Menopause 101
Menopause, a natural part of a woman’s life like puberty and childbearing and rearing, may be viewed with extreme negativity like a disease that needs to be cured. It’s no surprise that menopause is widely viewed as a health problem, a disease, a hormone deficiency problem. The logical response is a pill to make it go away.
The menopause is a natural event. It is also inevitable – all women who live long enough will experience it. Some will hardly notice it; others will suffer troublesome symptoms, occasionally lasting for months or even years.
For many, it represents a time of change; a time when fertility stops and hormones can play havoc with your emotions. With up to 75% of women in the US experiencing physical symptoms, it is bad enough, but when you start to feel as if you are going mad it really is time to seek help!
This newsletter seeks to answer all those questions you have been afraid to ask, all those issues that seem trivial but which, when answered, put your mind at rest. You wonder what is normal, what you should be experiencing and how you might help yourself through the symptoms. What treatments are available? Is HRT safe? What exactly is HRT anyway? Is there anything else I can take? Then you want to know about your long-term health – what measures can you take to keep healthy, how will the hormonal changes affect your future health?
This newsletter answers all these questions and many more in a way that is relevant to women and easy to understand. You will dip into it time and time again.
The menopause is important and can have significant consequences, but should not be dreaded as a serious illness; it is another phase in the rich tapestry of a woman’s hormonal life! The menopause and its treatment, and indeed whether or not it should be treated at all, continues to be controversial with many diverse opinions frequently being discussed. Both women and their doctors are often very confused about which is the right course of action. To reduce this confusion, it is essential that any woman have access to accurate information about what happens at the menopause, what the effects can be, what treatments are available and, not least, what she can do herself to live life as healthily and fully as possible.
This newsletter aims to provide such information in a detailed, yet readable form.
You may not yet be having menopausal problems and simply want to find out why and when the menopause occurs so as to be prepared, but at a later date you may want to know more about the symptoms and treatment options.
You can also allow your body to work properly now by being proactive in your wellness and allow it to work properly all through your life and have no problems now or later.
Introduction
Love it or loathe it, the menopause affects all women worldwide, although attitudes toward the menopause vary between different cultures. In some, the menopause is seen very negatively as the end of fertility and lowering of status compared with younger, fertile, beautiful women; yet in others, it is celebrated as the end of monthly impurity and restrictions from taboos, with the beginning of an age of maturity, wisdom and freedom. In countries such as India where the menopause is viewed positively, drug treatment for the menopause is minimal. Attitudes towards the menopause across cultures are affected by environments, diets, climate, lifestyle, religion, taboos and genetics.
For most women, it occurs naturally, when the ovaries spontaneously fail to produce the all-important hormones, estrogen and progesterone. For some women, ovaries stop working owing to specific treatment such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or the menopause may occur after the ovaries have been removed, often at the time of a hysterectomy (removal of the womb).
I believe you need to be willing to understand the body model for health and wellness in order to be successful with the change.
Q. Menopause begins at what age?
1. 39
2. 45
3. 50
4. Depends on the individual's biochemistry
A. Depends on the individual's biochemistry.
Menopause begins at a different time for every woman. While some women may begin menopause as early as in their 30s, others start at various points in their 40s and 50s.
Q. Menopause lasts how long?
1. Three to four years.
2. Five to seven years.
3. Six to thirteen years.
4. Seven to fifteen years.
A. Six to thirteen years.
While it is difficult to generalize, menopause lasts from six to thirteen years. This phase is also known as the "climacteric." For example, your sister may have had hot flashes and gone through the change for about eight years until she stopped menstruating. Then again, our friends or co-workers may undergo the same changes you are experiencing.
Q. All menopausal women experience:
1. Diminished sexual response.
2. Low libido.
3. Heightened sexual response.
4. Sexual highs and lows.
A. Sexual highs and lows.
It is impossible to generalize about human sexual response. Depending on a woman's biochemistry, she may feel the same amount of desire she felt as a 25-year-old. Then again, she may feel increased sexual desire at one point in menopause, and at another time in her transition, she may feel a drop in libido.
Q. Before and during menopause women sometimes lack sexual desire due to:
1. A drop in the female hormone estrogen.
2. A drop in the male hormone testosterone.
3. Too much estrogen.
4. Erratic estrogen levels.
A. A drop in the male hormone testosterone.
Surprise - testosterone is not just for guys! This male hormone is produced in small amounts in women's ovaries. It plays a little understood, yet crucial role in female libido. Low testosterone can be easily detected by a simple blood test. If you or a woman you know complains of lack of interest in sex have a physician check testosterone levels.
Q. The most effective treatment for a menopausal woman's low libido involves:
1. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) with oral testosterone.
2. A mixture of remedies including testosterone cream applied vaginally, exercise, dietary changes, and vital nutrient supplements.
3. Viagra.
4. Testosterone cream, Viagra, and anti-depressants.
A. A mixture of remedies including testosterone cream applied vaginally, exercise, dietary changes, and vital nutrient supplements.
A 2 percent testosterone cream that is applied vaginally can help increase interest in sex and also acts as a lubricant for vaginal dryness. Regular exercise and a diet including vital nutrient supplements can also help balance hormones. Exercise helps increase energy and elevate mood, which in turn helps promote a healthy sex drive.
Q. Total well-being in menopause and beyond depends entirely on having:
1. Hormone replacement and nutritional supplements. More sleep.
2. Cutting out foods that contain caffeine.
3. A variety of good health conditions in place.
A. Menopausal women can benefit from devising and practicing a conscious and coordinated wellness plan before, during, and after menopause.
For instance, as they enter perimenopause, the period before menopause, they need more sleep to recharge their adrenal glands. The adrenals help produce certain hormones. Women can also support adrenal function by cutting out coffee and other foods that contain caffeine, such as chocolate. In addition, many women need to learn stress-management techniques to help them through the mood swings of menopause. Yoga is an effective stress reduction practice; so is deep and slow breathing. Another way to improve mind/body health: increasing intake of plant estrogens, such as those found in soy foods, can also be beneficial. Regular exercise and certain vital nutritional supplements may also help women achieve optimum menopausal health.
Q. Menopausal symptoms are:
1. An estrogen-deficiency state resulting from ovarian shut-down.
2. A male and female hormone deficiency state resulting from bodily aging.
3. A metabolic deficiency state resulting from bodily aging.
A. As we've already learned, estrogen is not the only hormone made by the ovaries. Androgens, such as DHEA, and testosterone, are also made by the ovaries, and so is progesterone. Androgens are involved in sexual response and libido; they are manufactured by the organs and body areas such as the brain, adrenal glands, the skin, the muscles, the pineal gland, hair follicles and body fat.
Q. Natural hormones are found in:
1. Premarin.
2. Provera.
3. Plants such as soybeans and yams.
4. Designer estrogens.
A. A natural hormone is one that matches those found in the human body.
These are also referred to as "bioidentical" hormones. So the answer to this question is both "3" and "4". Even though a hormone is made in the laboratory, it can still be natural or bioidentical, as long as it exactly matches those found in the human body.
Provera is a synthetic hormone made in the laboratory. Designer estrogens are by definition "designed" or made in the laboratory by scientific researchers, to match natural hormones in the female body. Natural hormones are derived from the hormones found in soybeans and yams, and their molecular structure is adjusted in the laboratory to match up identically with those in the human body.
By using phytosterols (PLUS) you can safely reduce or eliminate unwanted premenopause signs and menopause symptoms.
Phytosterols (PLUS), are natural substances found in plants. When humans eat plant foods, phytosterols are ingested and can naturally balance the hormone system before, during and after menopause restoring the body to its optimal functioning without causing side effects. A PLUS capsule taken two or three times a day will cost less than your morning cup of coffee.
In 3-4 months, you will be able to judge for yourself, because most of your symptoms of menopause should start going away because you are reducing hormone imbalance. The PLUS vital nutrient does a fine job of rebalancing your system so you don't have symptoms of menopause!
Q. Hot flashes during menopause:
1. Are inevitable.
2. Are controllable.
3. Sometimes never happen.
4. Get worse as menopause progresses.
5. Are both controllable and sometimes never happen.
A. It is controllable and sometimes never happens.
Numerous research studies indicate that women who eat a diet rich in soy may never experience hot flashes during menopause. For those who do experience hot flashes, eating four to six ounces of soy protein a day is recommended. Soy foods include: soy nuts, tofu, soy milk, soy flour, etc. Go to the health food store and start sampling soy foods. Vital nutrient supplements are also known to reduce hot flashes.
Q. Bone loss during menopause:
1. Is inevitable but can be controlled.
2. Is inevitable, but can be lessened through taking natural or synthetic hormones, performing weight-bearing exercises, and eating a calcium-rich diet.
3. Can be prevented through taking calcium supplements.
4. Can be prevented through taking prescription hormones.
A. Is inevitable but can be controlled.
A natural hormonal vital nutrient, exercise, and dietary approach can be the best way to stem the losses. Cutting out caffeine, which impedes calcium absorption, will also help build optimally strong bones.
Menopausal women should have their physician check their bone density as soon as they start having menopausal symptoms such as missed periods, hot flashes, and mood swings. This way, they have a baseline figure to refer to when monitoring bone density in annual check-ups.
