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. . . Natural Choices for Good Health!
| Though a long and often tumultuous time in a woman's life, little is known of the traditional folk-wisdom about menopause. Other than comparing hormones they are taking, no one discusses it, as if it were the plague! Instead of fear and loathing, it's time to go through the change of life with knowledge and forethought. |
| Early Menopause Symptoms Estrogen and Foods |
What Exactly Happens? | Balance Your Hormones Emotional Shifts |
Early Menopause SymptomsThere are many signs of early menopause (now calledperi menopause), and each women has a different combination of them. Here are some: Acne Anxiety and/or Irritability Bloating Blood Sugar Imbalances Depression and/or Crying Dryness of Vaginal Wall Headaches Heart Palpitations Hot Flashes Irregular Menstrual Cycle Night Sweats Panic Attacks Reduced Sexual Desire Sagging Breasts Skin Dryness or Itching Sleep Problems! (insomnia or being wakeful in the middle of the night) Urinary Problems Weight Gain What Exactly Happens?There is a span of about 6 to 10 years, called peri-menopause, when your body gradually makes the shift out of menstruating mode. Your body skips ovulating some months, though you may still have your period. When this happens, your body does not secrete progesterone, so you have estrogen dominance. Your monthly flow may be light or spotty, other times very heavy when progesterone levels increase. Although your estrogen level may fluctuate when you don't ovulate many months, generally peri-menopause symptoms are caused by the shortage of progesterone. This is the opposite of actual menopause symptoms, which are caused by low estrogen levels.In menopause, your body does not stop producing estrogen, just your ovaries do. As the ovaries stop, the adrenal glands take over the job. If the adrenals are too stressed and worn down, they cannot adequately handle the job. This is also true of perimenopause, where many of the problems are caused by stresses on the three hormone systems that work together in your body. What stresses your hormone systems? We immediately think of a bad day at work or a fight with our other half. Certainly those are stressful, but there are lots of other stresses: extreme weather or change of seasons working long hours caffeine and refined sugars vitamin and mineral deficiencies environmental toxins on-going allergies not getting enough rest chronic illness or surgery on-going fears, guilt, anxiety long-term stress like moving, loss of a loved one a lack of healthy fats which are essential for the body to create hormones Balance Your HormonesWhat can you do to help your body? There are so many alternatives to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which is actually horse estrogen! There are vitamins and minerals, many herbs, homeopathic remedies, magnets, and even topical creams. Ideally, you would start preparing before you are too far into peri menopause. But no matter where you are in the change, here are some things to try:Essential Fatty Acids Oil of Evening Primrose B Vitamins!!! (a B complex is best, preferably as a liquid) Magnesium and Vitamin C in several doses throughout the day Aloe Vera juice Plus supplements Herbs and Homeopathic Formulas Chaste Berry, Siberian Ginseng and False Unicorn Topical 2% progesterone cremes Kegel Exercisers Estrogen and FoodsFor women with symptoms of low estrogen, like hot flashes and night sweats, a safer alternative to HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is supplementing with something like a soy estrogen. In foods they're called phytoestrogens, which are not associated with breast or uterine cancer. If you don't want soy, because of genetic engineering (usually only organic soy is safe), or allergens, there are many other foods with phytoestrogens, including:Alfalfa Barley Beans & Legumes Flaxseed Garlic Oats Olive Oil Sea Vegetables Sunflower seeds Sweet potato Squashes Emotional ShiftsThis time can be one of great turmoil for a woman whose frustration with the changes in her body mirrors the frustration with the rest of her life. We can chose to unite our bodies and minds in a lifestyle that is healthier and more fulfilling for us."...no other stage of a woman's life has as much potential for understanding and tapping into women's power as this one--if, that is, a woman is able to negotiate her way through the cultural negativity that has surrounded menopause for centuries. This negativity is currently being challenged and changed as the women of my generation, the baby boomers, enter menopause by the hundreds of thousands." "...a woman is likely to live thirty-five to forty years following the menopause, making menopause the 'springtime' of the second half of life." Christiane Northrup in Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom. We are freed of the job of preparing for and creating life, and can instead use our physical and emotional creative energies towards something else important to us. At this time, we can choose to remain passive and silent, and therefore become more frustrated and old, or we can speak out on important issues and act on our creative impulses and therefore become more vibrant and alive than ever before. |
 Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing
An incredibly thorough book, blending her years of experience as an OB/GYN with a very intuitive, holistic perspective. She covers all areas of women's health from menstruation to menopause, including birth control options, info on cysts, fibroids, breast health, exercise, and sexuality. Highly recommended for any woman of any age!
The long-awaited book by the author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, Christiane Northrup, MD. Looks to be as fabulous as her previous work!
Whether you are preparing in advance as the book's title suggests, or well into the long slow change, this book is for you! |
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