A Menopausal Diet

Menopause is a lifestyle change, a shift in the body and mind that requires attention, care and adjustment. As a woman ages, her body reflects the cellular aging, coming to a moment when it no longer needs to sustain the cycles of elevated progesterone and estrogen. Menopause starts as those estrogen levels begin o naturally fall. Along with symptoms like hot flashes, lack of sleep, reduced bone density and changes in mood, the body has to learn how to regulate without that constant level of hormones. This can sometimes result in changes to how the body metabolizes carbohydrates as well as how the body regulates cholesterol levels. A healthy, responsive diet to menopause is a great place to begin when those initial symptoms of perimenopause come on.

The Dairy Diet

In the United States, lactose intolerance has been on the rise. Between 30 and 50 million people report various levels of intolerance, and that number is much higher for African Americans, indigenous peoples, and Asian Americans. Researchers believe that white people of European descent have lower levels of lactose intolerance as they descended from European communities where dairy has been consumed for generations. The genetic mutation to digest lactase was passed on through those lineages.

While there are varying studies on the pros and cons of lactose, it has been proven that milk can increase bone density. As women go through menopause and age in general, their bone density can decrease significantly, and a study has found that consuming lactose has helped replenish that strength. Drinking milk or eating cheese before sleep also can help with sleeplessness due to the amino acid glycine, a building block for protein, which has also been used to treat people with schizophrenia, stroke, sleep problems, metabolic disorders, and other illnesses.

Possible Assistance from Fatty Acids

In studies done looking at the effect of fatty acids on regulating the menopausal symptoms of women, results were not always conclusive but still left room for encouraging experimentation. In one study, women who consumed omega-3 fatty acids did experience relief of symptoms. Scientists note women can experiment with and document intake of omega-3 fatty acids to see if there is an effect. Such foods would include fish like mackerel and salmon, as well as flax, chia and hemp seeds.

General Healthy Eating Tips during Menopause

Consuming lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and quality proteins are all methods of boosting the body’s overall strength, muscle mass, and bone density. Studies looking at the consumption of whole grains compared to processed flours and sugars have found correlation between heart health and diet. The healthier the heart, and other organs, the stronger the body can maneuver hormone shifts. Some studies recommend avoiding spicy food, hot food, alcohol, and caffeine, as these can be triggering for some women during menopause who are prone to hot flashes.

The greatest take-aways when it comes to a healthy diet during menopauseare to focus on what works for you. By recording what you eat and any side effects, as well as focusing on healthy eating habits, you can better understand what your body needs. Food is, of course, one of the greatest determinants of health, and access to healthy food is linked to socioeconomic status, region (where one lives), race, ethnicity, and many other factors. Therefore, the intentionality involved in finding and preparing healthy foods is not always easy, especially for women working multiple jobs, taking care of a family, and living in a food desert. To the best of one’s ability, for a woman going through menopause, trying to prioritize a healthy diet can ease a lot of the symptoms.

Menopause is a natural phase of women’s life and there are may ways you can deal with menopause symptoms but treating menopause naturally is the best way and a permanent solution. Therefore Juveriente® brings to you a natural Japanese formula to treat menopause naturally. Visit Juveriente’s amazon shoptoday.

The Wonders of Japanese Green Tea – Five health benefits of green tea. ™Juveriente’s Blog

Take Health Wisdoms from the Healthy Culture

We are all bombarded with health news all the time. Drink this, eat this, don’t eat this. It’s a bit confusing. Sometimes we just want some advice. One thing that we can do to help ourselves, is to look at cultures who are healthy and then look at what they eat and drink.

The Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea, the traditional healthy drink

Green tea is a popular drink in Japan. The Japanese have known about the benefits of tea for over 1,000 years. In the writings of the 12th century Japanese monk Eisai, he encouraged the drinking of tea for good health. Tea plantations were then established in the Uji region of Kyoto in the same period. Japan has made an art form of preparing, serving and drinking tea, the world famous Japanese tea ceremony.

Although tea has been drunk for over a millennium, today’s scientists are only just discovering why the drink is so special. They are beginning to understand some of the benefits that underpin green tea’s success in remaining popular for so long.

proven_health_benefits_of_green_tea

There are two main categories of tea, green and black. Green tea is less processed and is therefore considered more healthy than black tea. Green tea plants are typically grown in higher altitudes. The sencha variety of green tea is the most popular in Japan and is made with whole leaves. Matcha tea used to be a preserve of the elite in Japan but is now readily available all over the world. It is made from green tea that is grown in the shade, so that it has higher proportion of chlorophyll in the leaves. This gives matcha its bright green color. Matcha team is stone-ground whole tea leaves.

5 benefits of Green Tea

There are many claimed benefits of drinking green tea. Five of these benefits are garnering more attention with more dollars being invested in studies to show their efficacy. Let’s take a look at these five benefits:

Anti Cancer

Because of anecdotal evidence there has been much interest in the properties of green tea that might prevent cancer. Studies have shown that substances within green tea can stop cancer cells from growing. Whilst this has been shown in the lab it is much harder to produce definitive evidence in the wider population. Green tea contains polyphenols and catechins which are anti-oxidants. It is these extracts that have been linked to reducing the incidence of cancer. Anti-oxidants mop up free-radicals, stopping them causing damage and deformations in the cells of our bodies.

Diabetes

One of the major concerns facing us in the States is the huge increase in the number of people developing Type-2 diabetes. It is possible that green tea can assist in the body becoming more sensitive to insulin which means that the body can react better to changing sugar levels. The results from studies have varied but in recent years studies have claimed that green tea can help you reduce the chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by up to 42%.

Weight Loss

Interestingly, in a society that historically has had less issues with obesity, Japan has also had an appetite for green tea. There is evidence that green tea can help maintain weight but also can help promote weight loss . Green tea is high in catechins, which numerous studies have pointed to be the active ingredient in weight loss. In a trial, those who drank green tea had a significant decrease in their body weight and also maintained their body weight after weight loss. This is significant as given the evidence from the Japanese population that they have less issues with their weight, it could be that this is linked to drinking green tea regularly.

Brain Health

The same catechins have been shown to improve brain health. Recent human and animal studies have shown that regular green tea drinking may decrease the incidence of both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson disease. These neurodegenerative brain diseases impact the transmission of brain signals via the neurons. It is thought that the catechins in green tea could prevent these diseases as they have been shown to assist in the “firing” of neurons.

Aiding Sleep and Relaxation

Green tea also contains amino acids. One of these, L-theanineis known to help people get to sleep. L-theanine was discovered by Japanese scientists in 1949. The amino acid is important in the formation of serotonin and dopamine. This are important chemicals in our bodies, which assist in achieving a calm state and putting the body and mind into a relaxed condition.

So, should you drink green tea?

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Tea Farm, Tokyo© Francisco Antunes

The Japanese continue to drink lots of green tea to this day. There appears to be a benefit for the rest of us to take up drinking it each day too. It is now easy to get hold of in the US and green tea has the potential to help keep our bodies fit and can also help with keeping our brains and minds in tip-top shape too.

CHECK OUT THE JAPANESE HEALTH FACTS AND TAKE THE BENEFITS INTO YOUR LIFE

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