aspect really. That’s when I became a beauty therapist, because I wanted to focus on skin health. And then I very soon became to realize that, okay, you know, aesthetically, you can use treatments, you can use products to really improve your skin, but you need that inside piece as well with nutrition. So then I went back to university and studied nutritional science. And that’s really what gave me the knowledge. And you know, my love of hormones that I really wanted to help women that were going through hormonal changes in life. And I remember my mother, going through menopause and not really talking about it, and many of her close, you know, friends and female family members when in that stage, but then people didn’t talk about it. And it was just, you know, really suffering with hot flashes, and, you know, headaches and irritability. And it was just kind of brushed under the carpet. And I remember talking to my mother, and she was just saying, Oh, you just have to get on with it. And that kind of triggered me even more to think well, why, you know, this is something every single woman will go through. And there’s so much that can be done. So it’s really those two things that brought me into the holistic the health arena, which I’ve been in for over 30 years now.

 

Manon Bolliger  03:27

And so what were the main, like misconceptions that you had, you know, either growing up, you know, with your mum, or that your mum had, or that you notice that the majority of women have about menopause.

 

Alison Bladh  03:46

I think I mean, I’m British I grew up in in the United Kingdom, and it was very much a taboo subject, which was ridiculous. But I think, you know, when we look at menopause, it’s not…I’m not saying this is what I think. But a lot of people think of it as you know, an ending don’t they. It has this shroud of negativity, you know, you’re aging as a woman which we live in a society which, you know, we don’t want to talk about that. You’re no longer…you become no longer fertile. It’s these sensitive issues that nobody wants to talk about. And I think also, you know, women as we age, people don’t want to talk about aging. We want to remain young forever, which is ridiculous, because that isn’t how the body works is it? And I just think that women don’t want to talk about it or nobody wants to talk about it because it has this negativity attached to it. As being, you know, you’re suffering you’ve got all these horrible symptoms. You know, you may be losing your look you’re no longer this vibrant woman. Which is ridiculous. That’s not I’m not absolutely not saying that’s what I think. But I think that’s what you know. And even today, it’s we don’t talk about it enough.

 

Manon Bolliger  05:13

But is the misconception that there’s nothing to be done and therefore, we don’t want to talk about aging. We don’t want to talk about all this because there’s nothing you can individually do to make a difference in your outcome is that…

 

Alison Bladh  05:32

I definitely think it’s lack of knowledge. And, you know, I work with clients all the time, and the majority or a very high percentage of women don’t truly understand what perimenopause menopause is, you know. So when you come into that perimenopausal phase, who, on average around the age of 45, can start younger, you don’t necessarily react to it, you don’t know that these symptoms that I’m having are related to my hormone levels. A lot of women put it down to the fact that they’re stressed, you know, you’ve got children that take a lot of looking after you’ve got a busy job, you’ve got a family, etc. They don’t put that down to perimenopause. So I think a lot of it is lack of knowledge. And, you know, we need also more…I mean I live in Europe, and there is at the moment, a bit of a menopause revolution going on, because women are just sick to death of not being heard. So it’s kind of building momentum. And a lot of like healthcare providers and doctors that maybe haven’t had the adequate knowledge that they need in menopause have started to think, Oh, hold on a minute. You know, they can’t just say to these women have this is just a phase you’re going through, you’ll be alright. Because they want help. So things are changing very slowly. But the problem for women as well as is finding that support, because there are so many things that you can do. But it’s finding the people that can really help you.

 

Manon Bolliger  07:20

So what are the like, you know, top two or three things that, let’s start with that perimenopause that one could look for? And what could they expect as changes if they took…if they followed a solution?

 

Alison Bladh  07:43

Yeah, it’s, again, it is very individual. But if we look at it more generally, when you come into perimenopause, this is where things start becoming a bit unbalanced. And, you know, if you have…are starting to have hot flushes, or hot flashes, as they’re called, I think in the US, you call them hot flashes, don’t you?

 

Manon Bolliger  08:03

I think so.

 

Alison Bladh  08:04

In Europe, we call them hot flushes. I just don’t want to confuse people. But that is a real typical sign that your hormones are changing or are imbalanced. You know, if you feel tired all the time or irritable, you wouldn’t necessarily put that down to hormonal imbalances. But if you can just feel that things are changing, then that’s really when you need to start to talk to a health care provider. I mean, I’m not a doctor, I’m a nutritional therapist. But you know, you can talk to a doctor regarding if hormone replacement therapy maybe is something that you want to look at. What I say to people is to get all that information in front of you. And then you decide but if you’ve got the knowledge of what is available to you to help you feel better, then you can decide that option. So hormone replacement therapy, and then, you know, as a nutritional therapist, there’s many things that you can do to really enhance your health and improve your experience through perimenopause.

 

Manon Bolliger  09:16

So, let’s focus on that because I think, you know, with replacement therapy, there’s also a lot of side effects that people need to look at. So let’s…what can people do naturally if they start to see that they have hot flashes, they’re irritable. They’re as you say, you know overtired feeling stressed therefore, what are simple things that you know, one could consider?

 

Alison Bladh  09:45

When it comes to nutrition, what you want to think about it, you know, really to sit down and think okay, what does my diet look like? A key thing that we really want to focus on is blood sugar management. So making sure that your blood sugar is stable. And you can do that quite well by avoiding ultra processed, highly refined sugary foods. They’re not beneficial for health, they shoot your blood sugar up, and it’s been shown in research if you’ve, if you’re eating a high sugar diet, that it can stimulate menopausal symptoms. So you can really see that especially, you know, if you have a glass of wine in the evenings. Glass of wine, you know, you maybe do that to relax, but it affects how you feel. And again, it can really stimulate hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. So looking at your diet, removing as much as possible, these ultra processed foods, eating whole foods, and it doesn’t have to be difficult, you know, think of like vegetables, fruits, you know, meats if you if you don’t eat meat, soya products, beans, nuts, etc. You know, buying products, whole products, so you know what they are, and really cooking from scratch. That’s a key thing to make us feel better during perimenopause. Ultra processed foods have no nutritional value, or very little, they’re just really, really high in ingredients, some of the ingredients on the packages, you don’t even…you can’t pronounce them, let alone know what they are. So that’s one thing. Avoiding or reducing alcohol is a key thing for menopausal women. Because not only can it stimulate menopausal symptoms, it can also affect your sleep. And sleep, again, is something that can really be disrupted during menopause. And if you’re not sleeping, you just feel terrible, don’t you? It affects everything. So really reducing alcohol, and then looking at eating in balance. And one thing that we don’t eat enough of is protein. And we need protein specifically when we come into menopause, or the menopause transition, because we lose muscle mass, as women as we age, and we really need protein not just for muscles, but for to keep ourselves strong. A lot of women find when they come into menopause, that they start to gain weight, predominantly around the middle area. And when you eat protein, it makes you feel satisfied. So it was it has an effect on reducing cravings, etc. And then something as simple as drinking water. You know, we all know we should drink water. But do we actually drink enough water daily? Roughly around eight glasses of water is ideal. You know, if you’re if you’re very active, then maybe you will need more. But you know, it’s thinking it’s eating imbalance and eating whole foods more. Research always comes back to what we call the Mediterranean style diet, where you’re eating a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, all these lovely healthy fats like avocados, olive oil. It’s that sort of diet that we should be focusing on really, rather than just buying packaged foods and fast foods.

 

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Manon Bolliger  14:37

And have you seen a major change? Let’s say that a woman starts well they should be doing that long before perimenopause. But let’s say you’re eating a diet that is aligned with that are there you know changes during menopause or just after menopause that you’ve seen, can really be helpful. Like it dietary wise.

 

Alison Bladh  15:08

You mean if they eat that way, how do they? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Without a doubt, I mean, I’ve seen that. I work with clients every day and I see that if they really changed the way they eat and eat more focused on that Mediterranean style diet and remove all of the, you know, the processed, refined carbohydrates, you just feel you’re more energized, you have more clarity, like mental clarity. Menopause and the decline in hormones can affect our brain. And you know, you can have this kind of foggy feeling brain fog, you can have problems remembering things. And, you know, really focusing on these key nutrients can make a huge difference in cognitive health. And we have to also think of our long term health as women because after menopause, when we’re in what we call post menopause, you know, where your body isn’t producing or a very small amount of estrogen and progesterone. We’re at higher risk for osteoporosis, for cardiovascular disease. You know, we have more more gut issues, things like irritable bowel syndrome, and cognitive decline. The research, there’s not research to back this up fully yet, but they’re looking at a connection between, you know, dementia and decline in hormones in women. Because there’s women, there’s a much higher percentage of women in the world that suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s than men do. So they’re just looking to see if there’s some sort of connection there.

 

Manon Bolliger  16:53

And have you found that there’s additional foods to take or not take when you’re in menopause when you’re in, you know, that period. And how do you define what menopause is, like, symptoms wise? How do you identify that oh, I’m in menopause.

 

Alison Bladh  17:16

Yeah, there. Again, it’s very individual. But when you come into like the first stage of menopause, which is perimenopause, roughly around the age of 45. You can, you know, like I was saying a hot flush, that is a very good sign that you are most likely coming into perimenopause. Things like you know, you’re all of a sudden have this brain fog, irritability, you know, you maybe weren’t an irritable person, but all of a sudden, you have no, you know, tolerance for anything. And itchy skin as well, that can be a sign that there’s actually over 40 different symptoms for menopause. And it shows itself in so many different ways. But when you when you’ve come through perimenopause, the next phase is menopause. And that really is when you haven’t had a period for a year. So you haven’t menstruated for a year, then you are what we call in menopause. And that basically means that your ovaries are no longer producing estrogen and progesterone. And then you’re in post menopause, which is all the time, you know, it’s the rest of your life is a woman, and we’re living much longer. So it can be the next 30 years, really, of your life.

 

Manon Bolliger  18:35

And what do you recommend? Because also, sometimes sexuality is impacted. Now that can come from if you’re in male, female relationship from the man too. But, have you or do you have recommendations on that level? Because I know that when I was in practice, that was one of the biggest questions I had, is, you know, how do you keep everything alive and well? And, you know, so I won’t tell you what the what people often said, but I’ll ask you.

 

Alison Bladh  19:14

Yeah, I got, I get asked that as well quite often and it does affect your relationship. Not everybody, of course. But there’s many factors that come into play here. I think as we age as women, we become more confident. We kind of look back on our lives and think what what did I do, I want to do this, I want to do that. What am I doing in this relationship? I don’t want to be here anymore. There’s so many questions that come up. But when we look at the lack of libido due to many factors, but one of them is the decline in hormones, testosterone which women also have gradually decreases with that. Testosterone isn’t just to do with menopause, it decreases as we age in women and this is important for libido, as amongst other hormones. So you know, looking at certain products or areas that can can help you. For example, if you’re suffering from vaginal dryness, which is very common in women as we come into menopause, you know, if you’ve got vaginal dryness and it’s painful having sex, then you’re not really going to want to be intimate with your partner. But there’s so many things that you can do for that, that are very easy and very effective. You know, looking from a holistic point of view, there’s actually something called omega seven, sea buckthorn. And that helps to keep our mucous membranes lubricated, you know, because it’s not just the vaginal area that can dry out, it’s the eyes, you know, the nose, that mouth, all those like what we call mucous membranes can become very dry and irritable. And using omega seven, it’s a supplement that you would take can actually be very beneficial. And also, you know, making sure you’re eating healthy fats in your diet and hydrating is beneficial for that. But I think it’s important to sit down with your partner and talk about it as well. And, you know, say that this is what is happening, I’m going through this phase in my life. And, you know, it’s not that I don’t want to be intimate with you, but I have these issues. Because it’s always better to talk isn’t it and discuss these these things.

 

Manon Bolliger  19:37

Definitely. And also with discussion, then you can, you know, suggest that they say, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.

 

Alison Bladh  22:05

Exactly.

 

Manon Bolliger  22:07

So it’s like finding a way in which that is made possible with a little more, you know, gentleness, kindness, and, you know, work around.

 

Alison Bladh  22:16

Imagination.

 

Manon Bolliger  22:18

imagination. Which can be very educating.

 

Alison Bladh  22:24

Exactly.

 

Manon Bolliger  22:29

So, what…I was gonna say, what other points have we not hit on yet that you have come across? Or you’ve seen, you know, women suffer during this period that, you know, could be done differently? Is there anything else that I…we’ve talked about generally health, which is huge? Is there anything else that you’ve come across?

 

Alison Bladh  22:58

A big piece for me, that that I tend to when I work with clients is what we’ve focused on first, because it has such a huge impact on the way that you feel during menopause is stress management. And, you know, I know everybody’s talking about stress, aren’t they at the moment and stress management, but it really is a key thing in hormonal health. So looking at your life and thinking, you know, how can I reduce stress will have a huge impact on the way that you feel during perimenopause and menopause. Because of when we’re chronically stressed, which seems that a lot of people are in society these days, you know, it triggers off hormonal release in the body, which has negative effects, if this is continually happening. And it can again, make menopausal symptoms worse, it can stop you sleeping, it can cause weight gain, you know, stress is so detrimental for our long term health. So I always…what I do with my clients is a stress audit, where we sit down and look at, you know, their daily life and think what can we do, even if it’s just five minutes here and there to relieve some of that stress in your life. Because if you can’t control or manage your stress to a level, it’s very difficult to put other pieces in place. It really is to get that result that you need.

 

Manon Bolliger  24:34

Yeah. And I think it’s just also taking that time to honor oneself, even to look at what are we saying yes to and what are we not saying no to can really have a big impact on stress just to become very conscious about each step that we’re taking. You know, for sure. I was looking in your…on your website, which is your full name, AlisonBladh.com. You have a section put slash resources. So it would that be a good place to start for people who are or women who are interested in looking what’s available, or how do people potentially work with you or find out more? I know you’re in England, right? In England itself, right?

 

Alison Bladh  25:31

Yes, no, I’m actually sorry. So I live at the moment just outside Stockholm in Sweden.

 

Manon Bolliger  25:37

Okay you’re in Sweden right now. Okay.

 

Alison Bladh  25:39

I work with clients worldwide. So I have clients from all over. The best way, like you were saying, on my resources, resources page has many free downloads, like ebooks with recipes and nutritional advice for specific, you know, if you want to improve your skin, or you want to lose weight, all of those things that you can actually find it there on the resources page. But my blog that has a lot of information on various, many, many different subjects. So that’s actually good if anyone wants to go there and read it, then. And then you know, you can get in touch with me via my website, you can email me, I’m on virtually every social media platform. So I’m very easy to get in touch with if you just put the name in Alison Bladh, you’ll find me there. But I’m more than happy. If any of your listeners have questions. They want to ask me or want any more advice, you know, please feel free to contact me.

 

Manon Bolliger  26:39

Okay great. All right. So our time is coming to a close any last words that you wanted to share?

 

Alison Bladh  26:48

Yeah, I just like to say that when we when we think of menopause, this is a transition in a woman’s life and every woman will go through this. So even though you might be feeling that you’re having symptoms and everything, just try to embrace it with a positive attitude, because we should never regret aging. We should never regret becoming older because it is actually a privilege that is denied to many people.

 

Manon Bolliger  27:18

Yeah, very good point. All right. Well, thank you very much for sharing your wisdom and knowledge.

 

Alison Bladh  27:26

Well, thank you.

Ending

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