How to have Healthy Hormones

What is menopause?

We think of menopause as that time in middle-age when our hormones go a little haywire, but technically that’s ‘perimenopause’. Menopause is the point at which we haven’t had a period for a year. The average age of this happening is around 51 or 52. Before that we are premenopausal, then perimenopausal. After that day, we’re postmenopausal.

We used to think that estrogen levels declined in perimenopause. Often they do, but we now know that the body can also produce very high estrogen levels at this stage as it tries to stir the ovaries into action for a ‘last hurrah’. Although the ovaries ultimately slow down, they don’t shut down, and in middle-age they shift the type of estrogen they make. Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can also be produced at other sites, including the body fat, the skin, the brain, and the adrenal glands.

Estrogen is actually a classification rather than a hormone. Within that classification are three types of estrogen. Until menopause the main estrogen our bodies produce is estradiol, but from perimenopause we start to make more estrone. Estriol is the estrogen produced by pregnant women.

Besides the estrogen our bodies produce, we are also exposed to estrogen in our environment due to estrogen-like chemicals, for example in pesticides, herbicides and plastics; in farmed fish, chicken and meat that has been injected with hormones to speed up growth; and in perfumes and skin care products that contain parabens and synthetic chemicals. We call these ‘xenoestrogens’ or foreign estrogens. These can enter our bodies and increase our estrogen levels.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of low estrogen can be similar to those for high estrogen (e.g. weight gain, fatigue, low libido, migraines, high blood pressure, thinning hair, brain fog, depression, muscle aches) and women have at times been prescribed hormone replacement to boost flagging estrogen levels when their estrogen was actually skyrocketing. As well as causing considerable discomfort, this is dangerous and can lead to health problems including cancer, stroke and auto-immune diseases.

About three-quarters of women experience some of the typical symptoms of menopause, which include insomnia, night sweats, hot flushes, moodiness, low sex drive, vaginal dryness, fuzzy thinking, and headaches. Author/actress Suzanne Somers calls these ‘the seven dwarfs of menopause’: Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful and All-Dried-Up!

Phytoestrogens

Some plant foods contain a weak estrogenic component and are called ‘phyto-estrogens’. The best known of these is soy, but herbs such as red clover, and some legumes and seeds such as flax also fall into this category. While soy has been marketed heavily to middle-aged women as a means of reducing menopausal symptoms, research has been inconclusive on this. Moreover, there are problems with consuming soy, especially in unfermented forms. Unfermented soy contains enzyme inhibitors that interfere with protein digestion and block the uptake of essential minerals (calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc) in the intestinal tract. Fermentation breaks down these enzyme inhibitors, making foods such as miso and tempeh healthier and more digestible. Unfermented soy can also inhibit thyroid function.

Hormones out of balance

Hormonal problems arise when the body is out of balance. The causes of this can include too much caffeine, alcohol, sugar, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, refined starches/carbohydrates, drugs, dehydration, junk food, dieting, consumption of foods that have been hormone treated, poor sleep, skipping meals and prolonged physical or emotional stress. There is a close link between digestive problems and hormonal imbalance, and you may have to resolve your digestive issues before your hormone levels stabilise.

Estrogen excess, progesterone deficiency and thyroid imbalance are closely linked, so women whose estrogen and progesterone levels are out of balance may have thyroid problems. It’s probably a good idea once you are in your 40s to have your hormones measured each year. This gives you a baseline and a means of assessing what’s happening relative to that baseline. Having a knowledgeable, open-minded doctor to work with you as you move through perimenopause is invaluable. Or you may choose to get support from other types of health professionals such as a naturopath, acupuncturist or Chinese medicine practitioner.

The key to regaining hormonal balance is to create a lifestyle that includes a healthy diet that keeps your blood sugar balanced, good digestion, regular exercise, stress reduction and a community of loving people. If you haven’t paid much attention to these areas of life until now, let menopause be a wake-up call. Women who commit to their wellbeing at this stage build a solid platform for their future health.

How to minimize hot flushes

Hot flushes are a common side-effect of perimenopause. They tend to occur when your estrogen levels are changing (going up and down) rather than just when estrogen is declining. Flushing mostly lasts between two months and two years, though a few women have them on and off for far longer. If your flushing is severe and you are missing out on sleep, get advice from a holistic doctor.

You’ll be aware of the adverse publicity that hormone replacement therapy or HRT has received in recent years. Bio-identical hormones use hormones that match your own, and this is obviously a more natural approach than the use of synthetic hormones, but as some researchers caution, we don’t have the benefit of long-term experience with these. For short periods they can provide symptom relief for some women, so work with your doctor to decide what’s appropriate for you.

Here are some other ways to quell the hot flushes:

1.Reduce stress. A study in which women used a relaxation technique for 20 minutes twice a day showed a 90% reduction in hot flushes.
2.Wine, sugar, tobacco, hot spices, hot drinks, caffeine, smoking and saunas can trigger hot flushes, so monitor your own experience and cut back as you need to.
3.Women who exercise may have fewer hot flushes, but the research on this is mixed. Keep active anyway.
4.Take a good quality fish oil. One study showed that fish oil supplements brought about a 40% reduction in hot flushes.
5.Unexpressed anger has been linked to hot flushes. If you are carrying heavy emotional baggage, now is a great time to unload it.
6.There are a variety of herbs that can be helpful. These include dandelion which nourishes the liver, and phytoestrogenic herbs such as black cohosh, ginseng and licorice. Susun Weed’s book provides a lot of information on these. Many women also find Chinese herbs valuable.
7.Drink plenty of water and keep cool, especially in hot weather — wear natural fibres, layers and loose clothes, have baths, soak your feet in cool water, mist your face with water (add a drop or two of your favourite essential oil if you like), turn on the air conditioning, and put ice on your forehead or the back of your neck.
8.Talk to your naturopath about supplements such as Vitamin E that might help.

What does menopause mean?

Our generation is reshaping ideas about menopause and ageing, and realizing that this can be a time of enormous energy and creativity, when women can be sexier, healthier and more confident than ever.

According to American women’s health doctor Christiane Northrup, menopausal hormonal changes trigger the need to let go of our old selves and reinvent who we are. This often involves completing unfinished business from the first half of our lives. Old issues can bubble up again, just when we thought they were behind us. This is an important time to nurture yourself and to ensure that your health and energy levels are optimal.