________________Natural Health Advisory Service_______________

The 'PHYTO' Approach - 4 June 2000

Eleanor lives with her husband and two children.
She began having menopausal symptoms two years ago.

One of my main problems was that I felt very irritable. Everything seemed a major effort as I was so lacking in energy, and I also felt my confidence draining away at work. I was prescribed HRT in patches, but it gave me terribly heavy periods lasting nearly three weeks, and during the second part of the cycle, when progestogen was added, I felt really low. I changed to a bleed-free HRT but things were no better. I took HRT for seven months, but it didn't work for me.

I decided to see a dietary practitioner and contacted the Natural Health Advisory Service. I'd read about isoflavones and I thought they might help. By then I was also suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, so I was at quite a low ebb. I was advised to begin a wheat-free diet, and reduce the amount of caffeine and chocolate I was having. I added masses of fruit and vegetables to my diet, which was fine, but beginning to eat pulses and tofu was more difficult as they weren't foods I was used to. I was also given multivitamins and a redclover food supplement.

After about eight weeks I began to feel very different. A few months in I felt very good indeed - I had more energy, my confidence was returning and people began to notice a change in my appearance. A year later, my menopausal symptoms have gone. Although I now longer have periods, I have continued the diet because I feel so much better.

I make tofu stir-fries and use silken tofu for omelettes. I drink soya milk with my cereal and sprinkle pine nuts, linseeds, almonds an drid fruit over it religiously every day. I eat soya yoghurts and I've also made the HRT bread in Maryon Stewart's book 'Cruising Through the Menopause'. It contains soya flour, rice flour, oat bran and linseeds, and tastes delicious. I don't eat soya constantly but it's in my diet. My husband enjoys eating this way too, and I think it's good for his health. I find if I slip back into my old habits some of the symptoms return. I feel normal now - and I've lost a little weight, which is a bonus.