For centuries, people have used herbs in a medicinal capacity, from ancient civilisations through to today, where many modern pharmaceutical drugs are originally derived from plant extracts. Drop into any health food store and you’ll find a whole range of herbal supplements; chat to your friends and they may swear by a miracle herb that banished their hot flushes but you might not find it so effective, so it’s obviously not a one-size-fits-all solution. In this episode, I’ve invited herbalist Ed Joy to join me, so that he can demystify herbs for us and give you some practical suggestions for an herbal approach to your symptoms. Ed has over 20 years’ experience and he weaves a combination of homeopathy, naturopathy and nutrition into his work, taking a truly holistic approach. Find out why you should be stocking up on sage; which herbs might help with hot flushes, and how to calm your nervous system and reduce anxiety with supportive plant compounds. Ed is a positive mine of information about herbs and the best way to approach them. He also shares some brilliant foodie tips about the benefit of cooking with herbs, so that it’s not just all about over-the-counter remedies. Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

A Herbal Approach to Menopause Symptoms with Herbalist, Ed Joy - S1. Ep 4.

Join award-winning nutritionist and author Jackie Lynch as she takes you on a journey through midlife to learn how diet and lifestyle can help you take control of your menopause symptoms. Each month Jackie covers a different topic, from managing hot flushes or dealing with anxiety to intimate health and strong bones. She'll introduce you to some fascinating guests who can offer expert advice on managing midlife hormonal changes and challenges, so that you truly can have a happy menopause. Find out more about the podcast and Jackie's work by visiting well-well-well.co.uk or follow on Twitter&nbsp;. Facebook and Instagram @WellWellWellUK.

Alternative Health

Health

Nutrition

Health & Fitness

Welcome to my latest Best Bit, part of my series to celebrate half a million downloads for The Happy Menopause podcast and the chance for you to catch up on some of the brilliant episodes you may have missed. 

This edition focuses on anxiety, which is one of the most underestimated and unexpected symptoms of the menopause, and yet it’s so common. So many of the women in my nutrition clinic struggle with anxiety during the menopause and it often takes them by surprise.  This is why I called upon Rachel Weiss, accredited counsellor and founder of the Rowan Consultancy to help us out. 

Rachel explains what’s going on in our brain when we experience anxiety and has some incredibly helpful tips on how to support our mental health and wellbeing. She talks us through some physical and mental strategies to calm the nervous system and to dial down the anxiety. 

This is a brilliant episode, with some fantastic expert advice to help you feel more on top of things. If you’d like to listen to the full episode, you can find it in Season 2, Episode 7, where you’ll get the full benefit of Rachel’s expertise. 

If you’re a fan of The Happy Menopause, please tell your friends and family, and do give it a 5-star rating and a short review on Apple podcasts, or whichever platform you listen on. It makes a huge difference to the algorithms which influence the visibility of the podcast, so that more women can find the show. Because every woman deserves to have a happy menopause.  Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

How to Manage Anxiety & Enhance Emotional Wellbeing with Rachel Weiss, Accredited Counsellor & Coach - Best Bits #4

Our relationship with food can be complex and it’s very often determined by a whole host of different experiences. Some of us might describe ourselves as emotional eaters and find that this can get in the way of a healthy lifestyle, affecting our weight and our body image. The whole arena can be a bit of a minefield. In fact, it’s a specialist field in clinical work, so I’ve reached out to an expert in this area, Dr Romi Ran. 
 
 Romi is a Clinical Psychologist; Coach and Author who specialises in food, eating, and body image and who works with people to transform their lives. She’s been involved in a range of research at Harvard University and received her doctorate from the University of Oxford. Her new book, Bite Sized Peace, draws on her clinical experience and is a transformative guide to changing eating habits and fostering body acceptance. This is fascinating and important stuff at any age of life, but never more so than during the hormonal upheavals of the perimenopause.  There’s a lot of food for thought in this interview with Romi, as we discuss the challenges women can experience with their relationship with food. We talk about midlife weight loss; the impact of emotional eating; body image, and how to manage all these challenges. Romi shares her 5 principles to navigate these tricky areas and to achieve a more positive and accepting approach to manage our health and wellbeing through midlife and beyond.  I really enjoyed chatting to Romi – there was a lot of food for thought there and I was very interested in what she had to say about the importance of self- acceptance. If you’re thinking of making some changes, tuning into this fascinating episode could be a great way to get started. Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

Emotional Eating, Body Image & the Menopause, with Dr. Romi Ran, Clinical Psychologist & Author. S5. Ep.13

Welcome to my latest Best Bit, part of my series to celebrate half a million downloads for The Happy Menopause podcast and to give you the chance to catch up on some of the brilliant episodes you may have missed.  We’re looking back at the launch episode for Season 2 for this edition and we’re talking hair! My guest is consultant dermatologist and hair specialist Dr Sharon Wong, who is incredibly generous with her advice.  Dr Sharon Wong specialises in treating hair and scalp disorders and she’s an absolute mine of information, as we find out what influences the growth and condition of our hair and how the menopause affects our hair.  We discuss the different diet, lifestyle and biochemical factors that can affect our hair and Sharon. She explains the best approach to haircare; how often to wash our hair; what to look for in hair products; and how we can optimise the health and strength of our hair.  There really is nothing like listening to an expert talk about their subject. I learned a lot from Sharon in our chat and I’m sure you will too. If you’d like to listen to the full episode, you can find it in Season 2, Episode 1, where there’s even more practical advice to help you take the right approach to your hair care! If you’re a fan of The Happy Menopause, please tell your friends and family, and do give it a 5-star rating and a short review on Apple podcasts, or whichever platform you listen on. It makes a huge difference to the algorithms which influence the visibility of the podcast, so that more women can find the show. Because every woman deserves to have a happy menopause.  Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

How to Have Great Hair with Dr Sharon Wong, Consultant Dermatologist & Hair Specialist - Best Bits #3

Are you a sloucher? Do you spend too much time pinned to your desk? Have you started to get a few niggles in your lower back, neck or shoulders? If it’s yes to all of the above, this episode is the one for you, because it’s all about posture, movement and alignment and it’s packed with practical advice to help with all those lurking issues you may have been ignoring or simply putting up with.  My guest is Kerrie-Anne Bradley, former economist turned expert pilates teacher. It was her own experience of too much time at a desk and the subsequent problems with sciatica and other aches and pains that led her to take up pilates. 

She was so inspired by the results that she retrained with the renowned Fletcher Pilates School and became a teacher herself. She’s the founder of the brilliant Pilates at Your Desk and Move More at Your Desk programmes, including an excellent book of the same name. There’s not much Kerrie-Anne doesn’t know about movement and alignment – in fact she’s puts me through my paces in this interview, so please join in the fun!

Kerrie-Anne takes us through her journey to resolve her own aches and pains and explains how pilates made a material difference to her. She also shares a range of simple exercises that you can do at your desk to help deal with neck or shoulder pain; lower back issues, and tight hamstrings and hip flexors. Most of them are subtle movements that you can do in the office without anyone really noticing, which is an added bonus, if you want to be discreet.  It really was a pleasure to chat to Kerrie-Anne and I just know that I’m taller and straighter as a result! 

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode and please give it 5 star rating and a short review on Apple podcasts, or whichever platform you listen on, I’d be so grateful. And do tell your friends and family about it too. It really does make a huge difference to the visibility of the podcast, so that more women can find the show. After all, every woman deserves to have a happy menopause. Thanks so much for listening. Bye for now.  Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

Pilates at Your Desk: How to Move More in Menopause, with Kerrie-Anne Bradley, Pilates Teacher & Author. S5. Ep. 12.

Welcome to another of my Best Bits to celebrate the amazing milestone of 500,000 downloads for The Happy Menopause podcast.  This time, I’m diving right back into the archive to Season 1 for this one, because my chat about sleep with Professor Russell Foster was absolutely fascinating, and even in this pared-down version, there is a wealth of excellent advice.  Russell is the Founder and Director of The Sleep and Circadian Research Institute and Head of Oxford University’s Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology. He’s carried out decades of research into the science of circadian rhythms and sleep cycles and won multiple awards for his work. There’s no doubt that he’s the man to speak to about anything to do with sleep! In this series of extracts, we discuss Russell’s 4-pillar approach to getting a good night’s sleep; learn why sleep apps are mostly a waste of time; understand the science behind our circadian rhythms and how exposure to morning light is the key to a good night’s sleep. Russell is full of fascinating insights and practical tips to make a material difference to the quality of your sleep! If you’re inspired by these Best Bits, you can find the full episode in Season 1, Episode 16 where you can hear everything that Russell has to say about this vital subject.   Check out the full Show Notes for this episode on my website www.well-well-well.co.uk/podcast, where you'll find all the relevant links and references for my guest.
 
Learn how to build your own menopause diet to manage your symptoms with my latest book The Happy Menopause: Smart Nutrition to Help You Flourish. 

A Herbal Approach to Menopause Symptoms with Herbalist, Ed Joy - S1. Ep 4.

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