In their forties and fifties many women typically find that they’re several pounds (and sometimes stones) heavier than they were in their twenties. The hormonal changes that accompany the run up to the menopause mean that we are predisposed to gain more fat in the abdominal area, around the waist. So even if you find that your weight doesn’t increase with age you may still find that your body shape changes. Indeed, research has shown that menopausal women have on average 20 per cent more body fat than pre-menopausal women and most of this body fat is around their waist.

Although this increase in body fat may help reduce your risk of osteoporosis the downside is that it significantly increases your risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer. New research also suggests that it can dramatically raise your risk of Alzheimer’s later in life. And if all that wasn’t enough abdominal fat is a deep, firm fat that lies close to your organs where it can disrupt levels of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and certain hormones in your blood lowering your immunity and raising your risk of disease even higher.

 

Unfortunately, abdominal fat is notoriously hard to shift. Dieting won’t help either because if you restrict your food intake to a low level you deprive your body of essential nutrients like fatty acids and calcium, triggering deficiency-related conditions like osteoporosis, while at the same time feeling so hungry that your mood plummets.

 

Although dieting isn’t advised in midlife there are fortunately a number of simple and effective natural ways to help you stay slim and healthy. Losing middle age spread isn’t easy but it isn’t impossible. Mid life is a more comfortable time of life. Research shows that after the age of 44 most women feel happier and more fulfilled than they have ever done before because they are less concerned about what other people think. But just because you feel more relaxed and confident about yourself this doesn’t have to mean that you need to let your waist line relax as well.  The following tips will help you stay trim and with the minimum of effort.

 

Stay active

The first step is to is to stay active and to take cardiovascular exercise like swimming, running, cycling or walking very briskly for blocks of 30 minutes at least five times a week. If your children have left home for school or university or college you may not be as active as you once were so you need to build a structured exercise programme into your weekly routine to ensure that your metabolic rate stays high enough to burn off that extra weight.

 

Strike a pose

Yoga is a great way to help tone your body. Not only will it enhance your flexibility and build up muscle mass (and the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic (fat burning rate)), but it will also relax both mind and body and dissolve feelings of stress. A 2005 study in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine found middle aged women who practised regular yoga – at least 30 minutes a week – gained less weight than their more inflexible friends.

 

Lift weights

On average people over the age of 25 lose 1 pound of muscle tissue every year and this slows down their metabolism. But gaining one pound of muscle tissue increases your metabolic rate. The best way to build muscle is to strength train. A study by the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 found that women who did weight training regularly over two years were less likely to gain weight around their waist.

 

 

Eat a hormone balancing diet

When it comes to food, you should be eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly phytoestrogenic foods like legumes including soya, lentils, etc., bean sprouts, linseeds and green, leafy vegetables which help to boost your metabolism (fat burning) and to cushion the effects of hormonal changes, minimising such menopausal symptoms as hot flushes and night sweats. Keep your consumption of sweet foods (apart from fruits) and caffeine-packed drinks low. Eat plenty of whole grains (oats, brown rice, for instance) and lots of good quality proteins, such as omega 3 rich oily fish, eggs, nuts and seeds. Avoid red meat and animal produce, with the exception of dairy products which can be eaten in moderation (buy organic where possible and yogurt is the best choice out of the dairy products).

 

Plenty of H2O

Many women mistake dehydration for hunger so the next time you are hungry try drinking a glass of water and then waiting twenty minutes to see if you are still hungry. In a study by the American Obesity Society in 2006 people who swapped soft fizzy drinks for water lost 5 pounds more than those who stuck to sugary drinks (they lost extra calories from the fizzy drinks and also it probably changed their appetite too). Aim for between 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, more if you are exercising or sweating.

 

Down size meals

You’re more likely to be able to afford an executive lifestyle at midlife but massive, boozy lunches and dinners are bad news for your waist line. Eat small, regular meals and snacks instead to keep your metabolic rate (fat burning) up.

 

Snack attack

The temptation to snack on chocolate and other sugary snacks can be over powering for women with children still living at home. It can also be hard for women whose children have recently left home for school, college or university. The start of the new academic year every September can be particularly difficult. Suddenly the house is empty and feelings of loneliness can be overwhelming. It is so tempting to reach for the biscuit tin as a comfort fix but this won’t solve anything. If this sounds familiar try to ride out your craving by going for a walk, chatting to a friend or your partner or investing your energy into things you really want to do now that you have more time on your hands. If you find that you really are hungry swap sugary snacks for a small handful of unsalted nuts, pumpkin seeds or dried fruit. And remember, that even when your kids have left home they still look to you as a role model. If you don’t eat healthily or take care of yourself how can you expect them to do the same?

 

Supplement your life

In addition to eating a healthy diet to boost your metabolism and balance your hormones and blood sugar levels so that you don’t get food cravings you should also take a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement every day. A multi vitamin and mineral supplement should never be a substitute for a healthy diet but as modern farming methods and processing techniques deplete nutrients from much of the food we eat today, even if you make all the right food choices it is still increasingly difficult to get all the nutrients your body needs to keep you healthy and slim. A multi vitamin and mineral supplement is therefore a good insurance policy to guard against possible deficiencies. For weight loss make sure in particular that your supplement contains the recommended daily amount required for calcium and chromium.  (The multivitamin and mineral I use in the clinic, which has good levels of both calcium and chromium is MenoPlus – see the Resources Page).

 

A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association revealed that women in their 50s who took a calcium supplement every day put on less weight after 45 than women who did not. And researchers at Purdue University in Indiana found women taking calcium daily lost 6 pounds over two years.

 

Chromium can help keep your blood sugar levels stable so that you don’t get food cravings after a meal. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Research Centre found that people who took chromium, multivitamins and B complex vitamins gained less weight over a 10 year period than those who did not.

 

Go green

Green tea can raise your metabolism so that you burn extra calories. According to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition an extract from green tea can help speed up fat burning. Researchers discovered that people who drank green tea containing a green tea extract used up more calories than those drinking ordinary tea. (There is a green tea extract in the Nutri Plus which is used to get rid of fat around the middle – see the Resources Page).

Embarrassing as it sounds all women suffer from constipation from time to time. Although constipation is not recognised as a serious condition women who feel constipated feel bloated, sluggish and miserable. And to make matters worse sufferers often experience painful bowel movements and an increased risk of haemorrhoids (piles) through straining.

To understand what causes constipation you need to understand what is going on in your digestive system. When you eat, food is ground up in your stomach into a liquid which passes into your small intestine so that nutrients can be extracted. After that it moves on to your colon where the water is removed and stools are formed. When too little water is extracted as it passes through the colon you will suffer from diarrhoea but if too much water is extracted the stool becomes hard and inflexible and you will suffer from constipation.

 

Women tend to suffer from constipation more than men and the reasons for this include hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and dieting. Other causes include not eating enough fibre, not drinking enough water, not getting enough exercise, and high levels of stress. Any change in daily routine, such as going on holiday when eating patterns and the drinking water alters can cause constipation.  Constipation can also be caused by a ‘lazy colon’ that does not contract properly, food allergies that can cause the bowel motion to change and prescription drugs or neurological disorders that slow down the movement of waste materials through the colon. But perhaps one of the most common causes is the fast pace of modern living and lack of time.

 

Some people have an ideal time of day to have a bowel movement but if they are on a train or driving or in a business meeting they are forced to ignore the urge and this can cause constipation. In addition, not giving your body enough time to digest your food properly so you can have a healthy bowel movement is just as important as eating enough naturally high fibre foods (not refined bran), drinking plenty of water and getting exercise. With a lot of women leading increasingly busy lives, time is something most of us don’t have enough off so instead of making time to deal with constipation we reach for laxatives instead as a quick fix solution. I don’t recommend laxatives because although they can encourage a bowel movement they can lead to dependency, deplete your body of vital nutrients and can damage nerve cells in your colon and interfere with its ability to contract properly. I also don’t recommend them because most women who think they need laxatives don’t need them at all.

 

Bowel movement frequency varies for a number of reasons, including age, diet and differences in your body rhythm. Some women go twice a day but it is healthy to go at least once a day.  A healthy stool is medium brown and leaves the body easily with no straining or discomfort. It should have the consistency of toothpaste and there should be little gas or odour.

 

You may not know this but in 1990 the British Medical Scale published a scale called The Bristol Scale which is a list of the consistency of different kinds of bowel motion:

 

1. Separate hard lumps, like nuts

2. Sausage shaped, but lumpy

3. Like a sausage or snake, but with cracks on the surface

4. Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft

5. Soft blobs with clear-cut edges

6. Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool

7. Water, no solid pieces

 

You are aiming to have a bowel motion that is a no. 3 or 4, anything other than that on a regular basis is not healthy and needs to be rectified. 

 

It is important to bear in mind that chronic constipation can be a symptom of something more serious than a busy schedule or lack of time. It can be a symptom of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), a bowel disorder that makes the lives of as many as one in five women a misery with its symptoms such as abdominal pain, flatulence, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and depression. If you are diagnosed with IBS you will need a treatment plan but for common cases of constipation without the accompanying symptoms of IBS the following tips will spell relief.

 

Natural ways to prevent and treat constipation

 

Go for fibre: A high fibre diet made up of lots of five servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables and three to six servings of whole grains increases the bulk and softness of your stools so that they can pass more easily through your intestines. You should aim for around 30 g of fibre a day. Start the day with a no added sugar, high fibre cereal, like soaked muesli or porridge and a piece of fruit, take dried fruit to work as a snack, have a sandwich at work on whole grain bread or rye, snack on vegetables as a snack and then have legumes and plenty of raw and cooked vegetables for dinner.  If you aren’t used to eating this much fibre you may find that you get gas. To avoid this increase your fibre intake gradually over a period of several weeks and make sure you chew well. 

 

Add linseeds –  Sprinkle 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of linseeds on to your morning breakfast cereal or better still soak one tablespoon (15 ml) of whole linseeds overnight in water and swallow first thing. 

 

Iron problems:  If you think that your iron supplement is to blame consider a less constipating alternative or try to do without the supplement and choose more iron rich foods such as raisins, beans and dried apricots. (The iron supplement I use in the clinic is called Iron Complex and is made with an organic form of iron, iron citrate, so does not cause any changes in the bowels – see the Resources Page).

 

Drink plenty of water: Six to eight glasses of pure water a day is ideal. Keep coffee, colas and tea with caffeine to a minimum. Coffee depletes your body of vital nutrients and makes you urinate more and tea contains tannins which can trigger constipation.

 

Ditch saturated fat and sugar: Avoid red meat, cheese, refined sugar, chocolate, pastries and biscuits and anything made from white flour because these low fibre high fat and/or high sugar foods are notorious for causing constipation.

 

Get up and go: If you exercise regularly your bowel movements will become regular because any kind of movement improves bowel transit time. Aim for at least 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity such as brisk walking, swimming or dancing.

 

Time out: The reflex that causes your bowels to move typically comes about 20 minutes after a meal so even if you don’t feel the urge, sit on the toilet. This is a great way to retrain your bowels.

 

Don’t wait till you get home: If you don’t like using public toilets carry paper seat covers in your bag so that when the urge comes you can pay attention and visit a ladies’ room as soon as possible.

 

Prune juice: This quick fix naturally remedy seems to work well for almost everyone. Drink eight ounces of prune juice in the morning. A glass of lemon juice diluted in water drunk first thing in the morning has a similar effect on your bowels.

 

Supplementation with magnesium and vitamin C may have a mild laxative effect on the body.

 

A good probiotic such as BioKult (see the Resources Page) can also help promote a healthy environment within the colon and give you regular and comfortable bowel motions. 

 

Peppermint has a long history of helping relax the smooth muscles of the gastrointestinal tract and can be taken as a tea or in supplement form (see the Resources Page). 

 

Fibre supplements: Ideally you should get all your fibre from food but if you need to take supplements to quite literally move things along try psyllium husks.  (See the Resources Page)  Avoid laxatives because they can damage your bowels with regular use and make your colon too ‘lazy’ to contract, but if you must take them use them cautiously and only as a last resort when natural treatments have failed.  

 

Meditate, do yoga, go for a walk. Do things that will allow you to reduce your stress levels and help your body to relax. This can help relax your colon and encourage a bowel movement.

 

And finally, take your time when you are eating. Don’t gulp your food down. Chew it slowly and put your knife and fork down between bites to give your digestive system a chance to work its magic.

 

Note: See your doctor immediately if you notice bleeding, abdominal pain or have constipation for more than three weeks as there is potential for more serious problems like cancer, especially if you are over the age of 40.

Q: Does eating potatoes count towards my five daily portions of fruit and vegetables?

A: As much loved as it is the potato doesn’t count towards your five daily fruit and vegetable portions. This is because it has a higher carbohydrate content than vegetables and when potatoes form part of a meal they are generally used in the same way as other sources of starchy carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta or rice, so they are classified as a carbohydrate food rather than a vegetable. Yams, cassava and plantain, also don’t count as vegetables but there is an exception and that is sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are classed as a vegetable because the carbohydrate they contain breaks down more slowly. They also contain high levels of beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body and helps protect against certain cancers and heart disease and has an anti-ageing effect.

 

Just because potatoes aren’t classed as a vegetable doesn’t mean they aren’t good for you but in moderation. They provide decent amounts of vitamin C, B-vitamins and iron and make a significant contribution to your overall intake of these nutrients. Jacket potatoes contain the highest amounts of vitamin C, followed closely by new potatoes.  Potatoes also contain hydroxycinnamic acids which are powerful antioxidants that help combat free radicals – substances which lower immunity and accelerate the ageing process. These antioxidants, along with vitamin C, tend to concentrate just below the skin, so this is why cooking and eating potatoes with the skin or jacket on makes sense nutritionally.  So it is better to buy organic potatoes, so the skin will not be loaded with pesticides and just scrub them lightly. 

 

Most varieties of potatoes are classed as high glycaemic index (GI) foods, which means the sugar they contains enters your blood stream fairly quickly giving you an instant energy boost followed by a low when blood sugar levels plummet, but you can lower their glycaemic value and keep your blood sugar levels and your appetite and mood stable by eating potatoes with protein e.g. eggs, tuna, baked beans (the no added sugar variety, not containing an artificial sweetener but sweetened with something like apple juice).  Jacket potatoes have the highest GI (85) followed by new potatoes (78), chips (75), mashed potatoes (74), sweet potatoes (61) and boiled old potatoes (56).  So if you have a jacket potato just have half and load it up with tuna and salad. 

 

Finally, be aware that the potatoes you eat are only as healthy as the method you use to cook them. Opt for baked or boiled potatoes and avoid deep fried potatoes or chips, which are typically high in unhealthy fats and cancer causing substances.