Reviewed by Dr. Mary James, ND
Most women with hormonal imbalance have no idea that many of their symptoms are linked directly to their hormones — even when they have symptoms like these…

• Irregular or absent periods: Increasing irregularities in your period signal a disruption in the hormonal activity that controls menstruation. Often, the cause is an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone due to the strong effects of the stress hormone, cortisol.
• Weight gain: Changes to your weight or body shape are caused by shifting hormones, particularly in menopause, that tell your body to store fat in the abdomen. This can occur even if you’ve never had a weight problem before. High stress and poor sleep increase belly fat that can be difficult to lose.
• Irritability and/or moodiness: Feeling out of control or overwhelmed can be caused by sudden changes in the balance of estrogen, testosterone and progesterone or from adrenal stress imbalances.

By Dr. Sharon Stills, NMD
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You’re feeling tired all the time, your skin is dry, your digestion is poor and other strange symptoms keep popping up — like bad breath. Of all the explanations that have crossed your mind for what could be the matter, have you ever considered that the root of your problems could be dehydration?

“Upon waking up, stay in bed and perform one to two minutes of meditation where you set your intention for the day to come,” suggests California meditation coach Josephine Atluri.

-Drink a cup of water before your morning coffee to stay healthy and hydrated.
-Make your bed when you wake up to launch your day with an immediate sense of accomplishment, per advice popularized by retired Navy four-star admiral William H. McRaven’s 2017 book Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life... And Maybe the World

-Stretch for 15-30 seconds before you get dressed.
-Write for two minutes in the morning as you drink your coffee. Getting your thoughts down on paper is a proven way to ease your mind.
Wake up with a “Maui Habit.” In BJ Fogg’s book Tiny Habits, the Stanford behavior scientist recommends starting days with positive, purposeful statements like “today is going to be a great day.” The small ritual has been proven to help change attitudes and behavior over time.

-Practice gratitude while you’re in the shower. “The shower is probably our last refuge from our devices,” Nawaz says. “So, as you shower, ask who or what am I grateful for today? As you step out of the shower at the beginning of each day, you're already filling your cup.”
-Perform affirmations while brushing your teeth. Atluri suggests repeating five that you want to embody/strive for or remind yourself that you already are, such as I love my children exactly how they are, I trust my instincts, I am not my mistakes, or It’s okay to be happy.
-Vowing to get more sleep? Move your bedtime up by two minutes “Two minutes you can do,” Nawaz says.

-Charge your phone outside of your bedroom. If you use it as an alarm, buy a cheap analog alarm clock. If you read books on your iPad, get physical books from the library. Your phone is your greatest enemy when you’re winding down.
-Replace one unhealthy snack. Do you tend to have a handful of chips in the mid-afternoon? Vow to replace them with a handful of nuts or other more healthy option.
-Perform a 30-second wall squat while you brush your teeth.
-Want to cut out sugar? Instead of stirring in two teaspoons of sugar into your coffee or tea, stop at one and a half and plan to continue tapering off the sweetener each day or each week. The same incremental technique works for salt, too.
-Start each workday with five long and deep breaths to calm your mind and get ready for the day ahead.

-Read a paragraph of work-related literature every day. Professional writing can be dry and dense, so breaking it up into small, daily sprints makes you more likely to get through it.
-Have a big career advancement goal? Break it down into small pieces. “Strategic thinking starts with data gathering,” says Nawaz. “What kind of data might you gather? Can you spend three minutes a day?”
-Track your work victories. Whether you use the notes app on your phone or scribble it down on a piece of paper, keep tabs of times you had a good idea in a meeting, submitted work before the deadline, or just performed a task especially well.

-Perform 30 seconds of breathing exercises as you wait for your coffee to brew.
-Is there something giving you anxiety? As Emma McAdams, LMFT, explains in this video, a good tactic is to spend 30 seconds to a few minutes doing the activity or being around whatever it is that’s causing the worry to give your brain a chance to adapt to it.
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-Spend at least two minutes a day outside in the sunlight.
-Replace one soda or sweetened drink with a glass of water.
-Take a quick at your bank accounts. Awareness of your finances is key to becoming more financially literate.
-Always put one thing away before you leave whatever room you’re in. If you’re overwhelmed by clutter, you feel like you don’t have time to clean but habitually chipping away at the mess, one piece at a time, can make it more manageable.
-Walk up and down a flight of stairs.
-Perform jumping jacks for two minutes.
-Add one more vegetable or fruit to your plate.
-Vow to walk around for two minutes every hour you sit at your desk.

It may seem strange to do something for 30 seconds or just a few minutes. That’s an oddly achievable goal isn’t it? That’s the point of micro habits. Once you become used to the habits you set, you begin to do them naturally. That’s incremental improvement and as you continue to change, those once far-away goals might not seem seem so distant any more.
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By Brittany Burhop Fallon, Beauty Director · Feb 13, 2023

​Paul Rudd, Idris Elba, John Stamos: The list of male celebrities who seem to age backwards is a long one. But why doesn’t this Benjamin Button effect typically apply to women? According to leading dermatologists, it largely comes down to little chemicals in our bodies called hormones. “Specifically, there are receptors for estrogen on the skin cells that influence the health and appearance of the skin,” says Monroe, LA dermatologist Janine Hopkins, MD. These are the key reasons why men’s skin ages better than women’s.

Women Have Thinner Skin
“Due to hormonal and biological differences, women’s skin ages differently than men’s,” says Miami dermatologist Dr. Deborah Longwill. “Women tend to have thinner skin—a loss of elasticity—making them more susceptible to wrinkles and sagging. Additionally, sun exposure and lifestyle factors can significantly impact women’s skin due to their higher levels of UV sensitivity and longer lifespan. However, skin aging is not solely determined by gender: Factors such as genetics, diet and skin-care regimen can also play a role.”

For over 100 years, feminists around the world have marked International Women’s Day on March 8th, celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and focusing attention on the work that still needs to be done to accelerate gender equality.
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Why we still need International Women’s Day in 2023International Women’s Day has never been more important. The pandemic has made it abundantly clear what happens when we don’t prioritize gender equality. Women absorb childcare burdens, incidents of child marriage increase, just to name a few. Women and girls cannot afford to lose hard-fought gains every time there is a global crisis. We need to embed gender equality in the law today. And we can’t do it alone. 
From the United States to Kenya, and from Georgia to Bolivia to India, for 30 years, our team has been holding governments and lawmakers accountable for protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls. But we can’t do it alone. 

By Dr. Mary James, ND
You may not realize that dry eyes are a common symptom of menopause. More than 60% of menopausal women are dealing with this uncomfortable and persistent problem.
Here’s what you can do to help your eyes feel -- and look -- their best…