Eat to Defeat Menopause

July 1, 2011

Two of the country's top menopause experts combine more than 130 recipes with facts and heart-healthy tips for a delectable midlife, and earn a ringing endorsement from Preventive Medicine Research Institute's Dr. Dean Ornish.

Approximately 50 million women in the United States are in or quickly approaching menopause, write the authors of this easy-to-use cookbook and health guide. They should know. Giblin is the founder of Red Hot Mamas, the largest menopause-education organization in the U.S., and Seibel is professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Massachusetts. Together, they briefly explain basic hormonal components of perimenopause and menopause, as well as their symptoms—e.g., hot flashes, vaginal dryness and depression. Most troubling for many women, however, are the changes they experience in their metabolism, which often leads to weight gain. Giblin and Seibel tackle this head-on with an abundance of diet facts, as well as useful healthy weight and calorie charts and tips from Dr. Ornish on how to reduce fat in recipes. Eating right can alleviate many menopausal symptoms, with foods like parsley, asparagus and melon helping to combat bloating. Recipe categories run the usual gamut: breakfasts of whole-grain pancakes, egg scrambles and fresh cranberry muffins; appetizers and side dishes; soups and salads; pastas; entrees; and desserts. Some of the recipes—Mushroom-Barley Soup, Baked Eggplant, Peaches In Wine, or Soy Smoothies—are numbingly familiar health fare, but several multicultural dishes offer zing for the taste buds. Hamachi en Escabeche—a take on yellowtail tuna that has won over several food critics—employs a blend of garlic, almonds and olives for a healthy change from the ordinary.

Practical, tasty eating for menopause and beyond.

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