#10 Nourishing Midlife: Unlocking Emotional Well-being Through Nutrition

In this episode, I discuss how to fuel your midlife flourishing with our expert guest, Alison Blandh (AlisonBlandh.com). A registered Nutritional Therapist and Aesthetician, Alison's passion lies in guiding people through this pivotal life phase of midlife. She blends her farm upbringing and love for food to offer holistic well-being insights.

This episode unravels the intricate link between nutrition and emotional well-being during midlife. Alison explores how nutrition impacts mood, resilience, and energy levels. We also discuss unique considerations for both midlife women, such as menopause and hormone shifts, and men, encompassing the effects of testosterone loss. Alison addresses unique midlife challenges, debunks myths, and provides practical tips for fostering emotional well-being through nourishing food and mindset shifts.

Keywords: midlife flourishing, expert guest, Alison Blandh, Nutritional Therapist, Aesthetician, guiding through midlife, pivotal life phase, holistic well-being, farm upbringing, emotional well-being, nutrition impact, mood, resilience, energy levels, midlife women, menopause, hormone shifts, men, testosterone loss, midlife challenges, debunk myths, practical tips, nourishing food, mindset shifts

Transcript

Welcome to Gen X Mindscape, the podcast dedicated to exploring the complexities of midlife and the pursuit of a purposeful life. I'm your host, and fellow Gen Xer, Kyle, here to accompany you on this journey.

In this episode, we're diving right into the heart of a transformative topic – the key to fueling our midlife flourishing. After today’s discussion with Alison Bladh, I have a renewed appreciation for the importance how nutrition relates to our midlife energy, resilience, and emotional well-being. Another light bulb moment for me was that  nutritional habits just about me and about today; it extends to the long-term well-being of our children and families. Nurturing a healthy relationship with food and nutrition is a gift that echoes through generations.

I am confident you will find today’s episode interesting and important.  In this episode we discuss the Connection Between Nutrition and Emotional Wellbeing in Midlife. We also explore unique nutrtional considerations for midlife women, including the intricate dance of menopause and hormone shifts, as well as shedding light on the effects of testosterone loss for men. Finally we discuss some midlife nutrition myths and some practical tips for fostering emotional well-being through nourishing food and healthy mindset shifts. 

I wanted to give you a brief warning that you will probably notice Alison and I had a slight connection delay during our communication, but it doesn’t get in the way of making this a really enjoyable conversation full of useful insights on nutrition, mindset, and wellbeing.  I cant wait for you to hear the interview, so let’s get to it!

I. Guest Introduction

I'm thrilled to have with us today a true expert in the field of midlife nutrition, Alison Blandh. Alison is a registered Nutritional Therapist and Aesthetician with a deep-rooted passion for helping others fuel their midlife journey. Her extensive experience and compassionate approach have empowered midlifers to reclaim their health through evidence-based nutrition, mindset shifts, and lifestyle modifications. With a unique blend of expertise drawn from her upbringing on a farm, global travels, and a lifelong love for food, Alison brings a holistic perspective to well-being. Her mission is to guide others through the complexities of midlife with practical strategies that embrace the power of nourishing food, positive mindset, and holistic lifestyle choices.


Kyle: [00:00:00] Welcome Alison. So glad you're on the show.
Oh, thank you. Thank you so much for having me here today. It's lovely to be talking to you. Definitely my pleasure. To start, could you provider audience with a little glimpse into your background and what ignited your fascination with midlife nutrition? Yeah, sure. My, , my story or my journey, , really started when I was a teenager.
, I had very bad acne, so I, I had the, you know, the typical adolescent acne when I, when I was a teenager, and it's hard enough being a teenager as it is, isn't it, with, with all the hormones and, and everything, but really having that skin, Condition of really affected my confidence. , and I even at that age, I was very interested in why this was happening and, and could I do anything to help myself with nutrition and lifestyle.
And that really led me down the road of hormones. And, you know, ever since then, I've just been totally fascinated with hormones and the effect that, that they have on our body. [00:01:00] So what I did, initially I trained as an aesthetician, , specializing in female hormonal skin problems. And that really led me to perimenopause, menopause, or women because that is a time in a woman's life when you can all of a sudden, you know, develop acne.
There's a lot of skin issues that can happen later in life due to the decline in, in hormones. So that was first, but I very soon came to realize that, you know, You can work on the skin, obviously with aesthetic treatments and, and gain good results, but you'd need, there was always a piece missing and, and that was the nutritional side.
So that's why I went back to university and, and studied to be a nutritional therapist, really studying nutritional science. And also, I remember as I was growing up, seeing my mother and all, all, you know, my family, female family members and, and friends of theirs really suffering. You know, in midlife, and there was, it was never [00:02:00] spoken about.
So I kind of made it my mission to talk about menopause and give women, you know, the support that they need through nutrition, through holistic, , health, nutrition, lifestyle, and mindset. I love that. You know, thinking back to our adolescent days and now thinking about midlife, , there's a lot of hormonal changes and could you talk a little bit more about the relationship between nutrition, hormones and wellbeing in midlife?
I. Yeah, I mean the, there's a lot that happens with females, well, and men as well. You know, it's not just women, but when we, if we're talking about menopause. Yes. Yes. Um, the first stage of menopause is perimenopause. And, and this on average, starts around the age of 45. It can be early, it can be later. Uh, and then we, this is a phase where we, we're still menstruating.
We can still get pregnant, but hormones are all over the place. You know, you can have, you can actually be mm-hmm. [00:03:00] Dominant during this time. So there's a big, it's a bit like a rollercoaster ride of hormones. And during this phase, you know, you really want to be. Looking after yourself, uh, because this is a phase mm-hmm.
Where you can start developing these symptoms, you know, the, the menopausal symptoms, hot flashes, weight gain, tiredness, fatigue. I mean, the, the list goes on of different, um, symptoms. And what you can do is, you know, you can really, if you look after yourself with nutrition, That can really help to, uh, balance your hormones, redu, reduce inflammation in the body.
Uh, and if you look at your lifestyle, you know, movement, exercising is crucial. Um, and also the, the mindset and how you approach this time in, in your life. So when, when you've gone through perimenopause, you actually then come into menopause and this is where. You are no longer [00:04:00] menstruating. Um, you the actual classification of menopause is when you haven't had for a.
You are then officially in mm-hmm. Menopause, uh, and then all the time after that, you are really in post menopause. And this is where you have a very, very low levels of estrogen and progesterone. You know, and that's the, for the rest of your life. And we are living so much longer that could beano another 30 years of a woman's life.
So it's very, there, there's a big connection in, in how we look after ourselves with nutrition, you know, and. Lifestyle and and how we feel during this time. You have to take better care of yourself. Oh, absolutely. You know, this is the age where we have so many responsibilities. We're, we're realizing it's time to de decide what's, what's what we want outta life.
And if we don't have that energy , it really can get in the way. Why don't we start with the dietary approaches that we should be aware of, and then maybe we can move into some of the [00:05:00] mindset, um, Considerations as well.
Sure. I mean, when we talk about diet and nutrition, it's, it's, it's a huge area. I mean, it, it really is a vast, uh, uh, uh, subject. And what we want to think about in, in menopause is, is really eating whole foods. And, you know, that maybe sound very like, what, what's she talking about? You know, I'm talking about eating.
Foods that you recognize what they are. That there is a, a huge problem in society, um, with all this ultra processed foods that, that are everywhere. Mm-hmm. And it's difficult and I totally appreciate that. It's very difficult to avoid them. 'cause everything comes in a package, doesn't it? And it's got a list of 20, 30 different ingredients.
But what we, we need to really think about doing is, is. Eating foods, and it doesn't have to be complicated, you know, buying [00:06:00] vegetables, buying foods, that when you look at it, you actually know what it is, rather than buying a package with. 30 ingredients and half of them you don't even really know what they are.
Right. And and the reason behind this is, and this is shown in research, that these ultra processed foods are detrimental to health. You know, they cause inflammation in the body. They're very high in sugar, they're very high in refined, you know, Processed fats, hydrogenated fats, trans fats that again cause inflammation.
And our bodies just, you know, we're not supposed to be eating these sort of foods. So when we're in menopause, we're, we've already, you know, got a lot of things going on and. Due to the decline in estrogen, you know, there's a lot of metabolic changes that happen and estrogen is needed for the immune [00:07:00] system and to regulate inflammation.
So as the this declines, we, we can have more tendencies to, you know, be sensitive to foods, to, to have more inflammation in the body. So, cutting out ultra processed foods. If, if that's just, if you're just gonna do one thing. You'll certainly see a difference in your health if you do that. Not even just, it's probably, it's too hard to say to cut them out completely, but, you know, reduce those sorts of foods.
 One word I hear you saying a lot is inflammation. , what goes on with inflammation and why should we be avoiding that?
 Yeah, that, that's a great question. And you know, inf inflammation is, there's nothing wrong with inflammation. That is what our body does to protect us against things. It's, you know, the, the immune response to, you know, for example, if you, um, If you get splinter in your finger, you know your, your body will, that the redness that that's caused by that, that is inflammation because it's [00:08:00] your body's way of dealing with that specific thing that's happened.
And it, it enables the body to heal and, you know, everything's fine. But what's happening with us in society now is that we're suffering from what we call chronic inflammation due to many, many different factors. But this is, This is like that inflammation response that is perfectly okay when it happens and goes away.
We have that with us the whole time. And, and you know, this leads to many different things, you know, from achy joints to, to headaches, to, you know, even weight gain is, is, can be triggered by inflammation. The, the chronic inflammation. There's a big difference. Uh, and due to the way that we live our lives, you know, can be one of the causes of this inflammation.
Because it's your way, your body's mm-hmm. Way of reacting [00:09:00] to something that doesn't feel right. And certain foods mm-hmm. That we eat that aren't really, you know, like natural foods, like these highly processed foods can cause inflammation in the body because your, your body's like, well, what's that? I dunno what that is.
And it starts this, uh, you know, reaction to it.
Yeah, it's a, I almost hear you saying like, we're putting in our bo our body in a state of having to heal and diverting resources towards healing rather than, Um, a source of strength is that fair to say, or?
Yeah. Absolutely. And I mean, some very, you know, highly renowned doctors and functional medicine doctors, they, you know, that they're saying that inflammation, chronic inflammation, you know, is one of the causes of majority of chronic disease. Mm-hmm. You know, that. Chronic inflammation is, is very detrimental to our health.[00:10:00] 
Yeah, that's, so that's. So important. Uh, great. Uh, I'm, I'm fumbling and bumbling because I'm just, it's, it's something I feel like I should have known, but I'm very happy that I, I know now and have a better understanding of that. Speaking of fumbling and bumbling, let's talk about men. You know, you know, we had, we've talked about women and hormones and midlife.
What do we need to be aware of in terms of body changes and, and men and hormone? Is, are there any unique considerations that way? Yeah, it's, um, it's really interesting that you asked that because I've just done, um, a, a lot of research on this because I've, I've been doing, uh, a lot of webinars and the, the interest in what we call andropause, which is like the male menopause is, is really become, people are becoming very interested in that.
Um, it. There's, there's a lot of controversy about it as well, [00:11:00] because some people are about, does it really exist? Because what with a, with a man, you know, testosterone, you know, men have estrogen as well, but testosterone declines with age like naturally. Whereas, whereas a woman in, in menopause, you know, we have this very, um, sudden.
You know, virtually stopping of production of hormones. So, I, I don't, I think it's very important that we don't liken it to the female menopause, but there is certainly a decline in testosterone for men as they age. And what we're seeing in, in society, um, is that this is happening earlier and earlier in men, you know.
It's not just your 60 plus men that are, are suffering from the symptoms of low testosterone. It's really happening in, in, you know, men as young as 30 30. Mm-hmm. [00:12:00] 35. And why is that? That's the big question, isn't it? Again? Is it to do with our lifestyles? Is it to do with what we're eating, how we are living?
There's something going on there that is affecting. Testosterone levels in men and the symptoms that men, I mean, it's very similar to menopausal symptoms. You know, you've got weight gain, particularly around the middle area. Men can gain, you know, what, what we call man boobs. You know, they, they have collect more fat on, on the chest area.
Mm-hmm. Uh, headaches, sleep problems, irritability, you know, lack of confidence. Uh, sexual dysfunction, you know, so, so there's a big list of, of symptoms and I think, again, it's something that, that needs to be spoken about. 'cause when you look at the research, it's, and looking at, you know, how men look at this time in their lives that they don't.
[00:13:00] Want to talk about it. They, they, they feel uncomfortable about it. Right? But I think that men in general don't really like talking about their health, do they? And, and how they feel. And I think that's, women are much better at that. Yeah, there's such a socialization and almost stigma for men that we just need to change.
You know, those of us in Gen X, we, we can be wiser and smart, smarter than that. I mean, , it's important to be healthy and to be wise and, and know how to, , fuel our bodies. Uh, before we leave that topic, , what would you say about testosterone loss in men and nutrition? Are there certain nutrition needs or does it go back to Whole Foods?
I. Yeah, it's as your testosterone levels decline, it's really, you know, Eating, eating whole foods in balance. So it's very important that you eat protein, you eat healthy fats, and you eat, you know, whole grain [00:14:00] carbohydrates or, or carbohydrates from vegetables and getting rid of all the, the ultra processed foods 'cause a lot of, well, not just processed foods, but things that we have in our environment.
You know, what they call endocrine disruptors can really affect men and women's. Hormone levels because of, like pesticides, for example. Mm-hmm. But they, they've shown to really have an effect on, on our, on our hormones. So not just looking at what you eat, but also looking at what you use, you know, in your house.
What, what detergents, what cleaning products. Mm-hmm. Because they can really have an. An effect on, on our endocrine system, which is responsible for hormones. That makes so much sense. Um, I'm wondering, you know, eating whole foods, that sounds simple, avoiding chemicals that doesn't, you know, but what, what, when you work with clients, what are some of the barriers that people run into?[00:15:00] 
You know, on what seems like a simple plan, uh, it, it's not always that easy, is it? Yeah, it's not easy making changes. Is it that, you know, habit changes is difficult. I think, uh, if we, if we look at nutrition, What I do with my clients is we take very small steps to implement changes and, and everyone I work with, it's very individual.
So every plan or or program that we, we work with, it's totally tailored to them. 'cause everyone has different complaints and symptoms. Mm-hmm. But I think it's sticking to a new regime is, is difficult for some people. They can do it for three to four weeks. And, and then they kind of go back to, to their old habits.
But what I find through found through experience is that making very simple changes and just doing one change at a time. So saying, mm-hmm. For example, okay, now we're going to [00:16:00] increase your water intake. Mm-hmm. And I'd like you to try and get up to this amount of water within the next two weeks. And when they've done that and they feel happy with that, we then do the next thing.
Otherwise, if people get a big list of things that they're gonna do, they won't do any of them. They just say, oh, that's too much. I can't do that. I'm not doing any of it. So I think nutritional, um, implementing nutritional changes can be tricky, but when it comes to environmental, uh, aspects, especially in the home, you know, I totally appreciate it's difficult, but doing something as removing plastic from your kitchen.
Because plastic contains chemicals that seep into food, and it's been shown that the, these chemicals actually have an effect on many things, but on our hormonal health,
Yeah, I, that really resonates with me in terms of small changes at a [00:17:00] time. And those really add up. I mean, at our age, we can see how little things we've done in the past have added up. Um, and, and also environment. Uh, , I would think that that's part of, , making those changes is, is having a good environment for nutrition and health. Can you talk about just a few other ways people can engineer their environment, especially I think for me, as I have other people who are relying on me for eating kids, possibly my parents.
Um, can you talk a little bit about that engineering your environment for success? Yeah, it's, it, it is difficult because you, you know, you think you can't just suddenly reha, rehaul your whole house. Can you and, and, and think, oh, but plastic out the kitchen, as we already said, um, thinking about your cleaning products that you use, um, because a lot of cleaning products that you have that you use to clean your house with.
Contain a lot of chemicals that are detrimental to our [00:18:00] health and to hormone health. I mean, I appreciate obviously cost as well is, is an issue. Mm-hmm. But if you can buying, uh, more of these like ecological products that they're, I see that they're coming more and more onto the market now, cleaning products that, that, uh, more.
Friendly to the environment, friendly to our health. And there's also lots of cleaning. Um, it's funny enough, there's a cleaning program I'm based in, in Europe, but there was a cleaning program on these two fabulous ladies. This was last year. And they gave you all these ideas of how to clean, you know, your house and things with natural products.
Mm-hmm. You know, like for example, using lemon juice. To, to clean. So to get tea stains off things. I think they were using bicarbonate of soda to clean the bath with. So there's, you know, if people are really interested in that, that there's a lot [00:19:00] of ways that you can actually clean. House very efficiently, but with mm-hmm.
Natural products. Yeah. I think that's a great point too. Um, when you talk about the availability, it'd be really ideal if we could all increase the demand for those products so they're more available and it maybe even more affordable. I know I'm, I'm kind of a dreamer. That's one of my, uh, Faults or whatever, but that's, I'd love to see that come through.
, uh, what about planning? Um, going back to kind of having kits, uh, who may not. Mm, they're living in the moment. They may not be thinking about Whole Foods and inflammation. They're more what looks good now, what are just some overall, you know, uh, suggestions you might, um, just offer I.
Yeah, it is. I agree. It's tricky with children because they, they're very much in the moment, aren't they? They don't want, you know, the parents start talking about, [00:20:00] oh, this is good for you and, you know, you just switch off as a child, don't you? And I, I think what I see with my clients and and families, that if you really, you know, from a young age you eat together.
You know, so if you, if you make mealtimes a very social thing and try to involve, I know, I appreciate this isn't always easy, especially with teenagers. Yeah. To involve them in, in the food process to, to involve them in, you know, making meals, uh, maybe the shopping. From a young age. 'cause if you get that installed into them from a young age, you know, then it just becomes second nature really.
They wouldn't necessarily want to eat all these highly processed foods because they understand that that's not good for them. And they also understand that when they eat these foods, how does that actually make you feel? Hmm. You know, [00:21:00] do you feel like really good when you've eaten a whole plate of, you know, sugar, lay it load and, uh, food?
Does that really make you feel good? Right. You know, as you're saying that, it strikes me that it really is, um, you're hitting two objectives at once when you eat whole and well as a family. You're gaining the value of whole nutrition yourself, but you're modeling that and really it's embedding that kind of legacy in your family, that it's a, it's a healthy eating family, and we can gain the benefits from that throughout the generations.
Again, I'm sounding idealistic, but it really is such an important thing in terms of nutrition, you know? Um, yeah, it's, I mean, children do what their parents do, don't they? They do. If you doing that at, at a young age, then you know they follow, they, you know, it's very important that we give our children the.[00:22:00] 
The ability to cook and, and have the knowledge of food. So when they grow up, they can lead healthy lives. Exactly. Exactly. One last thing I wanted to ask related to this area is we've talked about eating whole foods and you know, we hear a lot about macronutrients and micronutrients. Um, are there guidelines that you think we should know about as midlifers in terms of.
Proteins and, and carbs. Are there unique considerations we should have as we try to eat whole foods? Yeah. Well, you really need to think. I mean, I, I don't believe as a nutritional therapist for realistic living, that you can weigh things. You know, you can't, every time you have a real thing, oh, I'm gonna weigh that.
I'm gonna, it doesn't work long term. So when you come into midlife, when you, we come into menopause, We need protein in, in [00:23:00] general, women and men, we don't eat enough protein. Mm-hmm. And the need for protein as we come into midlife increases because we lose muscle mass. Uh, and, and we really need to keep our bodies strong due to the decline in estrogen.
And this is actually. Shown in Andro as well, that, you know, men lose muscle mass and it's also part of natural aging, but we really want to keep our muscles and to keep ourselves strong, we need adequate amounts of protein. What you need to think about with protein is eating roughly a palm size of protein with, with every meal.
And, and that whether if you eat meat, you know, that can be meat, it can be, uh, fish, it can be. Beans, lentils, et cetera. Uh, and then carbohydrates. Now carbohydrates, that's a huge, another huge topic. You could do a whole podcast on [00:24:00] carbohydrates. Yeah. Because they're kind of like, people have, it's become this all carbohydrates, you know, that they've, they've really become this word that people don't want to talk about and they don't certainly don't want to eat.
But when you look at the science behind it, We need carbohydrates. Okay? I'm not saying that you need to eat loads of carbohydrates, however, healthy carbohydrates, I mean vegetables are carbohydrates, so eating in balance. You've, you've got protein, you've got healthy carbohydrates, um, from vegetables, from whole grains, et cetera.
Uh, and then fat. You know, having healthy fats, healthy fats are needed for, for, or overall health. Things like fatty fish, olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds. Coconut butter. You know, all of these things are, are [00:25:00] what we call healthy fats and they are needed, and we need them in midlife, really, for hormonal balance as well.
And, and, and to keep, you know, to keep want of a better word, to keep us lubricated because we, we tend to try out. That's right. Well, as you may or may not know, my last episode was on sex and midlife, so that's certainly fitting right in theme Allison. Um, It's a part, it's a natural, important part of life satisfaction and, and, and so yeah, absolutely.
It's really interesting how these things go across episodes, so I appreciate you bringing that up. No, we do and, and, and women, we, we suffer from our mucus membranes, you know, due again, due to the hormone declines. We need hormone to, to produce and, and have these like moist mucus membranes. But as we get older, this doesn't work the same and, mm-hmm dry eyes, you can really just suffer from dry [00:26:00] eyes.
You know, you can have dry mouth, you can get vaginal dryness. So it's, it's very common in, in women that this is, is an issue. So we need these. Omega, omega, uh, three and omega seven are wonderful for keeping r mucus membranes in good condition. Right. So interesting, so important. I think that leads well into the last section we wanted to talk about.
That's just kind of, uh, taking a holistic view of nutrition and, and life as fuel for flourishing. I know , one of the areas that you're passionate about is mindset, and can you tell us a little bit more about the mindset of, of nutrition how that relates to stress management as well?
Yeah, mindset is key because, you know, this again, has been shown in, in research. If you can have more of a positive mindset towards what is happening to you, you know, your experience of it will be much better. And it's also been [00:27:00] shown that women with a positive mindset during this time experience. Less menopausal symptoms.
And it's, it's fascinating because in different cultures in the world where, um, women that are, are older women that have gone through menopause are looked up to, so that they're thought of, you know, as the elders that, that the wise, uh, people that, that maybe are in, in charge of the villages don't suffer from menopausal symptoms like we do in the western world.
So it, it's really, mindset is key and it's, it's not easy, but I think you really have to be very aware of your self-talk, uh, and, and really work on. Thinking about how you are with certain areas, you know, it is very easy to, we love moaning, don't we? As human beings, it's very easy to just get into the, oh, it feels terrible.
Oh, this is [00:28:00] awful. You know, if you really try and not say that and, and have a more positive attitude, not only do you feel better, but life is better in general. Right. Sounds like self-compassion relates to that as well. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And giving yourself accepting that this is a stage in your life.
I mean, we, we have to remember that menopause is totally a natural phase in a woman's life. It's not a disease. So this is happening to me. This is a stage that every woman will go through. Um, it's the next phase in my life. So having exactly as you you say, having self-compassion and understanding for this and realizing that you know you're not going crazy.
This is actually, there's a reason that you're feeling like you're feeling. And then obviously if you're feeling terrible and, and [00:29:00] having all these symptoms get support, ask for help. 'cause there are so many things that you can do. You don't have to suffer. Well said. Well said. This might be an overly general question, but what are some signs.
We can recognize if our nutrition is serving us or isn't serving us, or that we need help, we need to reach out to a specialist. I mean, if you are feel, if you are feeling and if you feel tired all the time, you know, if you, if you are really feeling like you are gaining weight, then you know, you, you haven't got control of that.
You feel like you're just gaining weight and, and. You haven't got a plan to manage that if you're getting aches and pains in your body, uh, you know, joint pains, headaches, uh, irritability. I mean, nutrition is, is, has a huge effect on our emotional wellbeing and, and how we are, you know, mentally. Mm-hmm. Um, [00:30:00] so all if you, if channel, if you're just feeling terrible and not yourself, okay, it's not.
You can't put it all down to nutrition, but nutrition could absolutely be paying, playing a big part in, in the way that you're feeling. And I think, you know, if you are eating a, an unhealthy diet or you're maybe not looking after yourself. The way that you, you should, you probably deep down know that.
Right, right. So true. I, I'm betting one of the, uh, workplace hazards of being a nutritional therapist is that you come across a lot of myths or misconceptions. Uh, would you mind sharing a few that, uh, you want our listeners to know, especially as it relates to midlife, uh, that you hear and. And maybe misleading or leading us down the wrong path.
Yeah, it's, there's such a, a vast amount of information out there isn't there on nutrition and, and as a [00:31:00] nutritional therapists, you know, that, that have studied, everything that I say is evidence-based. So there's research to back it up, but there is so much misinformation and I think. You know, some of the, the things when we, we think of midlife, think of menopause or women is that, you know, calcium, which is, is very important in general, but it becomes important, even more important for women because of our bone health.
When we come into menopause, we need estrogen for, uh, bone health. The calcium isn't just, uh, from dairy products. You know, you don't, if you, if you don't eat dairy, calcium can actually be found in many other sources of food and very good sources of calcium. You know, like vegetables, uh, kale or your dark green, leafy vegetables are a great source of calcium.
I think people always relate calcium to dairy, but that [00:32:00] actually isn't true. Uh, I think we've, we've already virtually touched on this, but fats are bad for you.
As I said, OD or olive oil, the, the healthy fats are needed for our overall wellbeing and they, they do make you feel full so that they're very satisfying. So when you eat fat, You know, you hopefully won't eat such a large portion of food because they, they satisfy you.
It's needed. Fat is needed for all bodily processes. It's really, really important, uh, nutrient and either. When we think of fats, I think I know the era that I grew up in, fat was, was a swear word. Everything was just like low fat, everything. And now we've kind of turned that round, haven't we? And researchers decided, well, actually no, that was wrong.
We do need it. Sugar's bad fat fats, healthy fats are okay. [00:33:00] Um, so, you know, having fat, healthy fat with every meal is good for your health. You know, there's so many different points of view, aren't there on fat, you know, different styles of eating. So there probably, I'm sure is somebody that will disagree with me saying that.
But with a a, as a nutritional therapist, healthy fats are good for you in moderation of course. Sure. Sure. Yeah. That's really great. Before we kind of move to our closing section, Allison, is there anything else that you really feel is important for our audience to know on the topic of nutrition, wellbeing, holistic wellness?
I. I think, you know, the, the main thing that I would like to say is to, to, to women that are going through this phase in their life is to really, you know, embrace it with a positive [00:34:00] attitude. Ask for help if you need it, and you know, don't. Don't talk and moan and, and walk around the whole time feeling terrible because there are so many things that you can do and it's very easy things that you can implement with nutrition and with lifestyle.
So just get the help that, that you need and embrace the, the next phase in your life. 'cause I mean, it said it could be another 30 years. That's, that's a long time. Yeah, I think that's such an important point. It's something to have in order and to rule out as a source of some of these. It may be a source of it or you may rule it out and need further answers.
Right. And I also just wanted to add, I really appreciate your research based, uh, approach to this. That's one of the reasons I reached out to you. I'm impressed by your credentialing and your, , Your engagement with the research. So as we come to a close here, for those that wanna learn more, can you [00:35:00] give us some resources and how people might also gain further knowledge from you if they're so interested?
I. Yeah, sure. I think the best way really is, is find my website, which is alison bla.com, so that's Alison, a l i s o n b l a d h.com. And on my website, there's all the links to my social media platforms. I'm on virtually every social media you can find me under. Um, and I also have a resources page on my website where there's lots of free downloads.
So, you know, if you, if you want some ideas, recipe ideas, you know, for skin health, for, uh, hair, for weight management, you know, there's so many different things there that, that, that are available. So if anybody wants to download them, please feel free. Wonderful. Such great resources and I'm so thankful that they're out there.
Well, this has been a real pleasure, Allison. [00:36:00] I am so grateful for your time and your knowledge and your passion about this subject. So thank you so much for joining me on this podcast. It's a pleasure. It's, it's lovely talking to you. 

As we come to the end of this episode, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Alison for sharing her invaluable insights. I truly learned a lot from our conversation, and I hope you did too. I sincerely hope we can all take Alison’s valuable advice, and apply it to our lives, not only for our own well-being but also as a gift to our families. I know it is important for me to remember that every small step counts, and I encourage you to keep taking those steps that work for you, too. It gives me optimism that we can keep growing and and keep moving towards a more vibrant and purposeful midlife. 

Thanks so much for listening today.  If you enjoyed this episode, I’d be very grateful if you would subscribe and share it with your friends who might also find today’s discussion helpful. So, until next time, keep exploring, stay curious, and stay true to yourself.