-healthy or low sodium, and they had lots of carb-conscious options too! I concede that those words appeared all over the menu, along with little heart icons to help you make your “healthy” selections. But considering that meat loaf, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy were all considered “heart-healthy options,” I’m not sure we can count on much truth in advertising.

When pressed on the subject, she said, “we have to offer what people like to eat.” Know your customer, basically.

Here’s the problem: ‘eating what they like’ is what got them there in the first place – my mom too. Sure, these people can be patched up and sent back out into the world to continue the habits that landed them in the hospital, but at the very least, this is a lost opportunity. After all, patients in a medical setting are a captive audience – they are there because something is broken and are arguably more open to change at this point than at any other. This won’t be true of everyone, of course, but to not even try is doing a grave disservice to the patients.

The takeaway: we need to stop expecting Someone Else to step in and fix everything that is wrong with our health.

We can maintain the status quo – eating what we like, for instance – right up until we are in the ER, and then increasingly, even afterwards. The people in the hospital can’t force anyone to make the changes necessary to avoid future hospital stays, and they have no incentive to do so anyway. What you do once you vacate the bed is none of their concern - their job is simply to check a box saying that you received “nutritional counseling” for insurance billing purposes, and to cycle you out, quickly. YOU have to decide what your future looks like.

What is it going to be?

11/06/2023

My mom got more bad medical news yesterday. She is frustrated and depressed and starting to lose hope as her prospects of “getting better” diminish by the day.

She talks a lot about how she never imagined her life looking like this – her idea of retirement involved travel and hobbies and fun times with her grandkids; not 2-3 surgeries a year, endless medical appointments, dozens of prescription medications, unbearable pain, extremely limited mobility, and the inability to do anything – bathe, brush her hair, get a cup of coffee – unassisted. I do my best to help her have some semblance of normalcy, but it’s no way to live.

One time as she was coming out of anesthesia from a surgery, she kept repeating, “Why is this happening to me? I’m a good person.” It was heartbreaking because it’s true, she really is, and she doesn’t deserve this.

Unfortunately, that’s not how it works – robust health is not doled out as cosmic reward for being a good person. Genetics figure in for sure, and there is an aspect of luck at play too – some people just seem unbreakable. But your genes are not your destiny, and it is important to remember that if you want to be healthy and vibrant into old age (or even middle age!), you do have some say in the matter. The time to decide though is not when you are 75 and breaking down, it is right now.

The choices you make every single day affect how and even when you will age. How you live, whether or not you exercise, and especially the foods you eat all have downstream effects on what your life will look like two decades from now. Of course, there are no guarantees – you could be a vegan ultra-marathoner monk and still die of heart disease. Sometimes your number is just up. But since you already know the risk factors for the most common chronic diseases (or if you don’t: obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, excessive alcohol use, chronic stress, consuming animal products), why wouldn’t you do your damnedest to eliminate them from your life entirely, TODAY, and give yourself the very best odds for a long and healthy life? Don’t leave it all to chance.

10/23/2023

Today is national nut day, so I’d like to propose a toast to the humble brazil nut – you know, the giant one hanging out in the cocktail mix amongst all those lowly peanuts. The brazil nut doesn’t get much play, overshadowed as it is by almonds and walnuts and cashews – but it should, because it packs a serious nutritional punch.

Just ONE brazil nut has about 160% of the RDA of selenium, which is critical to thyroid function; plus calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc. That translates to lower cholesterol, increased insulin sensitivity, and greater bone density, to name just a few of the reasons you should add this delicious nut to your rotation.

In case you need more convincing: one small study showed that consuming four brazil nuts lowered LDL cholesterol levels by a whopping 20 points in nine hours! No drug on the market works that fast. What’s even cooler is that the effect persisted 30 days later.

Don’t eat a whole pound in one sitting though – less is more here because the high selenium content can work against you if you overdo it. Four brazil nuts, once a month, is all it takes for lower cholesterol, improved thyroid function and a boost to immunity and bone health - without a prescription.

Happy Nut Day!

10/19/2023

How did it already get to be Pumpkin Spice season?

Fall is in the air here in Florida, and we are in the midst of cold snap that is taking the temperatures down to 70 and causing us all to pile on the sweaters. LOL, I know… but it really does feel cold! 🍂

It also makes me crave all things warm and spicy, so I’ve been making chili or soup almost every night; for breakfast, I made a big batch of pumpkin spice granola to top my smoothie bowls. It’s super easy, tastes way better than anything you buy in the grocery store, and it costs less too.

I like my food to be functional as well as delicious, so I pack in as many superfoods as I can into everything I make - this granola is loaded with:
🌱whole grain sprouted oats for fiber (You need more! Most Americans get less than half the RDA.)
🥜nuts and seeds for healthy fats and protein
🍠pumpkin for fiber, vitamins A & C, and one of the best sources of carotenoids for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant power out there
🍃cloves for crazy high antioxidant power plus anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anesthetic properties, as well as an amazing ability to help stabilize blood sugar

It comes together in about half an hour, start to finish – just toss 3 cups of sprouted oats and roughly the same amount of your favorite combo of nuts and seeds (I like walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pepitas and almonds), plus a cup of cooked quinoa into a big bowl and mix with about 1-2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 tsp ground cloves. Mix ½ cup each melted coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and canned pumpkin and pour over the dry ingredients. Mix well, spread onto a baking sheet and pop into a 325 degree oven for 20 minutes – stir halfway through for even toasting – let cool and you have enough for the whole week.

10/16/2023

My mom sent me a message over the weekend asking what I thought about this new drug for hot flashes that has hit the market recently… and predictably, I got down in a rabbit hole with all the reasons you wouldn’t want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. I’m going to spare you, but I’ll say this: there are a lot of people calling for more research about menopause and applauding the recent frenzy of work by pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs – I’m not one of them.

What is it specifically that we are trying to learn? The demands for “more research” seem to lack a clear purpose beyond isolating a physical problem that can be linked in some vague way to menopause and (this is key) cured by a drug.

It’s super cool that there are smart people in labs all over the world coming up with ways to use chemicals to tinker with our brains and trick us into feeling - or not feeling - certain things, no doubt.

But all you have to do is read the fine print in the ads for these drugs that are being marketed to middle-aged women and (after you read the lengthy list of pretty crappy side effects, including EXACTLY the thing the drug is supposed to cure, LOL) you’ll see that they are just a more complicated and costly way to travel a well-trodden road. In the case of this new hot flash drug, it’s basically interacting with neurotransmitters, or blocking excess estrogen from attaching to receptors in the brain and reducing inflammation. Kinda like folate does. Or phytoestrogens, like soy.

So sure, take the pill if you want. The study the pharmaceutical company did said that their once-daily pill reduced hot flashes by 63% after a month. That’s worse than the 84% reduction you can expect with just ½ cup of soy per day, with none of the side effects of the drug.

If we are going to cry for more research, let’s make it around how to live healthier lives WITHOUT prescription drugs. That would be worth celebrating.

10/02/2023

Why are we still using the BMI? And why on earth does a simple mathematical formula - [weight (kg) / height (cm) / height (cm)] x 10,000 – create so much agita amongst women?

The agita part I can’t answer, but I’ll tell you why we still use the BMI: because it is an easy, free way to assess one aspect of your health that is accessible and understandable to everyone. And because this measurement has demonstrated over many decades to be correlated to certain metabolic and disease states.

Does it offer perfect, irrefutable answers to whether or not you are “too fat," taking into account the totality of who you are? Nope. It is ONE TOOL. If you want to hang a picture perfectly straight, you don’t just use a hammer, you also employ a tape measure and level.

And if you want perfect data about whether or not you are tending towards the overweight and thus at increased risk for various diseases and an early grave, there are multiple other tools you can use – you could have a caliper/skin-fold test, you could weigh yourself underwater, or you could use an Xray absorption test, to name just a few – all of which offer increased accuracy and more (better?) data. They also probably cost something in terms of time and money.

But truth be told, you don’t need any of these, because you already know the answer.

Instead of railing against all these imperfect tools supposedly imposed on us by the patriarchy, why don’t we ask ourselves some tough questions and make the shifts we know we need to make in order to live our best, healthiest lives?

09/28/2023

Look what I found at the grocery store this morning! Hershey’s has two new vegan/plant-based candy offerings: an almond and sea salt chocolate bar and a Reese’s peanut butter cup, both made with oat rather than milk chocolate, and they are delicious!

More proof that making smarter nutrition choices doesn’t mean missing out – even when it comes to sweet treats.

Bravo, !!

09/13/2023

I hear that laxatives are trending now… so much so that drugstores can’t keep them in stock. A representative from a drug maker that was interviewed in the report I read said that the uptick in demand was a result of something happening on TikTok and an “increased focus on wellness since the pandemic.”

I’ll keep this short: if you are regularly (pun intended) taking laxatives, you are not “well.”

Believe it or not, overuse of laxatives can be pretty damaging to your GI tract, and if it continues over the long term, puts you at a higher risk for UTIs and colon cancer, as well as something called “laxative dependency” in which your muscle and nerve signaling stops working properly so you can’t p**p on your own. The good news is that you don’t need them anyway, because the path to bowel “wellness” is simple:

🥤Drink plenty of water – dehydration is the most common cause of chronic constipation.

☕ Coffee is good for this, too!

🤸‍♀️Get moving – regular exercise stimulates your bowels.

🧪Take a magnesium supplement – you probably need it anyway and it’s good for your bones.

🍎You already know this, but diet is important – don’t skimp on the fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Note: lifestyle factors and medications can cause or contribute to constipation, so taking a look at where you might be affected is a good place to start. Some common culprits are consuming large amounts of dairy products, not getting enough fiber, sudden changes in routine (like travel or sleep interruptions), and many prescription medications - antidepressants, most blood pressure meds, NSAIDs, antihistamines, and psychiatric and anti-seizure meds. If any of these apply to you, talking to your doctor AND taking steps to correct diet and lifestyle gaps should be your first line of defense.

Let’s nip this hashtag moment in the bud.

Vital Femme