While we deal with a wide range of ailments at Nature's Choice, problems with the menopause is by far the most common issue.
Sometimes we see the menopause presented as a natural transition within a woman's life to be progressed through with ease and almost a sense of liberation.
Try telling that to the numerous women I meet whose lives are tormented with the daily distress of flushes, night sweats, mood swings, depression, and low self-esteem. Liberated is not quite how they might best describe themselves.
WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?
Menopause is defined as the point at which a woman stops ovulating and menstruation ceases. It marks the end of fertility. For many years before a woman reaches menopause her reproductive system gradually slows down with less and less oestrogen and progesterone being produced. This time of preparation for menopause is known as perimenopause and commences in the mid thirties for many women. Most women experience few if any symptoms in the early years of perimenopause.
However as time progresses into the mid and late forties symptoms may become more apparent. Women may suffer some or all of the following; anxiety, dry skin, fatigue, bloating, headaches, heart palpitations, hot flushes, insomnia, irritability, decreased libido, loss of concentration and memory, night sweats, urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness and itching and weight gain. Symptoms are often worse during the days before menstruation is due.
By the time a woman progresses through perimenopause to menopause a new balance between the sex hormones is established and these acute symptoms of menopause subside. While many women breathe a sigh of relief at this stage, the diminished supply of oestrogen over the long-term renders the women more vulnerable to other potentially more serious health problems. Osteoporosis in particular is a major problem for postmenopausal women.
Menopause is an inevitable progression for women and in spite of what it may seem it is not a disease state.
While most of us will probably not be lucky enough to progress through the menopause symptom free, there is in fact a truth in what nutritionalists are saying. I have no doubt that with more attention to diet and exercise and using the proper nutritional supplements we can minimise the unwanted side effects and enable this process to pass more naturally.
DIET-WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK
A build up of toxins in the body heightens menopausal symptoms so it is best to keep to a diet that enables your body to detoxify itself easily and daily.
Aim to drink 2 litres of water daily. Reduce hot drinks such as tea and coffee to 2 cups daily. Ensure your bowel works daily, reduce junk food, and follow a diet rich in whole foods and natural fibre to assist this. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds to ensure a plentiful supply of essential nutrients for continued hormone production.
Studies show that phyto-oestrogens (plant oestrogens) have a balancing effect on female hormones so eat a diet rich in these. Soya, corn, apples, bananas, almonds, cashews, oats, lentils, beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and green leafy vegetables are all phyto-oestrogen rich foods.
Calcium is an important nutrient for consideration by menopausal women. Remember however that the bone matrix is not made up of only calcium and it is calcium in combination with other essential nutrients that maintains good bone density.
To this end do not focus solely on the dairy category for your calcium intake.
Seeds, nuts, oats, fish (especially salmon and sardines), figs, and parsley all represent calcium and nutrient rich foods.
EXERCISE
We know that regular exercise has many beneficial effects on our overall health. Not least among these is the positive influence that exercise has on bone density. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that regular weight bearing exercise increases bone density.
This is of huge significance for peri- and post- menopausal women who need to protect their bone density as the oestrogen levels within their body diminishes.
NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTATION
There are many different supplements useful for the wide and varied symptoms of menopause, indeed too many to discuss in detail here. However three in particular are worth a special mention.
It is important that we encourage our body to continue to produce as much hormone as possible as the levels of these gradually go into decline with the progression towards menopause. To this end we must provide our body with a plentiful supply of the essential nutrients it requires to produce oestrogen and progesterone.
A well formulated multivitamin and mineral complex for menopausal women along with 2 grams of evening primrose oil taken at bedtime will go a long way to providing this.
Having ensured our body is doing its bit to keep hormone production as strong as possible we may further help the body by supplementing with plant oestrogen. Black Cohosh, Red Clover, and Soya Isoflavones are the best known and most commonly used plant oestrogens. Herbal Female Complex by Solgar contains a combination of oestrogenic herbs along with other herbs to help with menopausal symptoms. It is easily our best selling menopausal product.
While all women may take a multivitamin for menopausal women and evening primrose oil, plant oestrogens cannot be taken by those women already taking HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) prescribed by a doctor. Plant oestrogens are recommended instead for those women who cannot take HRT for medical reasons or for those who wish to try and progress through to menopause without using HRT.
A NIGHT OUT WITH THE MENOPAUSE!
At Nature's Choice we realise that coping with the menopause is your number one health concern. It is a wide and varied topic and cannot possibly be covered in full in either this health column or in a ten-minute conversation with myself or my staff in store. Hence Nature's Choice is delighted to invite you to attend "A night out with the menopause" at The Westville Hotel on Thursday, 13th November at 7.30pm. Bioforce and Solgar will both be represented by a guest speaker and all aspects of women's health will be discussed. You will have the opportunity to ask any questions you wish and the speakers will be available for one to one discussion after the main event. This is a one off evening not to be missed and tickets are available at Nature's Choice. Price is £5.00 and all proceeds will go to a local charity.
