If you have found that natural
hormone replacement therapy isn’t strong enough to relieve your
menopause symptoms, an herb called maca is a perfect option. By some estimates I’ve read about in research studies, approximately 80 percent of menopausal women find
menopause relief with maca.
Maca is most commonly used in traditional medicine to increase libido, promote fertility, and balance hormone levels. An added bonus is that it increases vaginal lubrication, which obviously can improve sexual activity and satisfaction. Because it increases energy, it helps create more vigor for sexual activity, which is why Peruvians have used it for centuries to increase sexual desire.
Dosages are unique to each woman, so you will need to determine the dosage that works for you. You can take it indefinitely—there have been no acute toxic effects, even at very high doses. If you are sensitive to herbs, start with the low end of the recommended dosage, as too much can cause increased menopause hot flashes, breast tenderness, or headaches. Also avoid maca if you have a hormone-related cancer, liver disease, or are pregnant or nursing.
I like the Whole World Botanicals’ Royal Maca brand, which is available at
www.wholeworldbotanicals.com.
I often get asked by my patients if I think they may be approaching menopause. Signs of menopause are pretty common for women between 46 and 53. It’s during this time that you’re likely to experience less frequent, lighter periods, (this is called late perimenopause) or stopped periods altogether (this is menopause).
By the time your periods have stopped, your estrogen production will have dropped by 75–90 percent. Meanwhile, your progesterone production has stopped entirely. These hormone drops occur because your ovaries and the follicles containing your eggs are aging.
Although your ovaries and adrenal glands continue to produce estrone (a lower potency estrogen) and some estriol (an estrogen metabolite) is produced by your liver, these amounts don't support bone, breast, brain, heart, and vaginal tissues the way your premenopause hormone production does.
Simply put, menopause is a hormone deficiency condition that causes symptoms such as menopause hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, painful intercourse, loss of libido, vaginal infections, loss of muscle and skin tone, achy joints and brittle bones, fatigue, and mental confusion.
Fortunately, through this blog, I will provide you with some of my best solutions for menopause relief. So keep reading!
Estrogen deficient–fast processors have more acidic body compositions and can’t handle the acidic foods that estrogen deficient–slow processors thrive on. Fast processors often complain of often severe menopause symptoms like night sweats, vaginal dryness, menopause hot flashes, and dry skin and hair.
Fast processors do best by eliminating all acidic foods, such as red meat, citrus fruits, and hot spices, and even dairy, and instead following a vegetarian-emphasis diet that contains whole grains, beans, salads, and vegetables. I also recommend using "cooler" spices like lemon balm, cilantro, basil, marjoram, and chamomile in your cooking, and forgoing "hot" spices like red pepper and chili powder.
If you are an estrogen deficient–fast processor, here are the foods you should be eating:
• Most vegetables
• Gluten-free whole grains
• Legumes (beans and peas)
• Small amounts of raw seeds and nuts
• Organic eggs
• Wild fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout, and tuna
• Sea vegetables such as kelp
• Fruits like bananas, melons, and papayas
• Free-range poultry in moderation
Eating a diet rich in these types of foods will help will increase your energy, stamina, and resistance to disease. Plus, you’ll notice a dramatic decrease in troubling menopause symptoms like menopause hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness.
If you are an estrogen deficient–slow processor, you tend to have greater reserves of alkaline minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc within your cells, tissues, and bones. Slow processors also have the body and hormonal makeup to be able to handle an acidic diet that is rich in red meat and dairy, but these foods lack the essential nutrients that all women need to maintain optimal health. For this reason, estrogen deficient–slow processors are best served by following a diet that is both highly acidic and nutrient-rich. This includes the following foods:
• High-fiber foods such as buckwheat and flaxseed
• Citrus fruits (oranges, limes, lemons, and grapefruit), berries, and pineapple
• All vegetables, especially sauerkraut, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, asparagus, and broccoli
• Free-range poultry
• Wild fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout, and tuna
• Free-range beef and lamb, as well as game meats like venison and buffalo
• Soy and soy-based foods
• Vinegar
• Raw nuts (almonds, walnuts)
• Heating spices such as turmeric (curry), ginger, cayenne pepper, chili powder and pepper, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon
By following this diet, slow processors are able to regain their energy and zest for life, reduce joint pain, and stabilize their female hormone levels. Not to mention, eating a healthy diet provides menopause relief from symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
I personally follow an exercise program for estrogen deficient–fast processors. Even though my female hormones are healthy and well-balanced, I fall more into this category because I am a petite and slender woman, and I have a fast-paced day-to-day life. To help balance my female hormones, I follow a workout routine that calms me.
Estrogen deficient–fast processors don’t want to heat up their bodies and sweat. It is more important to engage in slower, more expansive and relaxing aerobic activities that are moderately strenuous and can be done in a relaxed and leisurely way. For this reason, the best activities for women in this category include golf, gardening, swimming, and moderately-paced walking and bicycling. You can also try ballroom dancing—in particular, slower dances like the waltz.
In terms of stretching, the best types for this hormonal category include tai chi and hatha yoga, which are slower and more meditative. With these slower-paced exercises, you will tend to breathe more deeply and slowly. Moderate aerobic exercise relaxes, dilates, and expands the network of blood vessels in your body, and enables your heart to work more efficiently. Better circulation and oxygenation, in turn, improve the health of all of your organs, including your ovaries and uterus.
Of course, another benefit to this and all exercise is the reduction of menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats!
If you are an estrogen deficient–slow processor, I recommend keeping your female 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 hot flashes and night sweats!
I told you earlier this week about the estrogen-deficient fast processor. Today, I'll tell you about the mirror image of this woman--the estrogen-deficient slow processor.
An estrogen deficiency–slow processor woman is also in menopause and may experience menopause symptoms, 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
Often women have characteristics that fall under both categories, but more of the characteristics fall in one over the other. In this case, you should identify yourself with the profile that most closely lines up with your personal characteristics.
Over the next few days, I'll tell you about exercises and foods to eat if you are a fast processor or slow processor.
During menopause, things aren’t as simple as just too much or too little of any given hormone. In my practice, I found that 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.
Today I'll give you the characteristics of a woman who is a fast processor.
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
Later this week, I'll tell you about slow processors, then give you information on how to deal with both chemical makeups!
I like to read other blogs, and recently came across
an entry posted by a woman blogging about menopause symptoms.
The writer quotes a doctor who says he still prescribes conventional hormone replacement therapy to certain groups of women,
despite the risks--which I found quite disturbing. However, this doctor did acknowledge the benefits that
black cohosh and
soy can have in safely and naturally relieving the effects of menopause--namely night sweats and menopause hot flashes.
I say ditch the dangerous HRT and use natural. Along with black cohosh and soy, you can find a variety of solutions for your menopause problems throughout this blog and on
my Web site.
According to a study that appeared online December 2, 2010 in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society states that many doctors are still prescribing high doses of conventional hormone replacement therapy for menopause hot flashes, night sweats, and insomnia, even though the risks have been thoroughly proven and documented, and even though lower dose hormones are effective in alleviating these menopause symptoms.
I find this news so upsetting, considering how dangerous convention hormone replacement therapy has been proven to be--greatly increasing the risk of diseases like breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, to name just a few.
If you are one of those women still taking conventional hormone replacement to find menopause relief, please talk to your doctor about cutting back or stopping altogether. You can find many, many safe, suitable natural therapies for your menopause symptoms throughout my blog.
And for more information on female hormones and natural menopause relief, please visit my Web site.
A recent study published in the journal
Menopause claims that those debilitating menopause hot flashes that so many women suffer from can actually protect the heart!
More than 60,000 postmenopausal women were studied, and researchers found that those who suffered from menopause hot flashes early on were 17% less likely to have a stroke, and 11% less likely to have heart disease or a heart-related illness. And, women who did
not have menopause hot flashes until later in menopause were at a 32% higher risk of heart attack!
So, while menopause symptoms can be quite bothersome, this research might be a sliver of positive news for you if you suffer from hot flashes or night sweats!
Curcumin, the therapeutic agent in the culinary herb turmeric, has long been known to have amazing health benefits, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. And recently, researchers identified a powerful phytoestrogen in curcumin called diarylheptanoid. Studies show that it interacts with estrogen receptors and has estrogen-like benefits that help to reverse, among other symptoms, the perimenopause symptom of vaginal dryness.
One very easy way you can increase your curcumin intake is to start using turmeric as a culinary spice in your cooking. For example, whisk a teaspoon into a pint of homemade salad dressing, or stir a teaspoon into a pan of risotto or into any savory sauce or gravy. In addition to its earthy flavor and health benefits, turmeric adds a bright yellow color to your food.
However, for consistent therapeutic results, I recommend supplementing with 1,000 mg of curcumin daily, taken with food.
For other tips of how to reduce the bothersome effects of menopause, visit my Web site.
Do you ever wonder if what you think are menopause symptoms
really are menopause symptoms? Well, by answering the following questions, you may be able to know for sure. If you answer yes to most or all of these questions, then you are likely entering the menopausal phase of your life.
- My last period was 6 months or longer ago (real menopause)
- My periods are lighter, less frequent, and of shorter duration (late perimenopause)
- I'm 46 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 infections
- I leak urine when I laugh, cough, sneeze, exercise, or wait too long to void
- I've lost my zest for life
- 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'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
Visit my
Web site for all natural solutions to help calm and alleviate the unpleasant effects of menopause.
Did you know that certain medications are notorious for promoting urinary incontinence--an effect of menopause that effects millions of women?
Talk to your physician or pharmacist to find out if any of your medications may be contributing to this troublesome menopause symptom. If so, find out whether there are alternatives.
A few incontinence-promoting drugs include antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil) and venlafaxine (Effexor); antihistamines such as Benadryl; antipsychotics such as haloperidol (Haldol); and calcium channel blockers such as verapamil (Calan) and nifedipine (Procardia).
You can find a much more complete list in a book called 20 Common Problems in Women’s Health Care by Mindy Smith, M.D. and Leslie A. Shimp, Pharm. D.
For more information on menopause symptoms and how to find natural menopause relief, visit my
Web site.
I came across
an article about overactive bladder/urinary incontinence--another effect of menopause that's not only difficult to discuss with others (like your doctor), but quite debilitating. While I like a lot of the treatment recommendations the author lays out in her article, including biofeedback, dietary changes, weight loss, and Kegel exercises, I am opposed to using medication and hormone replacement therapy for this menopause symptom, especially since relief can be found using the solutions mentioned earlier, as well as the following supplements:
- Pumpkin seed extract has been found to be powerful in the treatment of the hypersensitive bladder in menopausal women suffering from urge incontinence. I like Enzymatic Therapy’s pumpkin seed extract product Better Bladder for Women.
- Varuna is tailor-made for the treatment of urge incontinence. The bark of this medium-size tree, which grows along streams and river banks in India, is known for its ability to soothe bladder pain and neurogenically normalize bladder hypersensitivity. This herb is difficult to find on its own in reputable North American outlets, but I have included a high quality form in my bladder support product called Confident Control.
- Magnesium supplementation has been shown to significantly cut down the frequency and severity of urge incontinence episodes, reduce the number of urinations per day, and decrease nighttime urination. In one study, the women in the treatment group saw significant improvement within a month of taking 350 mg magnesium hydroxide orally (that’s one teaspoon of Milk of Magnesia) twice a day. If your doctor approves, that’s the dose I’d recommend.
This acupressure exercise helps to stimulate sexual desire, which often wanes as a result of menopause and menopause symptoms. The exercise uses a knotted hand towel to put pressure on hard-to-reach areas of the back. Place the knotted towel on these points while your two hands are on the other points I am going to describe.
1. Lie on the floor with your knees bent. Place the knotted towel under your right shoulder blade. Then place your left foot on your right knee.
2. Make a fist with your left hand and place it under your back, under the right part of your waist.
3. With your right hand, hold your inner left thigh.
4. Hold this position for one to three minutes.
For more information on natural menopause relief,
visit my Web site.
I hear from my patients time and time again how much
acupressure helps to
relieve their
menopause symptoms. So this week I'd like to share a few more acupressure exercises for menopause relief--targeting problems like lack of sex drive and vaginal dryness/atrophy.
Vaginal dryness is a common menopause complaint. It can lead to painful sex and loss of sex drive. Try this acupressure exercise to help alleviate vaginal dryness/atrophy.
1. Sit on the floor with your knees bent.
2. Extend your right leg out in front of you.
3. With your right hand, place your pointer and middle fingers in the middle of the sole of your foot. Hold this point for one to three minutes.
4. Do this same exercise with your left leg/foot.
For more information on natural options for menopause relief,
visit my Web site.
A while ago, I
wrote about and linked to an article that discussed tactics Wyeth (a division of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer) used to market its conventional hormone replacement therapy drug Prempro, even though executives were aware of the risks associated with hormone replacement, like breast cancer.
To follow up on this, yesterday,
a report came out saying that Pfizer is paying $330 million to settle 2,200 claims from women who blamed Prempro for their breast cancer. This amounts to about $150,000 per person--WAY less than the costs they incurred during their cancer treatments, I'm sure.
I cannot reiterate enough the
dangers associated with conventional hormone replacement. Protect your heart, protect your breasts, and protect your overall health by exploring the many natural therapies for hot flashes, night sweats, and other menopause symptoms that I discuss throughout my blog.
And for more information about natural menopause relief,
visit my Web site.
Researchers have recently reported that waist circumference is associated with higher risk of mortality among all women—but interestingly, mortality rates were especially high in those women who had a normal body mass index, or BMI (and therefore, were not considered overweight or obese).
BMI is not always a clear indicator of whether or not your weight is in the healthy range. For instance, many athletes who have a great deal of muscle mass (and therefore weigh more because of that muscle mass) would be considered overweight by BMI standards. Therefore, I do believe that BMI is only one tool to assess health risk. Waist circumference is a great indicator of health because women with thicker waistlines (usually more than 35 inches around) have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and many other conditions.
Eating a healthy diet (which includes natural appetite control measures) and exercising regularly are the best ways to whittle down your waistline and achieve natural weightloss. Try walking, cycling, jogging, tennis, yoga, dancing, or any other exercise that appeals to you and keeps you motivated. In time, your waistline—and your weight overall—will decrease and you’ll be in much better health.
For more great tips on achieving your weight loss goals, visit my Web site.
A recent study published in the online edition of the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention has tied hot flashes with a reduced risk of breast cancer.
Researchers questioned 1,437 postmenopausal women between 55 and 74 years old, 988 of whom had had breast cancer at some point. They were asked about the severity of their menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and anxiety. They found that the women who had the most hot flashes had a very low risk of developing breast cancer.
It is known that high estrogen levels increase the risk of breast cancer. What this study shows is that, yes, drastically reduced levels of estrogen can lead to miserable menopause symptoms, but can also significantly protect you against breast cancer.
Of course, if you have hot flashes and other menopause symptoms, you can reduce them by using nonhormonal methods. I talk about many of these options throughout this blog. And for more information on natural hormone support,
visit my Web site.
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