Today is National Women’s Check-up Day.

Taking measures to make sure you don’t have any unknown health issues brewing, or to ensure that your health hasn’t worsened, is certainly a good idea.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re free and clear just because your pap smear and mammogram are negative, or your blood work fell within the magic numbers and your doc gave you a thumbs up.

Because even though you might have gotten a nod from modern medicine, that does NOT mean that you are “healthy!” 

It just means you haven’t raised any of their red flags yet!

So if you want to go the extra mile and do all you can to make sure you are supporting great health, I’ve got some sage advice for you.

Here are my…

Top 7 tips for women’s health

Tip #1: Find the right doctor

Your doctor is supposed to be your partner in supporting your good health…

So if yours is not willing to listen to your concerns or answer your questions, if he/she makes you feel uncomfortable, pressured, rushed, stupid or intimidated, or their only answer for every problem you have is what drug(s) they can push at you, please find another.  Now.

There are a great many wonderful doctors out there who truly care about their patients, and you deserve to work with someone like that—not someone that treats you like cattle.

Try to find a doctor who practices integrative medicine—blending holistic measures with modern medicine to find the very best approach to help you achieve excellent health.

My personal (integrative) physician is Dr. John Salerno of the Salerno Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan, and he is a BIG reason for my strong state of health!

Tip #2: Engage in the exercise that’s right for you

Regular exercise is not optional if you want to be healthy (or alive) into your golden years.

The key to embracing—not loathing—exercise is to find what’s right for you!  Not what your co-worker does, or what your friend likes or what some celebrity on TV says you should do.

What YOU like!

So do some soul searching and find an activity you can enjoy. 

If you need motivation, here are a few of my favorite motivational quotes: 

• Behind every fit woman is the butt she got moving to get her there.
• If you feel like quitting, remember why you started.
• Sitting on the couch will never feel as good as being a size 2 does.

Remember to get your doctor’s OK first, especially if you haven’t exercised in a while.

Tip #3: Reduce stress

Stress is a health-wrecker for countless reasons, plus it can make you look older than your years to boot!

Exercise is a great natural stress-reducer, as are yoga, meditation, deep breathing, visualization, prayer, essential oils, a warm bath and listening to relaxing music.  Also, acupuncture is VERY effective at stress reduction—it’s my go-to in times of stress.

Also learn to say no when your plate is already full of commitments.  Set aside “me time”—even if it’s just to read a book for a little while.

Tip #4: Keep your gut healthy

Health begins in your gut for two main reasons:

1- Your gut houses between 70-80 percent of your immune system…so if it’s not healthy, neither are you.

2- Your intestinal tract is where your nutrients get absorbed and wastes are eliminated.  It would not be a pretty picture if your body couldn’t absorb the nutrients you need to survive and/or you resembled a clogged toilet full of wastes.  Talk about the perfect home for disease to come knocking.

For tip-top gut health, be sure to have at least five servings (ideally more) of fresh vegetables each day, avoid antibiotics and acid reducers, and help rebuild your gut microbiome with a full-spectrum, multi-strain probiotic formula like Super Shield Plus. 

Tip #5: Explore natural therapies for menopause

As we women age, one of the biggest health challenges we face is menopause.  If you feel that is an issue for you, get tested and explore alternative treatment like bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT).

BHRT has been a Godsend for thousands of women, and it is far safer than synthetic hormones. 

Many mainstream doctors have never even heard of BHRT, but an integrative physician can certainly help you with that.

Tip #6: Rethink mammograms

Mammograms only detect breast cancer once it has occurred--they do NOTHING to prevent it. 

And even if you have a negative mammogram, you aren’t necessarily out of the woods—you still might have breast cancer, but the tumor just isn’t large enough to be detected yet. 

A much safer, thorough, and proactive approach is thermography.

Thermography does not expose you to dangerous radiation like mammograms do.  Instead it measures the infrared heat emitted by your body and translates that information into thermal images.

Plus, it’s touch-free—there is no need for your breasts to be squeezed into the “torture chamber vice” that most mammogram machines are!

Thermography can detect signs of physiological changes due to inflammation and/or tumor related blood flow up to 8-10 years before a mammogram or a physical exam can detect a mass!

With thermography, you start with your initial “baseline” images, then each year the current images are carefully compared to prior years’ to see if any subtle inflammatory changes have taken place. 

I strongly encourage you to discuss thermography with your doctor.  I get thermography tests and will never, ever have another mammogram. 

Unfortunately, it typically is not covered by insurance, but the cost is relatively reasonable—it ranges between $150-$200, which is comparable to many mammogram co-pays!

Tip #7: Support your vitamin D level

Vitamin D provides a triple boost in terms of supporting women’s health:

1- It protects against cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as viruses like the flu and COVID.

2- It helps counteract the overzealous immune actions associated with autoimmune diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s.

3- It helps keep your bones strong and protects against osteoporosis.

Try to spend some time in the sun (20 minutes or so) unprotected so your body can make some vitamin D, and to be sure your levels are where they should be, supplement with a top-notch product like Optimum DK Formula with FruiteX-B.

I walk my talk

Remember, I don’t tell you to do anything I don’t do myself.  I walk my talk, my friend.

I am 58 years old, take no medications whatsoever, and consistently maintain a 120-pound bodyweight without dieting. 

I am loaded with energy—enough to allow me to teach karate and kickboxing 4 days a week and run 2 days per week.

And most importantly, I truly care about YOU and I want you to feel good every day. 

Remember, you are beautiful, you deserve to be healthy, and you are worth it.

To your health and with lots of love,

Sherry Brescia