Perimenopause and menopause can feel scary. But there are natural things women can do to take control of their health during this time of change.
The Struggles of Perimenopause & Menopause Care
“It’s just a normal phase that women must go through.”
Yeah, right. Working with menopausal-aged women over the past near decade has taught me many things. One of, if not the most repeated lesson has been women upset with their current medical care during this timeframe.
“It’s totally normal and you have to ride it out” is what many doctors pass off as quality care to these women. Or, they are prescribed antidepressants that help subdue symptoms, for a time. Hopefully, they don’t become dependent on these off-label therapeutics.
Rarely, an intuitive physician will consider or prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and, in most cases, give the patient drastically better symptom relief. Things are starting to shift more in this direction after years of false information and fear-mongering. Almost never are women offered natural remedies that have been around for thousands of years to relieve things such as night sweats and mood swings.
Cohosh, yam, rhubarb, broccoli extract, as well as lifestyle modifications such as removing endocrine-disrupting chemicals from the house and body, relaxation training, sauna and cold therapies, exercise (mainly with weights), sleep improvement, and many more natural products and interventions are proven utilities that might be just what the doctor (didn’t think or know to) order. Thinking of or currently using HRT? Fantastic! These remedies can be highly complementary to that standard of care.
What to Expect in Perimenopause & Menopause
This year, 1.3 million women will likely enter menopause. Defined as 12 months without a menstrual cycle (though some consider the onset closer to six months without), menopause hits most women right around age 50.
There are trends taking place in some demographics that suggest perimenopause and menopause is shifting backwards as well. In my practice, I see more women than I would consider normal coming in with perimenopause symptoms as early as their late 30s. Once the cycles stop, the changes are looming. Lower estrogen, poor sleep patterns, mood swings, reduced sex drive, vaginal dryness, brain fog, fatigue, headaches, bone loss, muscle loss, and even more symptoms begin to creep in one by one or, in many cases, load by load.
I remember watching my mother, now 70, go through these in her mid-50s. Unfortunately, even 15 short years ago, the consensus with the medical community was that HRT would absolutely not be the best option, and nothing else (meaning natural remedies or lifestyle modifications) was proven to do anything. So, my mom had to “deal” with these symptoms for almost 20 years due to the dogma that encompasses female hormone health.
Even so, a small addition of one nutrient can sometimes make a huge difference. For my mom, it was DHEA, a sex hormone precursor that alleviated multiple symptoms of her lingering hormone shifts. For others, it could be the same supplement or an altogether different approach. Some women will make it through perimenopause in a matter of months. For some, like my mother, it may take more than a decade. Every woman is different, which is why finding a specialist in this field is so important, as well as each female’s own understanding of the condition.
Women have to be their own advocates! Up until fairly recent history, the majority of medical school teachers and students were men, which, outside of Obstetric and Gynecology students, left a fairly wide gap in understanding of the menopause years. Thankfully, nowadays, women aren’t simply left to “deal” with it.
What to Do About It: Lifestyle Changes
I will touch more on bioidenticals in Pt. 3, since I tend to qualify them as another natural yet pharmaceutical approach to regulating the female hormone system. In this section, I want to discuss the fairly mandatory improvements in lifestyle, as well as a few beneficial supplements that may prove beneficial to women in every phase of the “change.”
Strength Training and Exercise
Bone density and muscle mass are, without a doubt, the most important factors in women’s longevity. Coincidentally, both suffer the most beginning in menopause. This is the time of life where cardio and spin class just aren’t going to cut it anymore. When working with my female clients, I almost always begin our lifestyle change conversations with the importance of resistance training.
Though most women aren’t typically thrilled with the idea of weight lifting, research has proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt, women MUST lift weights to gain muscle and strength to improve and maintain not only bone density but also expand their longevity. Muscle, strength, and VO2 Max are the top predictors of life span across both genders.
Nutrition for Hormonal Balance
Women need more protein. This is the hardest thing for most women to execute, but once achieved, it makes the biggest difference. Here is a simple way to gauge what you need at each meal: make a “high five” with one hand and place that on your plate. Now, whenever you make a meal, cover that amount of the plate with cooked protein.
Another easy “hack” is to eat a large breakfast that is only protein and fat. Eat as much as you want/can! This trick stabilizes glucose for the majority of the day and may even drastically reduce the likelihood of cheating later in the day.
Prioritizing Sleep
Lastly, you have to sleep! I know it is hard dealing with the symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, energy dips, anxiety, headaches, and more, but sleep is so very important to optimal hormone function. Check out our articles on sleep hygiene and helpful supplements for some useful tips and tricks!
Supplements for Perimenopause and Menopause
Time to take a look at the green pharmacy. Used for hundreds and thousands of years, some of these products have proven their efficacy for helping women deal with the aggravation of menopause symptoms.
- DHEA – A precursor hormone that begins dropping off in midlife, helping modulate testosterone and estrogen levels.
- Pregnenolone – Helps improve mood and energy levels significantly.
- Cruciferous vegetable extracts – Aids the liver in removing excess estrogenic compounds.
- Wild yam – A useful supplement for menopausal women looking to improve sleep and other low sex hormone-related issues.
- Turkish rhubarb extract – A patented extract that improves overall estrogen health.
- Black cohosh – Provides menopause relief but should be used cautiously for women with cardiovascular risk.
As with any approach, be sure to check with your health practitioner before starting any of these options.
HRT: A Game-Changer for Many Women in Perimenopause
I cannot speak on hormone health with women in general, let alone menopausal women, without talking about HRT. It is by far the most studied and proven approach to mitigating the symptoms of menopause.
Given a bad rap in the early 2000s after the flawed Women’s Health Initiative Study, HRT for menopausal women fell off a cliff. However, numbers of specific cancers (such as cervical and breast) increased in the years after demonization of the therapy. Thankfully, in recent years, the veil has been lifted, and some doctors are now recommending HRT again.
Working well with many, if not all, of the aforementioned supplements, as well as being significantly more effective when paired with lifestyle changes, HRT is a hugely important consideration for women in perimenopause and post-menopause.
Ultimately, it is about consistency, not perfection. Taking any of these approaches and dedicating even 80% effort may be enough to move the needle! It often is less about doing more and more about doing enough of anything positive, consistently.
