This post was originally published on 01/01/2019 and updated on 09/01/2019.

Wouldn't you love to turn back your biological clock at midlife and reclaim your wellbeing? Menopause shouldn’t feel like the end of life as you knew it but, if you learn how to meet the needs of your body, it can be the beginning of a wonderful new chapter in your life.  You might be feeling sceptical right now, but hear me out as it’s possible to overcome even the most severe menopause symptoms, without having to resort to drugs or even hormones, and as a result feel better than you can remember, whilst helping protect your future overall health¹.

You are not alone. So many women are sick of feeling overwhelmed by their menopause symptoms. According to my latest survey 96% of women don’t feel prepared for menopause and over two-thirds feel shocked by their menopause symptoms. Under 12% of the women are asking their doctor for help with their menopause and over 71% are desperately searching for help online, which often proves difficult when suffering with brain fog, anxiety and confusion due to lack of sleep. In fairness, it’s not the GPs fault that they only have a very limited number of pharmaceutical options they can offer and are not trained in nutritional medicine. The great news is that natural solutions are incredibly powerful and effective

Science shows clearly that women have choices about how to manage their menopause. And my mission this month is to highlight those choices so that women can overcome their symptoms and get back to feeling like their old selves.

Road map to managing menopause

I find it intensely frustrating that instead of being given a road map, women are largely left to cope alone with hormonal issues at midlife and beyond when there is so much workable science published to help them reclaim their wellbeing.  By the time a woman reaches midlife she should be feeling comfortable in her skin, ready to celebrate her well-earned wisdom. Rather than that, feeling more like a shadow of their former selves, seriously afraid about losing control of their mind and body, women are so often left clinging on by their fingernails. They wonder what hit them, feeling isolated and absolutely fearful about what the future has in store.

One hundred or so years ago this wouldn’t have been a problem as women were not living much past 50, but these days, when women go through menopause at the average age of 51, and life expectancy is so much longer than ever before, it becomes a real issue.  How can a woman possibly enjoy her life if she is besieged by night sweats, lacking sound sleep, waking feeling anxious, suffering wild mood swings, seriously lacking energy, aching to the point where she feels ninety rather than fifty, preferring chocolate to love making?

Today a woman can expect to live for at least an additional 30 years after menopause in a much faster and sometimes pressured world.   In order to enjoy these bonus years it’s vital  we have the tools to effectively manage the often debilitating symptoms of the menopause and learn how to keep ourselves looking good and feeling well long after the menopause, allowing us to feel energetic, sexy again and full of renewed confidence.

Over the last 27 years, with my team at the Natural Health Advisory Service, we pioneered a science-based road map which has helped hundreds of thousands of women through their perimenopause and menopause. Over 90 percent of the women who followed our programme reported being symptom-free within five months. With the right education and knowledge, women can dramatically improve their quality of life and this is also borne out in published research.²

During my Six-Week Natural Menopause Solution, and in my one to one consultations, all based on published research, I teach a woman how to:

• Control their thermostat, overcoming hot flushes and night sweats
• Boost her nutrient levels to keep brain chemistry working normally
• Successfully deal with menopause symptoms naturally consuming Mother Nature’s Oestrogen
• Get back into good physical shape
• Regain zest for life
• Revive self-esteem
• Get back into good physical shape
• Restore memory
• Reframe attitudes to midlife
• Lose weight without dieting
• Rekindle libido so that you feel like a sexy woman again
• As well as protect against osteoporosis, heart disease and memory loss in the longer term.

That’s all perfectly possible.

Choosing your journey

There is a big fork in the road when you get to menopause - you are either going to go downhill, feeling old before your time, or by learning how to manage menopause to feel better than you can remember.  Who wouldn’t want to feel symptom free and in good shape so they can enjoy the bonus years we are blessed with?

Instead of burying your head in the sand you need to recognize there are decisions to be made about how your journey through menopause and reclaim your wellbeing. It’s a mistake to leave it to chance, hoping your symptoms will miraculously go away. In most cases, things can and will go from bad to worse. For example, women going through menopause have low levels of nutrients, including essential Vitamin D³, which all affect the brain chemistry and hormone function. And added to that you have falling levels of oestrogen which make it tricky for a woman to stay in the driving seat unless she learns how to meet the needs of her body at this life-stage.

At the time of perimenopause women often start to feel strange. Periods become irregular, they feel tired, ratty and very irritable, a bit like they have PMS every day of the month. And then menopause sets in and it can feel very scary as women begin what can only be described as a menopause roller coaster.

My mission over the next four weeks is to provide information on the tools you can use to overcome your symptoms.
The first thing to do is give yourself permission to be a priority because as women we always leave ourselves as last. This month I have a series of virtual classes where you can spend an hour with me. Ask questions, get answers and learn more about what's going on in your body and how to overcome your particular symptoms for everyone is different.

Some of the things I will talk about are first aid measures which give you a quick hit to see benefits in the short term. Some will take a while longer like getting yourself back into good nutritional shape and normalising your hormone function.

I don’t have a magic wand so it does involve some commitment and work on your part but together we can get you feeling better than you can remember.   As the actor Cherie Lunghi said after going through my programme “I feel 500 percent better” and a selection of shares from women from the current Six-Week Programme report on their gains by their fifth week.  I wish this for you too and wanted you to know that there is no need to go on suffering.

Come and join me and make it a happy symptom free New Year. Say No to Menopause!

¹ Ferreira LL, Silva TR, Maturana MA et al. Dietary intake of isoflavones is associated with a lower prevalence of subclinical cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women: cross-sectional study. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2019; Jul 15 (Epub ahead of print)
² Larroy C et al. The impact of perimenopausal symptomology, sociodemographic status and knowledge of menopause on women’s quality of life.  Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 2019 Jul 13 (Epub ahead of print)
³ Askin M, Koc EM, Soyoz M et al. Relationship between postmenopausal vitamin D level, menopausal symptoms and sexual functions. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2019; 29(9): 823-827.