So you've hit menopause and now you're wondering what to do next. Or maybe you just SUSPECT that your sliding into menopause (peri-menopause) because you're starting to experience any of the myriad of symptoms, like hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, decreased sex drive, mood swings, and relentless weight gain.The good news is that we now live in a time when menopause is no longer a taboo subject. We feel more comfortable discussing it with our friends, significant others, spouses and doctors. There are more avenues than ever to help support us in our transition. The bad news is that there are a lot of traditional "old" Western medical approaches to menopause relief that are certainly dangerous and sure to be avoided whenever possible.
The beauty of menopause, however, is that it is the time when most women are flowering into the fullness of their personal identity - in what they want out of life, in what dreams and talents they want to give birth to, and what desires they want to fulfill. They spent their earlier years defining themselves as wife, mother, best friend, and trusty employee, but menopause ushers them into a new age - the Age of Wisdom - and here are our 5 little bits of wisdom for you to get you through this transition of menopause in style:
Tip 1: Exercise!
Even a gentle walk every day for 20 minutes (outdoors preferably) will go a long way towards preserving your muscle tone and bone density. Walking can help you lower your bad cholesterol and raise the good, lower your blood pressure, help manage your weight and even improve your mood. What's more is that if you do it outdoors, you also get the benefit of natural Vitamin D which is essential to your immune system and also helps to prevent cancer. (info from "The Mayo Clinic" and "Medical News Today"). Walking also may lead you to be more enthusiastic about starting a more rigorous exercise routine... after all "a body in motion STAYS in motion."
Tip 2: Eat a Healthy Diet
There is a LOT of misinformation out there about what's healthy. If your main source of nutritional knowledge comes from the News at 10 or the government's latest food pyramid, it's important to start doing a little research on your own. Some trusty sources are Dr. Mercola's site or our own "Sugar Control Diet" which is not only excellent for weight loss, but also for balancing hormones (which is so important for menopause symptom relief!) Our Sugar Control Diet guidelines also help in reducing inflammation and even identifying foods that may be causing digestive distress (scroll down to our resource box at the end of this article and you can contact us to request our Sugar Control Diet... it's free).
So many people think that baked potatoes, pastas, rice and breads are good for them - but those all metabolize as sugars in the body, and in doing so, they trigger an insulin release... too much of which not only causes your body to gain more fat but throws all your other hormones out of whack as well (a DISASTER for women seeking menopausal symptom relief!) So educate yourself and start making truly healthy changes in your diet asap - this will help with ALL your menopause symptoms.
Tip 3: Indulge in Some "Me" Time
Menopause often gets a bad rap because we're so inundated with information about the bad parts. But let's try to find its "good" aspects. For example, as we mentioned before, this is a time when women are coming into their own. They know themselves better. They usually have more free time because their children need less supervision - and so they can write that book they never wrote, or attend that class they never had time for in the past. They can build that new meaningful career or find their real purpose and passion that fuels their soul.
Part of birthing this new "you" is learning how to take care of yourself and your needs better. So start laying down the law with some "100% ME" time. Put in some earplugs, declare it a no-kid-zone, and go take a luxurious bubble bath by candlelight. Go to your local gym and indulge in some sauna time. Get a Thai massage - or better yet, some reflexology! As Tony Robbins puts it, schedule your own "Hour of Power" or "Thirty Minutes to Thrive"....if you can't do that, at least schedule "Fifteen Minutes for Fulfillment"! Everyone can find 15 minutes in their schedule somewhere. But put it on the calendar in ink and make it a "must" for yourself. It will calm your nerves, rejuvenate your body, and revitalize your soul.
Tip 4: Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol & Nicotine
If you have excessive consumption of caffeine or alcohol or any intake at all of cigarette smoke (first or second hand), you should know that these substances worsen menopause symptoms. Caffeine & Alcohol serve to exacerbate hot flashes, anxiety, insomnia and bone loss during the critical menopause & perimenopausal years. Caffeine especially disrupts mineral absorption and increases stress. Alcohol ruthlessly dehydrates you (never a good thing!) and is a "magnifier" - so if you're already feeling depressed, alcohol will "magnify" that depression and make it worse. It will take your menopausal anxiety and magnify that too. And you may think it helps you sleep, but when the sugar spike in your blood system finally crashes (remember alcohol = sugar), you will awaken in the middle of the night and find it difficult to go back to sleep.
And did you know that smoking is the main factor in causing early menopause (before age 45) in women?!? Plus it increases the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease, among other things we don't even need to mention. But in regards to menopause itself, according to the British Journal "The Lancet" researchers suggest that nicotine's effect on the nervous system possibly results in changes of the secretion of the hormones involved in menopause, and the smoke itself may affect certain enzymes that influence how the body handles sex hormones. So get help now if you're addicted... hypnotherapy is often a good route for quitting cigarettes and other addictions.
Tip 5: Get Yourself Some 100% SAFE, All-Natural Support for Menopause Symptom Relief
Now this is the MAIN TIP for you: The Big Enchilada. The topic every menopausal woman must educate herself about. It used to be that we all just went to our doctor and he or she prescribed the typical HRT (hormone replacement therapy) for us... you know: Premarin, Prempro, Provera and others. Those synthetic hormone pharmaceuticals that most often are made from the urine of pregnant horses. Yes... GROSS, we know. But it's the truth.
However that all changed when a recent study done as a part of the Women's Health Initiative discovered that long-term use of these synthetic hormone replacement drugs may increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, blood clots and breast cancer. Even as far back as 1975, they knew these types of drugs substantially increased the risk of endometrial cancer as well. Despite all the findings in this study, doctors continue to prescribe it.
There is no doubt that we do need some source of significant relief for the symptoms of menopause - so we can feel like ourselves, not suffer the mood swings, the insomnia and HOT FLASHES all the time (not to mention the lowered libido), but it's important not to potentially harm yourself by taking traditional HRT.
There are a great many viable and effective, natural herbal remedies for menopause symptoms on the market today... they do work, but some work better than others. We highly recommend getting a full-spectrum product made with trustworthy, quality herbs... not pesticide-laden, and not in capsules that are difficult for your body to digest and assimilate.
For example, most supplements DO contain Black Cohosh for hot flash relief, but make sure your supplement also addresses your other symptoms. Like Sage for excessive sweating, and Damiana with Soy Isoflavones for low-libido and depression. Adrenal support is good as well (the Licorice herb helps with that) - because you need adrenal support during this time... and don't forget Valerian to relax. Full spectrum SAFE support!
Educate yourself also about bio-identical hormones, which are much safer alternatives to traditional HRT. A great source of information for those is found in the book "Ageless" by Suzanne Somers. She even has a directory of physicians in the back so you can find one near you to get help.
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In conclusion, we hope these 5 Tips can help you to have a happier, healthier menopause and guide you toward a smooth transition into the New You. If you'd like to learn more, read our other articles and visit our website where we have a free report on menopause relief - we truly seek to help you live your best life NOW.
