What even is Menopause? Understanding this Natural Transition
Menopause can feel like a mysterious and daunting phase of life, but it’s a natural transition that every woman will experience. By understanding menopause, it can help you prepare for and manage this significant changes in your body. In this post, I hope to explain what menopause is and why it’s important. Think of this as your friendly guide to navigating menopause and understanding how to be proactive about declining hormones.
What is Menopause?
Menopause is the biological stage in a woman’s life when her menstrual cycles permanently cease. This occurs because the ovaries stop producing eggs. As a result, levels of hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, decline. Menopause is officially diagnosed when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period… The next day, you’re considered postmenopausal.
Stages of Menopause
I totally agree with Dr. Carrie Jones into breaking it down into more parts than what we conventionally see.
Perimenopause: This is the transition phase leading up to menopause and can last many years. It’s a time of significant hormonal fluctuation.
Early perimenopause: in early perimenopause, you might notice that your cycles are getting shorter. A few symptoms may start to arise such as trouble falling and staying asleep, weight gain out of nowhere, skin changes, hair changes. At this point in perimenopause, your blood work may still look fine and you may feel that it's probably just stress. The first hormone to start declining is typically progesterone, which is our calming hormone and helps us fall asleep. Hence, why trouble sleeping is one of the first symptoms to arise.
Middle perimenopause: During middle perimenopause you may start to skip periods and notice that your cycles are longer than they used to be. Here, it is common for women to experience significant hormonal ups and downs that often come up as hot flashes, night sweats, breast pain, heavy periods, and general frustration/anger. In regard to those without a uterus, FSH lab value will typically be in the double digits.
Late perimenopause: in late perimenopause it's likely that you are now going 3-6 months between cycles. Since estrogen and progesterone continue to decline, it is common to experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, dry vagina, dry skin and mouth, itchy ears, brain fog, muscle pain, mood swings, high cholesterol, and more weight gain. In regard to those without a uterus, FSH lab values may be even more elevated or consistent with before.
Menopause: This is the point in time when you have gone a full year without a period. For those without a uterus, FSH lab values are typically above 20.
Postmenopause: This stage follows menopause and lasts for the rest of your life. Hormone levels remain low, and many of the symptoms experienced during perimenopause and menopause may continue or change.
Why is Menopause Relevant? My Top Concerns
The decline in estrogen and progesterone during menopause affects nearly every part of your body.
Bone Health: Estrogen receptors are highly expressed in bone cells, helping bone growth and maintenance as well as protecting the bone from breaking down. Lower estrogen levels increase the risk of osteoporosis, making bones more fragile and prone to fractures. It’s crucial to monitor bone density and support bone health by ensuring adequate minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and boron) as well as supporting muscles through physical activity. Please review my calcium supplementation post before taking/continuing calcium supplements as there can be a big risk here.
Cardiovascular Health: Estrogen affects our heart and blood vessels and regulates the metabolism of fats in the liver, so it is very common for postmenopausal to have high cholesterol and increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Thyroid health: In this phase of life, its pretty common to see suboptimal thyroid function. This is typically due to years of stress and unknown nutrient deficiencies. The thyroid is the hormone gland that sets our metabolism rate. If the thyroid is not functioning optimally, metabolism slows down, and can lead to weight gain, digestion issues, and more hormone imbalances due to slow production of hormones combined with slow excretion.
Mental health: Many women experience mood swings, anxiety, and depression during this time. This occurs due to low progesterone. Progesterone is a very important hormone with calming effects. Hence, mood swings, anger, anxiety, and trouble falling asleep.
How to Help Managing Menopause
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can be used to relieve many menopausal symptoms by replenishing estrogen and progesterone levels. It is essential to discuss HRT with your healthcare provider to see what is best for you. Beware that progestin and bio identical progesterone are not the same thing*
Supplements for natural relief: If HRT is not for you or you're looking for extra support, there are several supplements out there that have been shown to help manage symptoms. I do not list them here as there are several, and it depends which symptoms you are hoping to get relief from as well as which medications and health conditions you have.
The earlier you start preparing for menopause with lifestyle and diet changes, the better menopause you will have. If possible, don’t hold it off until the day arrives! Hormonal imbalances and dysregulation pre-menopause may make the menopausal transition harder.
Lifestyle Changes paired with supplements/HRT will provide the most support for you on this journey.
Nutrition: A individualized diet for you and this phase of life can help with symptoms, increase energy and mood, maintain bone density, decrease risk for cardiovascular disease and other health conditions, and increase longevity. Eating habits that are good for almost all women in this phase of life include:
Increasing protein intake (aim for at least 25-30 g PER meal)
Stabilizing Cortisol and Melatonin: Eating breakfast and getting into a good rhythm. I cant stress enough how important circadian rhythm is!
Support blood sugar/insulin: Ensure that all meals include a protein, a fat, and a carb (and eat them in that order). As you hit menopause, your body can no longer handle carbohydrates like it used and this can lead to weight gain and blood sugar spikes and drops.
Minerals to consider: magnesium, potassium, and iron
Exercise: Physical activity helps maintain bone density, reduces stress, and decreases inflammation.
Stress Management: this can improve emotional well-being and well as ensuring mineral status in the body. When you are stressed, you burn through your minerals at a very high rate and if there is none in the reserves, you are at risk for your body taking it from where it can, commonly, your bones.
Understanding menopause is crucial for every woman and it should be included as standardized education for women. By knowing what to expect and how to manage the changes, you can navigate this natural transition with confidence and ease. Don’t hesitate to seek support from healthcare providers and nutritionists, such as myself, to ensure you maintain optimal health and well-being. Remember, menopause is just a new chapter of your life, and with the right knowledge and tools, you can embrace it fully!
