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Are you approaching menopause? There are so many changes that happen to a woman as she nears this phase of her life.

In order to deal with these changes, it is important for a you to change your her diet to cope with the changes to your body. As we get older, our bodies require different foods. While this does not mean that you can no longer enjoy the foods you once did, you must learn how to incorporate foods with the necessary nutrients into your diet.

There are even some foods that can help you deal with your menopause symptoms. For example, choosing foods with high potassium content, like bananas, will help you balance water and salt retention issues. Dried fruits like figs and apricots can do the same thing. You may also want to add dark, leafy green vegetables to your diet like cabbage, broccoli, kale, spinach and collard greens. Try to increase the amount of “right” whole grains in your diet, like soy beans, brown rice, wheat germ, and lentils.

In addition to adding these foods to your life, you may also want to increase your consumption of foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines, trout, tuna, salmon, and herring are just a few examples of foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Studies have also shown that eating soy products can be quite beneficial to women going through menopause. Yogurt, tofu, soybeans, and soy milk can help in this area. Nuts work well with your new nutritional needs, so throw in some sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.

Choosing the right kinds of oil is an important part of your diet planning: include flaxseed and canola oils.

Try seaweed—it’s great on rice or as an additional vegetable. Kimbu, Arame, Nori, and Wakame (available at your local health market in the seaweed section) are other helpful choices since they have naturally occurring chemicals and hormones that are very good at combating natural menopause symptoms.

These foods are not only helpful for menopause; they are part of an overall healthier diet. As we age, blood pressure rises, as does the risk of higher cholesterol levels. These diet changes can help us to improve our overall health. Instead of fighting with the side effects of prescription drugs, you can handle these risks by eating well and maintaining your ideal body weight, which can help your heart deal with its age as well. Remember that you don’t have to strictly hew to your new diet—just a tendency in these directions can improve your overall health.

There is little reason why you can’t have a slice of your birthday cake, or sneak a cookie in with your afternoon coffee once in a while. You might even try learning to bake with different kinds of ingredients. As you start working on your diet, you may not even notice the sheer number of things that have changed as you will be changing, too. You may feel better, have more energy, and have more concentration. These diet changes will help you to have fewer hot flashes, night sweats, heart palpitations, and other menopause symptoms.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Nutrition & Health.

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Tags: blood pressure, cholesterol, coffee, Menopause, Nutrition & Health, omega 3 fatty acids, sunflower seeds, whole grains

And here we are at the Food Oscars, waiting for the envelope (please!) What are the healthiest foods you can eat, and how do they help you to live better?

Like movie actors, there are a lot of foods out there with some good qualities. But only a few foods contribute Oscar-quality nutrition and improve our lives. Some of these foods are so nutritious that they deserve an award—an Oscar—and a place on your plate.

“And the Oscars for the five healthiest foods go to …

• Salmon
• Soy
• Greens
• Berries
• Whole Grains

This article will focus on the first three.

Salmon is an excellent source of protein and is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which lower the levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol in the blood, and increase the level of HDL, or “good” cholesterol in the blood. Salmon is a very versatile food that can easily be substituted for other types of meats such as beef or pork in many different recipes. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone eat at least two servings of fish on a weekly basis and it strongly recommends the consumption of fatty fish, like salmon. It is best to choose wild salmon, as it has more omega-3 fatty acids than farm-raised salmon. Most canned and frozen salmon is wild-caught, so they have the same benefits to your health.

Soy comes in many forms. Tofu is a soy product. It is full of all of the essential amino acids that the body requires. Soybeans are the only known vegetable sources that can make this claim. Soybeans are also very rich in the omega-3 fatty acids, the B vitamins, fiber, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc. A regular diet that includes soy is one that will lead to an overall low level of total cholesterol, as well as LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Soy is beneficial in preventing heart disease, and can help to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis, breast cancer and prostate cancer.

All vegetables are healthy but greens are especially healthy. The best greens to eat include chard (or “Swiss Chard”), collard greens, kale, bok choy, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans. These greens are all rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron and phytonutrients. Broccoli, for example, is beneficial in preventing the onset of heart disease, diabetes and a variety of cancers. If, like George Bush Sr., you don’t like the taste of broccoli, then eat it in recipes such as Chinese beef and broccoli or in a stir-fry with soy sauce. Another option is to eat broccoli raw but with other vegetables such as on a vegetable platter with a zesty dip for added flavor. Green vegetables are low in calories and very high in fiber. Foods that are high in fiber are also filling so that means you do not need to eat too large a helping in order to feel that you have eaten enough.

Greens can be eaten raw or cooked. If you eat them raw, you get the maximum health benefit—just make sure to clean them before you use them. Add raw greens to a salad or simply just snack on them and munch away! One of the best ways to prepare greens is to steam them, as steaming maintains much of the nutritional content—except for Vitamin C, which is heat-labile. Stir-fries are another healthy way to toss together your greens.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Food Cures.

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Tags: asparagus, b vitamins, broccoli, cholesterol, Fiber, Food Cures, magnesium, nutrition, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin C, whole grains

Beans and lentils are healthy foods. They are sometimes neglected as a good source for health and nutrition because they can be perceived as boring and flavorless. Beans and lentils are nevertheless extremely nutritious and should be included as a part of a healthy diet.

Both beans and lentils are packed full of fiber and protein and contain very little fat. Beans and lentils are rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, which can be beneficial in fighting a number of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, inflammatory diseases, osteoporosis and depression.

Black beans are a source of soluble fiber and are effective in lowering bad cholesterol by as much as 24 percent. A side-benefit of this decrease in LDL’s is to lower blood pressure. The fiber in black beans is able to sufficiently keep sugar levels to within a healthy zone, while damping hunger. Black beans are good for diabetics because they can level out their calorie consumption without elevating their glucose levels.

These same beneficial effects can be found in a number of different kinds of beans. The most popular kinds of beans and peas include chickpeas (or garbanzo beans), lima beans, fava beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, navy beans, pinto beans and great northern beans.

Lentils are rich in many nutrients, but are particularly rich when it comes to the B vitamins. These B vitamins can help to prevent heart attacks. Lentils are also very rich in protein, fiber and a variety of minerals such as ones that help support the strength of the immune system. Examples of these are copper, zinc and manganese and iron. Lentils are particularly rich in iron, which recommends them for people with certain kinds of iron-deficiency anemia.

Miso may not be found in many American households, but it should be considered as a healthy alternative, and a great way to increase the number of beans in your diet. Miso is a type of soybean paste that is often used as a seasoning for sauces and soups. Miso is rich in substances called isoflavones which are believed to help protect against the development and growth of breast cancer because they inhibit the growth of the blood vessels that are responsible fro the rapid growth of tumors.

Also rich in both iron and calcium (when it is sufficiently processed with the salts of calcium) is soybean curd or tofu. Tempeh is another soy product that boasts high levels of vitaimin A, B6, magnesium and zinc. Tempeh has slightly lower levels of fat than does tofu. Other soy products are worth considering because of their nutritional value, including soymilk and other soy beverages such as chocolate soymilk, soy nuts, soy yogurt, tofu (as previously mentioned) and a variety of products made from tofu.

All soy products are derived from soybeans. This means that they all are high in protein content. Protein is made up of all of the essential amino acids that the body needs to function at its healthiest. Soybeans are also extremely rich in all of the B vitamins, as well as fiber, the omega 3 fatty acids, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and phosphorus.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more information on Food Cures.

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Tags: antioxidants, beans, cholesterol, Depression, Fiber, Food Cures, immune system, lentils, magnesium, nutrition, nuts, omega 3 fatty acids

Sunflower seeds are not just fun to eat; they are also very nutritious to the body. While sunflower seeds contain approximately the same amount of polyunsaturated fats as their counterpart nuts, they are much richer in antioxidants that ward off cancer, cataracts and heart disease. Sunflower seeds are also high in vitamin E content. It has been shown by research studies that consuming high amounts, which is to say in the area of 100 IU (the RDA is presently at 15 IU on a daily basis) of vitamin E on a daily basis helps to cut the risk of developing heart disease by approximately 40 percent.

Fish and fish oils contain the very important omega 3 fatty acids that the body requires to help lower the blood fats, and in particular triglycerides. It is believed that high amounts of triglycerides in the blood are more dangerous for females than they are for males. Eating regular portions of fish is also beneficial for lowering blood pressure and for easing many of the discomforts that arthritis brings with it. The fish highest in omega 3 fatty acids include salmon, blue fish, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, herring and lake trout. It is recommended that an individual eat two to three servings of fish per week. It is not recommended that you start taking fish oil supplements unless you first discuss it with your physician.

Nuts are very good for the heart. In particular, walnuts have been found to lower levels of bad cholesterol a great deal. By getting rid of saturated fats in the diet and instead substituting polyunsaturated fats that are contained in nuts you can do a great deal of good for your heart. Nuts, listed in order of those containing the highest levels of monounsaturated fatty acids to the least include macadamias, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, peanuts, pine nuts and walnuts.

Olive oil is very rich monounsaturated fat, which helps to decrease the level of cholesterol in the blood. Olive oil is a mainstay of those living in the Mediterranean region. Oliver oil can be purchased in regular, light tasting, virgin and extra virgin. If you do not particularly like the taste of olive oil then reach for canola oil as it contains plenty of monounsaturated fats and is low in saturated fat content. Other types of oils that are healthiest because of their monounsaturated fats include flaxseed oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, grape seed oil, soybean oil and walnut oil. If you want to decrease your bad cholesterol (LDL) by anywhere from seven to ten percent then substitute either olive oil or canola oil fro butter or margarine (more so if you are replacing butter which contains more fat than margarine). Be aware however that all oils have at least 144 grams of fat, not to mention 120 calories for every tablespoon.

Flaxseed oil is another oil that is beneficial for health. This type of oil comes the flax plant and is an “oilseed.” Flaxseed oil is an excellent source of omega -3 fatty acids as well as lignans. Eating a diet rich in lignans helps to decrease the risk of developing many different kinds of cancers, not to mention osteoporosis and circulatory disease.

Seeds, nuts, fish and oils have many health benefits and if you are looking to live a healthier life they should become a staple in your diet.

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Scott Meyers is a staff writer for It’s Entirely Natural, a resource for helping you achieve a naturally healthy body, mind, and spirit. You may contact our writers through the web site. Follow this link for more informaton on Food Cures.

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Tags: fish oil, flaxseed oil, Food Cures, lowering blood pressure, monounsaturated fats, nuts, olive oil, omega 3 fatty acids, saturated fats, sunflower seeds, vitamin E