Menopause & Post-Menopause: Women Shouldn’t Have to Push Pause On Their Lives!

These are our mothers, our grandmothers, the women who make our world go ‘round. Some are Moms to young, others are Moms to teenagers and adults. And one thing is certain: you deserve lots of love, appreciation and validation for your many contributions to our world.

One of the ways we can show more support to post-menopausal women is to provide them with better health care. Menopause and the time period following seem to be all-too-often down-played or even completely dismissed in our conventional medical system. It’s whittled down to a chapter in a woman’s life, a rite of passage and there simply isn’t anything to do about it, conventional medicine will say. The loss of hormones, the symptoms, the body changes—it’s a nightmare for many but it doesn’t have to be. We have lots of wonderful tools in the natural medicine tool box! Yes, you heard that right! We’ve got tools to help you continue living your best life.

Here are the most common post-menopausal complaints:

·        Hot flashes

·        Night sweats

·        Weight gain

·        Vaginal dryness

·        Painful intercourse

·        Hairloss

·        Dry skin

·        Depression

·        Insomnia

·        Low energy

·        Loss of muscle mass

With hormone levels changing before, during and after menopause, sometimes gradually over years, or for other women, it can happen quickly (enter hysterectomy), the result is your body saying “okay, wait a minute, what the heck is going on here?!” There is a more complicated dancing of all hormones that occurs at this stage of life, but the two key hormones we must consider are estrogen and progesterone.

A wonderful option is to have salivary and urinary hormone levels tested. We love Precision Analytical’s DUTCH Hormone Panel. This provides an accurate inventory of your actual hormone levels, in addition to other data that may further reveal underlying health issues that need support. If your hormone levels are super low, this may also be an indication that you may benefit from safe, clean bioidentical hormones prescribed by a qualified health care provider. If this makes you nervous, we totally understand! Years ago, when women were prescribed estrogen, not only was it the wrong form (from horses’ urine…human women are not like horse women) it was also in excess—way too high of dosages, for far too long. And just like the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad… but here’s the thing: too little of a good thing can also be just as bad. Enter low hormone status—a perfect clinical scenario wherein you may benefit from the proper molecular form and the appropriate dosing of estrogen and/or progesterone. This lab test will help your practitioner know exactly what you need.

In addition to testing, according to the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges, 51% of women use some type of alternative medicine to manage the symptoms of menopause. These strategies can include: exercise, removing trigger foods including spicy food, caffeine and alcohol (which can irritate the liver and provoke hot flashes + night sweats), many botanical medicines including maca root, black cohosh, rhodiola, ginseng and ashwagandha can all benefit. Further, anti-inflammatory foods such as broccoli, organic leafy greens, colorful berries and seeds including flax, chia and pumpkin are all wonderful. These are just a few tried and true tools in the natural medicine toolbox.

So you see, there is hope for this chapter in a woman’s life! We’re sending much love to our post-menopausal Kale Blossoms. You matter, you’re worthy of care and you can feel good in your body again!