Risotto Risotto is an Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Parmesan cheese. This dish isn’t a risotto but looks like one! Whilst Risotto is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy, the problem is the higher fat content of a true Risotto and the fact that Arborio rice is relatively higher in the glycemic index (around 70). Hence, in this recipe, the white arborio rice is swapped out for brown rice, however, if you want to use ..read more

“I love sharing my travel photos as I have come so far with what I am able to do. I did not regain my ability to do stairs until after my kids were born. My youngest was in fifth grade when I really started enjoying better health. I will never forget it as I went on his tree climbing/adventure park field trip for the last day of school and climbed trees and ziplined with him and his classmates. It was one of my favorite days.” [Sharon, USA] International Fibromyalgia Awareness Day is May 12 and Sharon from Michigan reminded me to remind you that this is an important topic to share for women ..read more

Perhaps your client’s are being woken by leg cramps at night? Maybe they are regular exercisers and don’t understand why they aren’t recovering the way they used to? Maybe your clients assume that muscular aches and pains are a normal part of menopause? Or maybe they are taking supplements such as turmeric and glucosamine targeted towards women in middle age and older, hoping for the relief that they  deserve – but these no longer work for them?  The interview I did with a journalist last year was interesting. She had watched my Masterclass on Menopause, and had picked up on a stat ..read more

When both Lyndie and Susi (in the photos above) came into my menopause transformation programmes, they were hardly walking anywhere. However, they both experienced fatigue, sore joints, lack of motivation and for Lyndie, her breast cancer treatments left her exhausted. They were also confused about what type of exercise was best for them. But as they moved through the programme, they began to walk more. Lyndie would get up in the morning and stride out over the hills there in Oxfordshire and Susi, found her way through the snowy trails in a Swiss winter and then as summer approached, she wen ..read more

One of the most challenging concerns for women in their menopause transition, is their sore knees. I so remember the aching that I used to feel, especially after a day’s hiking or skiing. It was the reason I also gave up my beloved high impact aerobic classes too, as well as my BodyPump and Step classes. My knees just couldn’t handle all the repetitive actions.  What I didn’t realise at the time, was that the knee ligaments and tendons (and other joints), are losing some of their elasticity and fluid as women move through menopause. Declining levels of oestrogen cause changes to the int ..read more

When you retire from teaching after devoting your entire career to supporting others, it’s tough not to be able to get on with living the life you dreamed of. This is Lesley’s story. She lives in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. “Every muscle in my body seemed to ache. Hot flushes: common menopausal symptoms but what of the aching joints and muscles?” questioned Lesley.  Not only am I a retired teacher, said Lesley, but I’m also a club athlete (long distance). Except for a couple of foot issues brought on by both my job and my running, I have always enjoyed full health. I also have had 2 ..read more

“Sleep touches on nearly every aspect of our physiology and psychology, of our interaction with the world and with others.” William Dement (2000), Sleep Research Pioneer.  Over 20,000 students took William Dement’s course on ‘Sleep and Dreams’  throughout his tenure at Stanford University. He created and pioneered the fields of sleep research, sleep medicine and sleep disorders.   His mission was to educate the world about the importance of sleep, which he believed was dangerously undervalued. His motto, “drowsiness is red alert,” is a message he tirelessly broadcast to h ..read more

Knowledge about how the gut-microbiome alters aspects of our immune, metabolic and nervous system health has increased 10-fold over the past decade. Fortunately, some of this knowledge has also been situated in midlife women’s health.  Whilst this increase in research has been mainly due to improved genetic research, it’s also arrived from advances in microbial technology. Both have opened the door to better understanding of gut health and the link to inflammatory diseases as women age. In western countries Irritable Bowel Syndrome [IBS] is 4 times more common in women as they reach mi ..read more

Louise is a Physiotherapist and business owner of Holcombe Health Clinic, a holistic Physiotherapy practice south east of London. She is also an Affiliate Practitioner with MyMT. This means that she does one-on-one coaching of the MyMT programmes for women in her community, wrapping them around her own coaching and exercise practice in a programme called HOW2MENOPAUSE. These amazingly, healthy Bliss Balls, come from her.  “The combination of my own journey and the need to better assist women in the Holcombe community, led me to developing my own menopause solutions lifestyle programme c ..read more

Cocoa contains more phenolic antioxidants than most foods. Knowing this is great news for those of you throwing some dark chocolate (preferably organic) into your shopping basket over the Easter break. You are doing your cells and tissues a favour if you have some dark chocolate – the phenolic anti-oxidants are known to prevent inflammation and damage to cells. There’s another reason you can throw some dark chocolate into your menopause food basket this weekend, and this is because cocoa and dark chocolate help your mood, reduce your anxiety, brain-fog and of course, give your muscles much-n ..read more