Introduction

The female body needs additional dietary support during the menopause, which, in western nations, occurs on average at age 51. As well as the menopause, several other important health issues need consideration, such as bone health, digestive processes, absorption of nutrients and the ability of the immune system to respond to detrimental bacteria, as well as some viruses that can enter the gut. This is an age of change that affects both mental and physical resources.

It is therefore a time when it is important to recognise and pay diligent attention to dietary needs, taking simple steps such as ensuring that potassium-rich foods are plentiful with cooked vegetables, fruits and raw salads. Potassium helps to balance sodium levels, and reduce this mineral’s potentially less desirable effects on heart function, bone health, mood and emotions, and water retention.

Both Females and Males of this age group start to lose the full range of beneficial bacteria in the intestines. These beneficial bacteria are very important to the immune system, and comprise almost 90% of the digestive tract’s flora. They are responsible for optimal processing and absorption of healthy food nutrients. They are also responsible for the production of several important vitamins among the vitamin B group of nutrients, as well as vitamin K, a valuable antioxidant that helps protect the liver and boost the immune system.
Maintaining good bone density is prudent at this age, and women unfortunately become more susceptible to bone loss than men, so there is a need to support bone tissue as much as possible.

Hot flushes are a frequent discomfort during the menopause, affecting up to 75% of women. This age group also experiences a reduction in the elasticity of arteries and other blood vessels, and can become more susceptible to varicose veins.
Before you start

We recommend that you undertake our Detox Formula which will cleanse your body and aide your guts ability to absorb the nutrients within the Disease formula. It will also help replienish the intestinal tract with healthy flora and enhance your overall health and wellbeing.

It is of particular benefit in today’s environment with our increased exposure to harmful toxins from so many sources. It is our recommendation to pre-empt any dietary/nutritional program with a cleanse, and to repeat it twice per year.

Click here to view the Detox Formula 

	Womens 45-65 Formula - SAVE 10% when you buy the complete set of formulas. This includes 1 of each product listed below. You save a total of £8.15 VAT Free Price: £73.34
	GTF Chromium with Anti-Oxidants is an optional Food State formula to help keep blood sugar within a healthy balance. The GTF form of Chromium has been found helpful in lowering cholesterol levels. VAT Free Price: £10.50
	Bone and Joint Support is a formula that contains minerals specifically targeted to provide nutrients known to enhance the growth of bones and to help reduce bone mineral loss. These nutrients have been found to exert a beneficial effect on bone density. They are also valuable to post-menopausal ladies to help protect bone.  VAT Free Price: £13.00
	Zinc & Copper Zinc is necessary to produce collagen within the dermis layer of the skin. This antioxidant mineral is known to help reduce the incidence of greying and thinning hair. White specks on the nails or nails that split easily can be as a result of zinc deficiency. Copper is an important mineral that is also associated with premature greying of hair. Copper is involved with proper bone formation and has been found to help alleviate rheumatoid arthritis. Collagen benefits from adequate copper levels and this mineral can stimulate the formation of elastin. A reduction in healthy elastin, which occurs as we enter the mature years of life, is one of the principal causes of wrinkles. VAT Free Price: £9.50
	Essential Fatty Acid Complex contains beneficial unsaturated fatty acids regarded as essential to good health. Specific essential fatty acids are known to help increase the production of energy within the body and may shorten the recovery time for muscles following intensive exercise. Specific fatty acids may improve both the health of the skin and its visual appearance. Essential fatty acids can help alleviate some cases of pre-menstrual syndrome. EFAs increase oxygen at the cellular level, and help increase energy levels. VAT Free Price: £9.50
	Anti-Oxidant Complex with Co-enzyme Q10 Anti-oxidants can help retard several aspect of the ageing process. Co-enzyme Q10 increases oxygen supply and acts to promote anti-oxidative defence. Together the antioxidants and the Co-enzyme Q10 have also been found subjectively to increase ‘feelings’ of energy.  Anti-oxidants are important to help the body to combat environmental pollutants and reduce the undesirable process of oxidative stress. VAT Free Price: £17.99
	Magnesium is an electrolyte and this mineral is directly involved with the status of energy production and healthy muscles and bones. Over 60% of the body’s magnesium is stored in bone. Edema (water retention) may occur as a result of magnesium deficiency. This mineral may help alleviate mastalgia (breast pain) associated with pre-menstrual syndrome. Magnesium has been found helpful by many women to help alleviate the fatigue and Irritability that are sometimes associated with PMS. VAT Free Price: £10.50
	The Food State Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Complex is a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutritional co-factors which help provide important nutrients that can be in short supply. The reduction in micro-nutrients in some foods may result in women finding daily life harder to cope with when experiencing a busy or hectic lifestyle. This formula contains nutrients and additional co-factors that can help re-balance a deficiency. £10.50 VAT Free Price: £10.50

Table of Beneficial Nutritional Supplements

This information is offered as an introduction (in brief) to supplements, herbs, foods and substances known to help with women’s health between the ages of 45-65 years of age. This information is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment and it is suggested that sound advice is taken by an appropriately qualified practitioner.

SUPPLEMENT SUGGESTIONS

	Formula	Daily Intake	Initial Period	Ongoing Intake	Ongoing
Vitamins	Multivitamin-Mineral	1 twice daily	2 weeks	1 daily	1 daily
Minerals	Magnesium	1 twice daily	4 weeks	1-2 daily for 3 months	1 daily
	Bone and Joint support	1 daily	4 weeks	1-2 daily for 3 months	1 daily
Beneficial Fats	Essentially Fatty Acid Complex	1 twice daily	2 weeks	1 daily	1 daily
Vitamins	Anti-Oxidant with Co-Q10	1 twice daily	4 weeks	1 daily	1 daily
Minerals	GTF Chromium + Anti-oxidants	1 daily	1 daily	1 daily	1 daily
	Zinc & Copper	1 twice daily	4 weeks	1-2 daily for 3	1 daily

Dietary Recommendations
Positive Foods

Cereal grains whole brown rice, barley, oats and oatmeal
Vegetables sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, miso, soya bean tofu, beetroot, celery, parsnip, carrot
Fruits freshly squeezed & diluted lemon juice, grapes (including pips), plums, apples, dried figs, apricots, ripe bananas, avocado, apples, blueberries, raisins, dates, olives
Legumes dried peas, soybeans, haricot beans, chick peas, mung beans
Teas, Herbs & Spices sarsaparilla, ginger, basil, milk thistle, green tea, turmeric, alfalfa, camomile, peppermint
Nuts & Seeds sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia, pistachio and chestnuts
Fungi Reishi mushrooms, caterpillar fungus
Fish oily fish (except mackerel) shrimps, prawns
Dairy three to four modest portions of organic live yoghurt per week
Additional Foods molasses

Negative Foods

Cereal grains refined cereals, refined flour products
Vegetables excess garlic
Fruits orange, orange juice, grapefruit & grapefruit juice
Legumes soya milk
Teas, Herbs & Spices
Nuts & Seeds old Brazil nuts and high intake of peanuts
Fungi
Fish mackerel
Poultry battery chicken, hens’ eggs
Meats pork & pork products, reduce intake of proteins from red meat, salami
Dairy cow’s milk, reducing dairy to a minimum, reduce non-organic cheese
Fats hydrogenated fats, refined cooking oils, fennel oil, trans-fatty acids, low fat foods
Food Additives tartrazine, artificial sweeteners, sulphates (preservative)
Beverages avoid excess caffeine & alcohol; avoid artificially sweetened drinks. See Additional Comments below.
Avoid low fat foods, refined carbohydrates, white sugar (sucrose), high additive processed foods, artificial sweeteners, chocolate, pickled foods
Cooking methods fried foods, barbequed foods

Additional Comment

• As part of a healthy lifestyle, it is well understood that smoking is deleterious to good health.
• Being aware of appropriate weight management is also well understood. 
•  Less well discussed in relation to good health, however, is the importance of our feelings and emotions. Lack of self-esteem is so often associated with poor eating and lifestyle habits. All of us have positive aspects to our life, and focusing on these will improve our well-being. 
•  It is important that attention is paid to the balance between acid-forming and alkali-forming foods. The optimum balance is around 60% alkali-forming and 40% acid-forming. [See Acid-Forming and Alkali-Forming Food Charts and Guidelines on this site].] 
• Adopt a diet based on organic wholefoods, vegetables, fruits and grains.
• Raw foods such as salads and fruits should be about 20% of the daily food intake for optimum health benefits.
• There is benefit in eating in a specific order: fresh ’live’ foods first such as salads to prepare the digestive system. Next follow cooked vegetables, then proteins. Anything starchy should be last. Eating in this order ensures food enters the digestive system in order of digestion time. 
• Chew foods slowly and thoroughly, as this increases their nutritional benefits, particularly as we get older. 
• Research has shown that reducing intake of dairy products in later life is beneficial. 
• It is best to reduce red meat within the diet to occasional intake. As a general guide, the best meat sources are lamb, and with regard to poultry, properly-fed and organically-reared chicken. 
• White fish are generally the better option. Coastal fish such as mackerel are best reduced, as they tend to contain more of the undesirable toxic pollutants. 
• As the years progress it is sensible to reduce the total intake of refined sugars.
• Avoid dehydration - take plenty of fresh water. Good quality still mineral water from a glass container is the superior form; though a good tap filter is also satisfactory.
  During exercise, the body loses up to 3 litres and it is good to remember that muscles are composed of 70% to 75% water.
  Adequate water intake is known to help reduce the feeling of tiredness and fatigue.
  Increased intake of water can help to reduce weight.
• Foods cooked in aluminium cookware reduce water’s ability to be used by the body.
• Avoid high intake of beverages containing caffeine, e.g. excess coffee, artificially sweetened fizzy (carbonated) and still drinks, and soft drinks high in sugars ending in ’-ose’ such as ’sucrose’, ’glucose’ and ’fructose’.
• Take alcohol only in moderation as it can aggravate negative symptoms. Good quality organic wines can contribute to good health, spirits, beers and lagers less so. Organic red or white wine can be taken, but no more than 1 glass a day is suggested. Spirits should be avoided for a period of at least four months after dietary reform, and beer kept to an absolute minimum. 
• Take exercise as much as possible out of doors in clean air. Prolonged exercise in air conditioning with artificial lighting should be no more than an hour at one time.
  Isotonic exercise has been found beneficial in reducing muscle weakness. 
• Sunlight has a beneficial effect on the whole person, and is also known to alleviate the experience of fatigue that can also occur with extended periods of exposure to artificial lighting.
  Wearing sunglasses can reduce energy levels, as they block out some beneficial rays that can actually enhance energy. Men should try to avoid pink tinted glasses.
• Try to obtain cosmetics that are not full of chemicals. There is a saying: "If you can’t eat the ingredient safely, then it may be best not to put it on your skin."
• Avoid shampoos and soaps containing Sodium Lauryl Sulphate.
• Antiperspirants are usually applied to help reduce body odour. However, these preparations contain aluminium, which actually gets absorbed into the body. This metal is known to produce many undesirable toxic side effects.
• The enzyme Bromelain, of benefit to women in the 45-65 age group, is found in pineapple, but only when this fruit is ripe. For one month in four throughout the year, the fruit should be eaten including the stalk, as this contains the majority of the bromelain.
  

Additional Help & Support
Regular eye tests and dental check ups are advisable. As skin elasticity and general condition tend to decline with age, it is sensible to consider dietary intake more closely. Several of the vitamin B complex group decline as the years progress, as we manufacture less and less within our digestive system. Vitamin D is also known to be in decline for many women.