I think I might just borrow Paul Simon’s tune, “There must be fifty ways to leave your lover,” and make up new lyrics. Maybe Laura and I can even sing it at a local jam!

Here are some lines:

• Fix your kids teeth, Keith
• Put food on the table, Mable
• Gotta get your new snows, Rose
• Fill the tank with fuel, Jewel
• Just make out the checks, Rex
• Time to pay back the loan, Joan
• No need to delay, Ray
• Time to pull that bad tooth, Ruth

If you can come up with any more, let me know!

Finally, it is graduation time! All that stress at school for all those years is coming to a close, or at least a pause.

Graduation from high school is such a rite of passage, one of the biggest events in life. When it’s over, and the parties are done, it is as if a weight is lifted from your shoulders. No longer does it matter how cool you are, how you appear to others, how you imagine you appear to others and all the silly clique type stress that goes on in a high school.

For those going on to college it is a time of reassessment and grounding. Soon the academic stakes will take on a much bigger dimension and level of impact. It is an exciting time of anticipation and another step into adulthood, hopefully.

Some young people bomb out in college because they can’t handle the freedom from parental supervision. Sometimes they take a little or big detour until they figure out that life is for real. Others grab the opportunity and run with it as if they have a clear vision of where they are headed.

For parents, there are so many mixed emotions. Fear, hope, dread, thankfulness, anxiety, and the never ending quest for enough money to make it all happen. I was fortunate; I received an athletic scholarship, as did two of my daughters. Nevertheless, even the incidental expenses can add up and take their toll.

I find the student aid application pathway totally bewildering. I can never remember all of the steps and have to relearn it all the time. Maybe it is confusing, but I think it is just me.

You see the ads on TV (if you watch TV) all the time: Sleeping pills can bring you menopause relief and they are touted as one of the solutions for menopause insomnia. But are they really the answer?

During menopause and perimenopause, many, if not most, women suffer to some degree from insomnia. Either you wake up and cannot get back to sleep, or you simply cannot fall asleep as you once could. You wake up tired and go to bed tired, but still you cannot get a good night’s sleep.

Many factors enter into the insomnia picture: stress, anxiety, hormonal imbalance, temperature changes, changes in routine, and just minor noises can disturb your slumber.

When you look at the overall picture, you can see that there are many things you can do to help with menopause insomnia. The factors mentioned above are all manageable by using natural methods.

What can be done naturally?

• Stress can be managed by using numerous techniques. Our fast-paced lifestyle is mostly to blame, so with some consideration, you can certainly find ways to reduce the stress levels in your life. Perhaps restructuring your day so that you have time for walks, exercise, play or visiting with friends can make a substantial difference.
• Anxiety is very pervasive and destructive. It can gnaw away at your core being and rob you of your energy and good humor. By taking the time to address the underlying causes, you will free yourself of this most miserable guest. Get help with the bills, mend the relationship, ask forgiveness, do whatever it takes to clear your foundation in life.
• Imbalanced hormones can be helped by eating a well balanced diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables. A high quality vitamin/mineral supplement is very helpful as well. This cannot be over-emphasized because the hormones play such a critical role in your sleep patterns.
• If you bedroom is too warm, you will probably wake up because your body is already prone to hot flashes and night sweats. Open the window, get a lighter blanket, but do something to provide for fresh air and a cool room. You will sleep much better. No wonder my own mother slept with her window open all year long!
• Life changes all the time, and especially as menopause enters in. Teenagers grow up and leave home, relationships change, values begin to change, work takes on a different significance and all of this can easily prevent you from getting a good night’s rest. Take the time to resolve these changes, accept them and adapt.
• Minor noises that used to go unnoticed can now be most annoying. Flushing toilets, barking dogs, music in the next room, etc. can all keep you awake or wake you up. Often other people are quite willing to be more quiet, if you only ask them. When there is nothing you can do though, you might need to invest in something to mask the noise or cancel it out. Even simple ear plugs can go a long way in masking the unwelcome noise. Some people use recordings of thunderstorms or ocean tides to cover up outside noises.

So, who needs sleeping pills?

There certainly are times when sleeping pills are advised. However, there is no reason to make them the solution for menopause insomnia. There are many safe, natural sleeping pills that can get you over the hump when you need it and they can be a real life saver.

The problem arises when you become dependent on them, especially if they are a powerful pharmaceutical drug with the potential for dependency. It is quite common for women to become dependent on these drugs, and suffer the side effects as well.

In conclusion, take a look at the many natural, simple remedies to get menopause relief. By taking personal responsibility you will find that your menopause insomnia can be greatly reduced, if not eliminated. Sleeping pills have their place, but it should be to temporarily help you, not become the solution.

If you ever wondered, and who hasn’t, “How to reduce stress,” please allow me to give you the best method I know of. Granted, this just is not for everyone, but thankfully, it is for me! This is also one of the best holiday stress tips around. Here is the plan:

Take someone you love along with you to visit friends gathered in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont. Bring you instruments, some homemade wine, cold ale, lots of food and your tent or camper. Play music until your fingers burn, laugh until your sides hurt, enjoy good conversation with people who are actually caring, grill delicious food together and then start all over again.

That is what I was up to this long weekend. Every year, over the Memorial Day weekend, about 50 musicians and friends gather on 23 acres near a ski resort in the Green Mountains. People bring their children and pets, and even grandparents show up for the good times.

You can go from campfire to campfire and join in with the music, or just listen. One area might be playing bluegrass so fast that your strings melt, another is slow, old-time music, another is women singing folk songs, and young people are rocking out to acoustic new music in another area.

Finally, when you can’t stay awake any longer, somebody starts playing in a garage and soon you find yourself drawn in again, this time as a listener because these guys are really good. They seem to know just about any song that is requested. Sometimes this is the best part, the quality is unbelievable.

In the morning you get invited for some organically grown food and nice hot coffee and somebody is playing old English folk songs in the background. Nice way to start the day! Blue sky, clear air and birds singing to greet the day!

On the second day I decided to focus on nailing down some songs that I was only 90% sure of, so I asked a fiddler if I could play alone with him. Sure enough, we played and played until I got it right and soon there were 4 or 5 more people playing along.

One of the best parts is the friendly conversations that take place, sometimes these can be rather helpful as well. One friend of mine began pouring out her troubles to me and I could tell it was good for her just to have an ear. When you see one another only a few times a year, you notice changes and for some reason it is easier to have some very personal contact.

Here is the second best part:

We get to do this about once a month until the fall, at different places, but with the same basic group! Next time it will be on a small farm near a river where we get to fish, catch crayfish, swim and goof around until it cools off in the afternoon. Then the music starts and the magic can happen.

This is such a great reprieve from the intensity of the daily grind of work, work, work, and more work. It never fails to wake me up to the need for balance in my own life. Life is so short, don’t neglect to make time for friends, family and good times together!

Lately I’ve been working in what amounts to a pathway for smokers going outside to have a little cig break. After a while I got to thinking that maybe I should start smoking and stress will just vanish. It must be, considering how many times a day these same people traipse back and forth from the opposite end of the building. Plus, I would get an extra break or two, since management seems to wink at some of these little pauses.

I’ve also noticed that they look and walk a little differently when they come and when they go. A little slower, a little more of a stare on their face, on their way back. Is that what nicotine, oxygen deprivation, and some of the 4000 chemicals contained in tobacco smoke does to people?

If everybody knows there are cancer causing chemicals in the smoke, why do they keep doing it? I read that there are 69 cancer causing chemicals in the smoke! It isn’t as easy as saying, “It’s the nicotine, they are just hooked.” No, there are other reasons, otherwise why would they make the trek every few hours, even when it is raining sleet outside?

Stress and smoking

It doesn’t take much observation to see that people smoke when they are stressed. You have to do something when you have stress at work, but smoking cigarettes just makes more stress on the body.

This is why people think smoking reduces stress: When they feel tense, they smoke a cigarette and immediately after the nicotine buzz begins to diminish, they feel relaxed. What actually happens is that the nicotine increases the tension temporarily and then, when it lets up, you feel relaxed.

Kind of reminds me of my few months living and working part-time on a dairy farm. When a cow was bothered by a bad udder or something and had a hard time letting down the milk, the farmer would twist her ear. The cow would let down the milk because she forgot about her udder discomfort when her ear hurt more!

There must be some kinda way outta here

When you take something away from your belief system, you need to replace it with something better, otherwise you will surely return to the thing familiar. That’s why people stay in religious cults, but I digress. So, if you are going to quit smoking, you need to do something else instead.

Cold turkey, warm turkey, what about the turkey method? It works great for some people. They decide to quit and just quit, right here and now. They suffer the withdrawal symptoms for a short time and that’s that, they are done.

Other people quit over and over again, maybe eventually they manage to finally finish forever. But most people need some help. They need a plan, a method that works for their own needs. Maybe a patch, maybe gum, maybe supplements, there are a number of well documented Quit Smoking Products that can help somebody to once and for all quit.

If you are truly interested in finding a way to stop smoking, or you want to encourage somebody you care about find out how to Stop Smoking Now .

DHEA is in the news a lot these days as one of the solutions for hot flashes and menopause, among many other things as well. It is sometimes seen as a magic pill that can cure just about anything.

The symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue and insomnia are serious for many women and they are looking for natural menopause relief. This is especially the case since the Women’s Health Initiative report revealed many disturbing trends in hormone replacement therapy.

What is DHEA?

DHEA is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, where it is synthesized from cholesterol. The adrenal glands are small glands located near your kidneys and play a major role in hormone production. Not only do they produce DHEA, but also adrenaline and cortisol.

When the adrenal glands are exhausted from overproducing adrenaline, you experience adrenal fatigue, and as a consequence they are unable to produce DHEA, which is directly related to your menopause symptoms. It is a chain reaction that often begins with stress, dieting, poor nutrition, and a generally unhealthy lifestyle.

DHEA is sometimes called the mother hormone because it is responsible for so much hormonal production. All of your major sex hormones, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen, are directly related to DHEA levels. It is like the doorway for hormone production.

During menopause, and as a consequence of stress, DHEA levels diminish. This is a normal part of aging and should be viewed as such. However, when the levels fall too low, the hormones become imbalanced and the fatigue, irritability, sluggishness, hot flashes, insomnia and night sweats can set in.

Is DHEA safe?

A trip to your local health food store will reveal an abundance of DHEA supplements, in varying potencies and formulations. Often, it is associated with feeling on top of the world and maybe like you did as a teenager! Sounds pretty good, except for the haunting insecurity and acne!

Because it is a steroid, it also is the subject of too much hype and fluff regarding body building and athleticism. There is no one pill that can make your feel like a twenty something and have a great attitude 24/7. Our society would sure like to find one though!

It is advised that you see your health care provider before taking over the counter DHEA supplementation. If you do it on your own, use small doses, and combine it with a more comprehensive approach that includes adequate sleep, fresh fruits and vegetables, and reduced stress.

How can DHEA help with hot flashes?

By using DHEA supplementation, in connection with a comprehensive program,you will help your hormones to become balanced. The hot flashes in menopause and other symptoms are a direct result of a hormone imbalance.

Many women report that they feel better than they have in years after beginning a comprehensive program that includes DHEA supplementation. Some women who were nearly bed-ridden and unable to care for their families are now energetic and full of the vigor they once felt.

Would you like to get started?

The best way to begin it to take a Hormonal Health Profile. There are several ways to do this, and the free, online personal profile offered by the Women To Women Clinic is a great way to begin. It only takes a few minutes and the results are confidential. You can take the free test here.

The Women To Women Clinic have a personal program that has been developed over many years by listening to their women patients. Once you take the Hormonal Health Profile, you can take the next step and design a program to fit your own unique needs.

Many women are looking for natural remedies for menopause, and red clover is one of the safe and effective herbal remedies. It has long been used in traditional medicine and has been shown to help with hot flashes, insomnia, irritability and night sweats.

The news about hormone replacement therapy has motivated women everywhere to find alternative treatments for these symptoms of menopause. You know there must be a way to find natural menopause relief, but you want to be safe and not experience any side effects. Red clover is certainly one of the best herbal remedies available today.

What about scientific studies?

Red clover is the subject of current study in scientific circles and the preliminary results look very promising. Of course, this comes as no surprise to natural healers and herbalists. Nevertheless, it is always encouraging when science and traditional healing agree.

Red clover is rich in bio-active compounds, which are considered to help in menopause. Some of the chemicals in the plant bind with estrogen in the tissues and produce a subtle physiological action. Soy and kudzu, which are cousins to red clover, work in a similar manner by regulating responses in the bodies cells to help balance hormones. This explains why red clover is effective: it helps balance hormones, and menopause symptoms are caused by an imbalance.

What about side effects?

The good news is that no scientific study has demonstrated any negative side effects from using red clover. Of course, common sense always is in order, and you should talk with a herbalist or naturopath if you have any uncertainties or questions.

How much should you take?

Should you decide to use red clover as a stand alone supplement, you should look for capsules containing extracts of organically grown clover, and it should include at least 40 mg isoflavones or 8% isoflavonoids per capsule. Usually the leaves are mixed with the flowers to maintain a balanced formula that is most effective in treating menopause symptoms.

The Women To Women Clinic has developed a complete program to help treat menopause, and red clover is an important part of their holistic approach to women’s health.

Click on the image to find out more, or just take the free, online profile to get started. It is a very revealing and confidential look at your hormones and their balance.

How long have women used red clover?

There is evidence of women using red clover in teas, tinctures, infusions, and extracts from ancient times, but nobody really knows just how far back it’s use goes. Certainly, any herbal remedy that endures for thousands of years should be investigated.

Red clover is also commonly used to treat sore throats, ulcers, bronchitis,sores and eczema for centuries. Nature has provided us with a wonderful array of natural menopause remedies and now you can easily benefit from their amazing healing properties.

Take the free online profile to see get started!

This is still the land of opportunity, but when I see all the graduates pouring out of college this month I can’t help but wonder how many are thinking about “How to get a job in America.”

I talked with a recent graduate from Dartmouth, which is across the river from my house, and she was wondering this exact thing. We were walking back together from a coffee shop and I told her about my oldest daughter who had recently gotten a good job using her minor, English, as well as all of her other qualifications. Like a lot of people, maybe most, she found the job by networking.

I realized that the idea of networking was a bit foreign to this graduate, who majored in English and was pretty nervous about the entire process. That’s understandable, especially at something like $45k per year to attend the school. There is a great deal of stress at school for this very reason. So much expense, so much work, what if, what if….

Networking is not some devious, self-serving process in which you take advantage of other people’s power and influence. It is actually quite a natural process that is mutually beneficial for everyone involved.

There is a very well written book out that can help anyone looking for just that right job. The author is quite highly regarded and shares an abundance of tips and secrets to help you, especially in the interview process. It is 81 pages long, and has received an amazing 5 star rating from everyone who commented on it! You can find it here.

As I spoke with this graduate I realized that I have never even once gotten a job from anything but networking! Somebody knew somebody, I knew somebody who knew somebody, eventually, a door presents itself and you can just walk right in. Of course, you have to be qualified first! This book is key because it gives you the tools to actually win the job, once you have found the opening and have an interview.

What about the rain forests

With all the attention in the news these days concerning the depletion of the Amazon rain forest, you might be concerned about the supply of herbal remedies from South America. What happens to all those amazing plants that are used everyday by millions of women to get menopause relief by using herbal remedies?

This is a huge problem, and getting worse all the time. Not only are the rain forests being depleted and plants disappearing at an alarming rate, but other sources of wild herbal remedies are under attack as well.

Wild herbs and their harvests

It is surprising that many wild plants are nearing extinction or being severely depleted by wild harvesting. Just take a look at this quote from the Botanic Gardens Conservation International:

On January 18, 2008, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (representing botanic gardens in 120 countries) stated that “400 medicinal plants are at risk of extinction, from over-collection and deforestation, threatening the discovery of future cures for disease.” These included Yew trees (the bark is used for cancer drugs, paclitaxel); Hoodia (from Namibia, source of weight loss drugs); half of Magnolias (used as Chinese medicine for 5,000 years to fight cancer, dementia and heart disease); and Autumn crocus (for gout). The group also found that 5 billion people benefit from traditional plant-based medicine for health care.

It is not hard to imagine all the small group of well-meaning harvesters of wild herbs and plants gathering their natural products and feeling happy in what they are doing. On the other hand, by over-harvesting they are actually doing incredible damage to their own livelihood.

What are some of the herbal remedies from South America?

There are literally thousands of plants used in South America for treating the night sweats and other symptoms of menopause. One of the best and non-endangered is maca. Maca is well known and safe to use. It has no known health risks, but many wonderful benefits.

In Peru, where maca is common, there are government agencies that regulate the it’s production and exportation. While it is readily available at any village market in the regions in which it is grown, exporting is a different story, especially if you are certified to be organic.

Maca is a wonderful food and is called an herbal remedy, though it really is not an herb. It is a bit like a potato, and is eaten by the locals, as it has been for thousands of years. It is well known that maca acts as a balancing agent in the body to help maintain health and well-being. It is also widely recognized as having no ill side effects.

As an added plus, maca often helps increase libido in men and women. This is obviously a wonderful benefit because the libido can dwindle down to near zero during menopause. Not only do you feel better, your hot flashes diminish or disappear, but you can feel aroused again and ready for some loving! What does your gypsy queen have to say about that?

By Cecelia Yap

Healthy eating guidelines I suggest here aren’t complicated once you know the basics.

I know many of you are not sure of what healthy eating means. This comes as no surprise to me since you’re bombarded with lots of advice, some of them could even be conflicting…..

Healthy eating means you eat a balanced, nutritious diet with the food sourced from different varieties, that provides you with all the required nutrients namely vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins and fiber.

Let’s see what you should eat to make up for a healthy, balanced, nutritious diet:

1. Eat Plenty of Fruits & Vegetables

At least 2 servings of fruits and 5 servings of vegetables every day.

Note: 1 serving of fruit is = 1 medium-sized piece, or 2 small pieces, for vegetables. It’s about half a cup, if in cooked form.

And variety is the key. Maximize your benefits by eating many types of fruits and vegetables. One way is to eat as many different-colored fruits and vegetables as you can.

Diets that are high in fruits and vegetables can substantially lower your risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, several types of cancers, high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes.

2. Eat Lots of Whole grains & Cereals

At least 4 servings every day for women and 5 for men.

Note: 1 serving is 2 slices of bread or 1 cup of cooked rice or pasta.

To meet your daily targeted servings, eat bread (wholegrain) with each meal and regularly using wholegrain rice, pasta or noodles to accompany hot dishes, and having cereal for breakfast.

P/S: Cakes, biscuits and pastries don’t count here – they contain lots of fats (saturated and trans fats) and should be foods you only eat occasionally.

Wholegrains and cereals benefit you in many ways: a lower risk of coronary heart disease and some cancers, particularly bowel cancer.

3. Eat Lean Meat, Fish, Chicken and/or Alternatives such as Legumes and Nuts

You should eat a moderate serving of lean meat 3-4 times every week. For fish, you should eat it 3-4 times every week, to get your intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

Meat and fish are rich in iron, which is absorbed better by your body. Iron helps in the production of red blood cells.

They’re also rich in protein, zinc and vitamin B12.

Meats that are rich in iron are livers, oysters, mussels, beef, lamb, chicken and pork.

4. Reduce Intake of Saturated Fats and Trans Fats

These 2 fats combined shouldn’t make up more than 10% of your total calories every day.

Saturated fats are found in milk, cream, butter, cheese, fatty meats, palm and coconut oil, and in hydrogenated vegetable oil used in many processed foods.

You should:

• Go for reduced and low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt

• Choose polyunsaturated fats such as sunflower, soy and corn oil or mono unsaturated fats like olive, peanut and canola oils

• Eat only Lean cuts of meat from chicken, pork, beef, lamb

• Cut back on fatty minced sausages and processed luncheon meats. Limit creamy sauces and gravies. Most fast foods like fried chicken, burgers and chips are high in saturated fat. Cut back on biscuits, pastries and cakes (commercial ones are usually high in saturated fats and trans fats)

5. Eat Foods Low in Salt

An upper daily limit of 2,300 mg of salt (sodium) is the threshold. This is just about a teaspoon of salt.

This amount of allowed sodium includes table salt and salt used in cooking and salt present in processed foods (estimated at about 75% of total salt intake).

Choose to eat low and reduced-salt versions of breads (a “bigtime” source of salt), breakfast cereals, baked beans and cut down on fast foods which contain high levels of sodiums. Also look out for stock cubes and MSG which are high in sodium too.

When you cut back on salt, you stop your blood pressure getting higher as you get older (note: high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke) and you also get to reduce high blood pressure, if you already got one.

6. Avoid Sugary Food

Your total sugar intake, which includes naturally occurring sugars in fruit and milk as well as sucrose (table sugar), glucose, fructose, malt or honey, shouldn’t make up more than 20% of your total daily calories.

Sugar adds to your calories with no nutrient(s) given to you. It’s the culprit behind tooth decay.

You should avoid eating foods high in sugars: confectionery, soft drinks, cakes, biscuits and pastries.

7. Drink Plenty of Water

Drink 6 – 8 glasses (1.5 to 2 litres) of water every day.

Water has no calories, so you can drink without any kind of concern. However, don’t “over drink” lest you get water retention.

Water is needed for digestion, absorption, transportation and as a solvent for nutrients, for elimination of waste products and temperature regulation. So, don’t ignore it!

Cecelia Yap is an avid exerciser and author of the popular exercise website: perfect-body-toning.com – a web site born out of her passion which she successfully turns into a profitable business

Perhaps you have a passion or hobby you’d like to write about. Find out how you too can turn it into a profitable business like Cecelia does, here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html

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