Select an Article:

Health, diet and nutritional supplementation can be confusing. Let us eliminate the guesswork for you!

Our Nutrition Response Testing™ is quick, simple, reliable, painless and non-invasive - allowing us to determine exactly what your body needs.

Pssst! ... Did Someone Say MENOPAUSE?!

November 26, 2008

Did you know that, at birth, females have 1 million reproductive eggs, or ova, and by puberty that number drops to approximately 300,000 - 400,000?  Even more surprising is that during a woman's reproductive years, the number of mature ova rests at about only 400.  When menopause strikes, there are no longer any eggs left in the ovaries due to the decreased production of estrogen and progestgerone in the body.

 

Although estrogen and progesterone are sex and reproductive hormones, they are also important for many non-reproductive organs and systems in the body including the vagina, the bladder, breasts, skin, bones, arteries, the heart, the liver and the brain.  Estrogen is also required for smooth, moist skin; for proper bone formation; and for proper function of the body's thermostat.  While menopause causes a sharp drop in estrogen levels, the estrogen producted by other organs in the body is a less potent form available to maintain proper body function.  As a result, menopausal symptoms may include such things as anxiety, dry skin, fatigue, bloating, headaches, heart palpitations, hot flashes, insomnia, irritability, decreased sex drive, loss of concentration, mood swings, night sweats, decreased stamina, urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness or itching, and weight gain.

 

While the curent medical view tends to be that menopause is a disease rather than a normal physiological process, it should actually be considered a natural part of the life process that should be a positive event in every woman's life.  In many cultures around the world, most women do not experience the symptoms associated with menopause and although there are many contributing factors to this (such as stress, diet and lifestyle), it is strongly thought that one of the main reasons for this is the attitude towards this 'nasty 9 letter word'!

 

Current medical treatment commonly involves the use of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) which is usually a combination of estrogen and progestin (a synthetic form of progesterone).  However, where the benefits of HRT can offer temporary relief from hot flashes and other symptoms (because long term use is not recommended), diet, exercise and lifestyle offer the same benefits without some of the scary risks, including cancer.

 

Instead of using estrogens artificially to counteract the symptoms of menopause, the natural approach is to focus on improving physiology through diet, nutritional supplementation, botanicals and exercise.  Nutritional strategies might include such things as increasing phyto-estrogen-containing foods while the use of botanicals and nutritional supplementation both help to improve blood flow to female organs and work to nourish and tone the female glandular and organ system rather than exert a drug-like effect.

 

To learn more about the effects of your menopausal life changes or to look at preventative measures regarding menopause, please contact Michele Benoit, Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner.