Natural Treatment For Menopause http://learntruehealth.com/menopause/ Weight Loss & Menopause With Herbs And Chinese Medicine I have Dana LaVoie here today to teach us about menopause. Even if you're not menopausal yet or past menopause, it is important to know this important stage in a woman's life. LaVoie is a licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist practicing for about 14 years. Women's health and menopause are her specializations as well as in tonic herbs. There are so many of her clients who have benefitted so much from Chinese medicine. I remember my mom going through menopause and she for 5 years, only saw an Acupuncturist which is a traditional Chinese doctor. She was cooking herbs on the stove every day. I never saw her go through hot flashes. Hence, it was like she never went through menopause. It's amazing to see Natural Medicine give her so much relief. Consequently, if we're really healthy, we don't have to have symptoms. Understanding Menopause Weight loss is a hot issue around women of all ages but especially around menopause or during menopause. Most women complain of the sudden weight gain. "During menopause, your hormones are changing. If you're really healthy, your body will be able to keep hormones in balance. Your metabolism stays good," LaVoie said. Understanding Weight Loss & Weight Gain "If your body can't keep up, that's when you get the menopausal symptoms like weight gain," said LaVoie. "What you eat is a lot more than losing weight. Think of diet as a way of nourishing your body to be healthy. Only then it becomes a lifestyle." LaVoie suggests eating a warm, easy breakfast like congee is easy to digest. Congee is a Chinese comfort food that is easy to digest. It's grains that are cooked for a long time in a large amount of liquid. Like a porridge. "If you're having trouble losing weight, look at how much cold, raw or frozen food you're eating," explains LaVoie. "Because that puts out your digestive fire which is your metabolism. You can gain weight just by eating cold, raw or frozen food." My husband eats frozen organic blueberries. And he started gaining weight. He just eats a handful of cashews, some vegetables or meat or some eggs for breakfast. But whenever he eats frozen blueberries, he gains weight. LaVoie has a client with the same situation. The client's diet is smoothies made with fruits and ice, salads which are raw and cold, and yogurt yet she's still gaining weight. LaVoie immediately knew what the problem was. Hence, It was an easy fix. Foods For Certain Body Types I know Ayurvedic medicine is not Chinese medicine but I know they have identified different body personalities or 'dosha' wherein somebody types should eat more warm foods and another type. "There are people whose symptoms or problems they have, are primarily due to excess heat that they have inside their body," LaVoie said, "They have excess conditions caused by heat. Hence, they need to eat more raw or cooling foods." Furthermore, LaVoie explains that others have a body personality where digestion is a weak area. If they eat a lot of cold and cleansing food, they get half-digested. She says that accumulates and turns into weight gain. It's called 'phlegm' and 'dampness' in Chinese medicine. Fire And Water Energies LaVoie says a woman can feel hot for two reasons. You have fire and water energies in your body so sometimes when you feel hot, it means you don't have enough water. She says this is called deficiency fire. It tends to come and go in flashes usually worse at night. As a result, you tend to get dryness. Using herbal tonics to treat menopause, results are usually seen after a couple of weeks. But the first big change happens after 3 months. Anyone who starts a tonic herbal program, they first do a foundation combination of herbs for 99 days to cleanse and reset. That's how long the body cycles through the first big change. And then move on to the next phase. Avoiding Diet Pitfalls "You don't want your body to think you