Ladies (and the men in said ladies lives) if you are one of those unfortunate enough to be suffering from hot flashes, power surges, or your own personal sauna affects, you may want to reconsider your diet.
Before we left on our adventures I had run the gamut of treatments for those inconvenient—hot, sweaty, flushed–moments that always happened just when you needed them least. My memories of being a sweaty, beetroot red speaker at a convention still haunt me, it was not nerves… it was my hormones. Nighttime flashes meant many a disturbed night for both of us.
Like many women, I resorted to H.R.T. to fend off the symptoms, only to experience the unwanted effects of being on hormones. From there I went to a naturopath, several hundred dollars and tests later, I had a plethora of prescribed supplements to boost my thyroid & adrenal systems to help compensate for the lack of properly working ovaries.
My naturopath also recommended eliminating non-organic meats and dairy from my diet due to the high levels of hormones found in them. This was not so easy to do, finding organic in North America is not always easy and the higher costs can be crippling, as was the cost of all those supplements.
Eighteen months into our global explorations—the majority of it in Central America—and during our second pit stop in Canada, I started having hot flashes again. It was quite a shock, as I had not experienced one for over a year. I had hoped that I was done with them, not yet it seems.
The question is why am I having them now, after so long without? I have not become a vegetarian or eaten only organic food, what is the factor at work here? I am sure that there are many factors in play and I am by no means an expert, however there does seem to be one obvious answer.
Meat! It seems North America uses lots of hormones in its livestock rearing. Hormones mean faster growth, more meat, higher production and in my case, hot flashes!
Seems that the lesser developed countries of the world manage to produce excellent inexpensive, chicken, pork and eggs without added hormones. Maybe it is time to go back to a simpler way of life.
Not only does retirement overseas, offer lowered stress levels, it seems to offer a chance to eat as our grandparents or great grandparents did. Free-range eggs, hormone free meat and abundant fresh vegetables are found throughout Central America and we hope South America too. We will keep you posted.
