Check out my latest blog on Psychology today:  

Menopausal Health and Individualized Hormone Therapy Health care providers often prescribe hormones for symptoms accompanying menopause, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood changes, compromised cognition, sexual problems, and fatigue. Today, choosing the optimal hormone therapy for women has become a complex matter. Concerns about the safety of traditional hormones have surfaced in recent years. Traditionally in the U.S., conventional hormone therapy has used synthetic — or nonbioidentical — hormones. These are considered “nonbioidentical” because their structure is different than human hormones. Bioidentical hormones, while derived from “natural” plant sources – typically yams or soy – are not strictly speaking “natural”. Though derived from natural sources, these hormones must be commercially [ Read more ]

When we start feeling stressed, many of us will turn to food to calm our nerves. And the food we reach for is normally the type of food we refer to as “comfort food”, which is filled with fat, salt, and sugar. Excessive eating can of course lead to obesity, which in turn can be associated with diseases such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. But why is it that stress leads to excessive eating? A new study from the University of Stavanger in Norway made the hypothesis that obesity, while in part due to poor diet and lack of exercise may also be due to the stress [ Read more ]