As women, we always hear about menopause-this, menopause-that. But there’s another stage in the menopausal process that you may not be familiar with: perimenopause. Perimenopause refers to the time period preceding menopause, when your periods completely stop. Perimenopause can last one to two years, or as long as seven to ten years. During this time, progesterone levels are declining. In fact, if you’re in your 40s or early 50s, you may be experiencing a decrease or even cessation in progesterone production during many menstrual cycles, due to a lack of regular ovulation and aging ovaries.
Let me give you a little “biology lesson” to explain what happens. As ovaries age, they actually undergo physical and structural changes. They begin to shrink and become less responsive to signals from your hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Additionally, you have fewer eggs available to mature, and the eggs that are left are older and less functional. This situation often prevents a follicle from maturing enough to expel an egg. When this happens, the second-half of the menstrual cycle never kicks in, so progesterone isn’t produced. Meanwhile, fluctuating estrogen levels may range from unusually high to unusually low. The result is an almost constant state of imbalance known as estrogen dominance, which is often the cause of perimenopause symptoms. These include irregular menstrual cycles, breast cysts or breast tenderness, sleep difficulties, fluid retention, anxiety, weight gain, lowered sex drive, brain fog, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, and heavy, irregular menstrual bleeding.
Some of the nutrients I recommend to bring perimenopause symptom relief include:
Let me give you a little “biology lesson” to explain what happens. As ovaries age, they actually undergo physical and structural changes. They begin to shrink and become less responsive to signals from your hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Additionally, you have fewer eggs available to mature, and the eggs that are left are older and less functional. This situation often prevents a follicle from maturing enough to expel an egg. When this happens, the second-half of the menstrual cycle never kicks in, so progesterone isn’t produced. Meanwhile, fluctuating estrogen levels may range from unusually high to unusually low. The result is an almost constant state of imbalance known as estrogen dominance, which is often the cause of perimenopause symptoms. These include irregular menstrual cycles, breast cysts or breast tenderness, sleep difficulties, fluid retention, anxiety, weight gain, lowered sex drive, brain fog, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, and heavy, irregular menstrual bleeding.
Some of the nutrients I recommend to bring perimenopause symptom relief include:
- Chaste tree berry or Vitex (175–275 mg daily of a standardized extract) appears to have a progesterone-like effect on the body during perimenopause. It is useful in treating periods that are either too frequent or too heavy and helps normalize and regulate the menstrual cycle.
- Citrus bioflavonoids (750–2,000 mg daily) put a damper on overall estrogen activity by binding to estrogen receptor sites and blocking the body’s own high-octane estrogen. Many studies have shown that the combination of bioflavonoids and vitamin C reduces heavy menstrual bleeding by strengthening blood vessels.
- Quercetin (50–300 mg a day), a potent antioxidant, reduces the inflammation of endometriosis. It also helps reduce excessive estrogen levels, while helping maintain healthy cholesterol levels, good blood circulation, and proper digestion.
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