With the start of the new year, it is a perfect time to address the top complaint I hear from perimenopausal and menopausal women: menopause bloating (and/or excess girth around the middle). Is this you? The age range that women typically experience menopause is between 40 and 58. While menopause is usually defined as a woman having missed her period for 12 consecutive months, the changes and hormonal fluctuations leading up to menopause are called perimenopause and can last for four to eight years.

During this time, the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis increases as hormones begin to fluctuate and decline. Not only that, according to The XX Brain, by Lisa Mosconi, PhD, decline of estrogen (also known as the ‘master regulator’ of the female brain) causes women to become more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease. Having said that, you might think the most common question I receive as a menopause coach would be about how to avoid these deadly...