NUTRITION FOR MENOPAUSAL HEALTH

Did you know that there are over 60 possible symptoms during the menopausal transition?

As estrogen declines we often see changes in metabolism, our ability to easily process carbohydrate, gastro-intestinal motility,  and ability to maintain muscle and bone.  Our ability to manage stress may feel compromised, along with sleep and mood regulation. These symptoms and more can be a normal part of menopause for many women. Body image issues often accompany many of these challenging changes at this time of life.

Although we may have many symptoms in common, every woman’s menopausal journey is unique. Whether you decide to utilize Hormone Replacement Therapy or not there is a growing body of knowledge about how to move through the transition of menopause more smoothly and healthfully. Let me help you assess where you are on your menopausal journey and help you see how you can utilize up to date strategies including optimal personalized nutrition, microbiome health, exercise, sleep and stress management to help you move through your unique menopausal transition with more strength, optimal health and vitality!

Menopause is a period in a woman’s life when health risks increase at a rather dramatic rate. So much can be done to help women increase the quality of life along with your metabolic, cardiovascular, bone and gut health, all areas that can be compromised at this stage of life. If you have growing concerns about your metabolic health and cardiovascular risk due to labwork revealing an upward trend in your lipids and/or blood glucose  I can help. I am happy to collaborate with you and your physician to request a more advanced lipid panel or a prescription for a Continual Glucose Monitor to help us see more clearly what dietary factors are impacting you most from a metabolic perspective. From there we can together devise a plan to help normalize your blood glucose and potentially reverse or slow your progression toward insulin resistance, pre-Diabetes or Diabetes along with Cardiovascular Disease.

CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH, INFLAMMATION AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS)

Cardiovascular Disease is still a #1 killer in the United States. Often, medications are turned to before even trying a combination of dietary changes, movement and stress management. In addition 80 % of Type 2 Diabetes cases are preventable with a healthy lifestyle. We all know that diet can have a tremendous impact on the prevention and treatment of Diabetes and Heart Disease but did you know that the gut microbiome can have either a very positive or very negative impact on your endocrine and cardiometabolic systems? In functional medicine we go beyond the typical “eat a low fat, reduced simple carbohydrate diet and exercise regularly” prescription and teach you so much more about how diet impacts inflammation and how inflammation impacts the endocrine and cardiometabolic systems. I can help you recognize all of these connections and coach you on strategies to reduce inflammation and improve your  blood glucose and lipid profiles with a microbiome enhancing, anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle.

Additiionally if you have pre-Diabetes or Type 2 diabetes and are interested in utilizing Continuing Glucose Monitoring technology I may be able to assist you in getting a prescription for a CGM and in interpreting your results to help you better manage your blood glucose.

PCOS

Up to 10% of the female population is struggling with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Women who have PCOS often become insulin resistant which results in hyperinsulinemia and abnormalities in testosterone production. The symptoms that are caused by this cycle often include weight gain, acne, hirsutism, hair loss, menstrual irregularity, infertility, and depression. It is quite common for some women with PCOS to develop hypothyroidism as well.  Binge eating problems can often result from a PCOS diagnosis that is not followed up by evidence based and supportive dietary advise.

If you are struggling with PCOS I can assist you by creating an eating, movement, stress management and supplementation plan that can support a decrease in symptoms along with a lessening of food cravings. Long term adherence to a specialized eating plan specifically for PCOS can support you metabolically and help decrease PCOS symptoms along with the risk for binge eating. Individualized nutrition counseling, along with consistent medical follow up can make a positive difference in living with PCOS.

GERD, CELIAC AND GLUTEN SENSITIVITY

A healthy gut is your inside tract to optimal wellness yet so many struggle with these and other digestive disorders that wreak havock not only on our intestines but in other systems as well. Conventional medicine so often doesn’t offer enough to truly heal these disorders and prevent other systems from becoming involved. Functional nutrition is a systems approach where we often can draw connections from gut disorders to problems in other systems such as immune, neurological, integumentary (skin) and endocrine to name a few. I can help you with a comprehensive plan including dietary changes, lifestyle modification and botanical recommendations that can help you on your journey to healing your intestinal problems and getting back on track to optimal health.

ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Unfortunately these are states that so many of us are familiar with either in ourselves or in our children. In managing or resolving these issues it is so very critical to find your team of professionals whom you can trust for evidence based treatments and compassionate care. Many are successfully treated with conventional medications yet many others are seeking an alternative to psychiatric medicines for these disorders. In my work as a functional dietitian I can educate you about the powerful potential of changes in diet and lifestyle and possibly supplementation can have and hopefully help you on your journey back to feeling like yourself again.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

New to my work in weight management is a Functional and Integrative Nutrition approach. Here we recognize that food is information and the emphasis is on reducing inflammation and stopping and/or preventing insulin resistance. These conditions may play a heavy hand in your weight gain and may further complicate successful and sustainable weight loss.  Evidence in support of weight management through an Integrative and Functional Nutrition approach is quickly evolving and is thought to be the wave of the future as we learn more about how important the microbiome, attention to the gut-brain axis and cessation of high levels of inflammation are to physical and mental health and vitality.

My approach to weight management is also heavily influenced by my almost 40 years of experience working with all forms of disordered eating.  Instead of restrictive weight loss diets I work to help clients establish a healthy and less conflicted relationship with food and their bodies integrating a model heavily influenced by but not limited to the concepts of Intuitive and Mindful Eating. I integrate my background in supporting metabolic, cardiovascular, mental and gut health into my work with weight management. I support Health at Every Size (HAES).

With these holistically combined approaches you can look forward to learning to eat mindfully while exploring a diet filled with a variety of delicious, easy to prepare, anti-inflammatory, blood sugar stabilizing and microbiome enhancing foods. Your program will be  tailored to your unique individual needs.  I will also support you in finding a pattern of physical activity that you fully enjoy engaging in along with lifestyle strategies to help you tie all of this together.  This highly integrated approach is designed positively impact your weight and health from the inside out.

EATING DISORDERS

Eating disorders are on the rise in many populations including men and middle-aged women. I have extensive experience working with eating disorders as they manifest in both men and women and throughout the life cycle. In adults I have experience in treating Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder and extreme picky eating also known as Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

I will meet you where you are with your eating disorder and help guide you to a more holistic and internally centered place with food and your body. I can help replace rigid, restrictive or chaotic eating with a structured meal plan that can gradually evolve into a more internally led pattern of eating that is intuitive, healthful, mindful, and ultimately free of the prison of your eating disorder. Additionally I can help in creating balance in the other aspects of your lifestyle, including exercise and stress management, which will support you in your recovery.

I have decades of experience in the Santa Barbara eating disorder treatment community and can help lead you to the many professionals and services available for helping you find your way back to wholeness. My goal is to work with your therapist and physician to create a unified approach that is best for you. My practice is LGBTQ friendly!