Is anyone else tired of menopause being treated like a disease? I do realize many women in our country are suffering with the symptoms created by this transition, but I also believe the current experience does not match what has been the normal progression of menopause through the ages. There is an explanation for the miserable experience so many menopausal women are having today … and a solution!
What is menopause?
Menopause is exactly what the word implies. It is the time when a woman’s ovaries begin to stop producing hormones and releasing eggs, causing the menstrual cycle to change and eventually stop. This is a normal, healthy process that every woman will undergo if she lives long enough, unless she has had her ovaries removed at a younger age.
In a healthy woman, when the ovaries begin to produce less hormones, the adrenal glands kick in and produce smaller amounts of these hormones to maintain vitality and balance. A healthy adrenal cortex should be able to produce enough hormones to prevent the more severe symptoms women are now experiencing during the process of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings and dry skin, but not enough to trigger the menstrual cycle.
What causes menopausal symptoms?
The first part of the menopause symptom crisis today is that the adrenal glands, while they have numerous functions, are predominantly responsible for the stress response, producing the hormones associated with the fight-or-flight life-saving response. Since stress is always the priority of your body, when under stress, the adrenal glands will be too busy pumping out stress hormones to bother with the vitality hormones you need to make it through menopause without symptoms.
What can you do about excessive stress and stress hormones? Since fight-or-flight is an automatic response to worrying and anxious thoughts, your best bet is learning how to dissipate the stress response and trigger the relaxation response with exercise, proper sleep and other stress-management habits. Easier said than done, but without addressing the stress-response, you will make little headway with menopausal issues. Although not easy, I assure you it is do-able and worthwhile!
The next part of the menopausal symptom puzzle has to do with hormone-disrupting chemicals. Unfortunately, our environment is full of them, from cosmetics and anti-aging lotions to household chemicals and pesticides, we are constantly exposed to chemicals that either mimic, accentuate or inhibit our own natural vitality hormones. Women are more affected than men by these chemicals (lucky us) since our main vitality hormones are estrogen and progesterone, which are the unfortunate victims of these chemicals.
The solution to these hormone disruptors is, of course, avoiding them wherever possible and helping your liver to clear them. It is essential to switch to clean, hormone-free personal products and natural cleaners such as vinegar, lemon and baking soda. Be aware that the cosmetic industry is not required to list hormones added to their products! You must also avoid plastic, especially with food preparation and also buy organic, pesticide and hormone-free foods.
If your chief complaint during menopause is night or day sweats, the kind where you end up drenched while everyone else seems cool and comfortable, then your problem is most likely stress or adrenal gland issues.
If your problem is mainly unusual temperature fluctuations but not the drenching sweats, your issue is most likely female hormone imbalance. Either way there is help for you.
The third part of the menopause equation is liver function. If your liver is not up to par – a common issue today – not only will you be unable to clear your own excess hormones adequately (leading to hormone imbalance), but you will also be inefficient at clearing the environmental toxins you are exposed to. The solution to this? Clean up your diet and get plenty of the nutrients and botanicals that help liver function. A liver cleanse administered by a knowledgeable healthcare practitioner may be in order also.
I hope that you have gathered so far that menopause need not be a dreaded phase of life plagued by a decrease in vitality and a host of peace-of-mind-assaulting symptoms. You may have also gathered that to reduce symptoms or to be symptom-free requires effort, commitment and persistence. It means changing lifestyle factors, reducing toxic exposure through your food choices and products you use, plus fortifying your diet with nutrient-dense foods and supplements.
Determining what needs to be done and guiding women through the necessary lifestyle changes is what I do and what I am passionate about. I cannot emphasize enough that addressing your health issues through holistic means can be transformative but requires the help of a professional. Knowing what body systems need to be addressed, what methods to use and what supplements have the necessary potency and nutrients make the difference between a waste of money and real results.
It can take some time to resolve hormonal dysfunction depending on how long a woman has been tipping out of balance. But the end result will be a healthier, happier and more vital you!
Remember, you can always reach out and schedule time with me. I am here to help you create your BEST LIFE, from the inside out! Call (540) 899-9421 or email wholehealth.tina@gmail.com.
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