What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty by John R. Lee, Jesse Hanley, and Virginia Hopkins.

The Pause: Positive Approaches to Premenopause and Menopause by Lonnie Barbach

Medical Management of Menopause and Premenopause by Winifred Berg Cutler and C.R. Garcia.

I will report back my thoughts and/or findings on the books as soon as I finish them. If you have a favorite book on the subject, please share it in the comments.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

A rise in problems ranging from burns to scars to infection, or even worse, are definitely on the rise with these spas opening just about everywhere these days. Scary, isn’t it?

One way to know if a MediSpa is probably a safe place in which to have a procedure performed is if there is a physician on board who is there during the treatments. And I don’t mean a dentist over-seeing Botox treatments. I mean a dermatologist. Someone who deals with the skin, as most of these treatments are preformed on the skin.

And if the prices at these MediSpa’s sound too good to be true, then they are. For instance, the makers of Botox Cosmetic charge $500 per bottle, to each and everyone it sells too. So if a Botox treatment price is too low, then you risk that the product being used is either not Botox, or a diluted version.

Better be safe than sorry. Call ahead. Be aware. Ask questions. These are medical procedures.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Today is the Great American Smokeout. What does that mean? Stop Smoking.

Really, you know smoking is bad for your health. I know it is addictive, as I used to smoke. Luckily, quitting was easy for me. I don’t know why, but after smoking for over three years, I was trying to get pregnant and knew I had to quit. And I did.

The American Cancer Society is the official host of this annual event, and they are a great resource for educating yourself in how to stop smoking. Your doctor is a great resource too. I urge you to make an appointment with your Doctor and talk to them about quitting smoking if you feel that you cannot quit smoking on your own.

Please, give it up. For one day. At least today. Then one day at a time, until you give it up for a lifetime.

And on the totally vanity side of smoking, you may think it looks cool, but just look at those wrinkles around your mouth, and know that they are simply not attractive.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

The article is written by Dr. Maoshing Ni from his Secrets to Longevity, which is a health blog from Yahoo!.

Power Up with a Power Nap
A long-time tradition in Latin countries, a siesta is a great way to jumpstart the second half of your day. Famous nap enthusiasts have included some of the best minds in history, such as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Thomas Edison.

What they knew was that a midday snooze – while seeming to be an unproductive use of time – could actually increase their effectiveness. Some of the reviving benefits of naps include enhanced cognitive function, better reaction time, more patience, stress relief, and better overall health.

So how long should your power nap be? It differs from person to person, but on average, a brief nap to revive the brain should be between 15 and 30 minutes. Sleeping for any longer will get you into deeper stages of sleep, from which it is difficult to awaken. (If you are napping to compensate for significant sleep loss, you would of course want to take a longer nap, and research has much to say about the restorative benefits of lengthy naps.)

You can read more of his article by visiting his blog.

Take a guess at what I am about to do right now? It is almost 3:00 in the afternoon and my energy levels are falling. Power Nap here I come!

Post from: Aging Fabulous

While you really don’t need anything special to do your monthly breast self-exam, there are some products and kits that will help you. One such kit is this one from Liv. It is the Liv Breast Self-Exam Kit.

Product Description:
Liv, the revolutionary kit for every woman, provides ease and effectiveness for your monthly breast self-exam. Presented in a velvet storage bag, the FDA-cleared, doctor-recommended kit features a reusable, touch-enhancing Liv exam aid to help you recognize changes quickly and easily. The aid reduces friction between your fingers and skin to provide greater sensitivity. Kit also includes a user journal, guidelines and postcard.

This kit is conveniently available at Amazon.com for $22.95

Post from: Aging Fabulous

When it comes to taking vitamins, I am bad. I seem to go on and off vitamin kicks, trying different formulas for what seems to be ailing me at the moment. I think I have found the perfect balance of vitamins, and it is easy to find your perfect balance of vitamins when using the Vitamin Advisor.

To start, you simply tell the quiz if you are male or female, and your age. Then you are asked a short series of questions that pertain to your lifestyle, family history, and medical problems.

I think the entire quiz took me three minutes, and it gave me a recommendation on which vitamins I should take very day.

Ordering from the web site is simple, and my formulas will cost me just $1.73 per day. I am ordering right now, and will try the vitamins for 30 days to see if I feel a difference.

My recommendations from the Vitamin Advisor:
Antioxidant and Multivitamin – The basic foundation for nutrition insurance. This formula is the key to safeguarding your immune system, especially in times of stress.
Cerebrovascular Support – The Cerebrovascular Support Formula features magnesium, which may help prevent migraine headaches.
PMS Support – The PMS Support Formula contains evening primrose oil, a source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which can help normalize hormone levels and influence prostaglandin synthesis.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Boomergirl, created for boomer women, born 1946 to 1964, is a community-based website offering beauty, fashion, family, finances, fitness and health advice; information of all sort and the latest news; blogs written by Boomergirl staff and members; clubs to join; hot tip of the day, Brain Boost; and a daily Spanish lesson. You can find well-written editorials and virtual flashbacks into the past.

Boomergirl can be counted in as complementary company to BoomerWomenSpeak and Eons, all geared with a format for readers 50-plus. If you are a baby boomer, give Boomergirl a look. Although new to the internet, its aim looks to be comprehensive and I predict, will grow community fairly rapidly. After all, there is an estimated 77 million baby boomers in the U.S. alone. The youngest is now 43, and the oldest is 61. A baby boomer turns 60 every seven seconds, and this trend will continue for almost two decades to come.

That the internet is not flooded with blogs, social networks and websites focused on, and written by, this age demographic is currently a mystery to me. I suspect it is only a matter of time before we will see an influx of individuals and groups representing the baby boomer generation. Boomergirl is genius that way.

If you have a boomer-focused blog, website or social networking group, introduce yourself in the comments and leave a link. We would be delighted to meet you.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Another one of those sites when you really don’t feel like working!

Post from: Aging Fabulous