If you are an estrogen deficient–slow processor (see my previous blog entry to determine if you are
http://blog.drlark.com/blog/dr-lark/0/0/strong-nails-and-smooth-skin), I recommend keeping your hormones balanced with high-intensity activities such as power walking, cycling, running, triathlons, racquetball, tennis, and fast-paced styles of ballroom dance like the tango, foxtrot, and swing. Women with these hormone profiles tend to be instinctively drawn to strenuous types of exercise that are more contracting and acidifying to counter their natural tendency toward alkalinity. I’ve seen women with these hormonal profiles maintain this level of intense physical activity well into their later years. In fact, it is not unusual to see slow processors participating in triathlons and bodybuilding well into their 70s and beyond!
Stretching and flexibility exercises are also important parts of your workout routine. Stretching keeps you limber and helps your muscles and tendons function well into your older years. The best stretching exercise is Pilates, as it tends to include more intense and faster-paced movements. In addition, yoga is beneficial for these women—particularly the high-energy Bikram (hot), ashtanga, and power yoga.
Another benefit of these exercises? They help reduce menopause symptoms like menopause hot flashes and night sweats!
One of my patients had a hysterectomy in her late 30s for endometriosis, and her doctor at the time put her on low-dose hormone replacement therapy. She was on hormone replacement therapy for seven years, but found that when she hit her early 50s, her body began to change. Her nails began to crack and split and her skin became incredibly dry. Lotions and other solutions didn’t work.
She came to me to see what we could do about this problem. I looked at her diet and made some changes that would support estrogen production in her body. First and foremost, she cut out caffeine and alcohol. I started her on wheat germ oil and flaxseed (a great omega-3–based food) to moisturize her skin from within. She also started eating wild salmon, butterfish, and other fish high in omega-3s. In addition, I recommended that she up her B-vitamin and silica intake.
Within months, her nails went from being really soft to strong and firm. Her skin also became much more moist and supple. We also noticed a slight increase in her estrogen levels, which helped to ease her other menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats.
During menopause, I’ve found that things aren’t as simple as just too much or too little of any given hormone. Instead, my patients tended to experience a total shift in their entire physical and chemical makeup that manifested as one of two patterns. Their body and brain chemistry tended toward becoming either too fast or too slow. For this reason, I call the first pattern estrogen deficiency–fast processor. The second is its mirror image: estrogen deficiency–slow processor.
An estrogen deficiency–fast processor woman is in menopause with too little estrogen. Characteristics include:
• Anxiety
• Thin, dry skin and tissues
• Menopause hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Insomnia
• Vaginal dryness
• Sore joints
• Increased risk for heart disease and osteoporosis
An estrogen deficiency–slow processor woman is also in menopause, but she has the opposite body type and temperament. Characteristics include:
• Plumper/difficult time losing weight
• Fluid retention
• Stronger bones and connective tissue
• Thicker skin and hair
• Placid temperament
In future entries, I’ll tell you how to balance your hormones, depending on which of these categories you fall into.
With so much attention given to estrogen, many women don’t know what role progesteron plays in the body. In short, progesterone balances the effects of estrogen. Where estrogen is growth stimulating, progesterone is growth limiting. Estrogen is mood elevating; progesterone has a sedative effect on mood. One of progesterone's tasks is to prevent menstrual bleeding from becoming too profuse or long lasting and prevent the uterine lining from becoming too thick, which may lead to uterine cancer. This is the reason progesterone is often a part of
hormone replacement therapy.
I suggest looking into progesterone supplementation if you have
menopause symptoms or
signs of menopause. There are natural forms of progesterone, which has no known side effects at the usual dose of 20–40 mg daily. Be sure to consult a physician who is knowledgeable about natural progesterone before beginning treatment with it.
Although it's available in pill form, many women prefer natural progesterone in a skin cream base, which you can get without a prescription. Topically applied creams are absorbed into body tissues immediately. Oral progesterone is first metabolized by your liver and converted into three different compounds. You can also use a transdermal spray such as Progest-Ease, that can be applied to the skin and absorbed into the blood stream without going through the liver.
A typical dosage of natural progesterone cream is 20 mg a day or one-quarter to one-half teaspoon amounts applied to any clean area of the skin twice a day. Look for a product that contains 400–600 mg of progesterone per ounce like Pro-Gest or Fem-Gest.
Perimenopausal women can apply the cream from day 12 to day 26 of their menstrual cycle. Menopausal women not taking estrogen may use progesterone for two to three weeks each month. And don't buy products that list wild yam on the label. Unprocessed, wild yam can't be converted to progesterone in your body. This conversion from the plants can only be done in a laboratory. And don't buy progesterone products that are made with mineral oil, which blocks the progesterone from entering your body. You can find a good natural progesterone cream at the Women's International Pharmacy (
www.womensinternational.com).
Linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3) are particularly important for menopause relief. The body converts fatty acids into substances called prostaglandins that bolster the immune system, reduce inflammation and risk of heart attack and stroke, and help keep body tissues, including skin, vaginal, and bladder mucosa, moist and plump.
Walnuts and raw seeds such as flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds are wonderful sources of omega-6 fatty acids. Fish—especially wild salmon, trout, and tuna—as well as flaxseed; soy foods; and leafy, green vegetables, are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Do you know if you really are post-menopausal? Or are you in early menopause? Or is that wave of heat you experienced really a menopause hot flash or just a passing flush?
Here is a wonderful checklist you can use to determine if you are in menopause, and if the symptoms you are experiencing really are menopause symptoms. The more statements you check off as being true, the more likely it is that you are, in fact, entering this stage of life.
Potential Signs of Early Menopause
- My last period was six months ago or longer (true menopause).
- My periods are lighter, less frequent, and of shorter duration (late perimenopause).
- I’m in my early to mid-40s or older.
- I’m having hot flashes.
- Intercourse is painful.
- My desire for sex has faded.
- I have difficulty achieving orgasm.
- I have frequent vaginal or bladder infections.
- I have difficulty sleeping through the night.
- I’m frequently tired.
- I’m anxious and irritable.
- I forget small details.
- My skin is drier, thinner, and more wrinkled.
- My muscles are losing their tone.
- I leak urine when I laugh, cough, or sneeze.
- I’m gaining weight.
- My joints and/or muscles ache.
- I have itchy, crawly skin.
- I sometimes feel as if electric shocks were going through my body
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