The newspaper report does not go on to state what we all know – or at least know if we know anything at all about how a woman produces hormones in her body.   The fact is that if you are a couch potato you are likely to be overweight as a result of little exercise and snack eating.  Being overweight means your body makes more estrogen and it is this – not being a couch potato in itself – which can lead to uterine cancer.

Women produce estrogen in their fat cells, so to avoid uterine cancer a simple measure would be to eat less and exercise more – perhaps hiding the TV remote as well wouldn’t be a bad idea either!

The menopause should occur gradually, allowing the body to adapt to the changes with ease. But, for many women, it is not the fear of osteoporosis, breast cancer or heart disease that most concerns them but how to cope with the debilitating symptoms that affect their daily lives – hot flushes, vaginal dryness, joint pains, fatigue, headaches, irritability, insomnia, depression and a decreased sex drive. The degree to which a woman experiences any or all of these symptoms in highly dependent on how good your nutrition is. If you do all the right things you don’t have to suffer at all.

The two main forms of exercise that boost the health of your bones and increase bone mass are weight-bearing exercise and resistance exercise. Note that the recommendations here are for both younger people and women in the menopause, as prevention is vital.

A weight-bearing exercise is one where bones and muscles work against the force of gravity. This is any exercise in which your feet and legs carry your weight. Examples are walking, jogging, dancing and climbing stairs.

Resistance exercise involves moving your body weight or objects to create resistance. This type of exercise uses the body areas individually, which also strengthens the bone in that particular area.

For women before the menopause

You can either do all the following suggestions or a combination of them based on your level of fitness:

• Jumping or skipping on the spot (50 jumps daily)
• Jogging or walking for 30 minutes (5 to 7 days per week)
• Resistance weight training (2 to 3 days per week)
• High impact circuit or aerobic style class (1 to 2 times per week).

For post-menopausal women (and men over 50)

You can either do all of the following suggestions or a combination of them based on your level of fitness:

• Weight training (1 set of 8 to 12 repetitions using maximum effort. If 12 can be reached on a regular basis then the weight is slightly too light)
• Jogging/walking for 10 to 20 minutes (5 to 7 days per week)
• Stair climbing (10 flights of 10 steps per day)
• Exercise classes such as yoga or aqua aerobics (1 to 2 per week).

While you can try any of these recommendations individually, a combination of all these herbs, nutrients, diet and lifestyle suggestions will yield the best results.

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For further information on Patrick Holford and his work please visit www.patrickholford.com for details of his books, including the new Say No to Cancer and his upcoming tour in the UK and Ireland on cancer, infections and allergies.

For more information go to www.exodushc.com

Physical activity has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety as well as decreasing the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes and can even improve sexual performance.

Here are my ten top tips to add that wow factor to your overall health and wellbeing.

Tip 1: Water

Being dehydrated can sap your energy, even slight dehydration of 1 or 2 % of your body weight can make you feel tired. If you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

Tip 2: Yoga

Instead of the usual cup of coffee in the morning why not add a 10-15 minute yoga session to your morning routine, this will speed up your metabolism and has the potential to work out every muscle in your body. A great way to bring a burst of energy to your morning!

Tip 3: Keep the weight off

Obesity is a growing concern within the UK with nearly half the population being obese. Often this can be the cause for a lack of energy, as people don’t realise how much extra weight they have to carry around on a daily basis. This excess weight can slow you down and leave you feeling drained, tired and not to mention lowering your sexual self esteem.

Tip 4: It’s good to nibble

It’s important to maintain a normal blood sugar level, in order to do this you should eat every few hours. This will help you maintain muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat tissue, whilst putting the much-needed skip in your step. But don’t overdo it. Overeating can be just as bad as starvation.

Tip 5: Embrace Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates is considered a dirty word these days, but they provide us with the much-needed energy to power us through the day; they release energy slowly into your body to keep you going for longer.

Tip 6: Sleep

The body requires 8 hours sleep in order to fully rejuvenate. Most people only get between 5-6 hours sleep, meaning that your body isn’t fully alert which then lowers your stamina.

Tip 7: Avoid quick fixes

Many people believe that when they are tired a sugary snack will give them a boost, however this isn’t the case. The body will waste copious amounts of energy turning the sugar in the snack into energy to use in your body and the boost will be short lived, and inevitably leaving you more drained as it imbalances your blood sugar. The best things to snack on are fresh fruit or whole grain products.

Tip 8: Exercise

A good way to become energised is to keep yourself active. Exercise gets your heart pumping and increases your metabolism, but more importantly it releases endorphins which gives you that same happy sensation you get when you have sex or eat chocolate, for this reason your brain begins to crave it more.

Tip 9: Detox

Throughout your daily life we ingest things that pollute our bodies. These are called toxins and they can make us ill, depressed, lethargic and bloated. It is good to flush these toxins out of our bodies every so often. There are many diets available however certain fruits such as cranberries and pomegranates are a good way to flush the bad toxins out.

Tip 10: Laugh

Laughter is undoubtedly the best energiser. Laughter generates chemicals in the blood that boost well-being. Laughter gives an over-all feeling of relief. Enjoy a good, hearty laugh every day, and increase your energy and your feeling of happiness.

If you would like any more advice then please contact me through my website www.drgaier.com or follow me on twitter for top health tips www.twitter.com/DrGaier.

Which brings me to new research from the University of Missouri that looked at the effect of weight loss, weight bearing exercise and bone density. It’s undeniable that losing weight if you are carrying too much of it has positive health benefits, but what isn’t so closely examined is the relationship between weight reduction and its impact on your bones.

During weight loss, indeed throughout your life, your bones are being broken down and replaced with new bone but during weight loss this happens at an accelerated rate. This can mean your bone density being reduced which can lead to increased fragility.

You may think that increasing your weight bearing exercise would compensate for this, but in this new study, the researchers found that such exercise, such as fast walking or jogging, did not prevent the increased bone turnover caused by weight loss.

This is not to diminish the impact of such exercise, but if you are going on a diet it would be wise to increase the amounts of bone building elements such as progesterone, calcium and vitamin D or take a specialised bone building formula during the period you are dieting.