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Maintaining Health While Navigating
Menopause
By Jordan Rubin – ExtraOrdinary Health Article
 Any
woman who has just entered, gone through, or who is on the other side
of Perimenopause or menopause knows the drill. You’re going along with
your life and then…it hits you.
And it’s no wonder that the time surrounding
menopause can be such a jolt to your life. At the time of menopause,
the hormonal output, instead of reducing gradually over time, can
alternately stop and start resulting in a proverbial hormonal roller
coaster ride for some women.
And this topsy-turvy hormonal state can last a
while, too. While the time of menopause varies from woman-to-woman, it
can occur anywhere from age 40 to age 59—or even earlier or later—and
is a transition that can last several months to several years.
During this time, estrogen levels drop, but the body
still makes some estrogen. In the past, it was believed that during
menopause, a woman simply “ran out of estrogen,” but that simply isn’t
the case. This is also what led many to believe that estrogen
replacement would remedy menopause. It isn’t that simple, though.
For those who want to go a different route from
hormone replacement therapy (HRT), phytoestrogenic foods such
as apples, carrots, yams, green beans, peas, potatoes, red beans,
brown rice, whole wheat, and flaxseeds can play positive roles in the
metabolism of estrogen.
The truth is that the effects of menopause come
along due to estrogen dominance in the body, since progesterone (one
of the two main reproductive hormone groups—the other being estrogen)
production declines in the years leading up to menopause. And it’s
a hormonal readjustment that can lead to many of the discomforts of
menopause, including hot flashes, heart palpitations, flushing, night
sweats, anxiety, water retention, weight gain, memory problems,
irritability and/or depression.
That’s why some women seek out
natural progesterone. Since menopause causes cessation of
ovulation (and, hence, too little production of progesterone),
estrogen can be the dominant hormone. And when estrogen dominates
and progesterone wanes, then estrogen can cause major health problems
if it is not balanced out by progesterone.
For some women entering menopause who have menstrual
periods without ovulation (due to the lessened amounts of
progesterone), poor diet, and lack of exercise, they arrive at
menopause with 25 percent to 30 percent loss of bone mass, according
to one source. It’s no wonder osteoporosis can be a problem.
Progesterone is of prime importance, too, because it stimulates
osteoblast-mediated new bone formation. It also appears to offer
cardio-protection, too, which is important concerning the heightened
risk of developing heart disease.
But progesterone is not alone in addressing the
issues surrounding menopause.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diet high in phytoestrogens, vitamin D,
calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids (which, according to some studies,
can help reduce hot flashes and support healthy skin, hair, and
nails—and one omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA,
can help support heart health), regular exercise, and other lifestyle
factors can support a healthy and balanced passage through menopause.
See
CODmega or Olde World Icelandic
Cod Liver Oil by
Garden of Life for a healthy, natural source of Omega-3 fatty
acids.
Navigating menopause while maintaining health
narrows down to managing or eliminating the symptoms of menopause
while minimizing the risks for health problems. Those difficulties can
include osteoporosis, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome—which can
be a precursor to cardiovascular disease.
Diet and lifestyle factors are essential to women’s
health no matter what the age, but it becomes imperative to overall
health and peace of mind during the years surrounding menopause.
Suggestions from Christine:
For hormone balance during Perimenopause and
throughout menopause, I recommend
ProgestaCare by Life-Flo. ProgestaCare is a natural, paraben-free
progesterone cream for women to help balance hormone levels naturally.
ProgestaCare Mist provides natural Progesterone in a
convenient spray mist for travel and ease of application.
ProgestaCare Complete provides not only natural progesterone
but also Pregnenolone which balances women’s hormones and supports
anti-aging and 7-Keto DHEA, which helps to improve health and
anti-aging but is free of the hormone activity of normal DHEA.
Progesta Care Plus w/Phytoestrogens combines ProgestaCare's
natural progesterone with the highest quality all natural
phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are natural compounds derived from
various plant sources, which exert estrogenic effects in the human
body.
EstroCare is a natural alternative to estrogen
supplementation, providing natural phytoestrogens for hormone balance.
Brevail for Breast and Hormone Health Brevail contains lignans,
a natural compound, ingested in grains, beans, legumes, fruits, and
vegetables throughout human history. Research suggests that our bodies
use natural plant lignans, now sparse in the modern diet, to safely
and gently buffer and balance potentially adverse effects of excess or
toxic estrogens, established as the most well-known cause of certain
breast problems and other hormone related health issues.
Books
For more information on Women’s Hormone Balance, I
suggest reading the following books:
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause - by John R.
Lee, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause Balance Your
Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty - by John R. Lee,
M.D., Jesse Hanley, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins
The statements contained in this article have not
been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The information
contained here is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent
any disease. Suggestions and ideas presented in this document are for
information only and should not be interpreted as medical advice,
meant for diagnosing illness, or for prescriptive purposes. Readers
are encouraged to consult their health care provider before beginning
any cleanse, diet, detoxification program, or any supplement regimen.
The information in this document is not to be used to replace the
services or instructions of a physician or qualified health care
practitioner. |
