The Natural Menopause Method: The revised and updated nutritional self-help guide to perimenopause and more

by Karen Newby

The Natural Menopause Method  is a complete one-stop guide to the perimenopause and menopause, covering everything from recognising symptoms to managing relationships and understanding which treatments really work. Author Karen Newby takes a wholistic approach to Midlife and the biological and social challenges it throws at us. Everything you need to know about achieving nutritional balance to support flagging vitality and celebrate the potential of your midlife. Are you tired all the time? Suffer with mood swings? Do you have stubborn weight gain especially around the middle? Are you dealing with brain fog? Is disturbed sleep making you feel exhausted? The Natural Menopause Method is a nutritional guide to address these and many other common menopause symptoms; helping readers to navigate the biological and social challenges of midlife through the healing lens of food. Exploring topics from HRT to tackling hot flushes as well as self-help and lifestyle tips, this book provides practical advice on recognising and troubleshooting symptoms in order to understand what foods and supplements can really work for us. Registered Nutritionist and lifestyle coach Karen Newby has over 10 years’ experience coaching women through the midlife, empowering clients to embrace life’s natural changes and feel reinvigorated, stronger, happier and healthier. Karen is a huge believer in the transformative effect that food can have on alleviating the symptoms of the menopause and her realistic, easily-integrated guidance on sleep, stress, energy, hormone balance (and even a 14-day cleanse) accompanied by her fresh and friendly approach will be your companion through the years before, during and after the menopause. Topics What is going on in my body?; How to get rid of that stubborn weight gain; How to sleep better (and deal with night sweats); How to balance mood and curb sugar cravings; How to combat a foggy head; What to food essentials for your perimenopausal store cupboard; A 14 Day Cleanse.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

Published March 7, 2023

Reviews

[Michaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did love this book! It has lots of great ideas for an entirely natural approach to menopause, for those of us who are higher risk for HRT, or to compliment HRT, for those lucky enough to be able to use it :-) I have only taken a star off, as I love the gentle approach, but find the chapters on the cleanse phase (a pretty radical fast of caffeine, sugar, processed foods etc.) as anything BUT gentle, lol! I am not going to be doing a 2 week detox, but I am going to be using the principles to cut down on sugar and processed foods and use some of the targeted nutrition to deal with specific issues, such as hot flushes. I personally have found Self-help CBT really very helpful, which this book also touches on too. Finally, it is also completely BEAUTIFUL! It is such a joy to read and own, with a beautiful, calming colour scheme, fantastic illustrations and a pretty page layout. Definitely get the hard-backed, real life copy. It is joyous. It is staying on my shelf and I have already used it a number of times for reference.

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every women should read this. So much information and solutions to help you through menopause. It gives you explanations of what symptoms you may get and how to help reduce your symptoms. She gives you suggestions on what you can eat and what supplements to take. I found this book so interesting and helpful. Quite a lot of the advice overlaps, on what foods and supplements to take, which makes it a bit easier. This book is so important and helps you to understand what your body is going through and just makes everything seem manageable. Looking forward to improving my diet and getting some supplements to help me.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently trying to learn as much info as I can around this topic & this book was a very informative read. I learnt a few things, but had no need to make any notes as there are easy to digest tables towards the latter part of the book. I particularly enjoyed the quality of the thick paper pages, as well as the illustrations, making for a more enjoyable read. Far from being overly 'busy', the layout was well put together, providing spaces throughout. A book I will most likely refer to again if the 'need' arises.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Read this as a pre to a pre-perimenopause to see what I’d be in for. Some interesting insights. Enjoyed the chapter on the cycle. However when it comes to the nutrition recommendations if you have more than one symptom then like all diets, what’s good for one is bad for another. Pepper seems to pop up as a thumbs up or a thumbs down a lot. So not at all really helpful. Nutrition recommendations aren’t all that different than a lot of what is already the latest nutrition trend of no caffeine, no gluten, no dairy, dark leafy greens, etc. Would have liked more science.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This gives an overview of the biochemical changes leading to menopause give rise to a range of physical and psychological effects, then discuss in detail how certain dietary and lifestyle habits can lessen the unpleasant side of these effects. Essentially, this means finding ways to slow down the drop in oestrogen, and also manage / smooth out blood sugar levels throughout the day.

This book doesn't go into a lot of scientific details but is easy to read and clearly laid out.
I like the way the advice is given at two levels - an easier-to-achieve lifestyle tweak, or a more significant dietary/behaviour change - the ethos of the book is to be gentle to yourself during this time, but nonetheless even small changes can make a difference.
The book contains a detailed list of common menopause symptoms, why they happen and how to manage them with dietary and lifestyle improvements. The advice can seem a bit repetitive as many of the signs and symptoms are related to a few core chemicals / nutrients.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I really expected it to be a wacko type of holistic book, but the author is a nutritionist and really cleared up a lot of questions about what foods go to fix what. I especially liked that there was a very concrete list of symptoms of perimenopause and then she went section by section talking about how to fix those with foods. To be clear, I will not be doing 90% of what was written, but it's nice to see that there is a set list, I am not crazy, and I could fix a lot of it with food and pretty simply.

[Sue]

It's so strange to me that I know nothing about this major life thing all women go through. I was curious so I decided to read this. I don't know whether this book is helpful to women going through perimenopause/menopause, but I thought it was helpful in understanding some of what's in store for those of us in our 40s/50s and how hormones play a role in our physical and mental well being.

[Jennyren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, very informative...just wish she could lay out a plan to kick start it all as in.. ideas to eat for today kind of thing as I can never come up with anything with just suggested ingredients.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wealth of information for this difficult time in a woman's life. I learned a lot about phytoestrogens, which I was hoping for. Some things throughout the book are repeated but needed to be. A very handy book!

[Paula J · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is from a British naturopath perspective and though it provides some good tips and lovely illustrations its voice and guidance comes off as judgy and impossible to meet all the lifestyle changes. It’s a should yourself to death guide to menopause.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and contains useful practical advice on nutrition for health benefits in menopause. Most of it seems sensible and achievable. There's a fair amount of repetition so I skimmed through some parts.

[Margarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compact and easy-to-follow. Dietary suggestions are given to help alleviate the various symptoms that can come with menopause.

[Chris F · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leafy leafy greens!

[Kerry Neller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book so useful as it was broken down and explained well.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, useful suggestions. Good book

[Lu Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pro:
A very pretty and visually appealing book which is easy to read with large, simple infographics and good quality paper. A lot of thought and attention has gone into the design aspect of this book, meaning it is something you would be happy to have on display and refer to regularly.
I liked the emphasis on the importance of self-care, rest and de-stressing. The in-depth information on food and what is helpful/unhelpful, and more importantly why, was very handy. The symptom trouble shooting was also very useful (and heavily highlighted in my case), as it allows the reader to review symptoms as needed and cross-refer to the corresponding food sections for advice & support.

Con:
The majority of chapter 1 focused on periods and tracking. As someone on the mini pill, who does not have a period, this was not of any use and I was surprised that this was not covered sufficiently.
I do not agree with the recommendation for eliminating food groups, unless diagnosed to do so. I believe this is unnecessary and unsustainable. I also do not agree with cleanses as the body naturally detoxes itself of unwanted nasties. To me, cleanses fall under the fad-diet heading and can encourage poor dietary habits.

Overall, a useful companion to the (peri)menopause and a good reference for nutritional based support. We should all initially look towards our own health and changeable habits first, rather than expecting medication to be the easy fix.

[Susie Ramroop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant, practical, repetitive in a good way...the reader has brain fog after all. Not heavy going like other books- just the right amount of science for me. Feeling a bit more confident in my approach and reminded of things that re good for me, perimenopausal or not.