|
 Thank
you Dr. Gillespie for your comments and now I would like to thank you for the following
excerpts from your books, The Menopause
Diet and The Menopause
Diet Mini Meal Cookbook
FREE excerpt
The Menopause Diet
Chapter One: Female, Fat and Forty
 Dr.Gillespie
Those words gnawed at me when I was a first year UCLA med student. Before
me sat a woman in an oversize T shirt grasping her right side, sweating in pain while
trying to suppress a belch. "Be suspicious of gallstones in anyone who is
female, fat and forty" laughed my instructor. But for this woman, it was no
laughing matter.
 Menopause*, the time period that covers the ten years or more before the last
menstrual period, is a critical span in a woman's life characterized by major biological
and psychological changes which are important determinants of a woman's health in her
later or post-menopausal years. While our ovaries kick out the last eggs in their
stockpile, enzymes in our bodies, which are dependent on estrogen, begin to falter.
Cholesterol levels start to climb, and the ratio of "good" versus
"bad" lipids in our blood takes an abrupt nosedive, increasing our risk of heart
disease and strokes. As if this wasn't enough, calcium begins to sneak out of our
bones, leaving them vulnerable to everyday stresses while gallbladders go on strike,
refusing to empty completely, spewing gallstones in their wake. This hormone teeter
toter of life throws off our sensitivity to glucose or sugar in foods. And with that
comes the inevitable weight gain of middle age.
The good news is you are not alone. Every woman over the age of 40 begins to develop
changes in her body's ability to balance hormones against the control exerted by our
nervous system. In fact, our nerves and hormones are so closely tied together they
are known as the neuroendocrine system. Until recently, little importance was placed
upon the interaction between our brain and hormones, but researchers are discovering that
tissues thought to be inconsequential to our bodies may play critical roles in the fine
tuning of our hormones, especially during menopause.
As a physician who dealt with men and women's reproductive and urinary systems, you would
think I'd know how to take proper care of my own body. Unfortunately, doctors are the
worst patients. I never exercised, ate the recommended high carbohydrate diet
espoused by the AMA, ADA, and fashionable fitness magazines and relied upon my great genes
to get me through life. And all was well until I turned 40.
I don't want you to think it was something dramatic that happened. far from it.
Instead it was insidious, like grey hair. Actually, I started turning grey, which I
blamed on a harrowing episode with a patient that nearly died. Then I noticed my periods,
which had always been irregular were now every 28 days. At the same time, I began to
develop an appetite. At first I thought it was just the result of my renewed
interest in gourmet cooking. But when I could finish off an entire Lawry's Diamond
Jim Brady cut of prime rib, complete with a giant baked potato and salad, I knew,
something was different.
What I didn't know at the time was the role estrogen played in appetite control.
Recent research has implicated estradiol, the most potent and active form of estrogen, in
the control of eating. When estradiol levels drop, so does the release of
cholecystokinin, a hormone produced by the pancreas which signals our gallbladders to
empty. This in turn makes us feel full or satiated, especially when we have any
saturated fat in our diet. During menopause, however, women begin to show a
substantial delay in gallbladder emptying and just don't feel full as soon as they should.
As a result, portion size increases, and with that the number of calories consumed
per feeding.
Changes in our ability to handle carbohydrates adds another wallop. As blood sugar
rises, so does our hunger quotient and any cholecystokinin released not only fails to
signal we're full, but paradoxically increases our appetite. So if you eat a high
glycemic carbohydrate, such as popcorn with butter, you'll be even hungrier. Was it
any wonder I could eat like a lumberjack! All this made me take a serious look at
the changes menopause was having on my body, especially my stomach.
In order to appreciate how different things were becoming, it is important to learn how
our digestive system works in the first place.
 Introduction
Are you interested in Larrian's
latest book?
 
"You're Not Crazy, It's Your Hormones"
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 Exclusive Interview for
this book
Spicy Beef
 
Dr. Larrian Gillespie has developed a way for women to eat to stay fit, sharp and lose
weight and keep it off! Dr. Gillespie has been the first to recognize that women have
different nutritional needs - we use foods differently and need to eat differently than
men. Her recipe Spicy Beef comes from her book The Goddess Diet. This stir-fry dish
can easily be made for dinner and enjoyed by the entire family - especially the men!
 Sue's Soy Kitchen
Have you thought about soy?
Stop by our kitchen where we have prepared some tasty treats which are healthy
too!
"Two soy beans up! - - Way up!"
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""I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"
- - Soy & Tofu Times
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