I was listening to a good friend complain about menopause symptoms the other day when finally I couldn’t resist asking her – why haven’t you done anything to prevent them?

She seemed surprised. Even after hearing me talk frequently about the alternative therapy methods I use on my own family, it had never occurred to her to seek help for something so…as she put it – inevitable.

So where do we get these ideas that some things are inevitable? If you do a simple Google search for menopause symptoms you will come up with 23, 800, 000 results.  This is a reflection of how we view a lot of “normal” life events. Instead of viewing things like puberty, pregnancy, menopause and aging as normal life events we can transition through smoothly we put up with symptoms like acne, growing pains, morning sickness, hot flashes, swelling, loss of memory and a large list of additional problems because – it’s inevitable.

However, although there are a percentage of people who suffer through real medical issues during these periods of their life, the majority of us can do many simple things to make these transitions much easier.

Here are some simple ways in which my family, friends and clients have managed some of these transitions with ease. Of course there have been entire books written about the therapies, herbs, aromas and nutritional changes you could make for each of these categories.

I have found, however, that if you start simple and work up from there that you can get the best results. Often people don’t realize how something very simple can help and instead they pursue difficult plans of action that they cannot follow up with or the difficulty of their plans propagates the idea that what they are suffering is something that cannot be helped. To educate yourself more about natural therapies you can also visit The Avicenna Institute or our Webinar page.

Puberty: Avoid artificial flavor, color, and MSG. Luckily a lot of favorite teen “junk foods” are now available without these ingredients (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or homemade). Realize that teens need 9-12 hours of sleep, eat salmon or other fatty fish at least once a week, avoid over-eating chocolate, sugar and salt. Avoid caffeine and energy drinks completely. If you do drink caffeine limit it to one cup a day of healthy natural coffee or tea. Fenugreek is an ideal herbal tea for puberty. Rinse the face with natural orange, mint or rose water. Avoid facial soaps with heavy chemicals, dyes and scents.

Pregnancy: Increase consumption of dark greens – raw and cooked, avoid heavy salt intake, allow/plan time for naps, drink one cup of red raspberry tea daily, increase protein intake.

Menopause: Reduce (same results can be achieved reducing rather than eliminating with most people) wheat, milk, sugar & heavy salt consumption, eat at least one serving of raw vegetables each day and drink a cup of red raspberry, nettles and hibiscus tea. Avoid soy and MSG.

Aging: Stretch once a day, walk at least once a day even if it’s to do grocery shopping, do something creative once a day, increase sleep, ensure good sleep by drinking a gentle single-herb or mix of chamomile, lemon verbena, lemongrass, spearmint, linden, rosebuds and/or hawthorne.

Of course the suggestions above are good suggestions for every day of your life – ones that will make you feel more balanced, healthy and vibrant every day. However, as most of us know our body’s can be very forgiving when we are young, feeling energetic or experiencing good health. During these “high” times it seems nothing can bring us down. But during the transition periods mentioned above, being attentive to one’s health is not just an option for better well-being, but is a ticket out of “The Inevitable”.