Menopause and women's health generally is only just beginning to be discussed openly but it is long overdue, we need to understand more and champion for better health care to support us as we go through midlife.  I decided a couple of years ago to be more open about my own menopause journey on my blog in the hope that my experience could help others.  So often women just don't know where to start when they need help with a myriad of strange and new symptoms.  When they just don't feel like them any more.  And the obvious place to start is often their GP - but sadly this often results in even more confusion.  I am sure there are some really well trained GP's out there but unfortunately they are in the minority, the menopause training given to our GP's is woefully inadequate and the advice they can offer is limited or simply incorrect.  And so women give up, have to fight to get help or go privately.  It is a shocking situation. 

​But what if there was a way to educate yourself and know how to get the right help and make informed choices for you?!  I am a big believer in education and taking responsibility for our health.  So when I was approached by Bia Care, offering to educate women in an affordable way on menopause health and to connect them with the right specialists, I was really keen to find out more.

Fernanda from Bia Care gave me a call, we had a really interesting chat and we agreed I would join one of their first pilot menopause courses (kindly gifted to me).   The purpose of the pilot course was to assess whether women experiencing menopausal symptoms would find expert-led group sessions a helpful way to have their menopause questions answered, develop a better understanding of treatment options and to devise a personal menopause treatment plan.

Night sweats and menopause related sleep problems are really common and although I am much better than I was in the early stages of peri menopause, I am still keen to understand 'how can I sleep better during menopause' both in terms of quality and quantity of sleep.  And do we really understand the huge benefits of sleep?  Other than sleep simply makes us feel better?!  So what to do when you can't sleep, when you suffer with the can't sleep anxiety?

Dr. Marilyn Glenville PhD is the UK's leading nutritionist and a best-selling author specialising in women's health.  She is also the former President of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine, psychologist and popular broadcaster who obtained her doctorate from Cambridge University.

On Tuesday 22nd June from 7 pm to 9 pm Marilyn is hosting a webinar entitled 'Sleep - why is it so important and how to improve sleep quality and quantity' to show us how to get a good nights sleep including recommendations on what to eat, what to avoid, lifestyle changes and specific nutrients and botanicals to support your best sleep!  And readers of Fifty & Fab can get a huge 50% off the ticket price - making this webinar really affordable at just £13.50.

This is a sponsored blog post.

Well yes I know I don't have a bigger bust but I do love flattering bikinis and swimwear and I love the cup sized swimwear options from Fantasie.  I also love encouraging other women over 50 to embrace confidence and wear beautiful lingerie, swimsuits or bikinis.  But as we are all mostly having a UK staycation this year, we may be feeling like we don't need new swimwear, but ...  we still want to feel fabulous and embrace our inner confidence, and you never know, we might be lucky and have a heatwave summer!

I am sharing two lovely swimwear styles from Fantasie, the Fiji bikini was a previous gift and the Burano deep plunge swimsuit was gifted to me recently.  Fantasie offer a vast range of comfortable and supportive cup sized swimwear with lots of different shapes, styles and coverage options, you can mix and match their bikini tops and bottoms to find the right combination for you.

What is a staycation!?  It is a holiday spent in one's own country rather than abroad or one spent at home involving day trips!  Mmm when my children were younger we often used to stay at home and have outings and we loved a traditional 'bucket and spade' holiday in the UK - especially to Devon or Dorset.  For a while we had a lovely big touring caravan which both children adored and although it was hard work for me, I agree it was a fantastic way to holiday with young children.  But I didn't expect in 2020 and 2021 to have no alternative but to 'staycation' .... I wouldn't say I am a big fan of travelling but I like to have the choice and as my children have got older I have enjoyed guaranteed sun and sun-loungers even more!  But here we are with the the UK government and governments around the world still restricting our travel (remind me what the vaccine is for if it isn't to save lives, reduce serious illness and open up the world economy and allow travel again)?

But it is what it is and nothing I can do!  I am very fortunate to have booked a week in Cornwall at a friends apartment overlooking the sea near Portwrinkle.  It was a spontaneous decision months ago, she said she had slots available still and I decided it was best not to hesitate!