Join me for this fun summer challenge. It is super easy self-care challenge to help us relax. You can join the Facebook group or follow our page to comment and tell me and the other members how you are doing .
The only rule in self care is say no to perfection, be kind to yourself. Summer is wonderful and it goes by so quickly, sometimes even planning fun activities can be stressful, so let’s chill together.
The miracle cream that will erase your wrinkles. Or Better than Botox. The secret to beautiful skin after 50. Nobel Prize Winner Technology in skin care. You, like me, probably have read them all and more, much more.
There are so many creams, potions, procedures and supplements promising us youth in a bottle, an injection, procedure or a pill. If they would work, we will not have wrinkles anymore. So is there a secret to beautiful, healthy skin at 50, during menopause and perimenopause? The pill is the closest from all those promises, the reason is that the secret is our hormones.
The supple, radiant skin that we had in our younger years depends greatly on our hormones.
The cream can put moisture, the procedure can force the skin to generate collagen and a more radical procedure can lift and iron out wrinkles, but the overall effect won’t give you beautiful skin. And, beautiful skin can make you look younger and prettier even with wrinkles and flaccidity. Beautiful skin has a characteristic called radiance. Radiance can go away during perimenopause and menopause. In Ayurveda, radiance is part of something called ojas and it means live, healthy tissues.
Skin radiance comes from our hormones and health. It is affected by emotions.
Have you seen the face of a bride? Happiness is visible. Audrey Hepburn was right:
Happy girls are the prettiest
If your estrogen is out of balance in earlier years then the skin maybe oily. Hormones out of balance in midlife in perimenopause or menopause can cause skin dryness, lack of luster, loss of volume and in some people, very reactive skin (that’s me). If the person has estrogen dominance, the skin is going to be oily. If your hormones, especially estrogen and T3, are not balanced your creams and treatments are not going to be as effective.
If your liver is not working properly you may develop allergies, redness, discolored patches, etc. A lower thyroid functions will bring dryness, hair loss and eye brow hair loss.
How do you get radiance?
Well, this is part of what a healthy lifestyle with low stress, good nutrients and happiness brings to your life. There are a few things you can do.
The main thing is to try to balance your hormones. This is a big topic and one of the main topics of this blog. In short, in order to balance our hormones we need to:
Eat enough good fat
Eat a diet rich in nutrients
Lower stress
Consume a low glycemic diet (low sugar)
Sleep
Eat a natural diet
Make sure you are having all the minerals your body needs
Be happy. Make yourself happy. Happiness is an attitude; it comes from within us, not from the exterior.
If you would like to know more about how to balance your hormones with lifestyle changes read here about my program BLISS in menopause
Help your organs
We also need to help our liver and adrenals. The liver and adrenals are going to help the thyroid and are going to help us have more available estrogen, our own estrogen.
The type of nutrition above will help you liver and adrenals. In some cases, we need to take supplements after a period of neglect. That is what I did and worked out very well for me. I will include a link to the products I took. If the imbalance is deeper, you need to go to a practitioner. I recommend an Ayurveda or functional medicine practitioner. The solutions for hormonal balance don’t give immediate results, you may need months before you see results, but the results are great if you keep trying.
Other tips for healthy skin
Follow a simple skin care routine. It should include cleansing, moisturizing and exfoliation once or twice a week.
Use a star ingredient or a few of them. You don’t have to become an expert or a junkie. Certainly you don’t need to use expensive products. I will be publishing a series of articles on this topic. Star ingredients are retinol, alpha and beta hydroxy acids and many more.
Don’t overexpose to the sun
I am not saying always use sunblock. Use a safe sunscreen when you are going to expose yourself for longer periods of time. But mostly use common sense, wear hats, stay indoors at the time the sun is stronger, don’t tan, etc. Take more precautions when you abruptly change to a different weather. For example, if you live in a cold place and take a winter vacation in the Caribbean. These changes are more damaging to the skin.
If you eat healthy your skin is more resilient and the sun causes less damage.
These are the products I used. These are affiliate links:
As you know to eat healthier can be expensive. One way to lower the cost of healthy food is not to waste. We are talking here about food waste. Waste reduction is one of the buzzwords of the moment, just like kale was a few years back (sorry kale, you are out). However, waste reduction has its merits in many ways.
I always recommend the highest quality ingredients in our food for many reasons. In our age bracket (perimenopausal or menopausal goddesses) we are trying to balance our hormones, keep our bones strong and be healthy to avoid all the “illnesses” that plague people in midlife. The common complaint from my clients, and a valid one, is that healthy food is more expensive. Because of this, it is important not to waste it.
How can you avoid food waste?
These are the tips I practice and give good results.
Plan your menus
This will simplify your life, avoid recipe burnout or boredom, you will eat healthier and it will help you buy just what you need (and save money).
Before going shopping, use what you already have
Before heading to the supermarket, head to the refrigerator. This is an opportunity to do a light cleaning of the fridge and take inventory. Use most of what you already have or plan recipes to use them first, before shopping.
When you bring in your shopping, use the first in last out system
This is related to the previous point. Use the ingredients that you already have before the new ones. Also use first the ones that go bad quicker, such as greens.
If you are not going to use something, freeze it (and put a date on the package)
If you think you don’t want to use something, see if you can freeze it to use later. If you have tomatoes going bad, prepare a sauce and freeze it. If the meat is expiring, cook it and freeze it. They come out very handy when you are in a hurry. But don’t forget what you have in the freezer, plan when you will use it.
Be creative with your leftovers
This is fun. Mix and match, create new recipes. My favorite is tacos of different flavors, soups and stir fries.
Use it all
When you are not going to use a part of something think what you can do with it. Use the herbs’ stems or part of the veggies you will not typically use to make broth. For example with asparagus, you can use the tough parts to make broth or soup. The cilantro or parsley stems can be put in soups, broth, sauces or smoothies. With bones and small pieces of meat you can make bone broth.
Store properly
Make an effort to put everything in the right place. You may want to put dates on your meats and dairy.
Be careful buying giant sizes
Unless your family is big, be careful buying big sizes, especially condiments such as mayo and ketchup. Veggies and fruits tend to lose nutrients, the longer you keep them at home, the less nutritious they will be.
Fresh always tastes better. Fresh animal products taste better. Fresh veggies taste better than frozen and canned ones. The fresher the better, so when it comes to flavor and nutrients it is better to buy smaller amounts more frequently.
Keep an eye on the pantry
Many times we forget what we have and don’t use it. Make it part of your routine to check your pantry every month or so and see what is about to expire. Find creative ways to use what you have before shopping.
Use leftovers
Leftovers are great for times when we don’t or can’t cook. Try to use them soon after storing them. If you plan your menus you will have less leftovers.
Prefer dry beans and lentils
Dry beans and lentils are cheap or cheaper than cans, don’t have salt, preservatives or contaminants, and they taste better. Lentils are easy to cook. Beans are not difficult if you leave them soaking overnight and/or if you use an Instapot or a pressure cooker.
Should you buy organic?
When possible, buy the highest quality; this is especially true for animal products. Milk, eggs and meat should come from animals raised in natural conditions. For cows (meat and milk) this is 100% grass fed, pasture raised, preferably organic. For chicken and eggs, pasture raised preferably organic. Fish from responsible sources and preferably non-farmed (but this depends on the species).
Organic veggies and fruits are generally better if they are equally fresh. But it is better to consume veggies and fruits even if they are not organic than to avoid buying them because the organic ones are too expensive or too difficult to get. Try to buy organic leaves, such as spinach, kale, arugula, chard, lettuce, etc. Home grown is best, local and organic is second, local non organic is third, organic and fresh is fourth.
Remember organic ingredients are cheaper, healthier and usually tastier than eating out.
Kindness and keep trying
We are not perfect, we can only do our best and even with the best efforts sometimes we cannot save some food. But with prices increasing, it is a good idea to incorporate new ways to avoid waste.
How do you avoid waste? Let me know in the comments.
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