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.

When I was asked if I would like to try out a new cooling pillow and a mulberry silk pillowcase from The Fine Bedding Company, I was really keen!  One of my most popular blog posts is about choosing the best duvet for menopause where I recommend swapping to a wool duvet!  So clearly menopausal night sweats and hot flushes are a big challenge for many of my readers.  But what are the benefits of a silk pillowcase?  And what is a cooling pillow!?

The Fine Bedding Company sent me their Smart Temperature Pillow with Activated Cooling Technology and their 100% Mulberry Silk Pillowcase.  There are other products in the temperature controlling range too, pillow protectors and mattress protectors as well as a duvet.

Guest post from Dragonfly CBD.  My blog post today is a guest article written by Dragonfly CBD.  They got in touch and asked if I would like to try out some CBD Oil and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to find out more about it and to ask if taking CBD Oil can be a helpful way to manage some of our menopause symptoms.  

​Healthy eating is easier said than done!  We all have good intentions, we fill the cupboards with fresh produce and health foods, then fail to maintain our new habits, lose interest and drift back to our old habits.  Does that sound familiar?  Don't be too hard on yourself, the best approach is to incorporate small, sustainable changes slowly.  Don't plan to change everything all in one go, start with a few ideas here and there and when you have established one habit, move onto the next!

I am managing to transform my habits, with the help of Jo and Anya who run a facebook based membership group called Menu & Mind, I am learning new recipes and ideas and adding them into my every day life.  I'm even cooking a vegan meal for (outdoors) guests on Monday!