Appetite Control

• Pumpkin seed extract has been found to be powerful in the treatment of the hypersensitive bladder in menopausal women suffering from urge incontinence. I like Enzymatic Therapy’s pumpkin seed extract product Better Bladder for Women.
• Varuna is tailor-made for the treatment of urge incontinence. The bark of this medium-size tree, which grows along streams and river banks in India, is known for its ability to soothe bladder pain and neurogenically normalize bladder hypersensitivity. This herb is difficult to find on its own in reputable North American outlets, but I have included a high quality form in my bladder support product called Confident Control.
• Magnesium supplementation has been shown to significantly cut down the frequency and severity of urge incontinence episodes, reduce the number of urinations per day, and decrease nighttime urination. In one study, the women in the treatment group saw significant improvement within a month of taking 350 mg magnesium hydroxide orally (that’s one teaspoon of Milk of Magnesia) twice a day. If your doctor approves, that’s the dose I’d recommend.

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil over medium high heat.
3. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
4. Add pepper and onion and cook 2 minutes.
5. Stir in curry powder, paste, and cumin and cook 1 minute.
6. Add tamari, xylitol, and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
7. Add cilantro and immediately remove from heat.
8. Brush fish with remaining teaspoon of sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
9. Place on broiler pan brushed with olive oil and broil for 8 minutes (or until fish flakes easily).
10. Place fish on top of quinoa and top with sauce.
11. Serve hot.
12. Serves 4 (each serving ½ cup quinoa, one fillet, ½ cup sauce).

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add chicken breasts and cook for 8 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked thoroughly. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
3. Add shallots to skillet and cook for one minute.
4. Add broth and lemon juice and deglaze the skillet.
5. Stir in parsley, capers, lemon zest, and pepper. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add chicken back to skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, until chicken is reheat.
7. Serve warm.

Researchers have recently reported that waist circumference is associated with higher risk of mortality among all women—but interestingly, mortality rates were especially high in those women who had a normal body mass index, or BMI (and therefore, were not considered overweight or obese). 

BMI is not always a clear indicator of whether or not your weight is in the healthy range. For instance, many athletes who have a great deal of muscle mass (and therefore weigh more because of that muscle mass) would be considered overweight by BMI standards. Therefore, I do believe that BMI is only one tool to assess health risk. Waist circumference is a great indicator of health because women with thicker waistlines (usually more than 35 inches around) have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and many other conditions.

Eating a healthy diet (which includes natural appetite control measures) and exercising regularly are the best ways to whittle down your waistline and achieve natural weightloss. Try walking, cycling, jogging, tennis, yoga, dancing, or any other exercise that appeals to you and keeps you motivated. In time, your waistline—and your weight overall—will decrease and you’ll be in much better health.

For more great tips on achieving your weight loss goals, visit my Web site.

• Seeing a therapist who specializes in eating disorders and/or addiction;

• Checking out Overeaters’ Anonymous, a 12-step program based on Alcoholics Anonymous;

• Journaling; or

• Confiding in friends and/or family.

• Add more fiber. Begin each meal with a high-nutrient, high-fiber foodósuch as a salad or an appetizer like 1/3 cup of hummus with baby carrots. This will give you a feeling of fullness before you begin your main course.
• Breakfast like a king.  Eat your heavier meals during the day (breakfast and lunch) and a lighter meal for dinner. This gives your body time to digest the heavier meals long before bed.
• Calm down when you eat. Research shows it takes at least 20 minutes from the time food hits your stomach until your brain receives signals of fullness. If you eat too fast, you’ll eat past your “full” point, taking in too much food.
• Don’t quit. If you do eat something that you know you shouldn’t, or that isn’t right for your type, don’t beat yourself up or feel guilty. This is not a short-term program, but a lifetime approach. Work to make these recommendations the norm in your life, with foods like refined sugar, white flour, alcohol, and red meats the exception.
• Eat a wide variety of foods. Otherwise, you may begin to feel bored and deprived. Plus, you need a wide variety of nutrients for good health.
• Fifteen-minute meal preparation. You’ll be less likely to give in to temptation and hit the fast-food chains if you know you can throw a healthy dinner together in 15 minutes.
• Go with small portions first. We seem to be programmed from childhood to leave a clean plate. It’s much better to take a little more if you’re still hungry than to feel stuffed because you felt compelled to finish everything on your plate.
• Honor mealtimes. Light candles, play soft music, and consider mealtimes an opportunity for reflection, planning, and community, whether you’re eating alone or with others.

• Hot peppers. Capsaicin is the “hot” ingredient in hot peppers. Studies show that, in spite of being fed a high-fat diet, laboratory rats given supplemental capsaicin actually lost body fat and 8 percent of their starting body weight, while the rats not given capsaicin gained both weight and fat. I recommend Nature’s Way Cayenne 40,000 H.U. Take 450 mg three times daily with food.
• Turmeric. A well-known antioxidant and anti-cancer agent, turmeric is also a traditional Ayurvedic weight-loss agent. Its active ingredient is curcumin, which studies show suppresses fat deposition in mice fed a high-fat diet. I recommend a turmeric extract standardized to 95 percent curcuminoids, which you can find at any health food store or vitamin retailer. Take 500 mg three times daily. Or, simply add this wonderful spice to your recipes! You can find many recipes that include turmeric online.

In my most recent newsletter issue, I shared some exciting new discoveries in the world of natural weightloss. I'd like to share some of them with you this week. Let's start with a vitamin I have discussed many times in conjunction with bone health, immunity, and even female hormone balance, that now also has been shown to play a critical role in maintaining a healthy weight--vitamin D!

In one very recent study, overweight or obese individuals in a diet and exercise weight-loss program, who concomitantly took supplemental vitamin D, lost significantly more weight than those who were not taking vitamin D. Here’s the twist: Those who had ample blood levels of vitamin D at the start of the weight-loss program did not benefit weight-loss wise from those ample levels. It was when vitamin D levels in the blood increased over the first six months of the two-year study that their weight-loss success blossomed.

I recommend taking 1,000 to 4,000 IU vitamin D3 daily (D3 is more effective than D2). This dose will get your serum levels increasing towards that target level and give your natural weight loss plan a boost. 

For more tips on improving your natural weigtloss efforts, visit my Web site.

• 4 oz. fish/poultry—a deck of cards
• 1 cup—a softball
• ½ cup—a handful
• 1/4 cup—a golf ball

• Plan for your indulgence and be extra vigilant the day before.
• Limit the number of indulgences you take in any given month.
• Exercise for 60 minutes rather than 30 minutes the day after.
• Always remember, indulgences are the exception, not the rule.
• Substitute a shake for breakfast and another for lunch the day after.
• Enjoy! You’ve worked hard and deserve an occasional treat!

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.
3. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together and add the berries.
4. Spread in a 9×9 pan that has been lightly sprayed with olive oil.
5. Bake 20–30 minutes and enjoy warm.

In addition to the nutrients I talked about earlier this week, studies have found that good old-fashioned exercise can really lift your libido. Unfortunately, loss of sex drive is one of those effects of menopause that many women experience. Here's how exercise can help relieve this menopause symptom:  

A recent study of 336 healthy, middle-age women found that those who engaged in regular physical activity not only felt better physically, but also had significantly fewer menopause symptoms than the women who were less physically active. In fact, more than half of the highly active women had no menopause symptoms at all.

An even larger study of healthy women in the same general age group found that the greater the level of regular physical activity, the better their sexual functioning, including libido, pleasure, and orgasm.

Taken together, all of these studies show that to boost your overall health physically, metabolically, emotionally, and sexually, the very best thing you can do is to increase your level of physical activity. My favorite form of exercise for weight loss and toning is walking. And yoga is excellent for toning and mental balance. But do whatever form of exercise keeps you motivated and stimulated, whether it’s tennis, dancing, golfing, cycling, etc.

• eliminating toxins from your body;
• cleansing and invigorating your cells and tissues;
• improving your ability to lose weight and gain appetite control;
• promoting radiant skin and lustrous hair;
• protecting your nervous system and brain from unmetabolized toxins;
• reducing your risk of heart disease, PMS, fibroid tumors, endometriosis, and breast cancer;
• enhancing libido;
• fighting fatigue; and
• balancing estrogen levels by supporting estrogen metabolism.