Remember when you were a young girl and your parents had to say, over and over, “it’s bedtime.” You thought you’d miss something if you went to sleep, even though you were nodding off on the living room sofa. Now, you can’t wait to hit the sack, but pray you’ll fall asleep, without too much tossing and turning, and stay asleep.
Tell us about your sleep habits and see how you compare with other wonderful women!
by Carolyn Hidalgo, Spiritual Life Coach
Have you ever wanted to dive deeper into conversation with a few fascinating women, who would encourage you to be yourself? Where nothing is off limits for discussion because you have a safe space to show up, mentally and emotionally. I’ve often thought how wonderful it would be to engage with life at a deeper level, and grow more fully, with the support and courage of other women who wouldn’t judge me. I could bring the ‘good, the bad, and the ugly’ into the space, although I’d prefer to call it ‘my whole beautiful unique soul’.
Last fall, I found myself working towards my goal to create sacred spaces for groups of three or four women, so they could develop together over a period of time. I’d call it Soul Sister Club. As a certified life coach, I longed to take my work in a more spiritual direction, but with an overall focus on our emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing. I wanted to explore what brings meaning, joy, and purpose to our lives.
I started my career as an accountant, but there wasn’t too much meaning, joy, or purpose in that! It was practical, and gave me a decade of corporate experience that I don’t regret, but it just wasn’t me. My husband, on the other hand, is right at home in the corporate financial world, where he enjoys the constant challenges of being a VP in the automotive industry.
Twin girls soon followed, and I was already seeking a new career. It wasn’t a coincidence when I ran into a mom, who also was searching for something more after leaving her corporate job. Together, we joined a small group of women led by a life coach. It was my first experience intimately sharing all aspects of my life, and looking to have more joy, fulfillment, and direction.
If you’ve been cleansing your vagina with drying soaps and body washes — stop right there!
Our friends at Uniderm want you to scrap the soap, and give your dry and delicate vaginal tissue the hydration it needs, especially after menopause. As part of its #ScrapTheSoap campaign, five lucky ladies will win the company’s wonderfully effective Lubrigyn Cleansing Lotion and Lubrigyn Cream.
Made in Italy, the Lubrigyn line of feminine care products has been tremendously popular with European women for years, and is now available in the US!
Pneumonia affects about 900,000 Americans each year, and 18,000 people 65 years and older die from it, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Michael Hogue, a pharmacist who is on the Board of Directors for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), tells us how to protect ourselves against this potentially deadly illness!
If you haven’t yet been through menopause, some of your FOF sisters reveal what they wish they knew before they had! Kellie explains it perfectly.
This post is sponsored by Pfizer Inc., the makers of Estring® (estradiol vaginal ring) 2 mg. For more information on ESTRING®, please see Full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING and Patient Information. Please see below or click here for Important Safety Information. The health information contained herein is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace discussions with a healthcare provider. All decisions regarding patient care must be made with a healthcare provider, considering the unique characteristics of the patient.
“[After menopause] my vaginal symptoms were severe and I decided I needed to do something about it,” says 63-year-old Patricia Hensley, who experienced unexpected changes once she hit postmenopause, including painful sex. Patricia is among many women who experience postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. Curious about what the common symptoms are and what treatment options are available? Take our quiz and learn about one way women can alleviate these symptoms!
Apryl Allen and her husband Ken are sitting in the doctor’s office, anxiously expecting to hear the results of the pathology report following surgery for Apryl’s breast cancer.
After having her vital signs checked, Apryl learns the doctor is on vacation, and that the nurse practitioner will convey the results. As if this news isn’t disconcerting enough (Apryl assiduously made the appointment for the day of his return), Apryl and Ken wait for 30 minutes, and the nurse practitioner is nowhere in site.
“Ken, I’ll give it another 10 minutes. If no one shows up I’m going to get someone,” Apryl says.
“No, I will get someone,” Ken says, disgusted. “It felt as if we were captives awaiting our fate in this macabre cell while eternity passed,” Apryl writes in her riveting new book, A Tango With Cancer, My Perilous Dance with Healthcare & Healing.
What follows is one of the most powerful scenes in the book, epitomizing the impersonal, imperious, often-callous treatment Apryl experiences throughout her ordeal with her potentially deadly disease. A Tango should be required reading, not only for any woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, but for every woman.
This isn’t a how-to-survive-breast-cancer-guide. It isn’t a 300-page pep talk on having a positive attitude when you’re facing a serious illness (although that’s definitely part of it.) And it isn’t a tug-at-your-heartstrings tale.
It’s an intimate, chronological accounting of Apryl’s journey, starting the day she gets her revealing mammogram in mid-2013, through her challenging experiences with medical bills and insurance companies, countless doctors and their cohorts, surgery and drugs. And, even if her book’s stark realism isn’t uplifting, Apryl is downright skillful–and inspiring– in the way she maneuvers the dispassionate healthcare system to get the treatment and information she absolutely needs to defend herself during her battle.
“The fight against cancer isn’t necessarily limited to eradicating it from your body; too often it continues with the very system that’s supposed to heal us.” Apryl believes. Apryl’s unpretentious, yet beautifully descriptive, writing conveys her emotions every step of the way, from her intense fear as she enters the massive MRI machine, to her frustration when she can’t reach a medical professional on the phone, and her sheer joy when she learns she may not need traditional chemotherapy.
Apryl calls her breast cancer nodule Jorge and her one cancerous lymph node is Lymph-Along-Kid. She also cleverly names every doctor, rather than use their real names and titles. Her radiologist is Breast Investigator; her surgeon is Medicine Woman; her family physician is Dr. KnowItAll and her first oncologist is Mad Scientist. These wonderful names help bring to life all the players in her drama.
By the time I finished Tango, I felt as if Apryl was my friend, but I wanted to talk to her “in person” to ask her a few questions.
Have you ever snacked on treats designed specifically for women?
“Today we know that genetic, hormonal, and physiological differences affect our susceptibility to disease, and how we respond to dietary plans designed to prevent, reduce or treat disease,” says Staness Jonekos, bestselling author and menopause expert. That’s why she created Eat Like A Woman®, plant-based functional snacks that are free of gluten, soy, dairy, and eggs, and give women the nutrients we need to reach optimal health.
Bye bye winter.
It’s almost time to get back to our favorite outdoor activities. With this in mind, FabOverFifty has partnered with Cal-EZ, a fast-absorbing calcium powder, to bring you a Spring Shape Up Giveaway. Keep reading about why it’s important to introduce calcium supplementation into your diet, and enter the giveaway below.
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If you’ve noticed changes in your eyesight during the last few years, you’re certainly not alone.
The normal aging process, plus hormonal fluctuations such as loss of estrogen, can result in conditions from occasional dry eye to worsening vision. But, only 38 percent of women in a FabOverFifty poll said they’re paying enough attention to their eye health. That makes it clear that we all need to know about nutrients called zeaxanthin and lutein that can help protect and improve the condition of our eyes.
Located in the macula of the eye (the small area at the center of the retina that’s responsible for what we see straight in front of us, at the center of our field of vision), zeaxanthin and lutein are antioxidants that filter harmful high-energy blue wavelengths of light, and can help reduce the risk of chronic eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. These conditions affect millions of aging Americans, reports the website of the American Optometric Association. The amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin are measured as macular pigment optical density (MPOD), which has become a useful biomarker for predicting disease and visual function.
“It’s critical to maintain the quality and health of this area of retinal tissue in a modern society that depends upon using computer screens and driving automobiles, safely,” says Dr. Stuart Richer, Chicago optometrist.
Since the human body does not naturally make all the lutein and zeaxanthin it needs, it’s important to consume foods such as spinach, corn, broccoli and eggs. Diet isn’t enough, however, so eye doctors recommend zeaxanthin supplementation through natural products, such as EyePromise, a brand supported by over 20 years of research. The manufacturer’s science-based product line is offered in a variety of formulas, allowing you to choose one that’s best for your needs.
EyePromise Vizual Edge softgels are packed with zeaxanthin, lutein, vitamins and fish oil to keep your eyes in tip-top shape! It’s also crucial to visit your ophthalmologist every year to check your eyes for changes in vision and signs of any eye diseases.
Make an investment in your long-term eye health with zeaxanthin and learn more about EyePromise today.
This post is sponsored by ZeaVision, the makers of EyePromise. Thanks for supporting FabOverFifty!
