While there are many comprehensive lab tests that I routinely recommend to clients, there are four highly informative test results that everyone should know and monitor for themselves. These four markers can provide important preventative and diagnostic information to you as well as your doctor.

Linda’s symptoms were as severe as they were alarming. “It started with constant snapping at my husband at work (I’m his bookkeeper). Over the course of a few months, I started getting heart palpitations and finally isolating myself because I felt so sick and emotionally drained,” said the 39-year-old mother of two.

 Ah…today we are discussing a topic that has been quite controversial over the years…as well as very confusing…and that is regarding the safety, effectiveness and protective benefits of hormone replacement therapy.

All my life, I’ve been incredibly proud of my long, thick hair. Then it happened: Dark hairs on my pillow. My shower drain plugged with clumps of hair. My hair falling out in handfuls. The shine and volume was gone.

While a hysterectomy may be the best strategy for certain health scenarios such as cancer, most of the hysterectomies that occur today are not about cancer. These surgeries are performed most often for “benign conditions” (fibroids, bleeding, cramping, endometriosis, etc.) that can be quality-of-life affecting, but not life-threatening, and can be addressed in many cases by alternatives that don’t have the side-effects and risks that a hysterectomy does.

When I’m frazzled by stress and the busyness of life, I turn to family and friends. I gather around my loved ones, call my relatives who live out of town, or just get together with my friends. With each hug, ripple of laughter, and gesture of encouragement, my stress eases and I begin to feel better.

The intense heat that spreads through your upper body … anxiety like there’s an invader in the room … doom-and-gloom depression … endless sleepless nights … a suddenly accelerated heartbeat … a leaky bladder … weight gain (especially around your tummy) … desert-dry skin (and vagina!). And what happened to that brain of yours that used to be so sharp and quick witted?

You know that turbulent seesaw of emotions that can make you feel like you are completely out of control and losing your mind? You can thank fluctuating estrogen levels and hormonal changes for that.

Menopause is a transitional time like any other chapter in our lives. Since overcoming my own health challenges and menopausal journey, and treating thousands of women in theirs, I am as committed to my mission as ever, to creating a guide to living your best life through the transition. As for menopause? Let’s live it, let’s thrive in it

Learn everything you wanted to know about the health benefits of maca, including how it helps alleviate menopausal symptoms and what type of maca is right for you.

Rest assured, you’re not going insane. Your body is going through some changes and it feels as if you are going crazy, but I assure you, you’re not.