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Extra corticosteroids interfere with fluid and mineral balance. While taking them, you will tend to retain fluid and salt—your ankles may swell and you may get short of breath, especially when lying down. This can be corrected with fluid tablets. You may also lose excessive amounts of potassium which can cause a general feeling of tiredness and muscle weakness. Ask your doctor to check the amount of potassium in your blood if you feel very lethargic. If it is low, it can be corrected by taking extra potassium in tablet form.

While taking corticosteroids, you will also have a lowered resistance to infections, especially those due to germs other than bacteria—thrush, for example. Any cuts, scratches or other wounds you have will not heal as well as they would normally. You should be sure to look after any wounds you have especially carefully. Keep them clean and protect them from further injury.

Extra corticosteroids can produce indigestion and heartburn, mainly through increasing acid in the stomach. Antacids will help these symptoms. It is quite dangerous to take corticosteroids if you have had stomach ulcers. They are likely to be aggravated and to bleed as a result.

High blood pressure can be caused or made worse by corticosteroids. Make sure your blood pressure is checked regularly while you are taking them.

If you take them for more than a few months, corticosteroids may weaken your bones. They will also stunt the growth of anyone who has not already reached their full height. This last one is a permanent effect.

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•   The hormonal imbalance that occurs at menopause is temporary, much like the changes that occur at puberty.

•   No more than 10 to 20 percent of women going through menopause suffer extreme discomfort.

•   The appearance of hot flushes usually last no more than two years, and, as a general rule, is not incapacitating.

Ginseng: Helps alleviate hot flushes (often limiting them to eight weeks). Though containing estriol, a variant of oestrogen, ginseng is an anti-carcinogenic (anticancer) substance. As a supplement, I’d recommend 500 mg., taken on an empty stomach, a.m. and p.m. (Vitamin С has been said to diminish ginseng’s effectiveness; but taking a time-release С supplement will make counteraction less likely.)

Vitamin E (With Selenium): Helps alleviate menopausal symptoms by interacting with thyroid secretions and oestrogen, moderating hormonal fluctuations. Both vitamin E and selenium are antioxidants, slowing down aging and tissue-hardening due to oxidation. They’re also synergistic, which means that the action of the two combined produces an effect more potent than either would alone. I’d suggest starting with 200 mg. and increasing to 400 mg. (mixed tocopherols preferred), 1 to 3 times daily.

L-tryptophan: One of nature’s pharmacy’s best antidepressants and sedatives, and enormously helpful to women going through menopause. As a supplement, I’d recommend 3 tablets, 1/2 hour before bedtime, taken with water or juice (no protein).

Calcium And Magnesium: Aside from being effective natural tranquillizers, calcium and magnesium can help in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis (the porous bone disease caused by demineralization due to lack of oestrogen), backache, and muscle cramps that often cause insomnia during menopause. As a supplement, I’d suggest 1 chelated calcium and magnesium tablet, 3 times daily.

B-complex Vitamins: These are your best insurance against the adverse emotional and physical effects of stress. (In fact, there is increasing evidence that an adequate B-complex vitamin intake throughout life helps prevent menopausal symptoms.) As a supplement, I’d suggest taking a stress В complex, 100 mg., 1-3 times, daily.

Herb Teas: For a soothing, mood-elevating drink, chamomile (and chamomile-based) tea is highly recommended. Teas containing passion flower (passiflora) are also helpful and work as effective sleeping aids.

Valerian is another calming herb – and a potent one. If using the root to make tea, add only half a teaspoon to a cup of boiling water, and then let it cool. Drink only one cup a day – and no more than a mouthful at a time.

Exercise: Brisk walking will tone up the circulatory system and can even prevent bone loss and strengthen the ligaments between bones. Swimming and bike-riding are also effective, as is jumping rope. (Caution: Check with your doctor before beginning any sort of exercise regimen.) I’d suggest fifteen minutes a day or a half-hour three times a week.

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The most obvious way to cut fat from your diet is to reduce the amount of pure fat—butter, margarine, shortening, and vegetable oils—you add to food during cooking or serving. Teaspoon for teaspoon, all types of spreads (except for the “diet” varieties) and oils contain about the same amount of fat.

Although they are similar in calories, there are meaningful distinctions between butter and margarine, for example. First, only animal fats such as butter or lard contain cholesterol. No vegetable fat contains cholesterol. Another distinction among fats is their degree of saturation. Saturated fats tend to raise total blood cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats, classified as mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated, do not raise total blood cholesterol levels. In fact, when you eat monounsaturated fats in limited amounts, they tend to raise the “good” type / of cholesterol—high-density lipoproteins (HDLs).

No fat is 100 percent saturated, mo-noun saturated, or polyunsaturated. For example, olive oil is called a monounsaturated fat because it is predominantly monounsaturated, but it also has smaller proportions of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

The first strategy to keep in mind is to reduce the amount of any type of fat that you use. Then, the next strategy is to make selections that are lower in saturated fat and cholesterol. Avoid hydrogenated fats—common ingredients in commercial baked goods and other processed foods—to decrease your saturated fat intake. You can also reduce the amount of fat in your diet by selecting lower-fat alternatives to mayonnaise, salad dressing, and sauces that are made with fat and oils.

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