Menopause is defined as the cessation of menstrual cycles, with an average age of onset in the United States of fifty-one. The transition into menopause can last as long as a decade and can be physically and emotionally turbulent. Once menstrual cycles cease, hormone levels continue to drop, with more than eighty percent of women experiencing hot flashes and night sweats. Defined as transient sensations of heat, sweating, flushing and chills lasting for one to five minutes, hot flashes can cause considerable distress–especially when severe and frequent.
The area of the brain called the hypothalamus is referred to as the body’s “thermostat”. Although we haven’t yet discovered the exact mechanism, research suggests that decreased estrogen levels confuse the hypothalamus, making it read “too hot”. The brain responds by sending an alert out to the heart, blood vessels, and nervous system to cool down fast, resulting in hot flashes and sweating.
Popular estrogen and/or progesterone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can be highly successful at reducing or eliminating hot flashes. Yet these products carry health risks–most notably the estrogen cancer connection. Bio-identical hormones carry their own risks. Not only are there other ways to manage your hot flashes and night sweats naturally, but if you are having a “menopausal meltdown”, it is a sign there are underlying issues that need to be addressed!
We can take at least four basic steps to balance our hormones that will carry us a long way toward a happier menopause. First, long before menopause sets in, we need to learn to manage our stress. The over-production of stress hormones such as cortisol literally “hijack” the production of other hormonal pathways, especially progesterone, further depleting levels during menopause.
Second, ensuring a proper diet and optimizing our gut health is critical. This includes eating high quality fat- and cholesterol-rich foods, essential for the proper production of hormones. Numerous studies show that an inflamed and unhappy gut negatively impacts hormone balance, and new research shows that the microbiome (beneficial gut bacteria) plays a big role in estrogen regulation.
Third, we need to keep our liver detoxification pathways working smoothly. Healthy bile flow is essential for clearing out hormonal byproducts, including xenoestrogens that are ubiquitous in our modern environment.
Finally, there are effective ways to treat symptoms naturally! Supplements that strengthen our glands, including our thyroid, stress-modulating adrenals and hypothalamus, help greatly to curb menopausal distress. There are also a variety of Western and Eastern herbal formulas as effective as HRT for most women. Hundreds of studies reveal the significant effects acupuncture exerts on balancing hormones, including reducing stress, improving sleep, raising both estrogen and progesterone levels, relieving anxiety and depression, and helping restore digestive and liver health.
At Vital Health, we dig deep to uncover the root causes of your hormone imbalances. Using deep nutrition, targeted diet and herb therapies as well as acupuncture, you can put menopausal “angst” behind you and look forward to your wise woman years.
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©2023 Darcy Greenwald, M.S.O.M., L.Ac. and Vital Health
