I loathe taking medications of any kind. It doesn’t matter what it’s for…I’m very skeptical of putting things in my body just because.
With that said, menopause had my belly looking like a three-month pregnant woman, and that’s no bueno. It wasn’t until I spoke with Karen Cerezo, the Midlife Coach, that I realized what had to be done. It was time for a probiotic.
I thought I was doing well with the probiotic in my Kefir, but I was wrong. A probiotic should have at least 16 strains. My digestion improved within a week of taking one a day. And I just happened to have chosen one that has a mood stabilizer called Ashwaghanda. Let me tell you something…this has saved my life. I’m a much calmer version of myself, not in a zoned-out kind of way, but in a not-going-off-on-everyone kind of way. It’s been a nice, unexpected addition.
The second thing I did was listened to my primary care doctor. A couple years ago, she said I was Vitamin D deficient. But like I said, I’m not one to readily accept that I need to take pills for something.
Guess what? Vitamin D has both a direct and indirect role in the regulation of sleep. Who knew?
At first, I bought just the Vitamin D pill itself. It seems that when I take it independently, it increases my insomnia. So, instead, I bought a multivitamin. Again, I thought my Vega One had enough vitamins, but I was wrong. Waaay wrong. This multivitamin had the right amount of all types of things, including Vitamin D. And kind of like the probiotic, this one was a two-fer. It also improved metabolism, so it was another win-win. I’ve lost ten pounds by doing nothing different other than taking this multivitamin, and my sleep quality has dramatically improved.
So, that’s it for this month. I’m happy to report that my menopausal health is coming together quite nicely.
Even though I’m not being paid for this, I’ll tell you that I use Garden of Life for the probiotic and Alive for the multivitamin.
*I’m a Dr., but not that kinda doctor, so this is not medical advice! Go talk to your physician!
Navigating the Change 
Both probiotics and vitamin D have been recommended by most of my docs and my husband’s too. Good post.
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Thanks VJ! I’m glad I’m on the right track, then. I’m trying to figure out how long you take probiotics, though. Is it a lifetime?
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I choose to keep taking them.
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Excellent post. I take zinc, probiotics in both supplement and natural foods, and vitamin D regularly. I also use digestive enzymes when I crave spaghetti or bread, knowing it causes me some uncomfortable bloating.
I grew up with zero supplements and resisted for a long time. In midlife though, since I followed a regular regime of healthy food choices, which includes a whole food diet 90% of the time, the supplements and enzymes have made my digestive and general health so much better.
No regrets here. 🙂
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Thank you! What are digestive enzymes and how are they different than a probiotic? No prob if you don’t know…I can consult Dr. Google lol
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They are different. Do Google. There are different types of enzymes … I take a Gluten one when I want pizza or pasta and it helps me not get bloating.
The brand we use for general digestive enzymes are BioGest.
For high fatty foods like junk (McDonalds) fatty meats like ribs or pork or fried chicken I use Ichol by Genestra. And any Gluten one for flour products.
Basically it helps reduce discomfort during digestion if you have a sensitivity to it.
Probiotics put good flora back in your gut. It helps if they are specific to human digestive tracts and not based on cow’s milk.
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Wow. This is interesting to me.
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I could write something about this. Do you want me to? I’m not an expert, but I have an excellent naturopathic doctor who explains things well.
Digestive enzymes help break down food. They are a protein. If you overeat, say at a Thanksgiving meal, take a good quality enzyme to reduce that really full, heavy feeling. Or if you know certain foods give you bloating (for me it’s flour carbs). I take one on road trips when I’m outvoted to eat junk food during our stops. My digestion in midlife is not optimal anymore so the enzymes help.
The probiotics are bacteria required in your gut to keep things healthy and balanced.
If you have a dairy allergy, or just prefer not consuming dairy, be mindful what kind of probiotic you consume. I use one that is natural to the human digestive tract, not based on cow’s milk. I don’t have a milk allergy, I just prefer to take a probiotics that replenishes what already naturally exists in my gut.
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Thank you for this!!
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You’re welcome!
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Having grown up in a place where medication was a rudimentary luxury and herbal infusions the remedy for everything, I still share your attitude into my old age, where we mend to be the milk cows for Big Pharma and the doctor’s main income providers. I also struggled with demoralising sleep deprivation and had to experiment for many years before I got it right. Congratulations!
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Omgosh! Thank you for saying this!!! I have a longer post ready for my other blog about how doctors are very quick to just write a script. It’s very disconcerting.
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My doctor just put me on a vitamin D supplement too. I think more because I’m also on calcium and Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, but I still think it’s a good idea. BUT I haven’t been sleeping as well since I started on it, and now I’m wondering if that’s the culprit? I think I’ll try getting it in a multivitamin instead and see if that helps!
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It could be. Hearing you say this, I wonder if doctors think we can’t handle scientific information. I wonder why this wouldn’t be a conversation.
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I need advice for my mom. She menopausal and has been experiencing gradual weight loss for six years now. We don’t really know what is the cause. The one prominent problem she had and has from then and now is urinal infections left untreated for too long. I’m in Ghana and she has tried medications but I need a second opinion
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I’m sorry to hear that your mother is experiencing distress due to menopause. Unfortunately, I cannot offer medical advice, because I don’t have a medical degree.
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I understand, though I’m not asking for medical advice. I meant experience or any lead we might be missing since it seems u have researched a lot into this topic. All the same thanks for the good words
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Ohhhh! Got it. I know you said your mother is in Ghana, but if you’re in the States, I’d suggest calling this pharmacy and looking through the following website: https://agelessandwellness.com/services-for-women/
They use natural products/supplements, and everything I’ve gotten from here works perfectly.
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