Phytoestrogens & HRT Cake Recipe

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds that are structurally similar to oestrogen. Its thought that when eaten, they can have the same effect as oestrogen on our bodies. Phytoestrogens have a very similar chemical compound as human oestrogen, so when its consumed in food, phytoestrogens bind to our own oestrogen receptors, however they don't bind as effectively as our own oestrogen so the effects are weaker.

Foods that contain phytoestrogens:

• Nuts & Seeds - Flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds & walnuts.

• Fruits - Apples, carrots, pomegranates, peaches, strawberries (most berries), cranberries, grapes & dries fruits like dates, prunes & apricots. .

• Vegetables - sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, lentils, sprouts & mung beans.

• Soy - Soybeans, edamame beans, tofu & tempeh .

• Herbs - Red clover, garlic, liquorice root & hops.

• Drinks/ liquid - Coffee, bourbon, beer, red wine, olive oil & jasmine oil.

• Grains - Oats, barley & wheat germ.

By increasing these foods in our everyday diet could help us with symptom control during the perimenopause, so its certainly worth a try especially if you don't want to go down the medication route just yet.

Here is the recipe for the "HRT CAKE" that I make, its totally delicious, good for you as well as being

full of phytoestrogens, give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

HRT Cake

2 cups of dried fruit

1 1/2 cups of porridge oats

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour / soya flour

3/4 cup ground flax seeds

1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

3 pieces of stem ginger chopped

1 table spoon of malt extract 1000ml of almond milk.

• Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees

• Put all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well

• Add the stem ginger and almond milk, malt and stir well

• Leave everything soak for 30 minutes, it should now be a nice cake batter like consistency if not you can add a little more milk

• spoon in to pre greased cake tins

• Bake for 40 mins until golden brown

• Remove and cool ready to enjoy

Menopause and Restless leg syndrome

This has to be by far one of the most frustrating, uncomfortable, annoying and unbearable things that is happening to me right now. I've had Restless legs periodically for most of my life, its been annoying but I thought nothing of it as it lasted a short while then nothing for many months. However, fast forward to today and its every single night!

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is categorised by an overwhelming urge to move the legs. You literally feel the need to kick your legs and no matter how hard you try, you can't keep still.

This is my nemesis at the moment, it is driving me mad. Throughout the day I'm fine it seems as soon as I go to bed and try drift off to sleep my body has other ideas and decides to hold a rave in my legs and I'm the unlucky host.

The only thing that I find that helps me is to get up and walk around, do squats, jump up and down, stand on the cold tiles in the bathroom anything that keeps my legs moving, much to the annoyance of my husband I must add. However I call this payback for every sleepless night I have had over the last 25 years due to him snoring!

SO WHY DO WE GET RLS?

So doing my research and through my role as a nurse I knew that women were more likely than men to suffer with restless legs throughout their lifetime, and if you developed restless legs during pregnancy you were more likely to develop RLS during the menopause. So there is an obvious hormonal link here, and its not thought to be the amount of the hormone present but the fluctuations that can cause the problems.

As well as our delightful hormones there are other reasons why we could be suffering from this. There is a link with how our bodies manage our Dopamine levels. Dopamine is the chemical responsible for transmitting signals between brain cells, resulting in the co-ordination of body movements. Dopamine levels naturally drop at night which could explain why symptoms are worse when we are trying to sleep.

Iron deficiency can also have an effect on dopamine levels. Iron Is vital for normal brain development and in the making of neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain. Dopamine being one of these chemicals and Iron like dopamine levels, dip at night. Many of us are Iron deficient, whether this is down to erratic heavy bleeding during the perimenopause, long standing heavy periods, poor diet or generally run on the low side, this could be a reason why RLS is taking over our lives.

Magnesium deficiency could also be a reason that we get RLS. Magnesium is needed by our bodies to function, it regulates certain biochemical reactions in our bodies, including nerve and muscle function and can also contribute to a healthy immune system. When magnesium levels are low we can develop muscle cramps and problems with nerve impulses and muscle contracting.

Magnesium supplements can be purchased over the counter and worth a try if you are suffering, I have started taking them and am now on week 2, so far I have not noticed any improvement, however literature does say it can take up to a month to see the effects, so fingers, toes and everything else crossed that they start to work.

I must stress though, if you have long standing medical problems please check with your GP or pharmacist prior to starting them and discuss your regular medication, as magnesium can interact with certain medication and slows down blood clotting. If you didn't want to take supplements you can always increase the amount of magnesium in your diet.

Magnesium rich foods:

• Bananas

• Beans & Lentils

• Avocado

• Fish (mackerel & tuna)

• Nuts & Seeds

• Whole Wheat

• Quinoa

• Dark Chocolate

• Tofu

• Cultured Yoghurt

• Dark Greens

• Whole Wheat

• Quinoa

• Dark Chocolate

• Tofu

• Cultured Yoghurt

What else can be done?

So there are things that we can all do to try and help the severity of our symptoms:-

• Keeping active is key, you don't have to be an avid gym member but just walking around the block or doing a home exercise routine on an evening can be helpful.

• Having a warm bath before bed to relax your muscles.

• Massaging your legs.

• Avoid caffeine, caffeine can actually reduce the absorption of magnesium in your intestines.

• stick to a bedtime routine.

So after reading this and you feel like you have tried everything and you are still symptomatic please see your Dr for a chat. You may need a blood test to check a few levels and "Hay Presto" the Dr can prescribe a magic cure. But if not, and you are like me and desperate for some sleep I really do feel your pain, its currently 04:48am as I'm writing this and I'm wide awake with my legs juddering all over the place!!

IS THE MENOPAUSE MAKING YOU SAD?

Hormones are renowned for playing with our emotions, one minute we are up the next we are down, and as women we have learnt to adjust to this with our monthly cycles. But what happens when the up's don't come and you are left with just the downs?

At the stage in our life that the perimenopause hits, there are many factors that can affect our mood. Stressful jobs, children leaving home, elderly relatives to look after, then you throw fluctuating hormones in to the mix it's no wonder it has an effect on the way that we feel. What we have to try and understand here though is very important, are you feeling sad some of the time or all of the time?

The hormones that cause all the chaos during the Perimenopause also have an influence on our Serotonin levels. Serotonin is known as the "feel good" hormone, so when levels are normal you feel more focused and able to do your day to day tasks freely and at ease, however when levels are low, it can lead to feelings of anxiety and depression, you may become more irritable, sad and withdrawn.

Some women are more susceptible than others to depression during this time, for example: if you suffered from PreMenstrual Tension, Post Natal Depression or if you or a close family member have had depression in the past, however this is not a given and could happen to you if you have no history at all.

So what is serotonin?

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that relays signals between nerve cells in our brain and throughout our bodies. It not only regulates our mood but also plays a part in sleep patterns, digestion, bone health, wound healing, blood clotting, libido, temperature regulation and even hunger. Its is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan and must enter your body through your diet. 90% of the bodies serotonin levels will be found in the gut and 10% in the brain.

Serotonin cannot cross the blood-brain barrier however, this means that the brain must produce all the serotonin that it needs. As a result of this, any medications that can help to treat depression don't contain serotonin itself, but trigger reactions in the brain that can boost its production.

There are ways to naturally help to increase our serotonin levels, when we exercise for example our bodies release more tryptophan, the essential amino acid that our brain uses to make serotonin. This rush in serotonin gives us a 'high' feeling, ultimately making us feel better, so keeping active can be key to helping improve our mood.

Secondly light therapy or exposure to sunlight can increase our serotonin levels. It's been proven that light therapy works for treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and depression. It helps to regulate our circadian rhythm, this is the clock our bodies go by to know when it's day or night. When sunlight/daylight enters our eyes, it stimulates part of our retinas. By doing this, it send signals to the brain to produce serotonin. So by boosting serotonin levels it not only regulates our sleep/wake cycle it can also help with mood, so it's important no matter how we are feeling, to get out and about in the fresh air in the daylight hours. If however this feels a little too much, light lamps that you can sit in front of that stimulate natural light can be really helpful if getting outside is a struggle.

Thirdly there are foods that contain tryptophan, these include:-

• Salmon

• Eggs

• Cheese

• Turkey

• Tofu

• Pineapples

• Nuts, oats & seeds

These foods may help to increase our serotonin levels however it isn't as simple as just eating them and our levels will raise. There is a complex process that our bodies go through once we eat, it goes in to overdrive trying to send the right nutrients to the right places. When or if tryptophan gets absorbed in to our blood stream it's competing with other amino acids to get absorbed in to our brain where it can be converted to serotonin.

So what can we take from all of this?

There are ways that we can help boost our mood and it's certainly worth giving them all a try. Eating well and getting plenty of exercise will never go out of fashion and will always do us good physically, but now we know it can help mentally, its well worth trying to see if it has a positive effect on you and your mood.

But please always remember there is nothing wrong with asking for help, if you are still feeling low no matter what you have tried then talk to your GP, who will be able to help. There are treatments available that can really benefit you, and by talking to your Dr you can both decide what the best treatment options are whilst you go through this transition period. And most importantly keep talking to your family and friends, never feel you are alone in this, there is always someone who can help, or be there to listen.