Ounce of Prevention | Menopause matters

Modern medicine tends to deal with menopause as if it was a disease, but it can be regarded as a natural and positive phase of a woman's life. In societies with this approach, most women do not suffer many of the problems often associated with the event.

Jamaicans often call the menopause the 'change of life', seeing it as a period of transition and adjustment. Although major hormonal changes are involved, menopause is more than a biological event, as social and cultural factors contribute significantly to how a woman will experience it.

Research on rural Mayan Indians in South America revealed that they do not experience any symptoms of menopause. Mayan women viewed menopause as a time when they become accepted as respected elders, as well as being free of the responsibility of having more children. The researchers concluded that the main reason for this symptom free menopause had to do with their attitude to the event.

 

WHAT IS MENOPAUSE?

 

Menopause is defined as a cessation of menses, or 'periods', and usually occurs within a few years of the 50th birthday of most women. Twelve months without a period is the medical rule for diagnosing menopause.

 

COMMON SYMPTOMS

 

Common symptoms include:

- Hot flashes - excessive heat and sweating

- Vaginal dryness

- Forgetfulness and poor concentration

- Frequent urinary tract infections

- Headaches and palpitations

- Cold hands and feet

- Irritability and mood swings and poor sleep

- Decreased sex drive

- Symptoms of osteoporosis.

Menopause naturally occurs when the eggs in the woman's ovaries have been depleted. A girl is born with about one million eggs. By puberty, that number is down to about 400,000. Only about 400 of these eggs will mature during a woman's reproductive years. At the onset of menopause, ovarian function declines with a resulting fall in the production of the main female hormones - estrogen and progesterone. However, other tissues, including the fat cells continue to produce some estrogen.

Medical interventions, like surgery, drugs, radiation as well as several diseases, may prematurely bring on the menopause.

 

NATURAL APPROACH

 

A natural approach would include:

- Have a medical check-up: At the start of the menopause, it is useful to do a routine evaluation, including breast and pelvic examination, blood tests of your hormone levels and, if indicated, a test for osteoporosis.

- Diet: Increase the amounts of plant foods, especially those containing phytoestrogens (estrogen-like substances in plants). This includes soy, nuts, legumes, whole grains, parsley and fennel. Eat lots of vegetables and fresh fruit and drink green tea. Menopausal symptoms are less in societies where a predominantly plant-based diet is consumed. Minimise your intake of animal foods, dairy and hydrogenated vegetable oils.

- Detoxify: Thousands of chemicals in our food, air, water, household and environment have hormonal-like properties and may significantly contribute to disturbance in the delicate hormonal balance of women. A programme of detoxification (cleansing) can help to reduce hormonal toxicity.

- Supplements: Nutritional supplements, especially vitamins E and C, omega-3 fats and magnesium are helpful in reducing menopausal symptoms. Adequate vitamin D3 from sunshine and/or supplements is also vital.

- Herbs: Many herbs help to balance the female glandular system. These include dong quai, black cohosh, chaste berry, evening primrose and ginkgo biloba. Science now understand how some of these herbs act. For example, black cohosh balances blood flow while influencing leutenising hormone and reducing inflammation. Dong quai, on the other hand, improves the balance between estrogen and progesterone.

- Medicinal cannabis: The body's internal cannabis system (endocannabinoid system) controls and regulates our hormones. One of the major substances in the ganja plant - cannabinidiol - is very helpful in managing many female disorders including menopause. This is now available in a number of forms.

- Lifestyle modification: A brain centre called the hypothalamus controls many body functions, including body temperature, metabolism, mood, stress reactions and hormones. Many menopausal symptoms seem related to the function of the hypothalamus.

Several lifestyle measures stimulate the body's production of our own cannabis-like substances and endorphins. These balance hypothalamic function and positively impact on the symptoms of the menopause.

- Exercise: Research shows that regular exercise decreases the incidence of hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Practices like yoga, tai chi and meditation are particularly useful.

Avoid pollutants like cigarette smoke - smoking significantly increases the risk of an early menopause with worse symptoms. Managing stress effectively is extremely important and will make this period of adjustment much easier.

 

HORMONE-REPLACEMENT THERAPY

 

This is a controversial issue. In my opinion, hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) is very useful and safe if the following principles are followed:

1. Have your hormones measured first to determine what needs balancing. A blood or saliva test of your estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone and thyroid hormones should be done.

2. Use bioidentical hormones. This means giving back to the body the exact substance that it normally produces, not a synthetic drug. These drugs invariable carry a high risk of bad side effects and have unfortunately given HRT a bad reputation.

3. Estrogens, progesterone and testosterone are all available in bioidentical formulations. Natural progesterone cream is a particularly useful and safe alternative to the synthetic estrogen or progestin drugs often prescribed.

4. Have a physician who is familiar with this approach monitor your hormone levels and adjust dosages as necessary.

Don't despair, you can manage your menopause safely and naturally.

You may email Dr Vendryes at tonyvendryes@gmail.com or listen to 'An Ounce of Prevention' on POWER 106 FM on Fridays at 9:10 p.m. Visit www.tonyvendryes.com for details on his books and articles.