You may remember that my Dad fell a few days before Christmas. He gashed one side of his head and bruised the other side of his brain. He has been making slow but steady improvements with his physical therapist. He still relies on the wheelchair for his primary means of mobility. He cautiously walks through the house with a walker for exercise. He does not want to fall again!

I spent three days with my parents visiting and taking him for a follow up MRI. I read more of the Menopause book while I was in the waiting room. Dr. D. talks frankly about conventional hormones, bioidentical hormones, and phytoestrogens. He has a preference for phytoestrogens because since they are easily broken down and are not stored in the body, they don't pose a cancer risk.

Isoflavones come from soy beans, garbanzo beans, and other legumes.

Lignans come from flaxseed oil and legumes

Coumestrans come from alfalfa and clover.

I'm doing ok on the lignans, because I use already used flax oil and flax seed. Since legumes were not emphasized on the regular Type O diet, I'm having to remember to eat them more often. I'm glad, because they make me feel full. Alfalfa and clover are both avoids for Type O, so where do I get coumestrans?

There are things I do not understand - The book says, "Many capsules heralded as super soys can do more harm than good. Eat your soy as food; don't pop it as pills." Does this mean I have to eat soy beans, or can I use soy powder?

Dr. D. confirmed something I read in another book about natural menopause remedies. While it is true that wild yam is chemically identical to estrogen, wild yam creams are not readily absorbed. He warns that some creams marketed as natural have synthetic hormones added to boost the potency. The advertisements for the creams are tempting, but I'm going to try eating my phytestrogens first.

I drifted off the Menopause Diet at my parents' house. My Mom has adapted to the basic idea that I don't eat much wheat, but I eat lots of meat, fruit and vegetables. I just did not have the heart to tell her that many of the vegetables and fruits she fixed are now avoids. I managed to stay pretty close to a good Type O diet, however.