Health topic #745: research miasma

You know, if you're in a bad enough mood, you can determine that that internet has given every computer-literate person out there a permanent "lost in the bushes" feeling when it comes to researching their health. Especially that oh-so-elusive health quandary of: how to stay healthy and fix stuff that's not exactly wrong, but you don't feel great anyway. Back in the olden days, if people didn't feel well, they just shut up about it and went about their work. Sure, sure, they were miserable for the rest of their lives (maybe), and OK, maybe they weren't the best parents, and yeah, probably they took it out on people of different races and econonomic levels, and maybe even kicked their cat. But what could you do? Now, however, on the glitteringly cobbled road pre-paved by the health conscious yuppies, I stride into middle age. And the research is crushing me. Get this: when you hit forty-something, you start something new!! (improved!!) Well, I guess it was always around but now they have a TERM for it. Heck, it's practically a marketing term, I'm hearing about it so much. I'm talking Perimenopause. What is it? Why "BEFORE"menopause, of course! That's the literal translation. Soon, of course, we will be having periprepubescent behavior, perimidlife crisis Ferrari sales, and all sorts of other things. And how long does perimenopause last? Why, ten years. Thrillsville. Gosh. Just got out of the throes for 4.5 years of infertility, and am now launching into (gulp) ten YEARS of wavering hormonal levels and (as far as I can tell) bad moods? Let me think about this. In the meantime, I guess I'm supposed to exercise and take cod liver oil, borage oil, flax oil, and some other oil which escapes me. I tried to just eat a lot of butter, but it apparently didn't work. Here, in the spirit of cooperation, are some of the cod liver oil links that are on my list to read up on, as I try to figure out just how MUCH of this stuff to take. Because of course, it's all alternative. People just whisper "ooh, flax oil" to one another in gym class,and you go and buy a bottle, but how come some bottles have dosages of 350 mg,a nd some have 900? Oh dear. So as soon as my to do list clears a bit, I'll be chasing down info on the following sites -- and I'll keep you posted. http://www.mercola.com/forms/carlsons.htm http://www.healthreaction.com/web/articles/fishoil.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1817974.stm http://www.healthwell.com/healthnotes/Supp/Fish_Oil.cfm http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins/codliveroil.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/604014.stm http://www.gotogifts.co.uk/for/vitamins/description008.htm http://www.healthcatalog.com/cod_liver_oil.htm http://www.mercola.com/2001/jan/21/alzheimers_fish.htm