Menopause May Be Natural But It Doesn’t Need to Be Miserable

Menopause is one of those “health things” that is almost unavoidable.

Except for rare instances, most women will deal with menopause at some time in their life.

The natural downswing in the production of certain hormones as women’s bodies focus energies away from reproduction is one of those things that can disrupt a woman’s life.

And while menopause is natural, it doesn’t have to be miserable.

What I’d like to do today is highlight a few ways you can help to alleviate the uncomfortable aspects of menopause.

I’d like to point out that in some cases, a consultation with a physician may be needed to work with your exact situation.

However, in the integrative community, we agree there are a few natural ways to help you feel your best as your body’s hormone function flips.

I’ll outline those as well as give you a link to a product I tell patients to take.

Remember, going through menopause is a sign you’re healthy and your body is working well. It might not feel all that great, but neither did puberty, and you made it through just fine, I’m sure.

5 Natural Ways to Help Keep Menopause Under Control

Menopause is a natural function of a woman’s body when her ovaries stop releasing the finite number of eggs she possesses.

There are actually 3 stages to menopause.

Here’s how Web MD defines them: 

• Perimenopause. This typically begins several years before menopause, when the ovaries gradually make less estrogen. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1 to 2 years of perimenopause, the drop in estrogen quickens. At this stage, many women have menopause symptoms.
  
  
• Menopause. This is the point when it's been a year since a woman last had her menstrual period. At this stage, the ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and making most of their estrogen.

• Postmenopause. These are the years after menopause. During this stage, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes ease for most women. But health risks related to the loss of estrogen rise as the woman ages.

I chose to cite Web MD here because their definition is succinct and accurate.

All 3 stages come with various challenges, and these challenges stem from the variance of hormone levels.

To help keep the changes in hormone levels from creating too many issues, you can do the following 5 things.

     1. Eat the right kinds of foods

     2. Manage stress

     3. Exercise

     4. Get solid rest

     5. Supplement with adaptogenic herbs

Let me elaborate on these 5 pieces of advice that can help with menopause.

1 - Menopause and Food:

All three stages of menopause are influenced by the kinds of food you eat, who would have guessed?

To make menopause a breeze, you need to load up on the right kinds of foods while also avoiding other foods that may aggravate menopausal symptoms.

I suggest eating the following types of foods:

• Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids
• Non-dairy based sources of probiotics
• Leafy greens 
• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
• Pasture-raised eggs

All of these foods will help to support hormone levels as your body starts to change.

Foods to avoid?

• Processed foods with artificial ingredients
• Refined sugars
• Most vegetable oils
• Cafo meat (feedlot animal meat)
• Alcohol

These foods don’t just work against supporting your body’s hormones, they actively harm your body, which will compound the ill effects of going through menopause.

2 - Manage Stress: 

Stress is an enemy to women going through menopause as the elevation in cortisol and adrenaline have adverse effects on other hormone levels.

And since your hormone levels will already be subject to drastic change, anything you can do to control stress will keep things like mood swings, irritability, hot flashes and more to a minimum.

To support stress management you can try meditation, walks outdoors, breathing exercises, taking adaptogenic herbs, volunteering and more.

3 - Exercise:

Exercise provides 2 benefits for women in menopause.

One of the first benefits is it helps women retain muscle mass as well as keep bones strong and healthy. When women move through menopause, hormones like estrogen and progesterone begin to fall, which can lead to muscle wasting as well as an increase in risk for fractures.

Exercise promotes strength building and also helps to activate bone-building processes.

In addition, exercise also promotes mental health by affecting neurotransmitters which is closely linked with the improvement in mood.

Just 20-30 minutes a day, a few days a week, is all it takes to derive maximum benefit from exercise. It doesn’t have to be difficult exercise, either. Walking and other low-impact activities are great along with weight training, hiking, HIIT workouts and others will do the trick.

4 - Get Solid Rest:

While sleep is essential for good health at any age, the adjustment period where a woman goes through menopause requires a little bit more quality rest.

Dr. Axe writes this about rest and how it can affect menopause.

“Studies show that both excessive stress and poor sleep are linked with higher levels of morning cortisol, decreased immunity, trouble with work performance, and a higher susceptibility to anxiety, weight gain and depression. To allow your body to recover from stress, control your appetite and improve energy, aim to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night.”

5 - Supplement with Adaptogens:

I like adaptogens, which are any plant-based compound that protect our bodies from cellular stress.

I normally recommend adaptogens for issues like adrenal fatigue and mental performance.

However, anyone that’s ever dealt with menopause will tell you that any support they can get to modify how they feel is welcome.

In the case of menopause, adaptogens are quite useful for supporting the changes in the body.

There are a number of adaptogens to help with menopause.

In our office both myself and the rest of the physicians like to give our patients MenoCare by Himalaya brand.

The reason we recommend this product is because it offers a precise blend of adaptogens that are scientifically supported to help with menopause.

That, and ancient cultures have been treating menopause with these ingredients for centuries.

Here’s what’s in it and why we like it so much.

Shatavari

This herb has a long history of use for women and helps with hot flashes as well as female reproductive wellness.

Gotu Kola

This is a well-known adaptogen that supports the urinary tract and also helps influence mood and cognition.

Asoka Tree

Known as a “cooling herb” the Asoka Tree helps to support hormone balance.

Heart-Leaf Sida

This herb has a long use for helping promote stress relief and enhancing feelings of tranquility. There’s also evidence showing it works on the nervous system.

Licorice Root

Known to help with urinary function, licorice root helps with urinary frequency and supports the kidneys as well as the adrenal glands.

We believe (based on patient reports as well as collected research) that MenoCare can help with the following.

• Helps with occasional hot flashes, night sweats and occasional sleeplessness
• Provides support for irritability and mood swings
• Addresses vaginal dryness and provides female reproductive system support
• Supports the nervous system 
• Provides soothing physical and emotional comfort

If you’re a woman and want to make the journey through menopause as easy as possible, I suggest MenoCare.

You can get it here.

Two capsules a day (up to 4 a day) combined with the other suggestions I offered could be your ticket to a life without significant menopause issues.

To try it for yourself, click here or on the image below.