Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart, Member of the CThA & Division of Health Psychology, BPS

Interview by Julia Nelson

Having access to educational information online is a real gift, but with all that’s out there, it’s always good to pick the brain of an expert to avoid getting lost in content. We had the pleasure of chatting to Dr Naomi Newman-Beinart on how to look after ourselves age 40+. Someone had to!

What is the secret to good health? 

In my opinion, it's all about mindset. I always say that there is no health without mental health (it's true!). Funnily enough, I am trying to get Instagram going (it's not as easy as it sounds!) and my post yesterday was all about this, I was saying that it's obviously a brilliant idea to try and eat a healthy and varied diet (and I am super excited that new research shows that eating your 5 a day specifically 3 veg and 3 fruit - means you're more likely to live longer and less likely to have chronic illnesses as you get older). BUT I always try and focus on how I feel when I get up each day. Do you wake up feeling positive and energised? Or wake up dreading your day? Or wake up somewhere in the middle..... 

No-one is expected to feel amazing 100% of the time. But it’s really important to do some things for YOU and to make sure that you aren’t struggling more than is necessary with daily stresses.

These are a few things I try to help feel better at the start of each day:

Stay in touch with people.

Increase movement and exercise.

Focus on the here and now.

Be kind to yourself and others.

Learn something new.

This advice is even more important given the global events of the past 18 months I would say. 

How should women age 40+ take care of their health and wellbeing? 

I think that it is really important that women are given more information about their hormonal health from the age of 40. The NHS usually do a health review for over 40's health for men and women, but this doesn’t cover hormonal changes or changes in bone density that women start to experience by this point in life. I think that as long as women are aware of hormonal changes in peri-menopause and what symptoms to look out for, and consider the fact that if they haven't already, it's time to get back into exercise - even walking, and trying to eat healthily most of the time, not always - reducing booze but still having fun, and considering any genetic illnesses that might rear their ugly heads at some point (e.g. osteoporosis - it may be time to start taking Vitamin D and think about calcium and collagen containing foods etc)

Do supplements work and do you recommend taking multivitamins every day? 

I am a fan of trying to get everything you can from food, but I believe that as you get older you may struggle with a less effective digestive system and you may have more 'issues' that supplements could help with. For example, I take borage oil for hormonal health and I find it really effective, but I didn't need it when I was 25. I personally take a multivitamin most days, as I like to get my B vitamins and minerals, but I always say that it's important to get a decent quality multivitamin and not buy the cheap ones that are using poor quality ingredients and lots of fillers. 

Should your blood type determine what sort of food you should be eating? i.e pescatarian diet 

I tend to make my recommendations based on science when research is available, and research into blood type diets does not show that it works as such. BUT saying that, the diets recommended by blood type are generally better than most diets, so most people should feel an improvement when they try a blood type diet. I do have a few patients who swear that the blood type diet has worked for them, and if you find a healthy and workable diet that suits you, than go for it. But don't try and follow a diet that you feel you should be following if you feel bad on it or it's making you mentally struggle. 

If you have a chronic health condition like osteoarthritis or Hashimoto thyroiditis for example should you tailor your diet accordingly and take specific supplements? 

Yes, absolutely. You don't have to make massive changes if you already eat a good diet (e.g a Mediterranean type diet), so to aid joint health I would suggest thinking about Omega 3 and turmeric (for example) in your diet and also think about foods that cause your joint pain to flare up, and avoid those where possible. A lot of people find that tomatoes and potatoes (to name a few) cause arthritis symptoms to flare up and avoiding them can reduce pain and improve mobility. I love marine collagen powder (I take Correxiko's Marine Collagen powder every day!) to help improve my general health. I love that collagen research is very well carried out and shows great results for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, which makes sense, as collagen plays a huge role in the health of all of our organs and joints and bones. 

Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) - So there is some good research showing that people with thyroid issues may be deficient in certain nutrients and Vitamin D, selenium, zinc, iron and B12 are a few of them. In fact, low Vitamin D levels have been associated with worse symptoms for people with HT. I would suggest eating a varied and healthy diet (as I tell everyone!) but even more so in the case of people who are diagnosed when they are young (under 50). The longer you can go with symptoms that don't affect your daily life, the better! And eating a healthy diet has been shown time and time again to reduce the likelihood of various chronic illnesses, which you really want to reduce the risk of! Again, like with any diagnosed condition, find out what works best for you and what foods might worsen your symptoms so you know what to avoid. 

Obviously if anyone is on medication, always check with your healthcare professional before taking supplements as they may interfere with your meds or not be suitable to take with your condition. 

How can you get tested for food intolerances / allergies?

Yes, you can ask your GP, or you can go privately, to have allergy tests. With regards to food intolerances, I don't feel that there are any very effective tests, as you are testing something quite different than when you are testing for food allergies. I tend to suggest working together with a nutritionist, or dietitian to organise an avoidance diet to help you figure out what foods lead to negative symptoms of food intolerance. 

Should women aged 40 and over have regular general health checks and who does these? Can you recommend where to go for a general health check? 

Yes! I think that it is really important to keep on top of your health and to talk to your GP if you have any issues. Breast checks are very important, as are bone density scans, full blood count (including fasting glucose) and blood pressure. Pay attention to any urinary tract infections as you'll want to nip these in the bud asap to reduce the risk of kidney infection or even sepsis - these are much more common as you hit the peri-menopausal stage (age 42-48 or so). 

You can pay privately to have many more tests done and that is your decision if you are able to, but as long as you keep on top of your diet and exercise and the checks mentioned here, your GP should be able to help you with any health issues that crop up. 

How would you recommend prioritising your health and wellbeing? 

I am a big ambassador for kindness. I believe that if you are kind to others then it comes back to you in terms of mental health. And that brings me back to suggesting that people focus on their mental health as a priority. It's also important to consider that research has found that people who eat more unhealthy foods are more likely to report moderate to severe psychological distress - so if you are able to try and eat healthily, one meal at a time, I would hope that you would start to feel better emotionally and then be more likely to make good decisions about exercise. That is how we build healthy habits :). I am a chartered psychologist specialising in health psychology and I find this works so well with my nutrition degree.

Nowadays there’s such a strong focus on living a healthy life, and it can be daunting and to be honest, a little bit scary…..

Don’t stress. Just take one day at a time and think about one healthy choice at a time. This can be a useful way to think about diet, exercise and emotional health.

We promote ethical lifestyle brands and green living, can you tell us what ethical lifestyle brands you like and use? 

I have used so many over the years and good ethics is VERY important to me when it comes to brands that I use. I love Correxiko, as mentioned earlier. I also LOVE Uralix as I think that they have a wonderful outlook and the owner really wants to help women with urinary tract infections (which are so awful!) and this is 100% why she invented the product. I love Higher Nature products - I am currently using their 'relax kids' powder at bed every night (for me!), but all of their products are fab. And I love Greenspring matcha tea powder as I love and need the theanine that you get naturally from matcha tea. Ooooooh I also love medicinal mushrooms and Hifas da Terra are a wonderful and highly ethical company that do fantastic mushroom research to help people with ailments that are not necessarily being helped enough by medications. 

How can women feel confident and positive about their health? 

Don't make changes for anyone else, make them for yourself. You don't have to calorie count and be a size 8-10 to feel great. As long as you are doing your best to live a healthy life, you don't have to be perfect everyday! Don't deny yourself when you want a glass of wine or a treat and don't put everyone else first, you have to come first too. Try and focus on the here and now and what you can do right now that will make you happy and as you act positively, it will help you build healthy habits (that's the psychologist in me talking.....). 

Tingkat pengetahuan ternyata memang tidak sepenuhnya sejalan dengan perilaku seseorang. Beberapa hasil penelitian teman-teman seperjuangan juga banyak yang menunjukkan bahwa memang tidak ada hubungan yang signifikan antara peningkatan pengetahuan dengan perubahan perilaku. Melainkan tingkat kesadaranlah yang sejalan dengan perilaku. Jadi, untuk bisa mengubah perilaku atau kebiasaan seseorang, caranya ya buat dia sadar.

Motivasi, itu yang dibutuhkan. Hmm, ya itulah mengapa seminar-seminar motivasi mahal biayanya. Motivasi dapat mengubah hidup seseorang. Setiap orang butuh motivasi dan setiap orang harus memilikinya. Bagaimana cara memotivasi orang untuk mau mengubah perilakunya, menjalankan apa yang kita sarankan, itu yang masih saya pelajari sampai sekarang.

Ga gampang memang. Profesi ahli gizi yang hampir 4 bulan ini saya jalani merupakan profesi yang sangat mengasikan dan pastinya mulia. hihi. Mengedukasi seseorang, mencarikan solusi untuk memperbaiki pola hidupnya menjadi lebih sehat. Tapi mengedukasi tidak hanya sebatas menerangkan atau mentransfer ilmu dari pikiran kita kepada orang yang sedang diedukasi,  namun harus diberi motivasi.

Motivator yang baik itu bukan sekedar bisa menasehati orang, melainkan bisa menginspirasi orang agar mau dan mampu mengubah hidupnya sendiri. Bagaimana kita bisa jadi inspirasi buat orang lain kalau kita tidak bisa menerapkan dan membuktikan apa yang kita sarankan dalam kehidupan kita sendiri.

Mengutip dari sebuah blog yang membahas mengenai motivator: Kalau ingin berkuasa dan efektif dalam mempengaruhi, menginspirasi, dan merubah hidup orang, maka, “Do what you preach, and preach what you do!” Lakukan apa yang Anda ajarkan, dan ajarkan apa yang Anda lakukan, maka ketika memotivasi Anda berani berkata lantang, “IKUTILAH SAYA! FOLLOW ME!” maka orang akan mengikutinya; sama seperti turis mengikuti Tour Guide seperti bebek, karena percaya bahwa kredibilitas Tour Guide tidak akan membawanya nyasar.

(source : http://www.salesdoctorclub.com/pembicara_terbaik-6.html)

Agak tersindir memang, selama ini setiap hari kerjanya menasehati orang lain, menyarankan ini itu, melarang ini itu. Tapi diri sendiri saja masih belum menerapkannya. Semua yang diucapkan hanya berdasarkan text book belaka, alangkah baiknya bila apa yang kita ucapkan berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi.

Huuh, ternyata benar, bicara itu emang gampang, menerapkannya yang susah. Bila kita yang sudah belajar dan menekuni ilmu ini bertahun-tahun saja masih belum sadar dan tidak hidup secara sehat, bagaimana dengan orang yang hanya diberi edukasi singkat dalam hitungan jam dapat mengubah perilaku atau kebiasaannya..

Hmm, sepertinya nambah lagi pencapaian (resolusi) di 2013:

HIDUP SEHAT (PERBAIKI POLA MAKAN, TINGKATKAN AKTIVITAS FISIK!!)