What is the new thing that we need to be thinking about? Where are we in our 10-week journey? What, uh, what would you like us to be focusing on in this week of our, of our journey?

Well, I wanna focu- focus on phytoestrogens.

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds that are similar in structure to your body's natural estrogen.

So as we've discussed before, when women go through perimenopause and menopause, their levels of estrogen decrease dramatically, and it's this decrease in estrogen that leads to all these different types of symptoms, particularly the vasomotor symptoms, which are the hot flashes and the night sweats, which a lot of women are complaining about.

Phytoestrogens can mimic your body's natural estrogen and s- for some women, help alleviate some of these symptoms.

It's very important.

So where are phytoestrogens? So on page 45 of the book, I show you where these phytoestrogens are, and they're compounds called isoflavones and lignans.

This may sound like a dumb question, but if you cook them, do you get less phytoestrogen than if you eat them raw?

I mean, a lot of guys have got to be experiencing this.

yeah you know it's interesting i my wife is going through it too um it's i started writing the new menopause kitchen because uh all my health books i do a facebook group for each health book and i help people who are you know trying to do the plan and i walk them through it i provide resources for them and in the last group i did a lot of the women came up to me and said hey dr ian just so you know you know, this is helping us with our menopausal symptoms.

I said, really? I was I was shocked.

I said, yes, we're having less hot flashes.

We're sleeping better.

We're losing a lot of weight.

We couldn't lose before.

i'll tell you where i'm seeing a lot of people get lost at the grocery store and it seems like everything has protein in it and sure enough dude i put my nose inside your book right away trying to figure out if this diet drink over here really needs to have protein in it I just think that there are so many false gods in that grocery store that I think that we get in the book, get what you're saying, and play the path right.

all going through this same stuff so but speaking about food what's one food that women in menopause think is healthy but might actually be working against their goals

well it's interesting i think that a lot of women um think that consuming i mentioned how yogurt's important but women are consuming the wrong yogurt they're consuming yogurt that's high in sugar that's low in protein uh you want to get a yogurt that absolutely has to have at least 12 grams of protein has to have no more than seven grams of sugar because if you're increasing your sugar content that's exactly antithetical to what you're trying to do chapter three of the new menopause kitchen is about anti-inflammatory so a lot of women are chronically inflamed we call it inflammaging And so chapter three says these are the anti-inflammatory foods you should increase.

These are the inflammatory foods you should avoid.

And by the way, I just want to say this quickly because we talked to this, you know, off air.

The group, the name of the group is the Facebook group that you want to join is called the New Menopause Kitchen.

It's on Facebook.

Join it now.

We got Missy from Lynette, Alabama, listening to us on K92.7. Missy, what's up?

I got to know,

what drew you to menopause nutrition? So listen, every time I do a health book, I do a Facebook group where I walk people through the plan and we have thousands of people who are together.

I help them.

The last group I did, a lot of women came up to me and said, Dr. Ian, I don't know what you put in this plan, but I'm losing weight.

I haven't lost weight in years.

My stomach is down.

My bloat.

But speaking about food, what's one food that women in menopause think is healthy but might actually be working against their goals?

Mm-hmm

... that's low in protein.

Uh, you wanna get a yogurt that absolutely has to have at least twelve grams of protein, has to have no more than seven grams of sugar, because if you're increasing your sugar content, that's exactly antithetical to what you're trying to do.

Chapter three of The New Menopause Kitchen is about anti-inflammatory.

So a lot of women are chronically inflamed.

We call it inflammaging.

And so chapter three says these are the anti-inflammatory foods you should increase.

[laughs]

So, I got to know, what drew you to

menopause nutrition? So listen, every time I do a health book, I do a Facebook group where I walk people through the plan.

And we have thousands of people who are together.

I help them.

The last group I did, a lot of women came up to me and said, Dr. Ian, I don't know what you put in this plan, but I'm losing weight.

I haven't lost weight in years.

My stomach is down.

But speaking about food, what's one food that women in menopause think is healthy but might actually be working against their goals?

Yeah.

I did 17 seasons on her show.

But I came to her b- because in the book, I tell women that, in chapter two, I tell women that there are certain power nutrients that are really important to load up on during your midlife years, and I tell them what the nutrients are, what they do in their body, how they can help alleviate some of the symptoms, and then where to get them in food.

So I wanted Rachael to create recipes, very simple, tasty, affordable recipes, that will naturally incorporate all these power nutrients, so you don't have to think about it.

If you just cook this recipe, you're gonna be loading up on a lot of these nutrients.

And she did it, and they're wonderful, and I'm excited for people to, to try them.

Uh, and by the way, the whole family can...

We just gotta get those influencers to live it and to activate it.

What was it about menopause that you decided needed to be addressed?

Well, I was doing a Facebook group, which I do for all my health books.

I walk people through the program.

And a lot of women came up to me afterward and said, Dr. Ian, I don't know what you have in this program, but we're paramenopausal or menopausal.

We're losing weight.

Our symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood, it's all improved.

Can you write a book specifically for us that talks about how nutrition and exercise can make a difference in our lives? So I wrote The New Menopause Kitchen, started a Facebook group called The New Menopause Kitchen.

So if a woman wanted to start tomorrow, what would be the first thing you would suggest she does?

So on behalf of so many of us, let's talk a little bit about what the idea was behind this team and this cookbook and how it will help women who are both menopausal and perimenopausal.

This started on Facebook.

My last group, when I do health books, I do a Facebook group where I walk women through the plan.

And women were following this plan and said, Dr. Ian, I'm losing weight.

I haven't lost weight in years.

My heart flashes.

My energy is better.

Get into it a little bit.

And can you talk about too why? Why does that happen to women when they hit menopause?

Yeah, first of all, let me just say that I wrote this book.

I never planned on writing this book, by the way.

And I'll be honest with you.

I didn't think that women would purchase the book that was written by a guy.

I just, that was my feeling.

And I have faith.

Can you talk about those changes that midlife women go through?

No.

And you know, it's interesting.

First of all, 1.3 million women in America reach menopause every year.

75 million women in America are either perimenopausal, menopausal, postmenopause.

So those numbers are gigantic, obviously.

When you mentioned your mother, I think about when I was writing this book, my grandmother and aunts and great aunts, they suffered in silence.

They were disparaged.

Is there a connection here?

Right.

Then there's menopause, then there's postmenopause.

And so I had to go back and look at the, what we call endocrinology.

I had to look at the hormones in women, what happens at certain ages.

So I really had to go back and do that.

And once I, you know, got reacquainted with all of those things, then I said, "Okay, now I have to do the research on food." What nutrients...

And chapter two, by the way, is dedicated to the midlife power nutrients.

Right.

So let's go ahead and play E1.

Well, it's that time of year again.

Here we go.

Another book.

It's my 30th book.

And even though it's number 30, it feels like the first time.

It's like opening up a Christmas gift.

Is that normal to start to lose inches, but not as many pounds?

I mean, a lot of guys have got to be experiencing this.

yeah you know it's interesting I my wife is going through it too it's I started writing the new menopause kitchen because all my health books I do a Facebook group for the each health book and I help people who are you know trying to do the plan and I walk them through it I provide resources for them and in the last group I did a lot of the women came up to me and said hey Dr. Ian just so you know you know, this is helping us with our menopausal symptoms.

I said, really? I was shocked.

I said, yes.

We're having less hot flashes.

We're sleeping better.

We're losing a lot of weight we couldn't lose before.

i'll tell you where i'm seeing a lot of people get lost at the grocery store and it seems like everything has protein in it and sure enough dude i put my nose inside your book right away trying to figure out if this diet drink over here really needs to have protein in it I just think that there are so many false gods in that grocery store that I think that we get in the book, get what you're saying, and play the path right.

I mean, how'd you find all that?

Well, I had to go all the way back to my med school reading.

I had to go back and understand the hormonal change that happens.

You know, there are three phases.

There's perimenopause, which is before menopause.

Then there's menopause.

Then there's postmenopause.

How'd you stop with a half of one? I

Mm-hmm.

You typically peak in your 20s, maybe up to 30.

After 30, you start losing bone mass, uh, and density gradually.

So people who are at risk, if you're sedentary and not moving, not good for you.

If you have low calcium and vitamin D, these are important.

They help build our bones, keep them strong.

Low exposure to sunlight.

Mm.

trickery.

That's right.

Here's the key, by the way.

The serving size does not mean that's recommended that you eat that much.

That's just telling you that.

Secondly, you want to look at how many servings are in that container.

Right.

That's

But as a black man, just as a human being, period, where did this pull for you for fiction come from?

Well, with all due respect, I think that you actually do have the creative muscle.

You just have to find it and flex it.

But that's another conversation.

You can do it, too.

Listen, when I was a kid, a teenager, my late teens, my aunt was a huge bibliophile, loved to read books.

And she'd never even graduated from high school, but was a huge and voracious book reader.

But as a physician, how are you feeling in this moment about the way our government is is moving when it comes to health and wellness?