|
Natural Menopausal Treatments Hormonal imbalances can create issues for women at various times in their lives but it seems like the menopausal years are some of the most frustrating. While some women do negotiate the menopausal years without difficulty, there are many that need support to reduce the frustrating symptoms they are experiencing. What is Menopause? From a medical perspective, menopause Calgary is the stage of life where the ovaries no longer have functioning eggs and stop responding to the hormones produced by the brain. A woman is actually in menopause when there are no menstrual cycles for a period of a year, however a woman can experience uncomfortable symptoms for many years while a womans body negotiates these hormonal changes. During the reproductive years, a womans body produces estrogen and progesterone to regulate the reproductive cycle. Once these hormone levels begin fall, women may experience the symptoms so commonly associated with menopause. Signs and Symptoms Its estimated that 75% of women will experience mild to severe menopausal symptoms and each womans symptom picture will be different depending on genetic, lifestyle and dietary factors. Common symptoms include the following: Hot flashes and night sweats - caused by changes in the temperature regulating area of the brain Mood and memory issues including irritability, depression, anxiety, lack of short term memory and changes in concentration Bladder related issues frequent urination, increased sensation of pressure or pain, increased incidence of urinary tract infections caused by thinning of the bladder wall and a loss of elasticity and lubrication in the bladder tissue Vaginal dryness like bladder tissue, the vaginal canal loses its lubrication and elasticity causing irritation Skin changes loss of elasticity in the skin tissue causes changes in the collegen structure in the skin cells leading sagging and wrinkling Sleep disturbances lowered estrogen and progesterone levels can cause changes in sleep patterns including frequent waking, inability to get into a deep sleep state and sleep apnea Sexual Dysfunction loss of sex drive due to decreased testosterone production Naturopathic Treatment for Menopause There are many ways to treat these symptoms naturally and in naturopathic medicine Calgary we can determine the most appropriate program to create these improvements quickly and easily. Even after menopause, a womans body still requires estrogen to maintain elasticity and lubrication of tissues such as bladder, vaginal and skin tissue as well as to prevent osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Once the ovaries cease to decrease their hormone production, the estrogen still needed for these functions is produced by the adrenal glands which is the system in the body that regulates a womans stress response. While it is important to balance the hormonal changes, a second factor in improving menopausal symptoms is to enhance the bodys tolerance for changing stress levels both within the body and outside in the environment. So what are the best supplements to decrease symptoms? Well known natural treatments include phytoestrogens, the compounds in some plants that look like and have estrogen like effects in the body. Its important to know that while these compounds may look like estrogen, they do not have the stimulatory effects that the actual hormone estrogen has on various tissues such as ovarian and breast tissue. When women use products that have phytoestrogens, the brain believes that there is estrogen in the bloodstream which decreases symptoms such as hot flashes, anxiety, night sweats and dryness issues without the concerns that sometimes come with estrogen replacement therapy. Examples of plants that contain phytoestrogens include soy products, licorice, alfalfa, dong quai, black cohosh, red clover and chaste tree berries. Often menopausal supplement products will contain combinations of these plants and when taken, these products can significantly decrease the symptoms women may experience through their menopausal years. With these supplements, Black Cohosh is especially notable as clinical studies have indicated that taking supplements containing black cohosh can have similar effects to estrogen therapy in reducing menopausal complaints such as hot flashes, night sweats, depression and vaginal dryness. Soy products have also shown in studies to be effective for reducing symptoms although women with a history of female related cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer should avoid soy based products. For nutritional supplements, vitamin E has been shown in clinical studies to decrease especially hot flashes but also symptoms related to vaginal dryness and vitamin C, when coupled with Vitamin E has been shown to be extremely beneficial. Lifestyle factors are also a big part of decreasing the symptoms associated with hormonal changes. As little as 3-5 hours of exercise a week have been shown to decrease hot flashes and will help prevent the issues associated with sleeping disturbances, obesity, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis that are so common with menopausal women. Dietary changes should include decreasing caffeinated beverages and high sugar foods and while it is terribly sad, most women find that consuming red wine even in small amounts significantly increases both the frequency and severity of their menopausal symptoms. In naturopathic medicine, we work to not only balance the female hormones during this transitional time by using natural supplements that either mimic or balance female hormones but also to improve the bodys stress response with dietary, lifestyle and supplement changes to minimize symptoms and ensure the woman goes through her menopausal years as effortlessly as possible. If you would like to discuss natural approaches to help treat your menopausal symptoms please call 403-287-9201 and book an appointment with Dr. Chantelle Drobot. Were here to help, give us a call. Author Bio:- The Integrative Health Centre is a professional naturopathic clinic in Calgary committed to providing comprehensive health care. It provides Naturopathic medicine, Chiropractic, acupuncture & massage Therapy, Skin Treatment Services and women health services in Calgary. Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
Related Articles -
Menopause-Treatment, Naturopathic-Medicine, Sex,
| 
