Every woman has a different experience of menopause. Some will find that they have very few menopausal symptoms while others may have a difficult time managing them. The lucky ones among us will have almost no symptoms at all but then we get to those who suffer from symptoms that are uncomfortable, embarrassing or that interfere with their day to day life.
Hot flashes, night sweats and mood changes are just a few of the things that menopausal women deal with and for some, going through menopause can seem like an uphill battle. The good news though is that they’re steps you can take to help control the symptoms and here are just a few ideas.
Remember, the changes that your body goes through during menopause are inevitable but the symptoms don’t have to be.
1. Optimize Your Nutrition
It may sound simple but optimizing your diet to make sure that you’re eating healthy well-balanced meals can make a world of difference
While there is no such thing as a special menopause diet women should try to stick to healthy, well-balanced meals which means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportion. Good nutrition can help with symptoms such as feeling tired or having low energy.
Pay special attention to vitamins and minerals like Iron and Calcium, which women’s diets tend to be low in [2] and make sure you incorporate foods into your diet like fish, lean red meat, poultry, eggs and leafy green vegetables.
2. Find Exercises that You Love
Exercise by itself does not stop the symptoms of menopause but it can have a big impact on your sleep patterns and help improve the quality of sleep that you’re getting [6]. One of the most troubling symptoms of menopause is sleep disturbance which means that you may have difficulty getting a good night’s sleep which itself has knock-on effects throughout the rest of your day but a simple way of trying to solve this is to be physically active.
It sounds counter intuitive but scientists think that changes in body temperature trigger parts of the brain to initiate sleep [7]. This means that exercising can help improve those restless nights -just don’t exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to fall asleep!
In addition to helping with your sleep, exercise allows you maintain muscle mass and by extension bone mass and strength [2]. Endurance exercises (like running or aerobics), yoga or swimming are great examples of things you can do.
For those who think exercise may not be for them remember that it is never too late to start. The key is to begin slowly and do things you enjoy like walking, cycling, gardening or attending group fitness classes [4]. These are all excellent ways to start getting active and you can work up from there.
3. Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Some of the symptoms of menopause like hot flashes or night sweats happen because the body slows down its production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one of the most popular treatments for these symptoms. However, newer medications like Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) may also be a consideration.
“Bio-identical hormone” refers to a hormone (usually made out of soya) that mimics those that occur naturally in the body. Bio-identical hormones work in a similar fashion to HRT.
Many women have safety concerns about hormone replacement therapy but the consensus on hormones from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is that they are still a safe alternative to help treat the symptoms of menopause when used at low doses for short periods of time.
For women considering HRT or Bio-identical hormones speak to your doctor or OBGYN to see what’s right for you. They can also give you more information about the risks, benefits and what you can expect if you use these methods of treatment.
4. Stop Smoking
Most smokers have probably heard this line before and it’s generally good advice to take but another good reason to stop smoking is that women who smoke have an earlier menopause than non-smokers [5].
For many reasons it’s an excellent idea to give up smoking but consider that smoking is also a major risk factor for developing osteoporosis [8] and coupled with the fact that menopause causes you lose estrogen (which provides protection against bone loss) [9], quitting smoking is especially important.
If you need a push in the right direction pay a visit your doctor. They’ll be able to give you some smoking cessation tips and good advice on what steps you can take.
5. Herbal Supplements
There is a lot of grey area around herbal supplements. Many products have been marketed that claim to get rid of the symptoms of menopause and whole cottage industries have grown around this issue but be wary of any product marketing itself as 100% effective in stopping your symptoms.
There is not much scientific evidence to support the use of herbal supplements but that being said, there is some anecdotal evidence that things like Black Cohosh (a plant native to North America) may help alleviate things like hot flashes.
If you are considering using supplements speak to your doctor first to make sure they don’t interfere with any medications you might be currently taking and that they’re safe to use.
You may find it hard to decide about which treatment options are right for dealing with your menopause symptoms and while some of the tips above may help you in your quest for relief, be sure to talk to your doctor about all treatment options so that you can choose what’s right for you.
References
1) US Food & Drug Administration. Menopause and Hormones: Common Questions. Page Last Updated: 09/28/2015 http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/byaudience/forwomen/ucm118624.htm
2,3, 4) Mishra, N., Mishra, V. N., & Devanshi. (2011). Exercise beyond menopause: Dos and Don’ts. Journal of Mid-Life Health, 2(2), 51–56. http://doi.org/10.4103/0976-7800.92524 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296386/
5) Medscape. Meta-analysis Suggests That Smoking is Associated with an Increased Risk of Early Natural Menopause. Sun, Lu MSc; Tan, Lijun PhD; Yang, Fang PhD; Luo, Yi MSc; Li, Xi PhD; Deng, Hong-Wen PhD; Dvornyk, Volodymyr PhD. Menopause. 2012;19(2):126-132. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/757803
6) Tworoger, S. S., Yasui, Y., Vitiello, M. V., Schwartz, R. S., Ulrich, C. M., Aiello, E. J., … & McTiernan, A. (2003). Effects of a yearlong moderate-intensity exercise and a stretching intervention on sleep quality in postmenopausal women. SLEEP-NEW YORK THEN WESTCHESTER-, 26(7), 830-838. http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/41496984/Effects_of_a_yearlong_moderate-intensity20160123-8738-16skanx.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ56TQJRTWSMTNPEA&Expires=1477254950&Signature=AJ8rMHwyg4Q94hX%2BN3y0g7nZ1PY%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DEffects_of_a_yearlong_moderate-intensity.pdf
7) Atkinson, G., & Davenne, D. (2007). Relationships between sleep, physical activity and human health. Physiology & behavior, 90(2), 229-235. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938406003957
8) Wong, P. K., Christie, J. J., & Wark, J. D. (2007). The effects of smoking on bone health. Clinical Science, 113(5), 233-241. http://www.clinsci.org/content/113/5/233.abstract
9) Deroo, B. J., & Korach, K. S. (2006). Estrogen receptors and human disease. The Journal of clinical investigation, 116(3), 561-570. http://www.jci.org/articles/view/27987#sd
