Hot Tips

Supplements for Hot Chefs:
Advice From Marianne Herr-Paul MD, DO

When you are cooking, you don't throw all your spices in at once. You adjust the seasoning as you go. A blast of pepper at just the right time might be delicious; but, at another time it could overwhelm the stew. So think about how much of any one vitamin or mineral you are dumping into your system at once. Vitamin E, C, or calcium in megadoses will likely be far less effective than smaller, more frequent daily doses. Like a good chef, keep your kitchen well-stocked, choose what is needed carefully, add them slowly, and savor the stew. Also notice how much the flavor improves with time.

In nature, things operate in synergy, working together as groups to help promote various positive effects. For instance, smokers who just took high supplemental doses of beta-carotene had worse outcomes with lung cancer, than those who ate vegetables with beta-carotene in them. In other words, the beta-carotene is facilitated by other substances within the carrot. Carrots and other beta-carotene containing vegetables have many beta-carotinoids that work together like an Olympic luge team. You can't win the race with just one athlete in the driver's seat. You need somebody to push...hopefully someone having a real menopausal "Power Surge." So, be aware of supplements and foods that work together to promote health and specific outcomes: reducing bone loss, anxiety, hot flashes, blood sugar, or weight loss.

Calcium, Vitamin D, and Magnesium are extremely important in mid-life. Like three wonderful spices, they work as a team to enhance your health. Each one facilitates the other. Leaving one out affects the performance of the other. Vitamin E needs Selenium to get the job done. (One Brazil nut a day would do the trick.) Combinations are key, just as they are in cooking. And again, these combinations must be measured and meted out patiently.

You may think this seems rather daunting, but think it through. In time, as you read and study, as you listen to your best girl-friends (and "boy-friends"), you'll get the right stew for you. Most importantly however, remember to listen to your inner guidance!!!! Women's intuition rules!

--Marianne Herr-Paul, D.O. www.herrpaul.com

 

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"Information supplied by FLASHionables, Inc. is not intended, nor should it be construed, as a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your health care provider to make sure your complaints are menopause related and follow his or her advice before changing your dietary regimen."