wellness

Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life: Achieving Optimal Health and Wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western Science

barbara — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Though I enjoy a good yoga session as much as any middle-class white woman my age, my natural state is one of tooth-chattering anxiety. Anyone who knows me well could tell you that my yin and yang are not harmonious, but now I have the endocrine profile to prove it—a set of chromosome repeats in my DNA that has manifested itself in serious hormonal disruption, a.k.a. premature ovarian failure, a.k.a. early menopause. Luckily, my family is complete, so my problem is not infertility but the addition of hot flashes and potential bone loss to my list of daily worries.

Enter Claudia Welch's Balance Your Hormones, Balance Your Life, which promises I'll soon be “achieving optimal health and wellness through Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and Western science.” Welch applies the Chinese concepts of yin and yang to a woman's sex hormones and stress hormones, respectively. The typically revved-up Western woman's stress hormones tax her sex hormones, causing the Fred Astaire-like progesterone (Welch's analogy, not mine) to stumble, not waltz, with her Ginger Rogers-like estrogen. And once a woman's sex hormones get out of whack, she's dancing her way to ill health—or, to quote a chapter title, she's just “Feeling Crummy.”

To me, a woman whose hormonal problems are rooted in genetics and a not uniquely American malaise, the real balancing act in Welch's book is the eternal push-pull between Western science and Eastern wisdom. I know that Big Pharma has a vested interest in selling me hormone patches, yet there is evidence that hormone therapy is appropriate for women like me who are not undergoing the “change of life” as part of the natural aging process. Still, Welch's advice to adopt dietary and stress-reduction strategies as the first line of defense is rooted not only in Eastern philosophy but also in common sense. More quinoa, less coffee—I got it.

Things get really woolly in the chapters “Birth Control” and “Fertility and Conception,” making me extremely glad that my health concerns lay outside those areas. Asks Welch: “if older women increase their chances of breast cancer, heart attack, strokes, and dementia by consuming synthetic hormones for menopausal symptoms, why is it okay for younger women to take these drugs?” A good question, particularly in light of Welch's observation that hormonal contraceptive tests on men were halted when the subjects' testes shriveled up. “If women's ovaries were on the outside of our bodies, and the negative side effects were actually cosmetically visible,” Welch writes, “would we be less tolerant?”

Welch backs off the patriarchy all too soon, however. Two pages later she's advocating for Natural Family Planning, which she claims lacks the “inconvenient to tragic side effects of most other forms of birth control.” Just ask Michelle Duggar! Her balance must be flawless, because as Welch writes, “establishing reproductive health consists of regulating the cycle and the hormones, having good quality and quantity of yin in the diet and lifestyle, and good quality and quantity of exercise and mental activity to support healthy yang.” I don't watch 19 Kids and Counting, but I can guess that neither yin nor yang come up much.

The takeaway? This book is full of sensible advice for generally healthy (and Quiverfull) women wanting to stave off crumminess. Women with more serious health concerns should probably skip it—reading this book would freak out their yang, which even Welch knows should be strenuously avoided.

Written by: Shannon Drury, March 9th 2011

The Uterine Health Companion: A Holistic Guide to Lifelong Wellness

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:44:00 +0000

By Eve Agee

Celestial Arts

In The Uterine Health Companion, Eve Agee brings her training as a medical anthropologist and as a holistic healer to bear on the subject of life-long uterine health. She begins the book by explaining both holistic health and the structure and function of the uterus to her readers. Then she outlines a plan for optimal uterine health, with chapters on emotional/spiritual and mental health, the power of nutrition and the importance of a strong body.

In part three, Agee discusses what she calls “Uterine Health Conditions” and these span from menarche to menopause and beyond. This is a book for women at every stage of reproductive life. This is also a book for Western women specifically.

Agee’s training in Africa has led her to question the disproportionate distribution of uterine maladies from a global perspective. Without ever insinuating that western women have their menstrual woes all in our heads (so common to masculinist approaches to women’s reproductive health, as I’m sure most of you are aware), Agee asks why it is that PMS, endometriosis and hot flashes (to name some examples) are so prevalent in the west but comparatively minimal in the non-western world. Agee indicates that dominant western attitudes about women’s bodies and women’s reproductive systems and abilities have actually contributed to menstrual, reproductive and menopausal illness in the western world. I found that to be the most interesting thing about her book.

I can’t say I learned much about the nature of uterine health conditions or about things to do for optimal uterine health, but I’m a reproductive health geek, so I came to the book with a fair amount of knowledge. Still, the reminder to eat my orange and red veggies was a good one and encouragement to keep up on exercise is always appreciated. The part I just couldn’t do was the holistic bit: I just couldn’t bring myself to do the guided visualizations. Certainly, that had more to do with my own comfort zones. Still, I just wasn’t prepared to enter my uterus and talk to the people/things I met there (though it was fun to tell my mother do to so).

Agee’s style is engaging and easy without being overly simple. A quick read, enjoyable and timely.

Written by: kristina grob, July 1st 2010

Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them

admin — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Leora Tanenbaum

Seven Stories Press

With my feet encased in a pair of red Mary Jane pumps, I sat at my desk reading Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them. As a self-described “shoe girl” and vehement hypochondriac I nervously turned the pages, bracing for bad news.

In her book, author Leora Tanenbaum outlines some of the extreme practices women have undergone in the name of footwear—like the practice of foot binding in tenth century China—and gives anecdotal evidence about the serious foot, knee, and back injuries that can arise from wearing modern-day heels. There is a section of the book dedicated to foot maladies. I squirmed through it. Another section discusses cosmetic surgery of the foot, followed by accounts of surgery “horror stories.” Throughout, women discuss the pain their high heels have caused them. All of this is coupled with inconvenient, scientific facts that all confirm high heels can, over time, cause physical pain and deformity.

According to Tanenbaum, shoes are not supposed to hurt, a fact I had never considered. Truth be told, even my “comfortable” office shoes—a beautiful pair of open-toed ballet flats—squish my toes together and dig into my heels as I walk. This, according to Tanenbaum, is neither normal nor healthy for the foot. I’ve never taken the time to find a pair of shoes that are both comfortable and beautiful—mostly because I didn’t believe that such a pair existed.

Tut, tut, Tanenbaum would say. There are countless brands of foot-friendly shoes, some of which are provided in the book. One that I have recently become enamored with, thanks to Tanenbaum’s recommendation, is the Born shoe brand. A recent shopping trip yielded me a stunning (and comfortable!) pair of silver gladiator sandals that leave me feeling as though I am walking on air.

Generally speaking, I love my shoes very much. Any book that will try to scare me away from them will only temporarily divert my attention, and Tanenbaum is aware of this fact. Although she concedes that there are social pressures encouraging women to wear pumps, she does not believe that high heels are “unfeminist.” Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them does not attempt to stop women from wearing the shoes they love; it simply suggests that the indulgence be limited to a few hours a week and that comfortable shoes with orthopedic inserts are worn when possible.

Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them should be a prerequisite for all shoe-enthusiasts. The book offers practical advice that can easily be incorporated into even the most fashionable of wardrobes. As I type this I am wearing a great pair of black bootie pumps. Although once uncomfortable, I’ve made them substantially more wearable, thanks to the over-the-counter orthopedic inserts I picked up as per Tanenbaum’s suggestion. With a little practical planning, it appears—to borrow from a tired cliché—that women can have their shoes and wear them too, so long as they are smart about it.

Written by: Cheryl Santa Maria, May 20th 2010

This Crazy Vegan Life: A Prescription for an Endangered Species

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:37:00 +0000

By Christina Pirello

Penguin

I love meat. I love cheese. I love all things animal, and I've always believed that these foods are part of a healthy, balanced diet. I couldn't imagine becoming vegan, giving up all animal products completely. Veganism seemed like a quick road to malnutrition (how could you possibly get enough protein and calcium?), boredom (spinach again?), and overall weirdness. ("I'll have the soyburger with soy ketchup on a soy bun with soy fries.") Fortunately, Christina Pirello's This Crazy Vegan Life challenges all of these perceptions and shows how choosing a vegan lifestyle can improve health, energy, and wellness.

The author begins by briefly sharing her powerful personal testimony; adopting a vegan lifestyle led to her recovery from a terminal form of leukemia. In addition, veganism has helped her to lose weight and feel better about her impact on the planet. Her energetic, passionate voice and real-life stories and advice make this book practical and engaging from cover to cover.

The initial chapters are devoted to educating the reader, providing information on food and culture throughout history. The author presents startling statistics about the origin of foods we eat and the impact of these foods on our health, and shows how choosing healthy non-animal foods will benefit the reader and the planet. Veganism begins to sound not only appealing, but also intelligent, practical, and delicious.

Common misperceptions about veganism are dispelled clearly and simply. For example, many people believe that eating a vegan diet is too expensive. The author points out that a pound of veal costs $7.99-$8.99, while a pound of tofu is just $1.49 and a pound of carrots is about $.89. It's hard to argue with that!

After reading the first chapters, most people will be ready to give veganism a try. Fortunately, the author anticipated this, and included several very complete chapters about how to make the transition to the vegan lifestyle. She explains basic nutritional principles, such as different types of carbohydrates and fats, and how these work with a vegan diet. Readers learn how to make sure they're getting proper nutrition, and why seeking this nutrition through non-animal foods is healthier and safer than what most Americans are exposing themselves to through conventional foods.

Lists of foods to stock in your pantry and refrigerator are included, along with a twenty-one-day menu plan. Over 100 recipes for delicious dishes (even desserts!) will help the new vegan approach meal preparation with confidence and know-how. A chapter on exercise provides an illustrated resistance band workout and ideas for other forms of healthy movement.

By the end of This Crazy Vegan Life, I was chomping at the bit to try some new recipes and give up animal products in my diet. Thanks to Christina Pirello, I'm on my way to a healthier, more natural, more energetic life.

Written by: Amanda Moss, February 20th 2009