1. Am I Destined To Gain Weight At Menopause?
2. How Do I Avoid Arsenic Exposure From Chicken?
3. Should I Be Scared To Take Alli?

Am I Destined To Gain Weight At Menopause?  Over the last eight months I’ve seen the scale slowly creep up.  I’m not surprised because I’ve hit menopause, and all the women in my family seem to gain about 60 pounds at this stage.  But I see so many thin older women that I’m not convinced this is how it has to be for me.  Is there anything I can do? 

There certainly is!  Research has revealed that vitamin D can help menopausal and postmenopausal woman gain 30 percent less weight than their peers.  The nutrient stabilizes fluctuating blood sugar (a problem that occurs in 85 percent of women in perimenopause as insulin function naturally declines) to prevent overeating.  Sadly, as women age, their bodies can’t convert sunlight to vitamin D as efficiently, so it’s important to supplement with 1,000 IU daily.  One to try: Nature Made Vitamin D 1,000 IU ($9 for 100 tablets, at drugstores).

How Do I Avoid Arsenic Exposure From Chicken?  I nearly had a heart attack when I heard the news that a lot of the chicken sold in supermarkets contains arsenic.  That’s horrifying!  How did it get into the chickens, and how do I know which chicken doesn’t have arsenic? 

I was surprised to learn that farmers have long been mixing roxarsone, an arsenic-based additive that “improves” the color of meat, with chicken feed.  As a result, this carcinogen has contaminated America’s supply of poultry.  In fact, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy recently discovered that up to 70 percent of supermarket chicken and 100 percent of fast-food chicken contains arsenic.  Unfortunately, there isn’t yet any “arsenic-free” labeling to make this easy for us.  So for now it’s best to opt for organic chickens since these animals aren’t given arsenic-laced feed.  But if organic options aren’t available, you can try Tyson or Foster Farms chicken.  While I can’t vouch for them entirely, these companies claim to have stopped feeding arsenic to their chickens.

Should I Be Scared To Take Alli?  Not long ago I read an article in First about the new weight-loss drug Alli.  I know the side effects are unappealing, but I’m still thinking about taking it.  I’m 120 pounds overweight and nothing else has worked for me.  If I decide to try it, what’s the safest way?

Considering the unpleasant side effects (like flatulence with oily discharge) that affect one-third of Alli takers, I recommend that you try a natural fat blocker first.  One that I like: the healthy fat conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).  Women who took 3 grams of CLA resulted in less digestion of unhealthy triglyceride fats.  One to try: Uni Key CLA-1000 ($26 for 90 softgels; call 800-888-4353).  If taking CLA doesn’t work and you’re still intent on trying Alli, read the separately sold book The Alli Diet Plan by Caroline Apovian, M.D. (Meredith Books, 2007).  It offers tips on how to eat to avoid the drug’s negative effects.