Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (58 page)

Red clover tea or tincture can also be helpful for its phytoestrogenic effects. You would need about 15 drops three times daily to see a difference.

Vaginal dryness or thinning

Make sure you get plenty of essential fats in your diet daily: oily fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines, herring, and trout), raw shelled hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and avocados are all good sources.

Black cohosh tincture twice a day.

Vitamin E daily. The foods listed above for their essential fat content are also good sources of vitamin E, as is olive oil.

Dandelion leaf and oat straw teas can both be beneficial for their nutritive effects.

Aloe vera gel can be applied topically to soothe and heal.

Osteoporosis

See page
337
in the A to Z.

Thinning hair

Massage the scalp with olive oil containing a few drops of rosemary essential oil to stimulate the hair follicles.

Avoid sugar, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, and caffeine, as these can all stimulate insulin. Excess insulin can result in hair loss.

Include sea vegetables such as nori or kelp in your diet to support the thyroid.

Regular exercise helps to improve circulation to the scalp. The inverted postures in yoga may be particularly beneficial in increasing the circulation to the scalp. See page
181
in the A to Z for more information.

Mood swings

Avoid low-fat diets. Good fats are needed for the production of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain.

Get outside every day, as the action of daylight on the pineal gland helps to control our rhythms and moods.