Do Childless Women Have a Harder Time With Menopause?

I don’t have the answer to the question posed in the title; I was hoping you did. Menopause has been fairly easy for me, but perimenopause (the years preceding menopause) was horrendous. The depression, the painful vaginal itching, the bouts of tears that continued for hours at a time made wonder if nature was punishing me for not having done my genetic duty.

I’m certain the handful of supplements I take every day help with my menopause symptoms, and so does walking, which is a great way balance hormones. Also, once the depression lifted and the tears dried up, I felt so good that anything would have seemed easy by comparison. But the question still rises: is my easy menopause a result of my efforts, or did nature finally realize that I was past child-bearing age and give me a break?

Nine Health Foods That Aren’t and Never Were

I came across a bizarre article on msn.com entitled “Nine Health Foods That Aren’t.” The foods? Bran muffin, chicken Caesar salad, tuna melt, chicken wrap, turkey burger, fruit smoothies, granola bar, pasta salad, and yogurt with fruit on the bottom.

The original health foods — foods formulated and sold to promote health — were corn flakes and graham crackers. A century later, they can barely be called food, let alone healthy. Bran, granola, and unsweetened yogurt are all health foods, but bran muffins, supermarket granola bars, and fruit on the bottom yogurt are the cornflakes of our generation. Perhaps a bran muffin made with whole-wheat flour and a minimum of honey for sweetening could be considered a health food, but the great tasting ones sold in coffee shops, bakeries, and grocery stores never were. Perhaps even a granola bar at one time was a health food, but supermarket granola bars are one step away from being candy. The same can be said of yogurt — especially the kinds without active probiotics.

But chicken Caesar salad, chicken wrap, turkey burgers, and pasta salads were never health foods. And tuna melts? Are those even food? (Didn’t you see the movie Three to Tango?)

If the article had been entitled “Nine Foods You Think Are Good for You but Aren’t,” I would have had no objection. But I know health foods. And these never were.

Fat People Deserve Better

The commercials this time of year are even more tiresome and relentless than the Christmas ones. First the bacchanalia, then the dieting. Admittedly, most of us would like be less cushioned, but the simple fact is that diets don’t work except to put money in corporate pockets.

I get tired of all the thin folk who feel as if they have a right to an opinion about the rest of us. They think they know what type of person we are just by looking at us. Sure, some overweight people overeat, but so do some thin ones. Not all thin people got that way by diet and exercise; a great percentage of them are proud of being able to eat whatever they want without gaining weight, forgetting that it’s an unearned genetic gift. And not all overweight people got there by overeating; their weight is also an unearned genetic gift.

I have been sad all my life over my own genetic gift of being short and fat, partly because of the way I look, but mostly because the way I look does not reflect the person I am. I look self-indulgent and lazy, though I am self-disciplined almost to the point of asceticism. I eat properly and exercise, but until menopause, I never lost weight. Nor have I been a regular in a doctor’s office. When I broke my ankle a few weeks ago, that was the first time I had seen a doctor of any kind in more than three decades. (Though I have to admit that has more to do with my dislike of the breed than because I enjoy perfect health.)

I know fat isn’t beautiful, but neither is thin. I remember my disappointment when I first saw nudity in the movies – all those bones jutting out was unsightly to say the least. Whether fat or thin, ninety-nine percent of us aren’t beautiful. In fact, some of those considered to be the most beautiful women in the world are downright unattractive. Dare I say ugly?

Fat is still the one allowable prejudice, perhaps because thin folk believe we brought it on ourselves. I have to grit my teeth every time I see an actor in a fat suit. Blackface is no longer acceptable, and neither should be the mimicking of fat people.

We have our own problems, we don’t need your attitude.