cover image The Change of Life Diet and Cookbook: Delicious, Healthy Recipes to Savor Before, During, and After Menopause

The Change of Life Diet and Cookbook: Delicious, Healthy Recipes to Savor Before, During, and After Menopause

Elaine Magee. Avery Publishing Group, $16.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-58333-190-3

In personable prose, nutrition expert and prolific author Magee devotes one chapter to each of the seven most common menopausal symptoms--hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, decreased libido, moodiness, memory loss, weight gain, low bone density--offering practical advice and over 125 recipes for symptom relief sans hormone replacement therapy. Despite her predictable lifestyle tips (reduce the stress in your life; keep your bedroom cool to avoid night sweats), Magee offers clear, empirically supported explanations of why her ingredients and recipes alleviate each symptom. The recipes--arranged by symptom, not by food category--are refreshingly diverse, including salads, entrees, vegetarian options and desserts for most symptoms. And despite the book's health consciousness, the recipes do not neglect flavor. Cinnamon Rolls with Soy Flour reduce hot flashes, and Smoked Salmon Crostini with Caviar increase libido, Magee claims. Although Magee's health advice for menopausal women is fairly standard, this volume succeeds in integrating scientific proof and practical symptom relief with a medley of simple recipes for an overall sympathetic guide for the HRT-free menopausal woman.