Menopause and Perimenopause
A Summary of our Discussion Thus Far
Perimenopause is a time of great transition for us as women, as we move out of our reproductive years and into the “ Second Spring” of our lives.
Over the last few weeks we have been discussing how to best support the body’s hormonal balance through this transition. Let’s outline a summary of the big picture approach that we can take to support ourselves naturally through this time:
To set the stage for understanding how hormones work in our bodies, we need to recognize that our hormonal balance is very sensitive to subtle nuance. There are so many stressors and societal and mental-emotional factors that can affect how our hormones express themselves. In that process, we come to understand that our hormones function more like a complex symphony orchestra, than they do like a measuring cup to be “topped up” as needed. We actually have to help the body transition out of the reproductive expression of hormonal balance and into the normal balance of hormones that are with us through our menopausal years.
We need to reframe the way that we look at menopause - a renewed phase of life phase that has important gifts for us as women. Gifts that our world longs to have expressed through us. Gifts that we have a responsibility as women to make manifest in this world.
While certain symptoms are readily attributable to menopause such as hot flashes, night sweats, mental emotional symptoms and changes in body composition, there are many more symptoms that can come to light during this time. If you are curious, check out this list of 100+ symptoms that are now attributed to menopause and perimenopause. We can see that it’s a time when everything starts to catch up with us. Our symptoms will express themselves through the weakest link in our body. We can’t get away with ignoring our body’s needs any longer. It’s time to reconsider our priorities, integrate self-care and make our own needs part of the equation. What nutrition and lifestyle choices do we need to make in order to support our health? What is our unique body type and how can we best support its vulnerabilities through this time?
Get out of rushing woman’s syndrome.1 Learn to anchor into enoughness. Release the pressure cooker of unrealistic expectations that are often fueled by society’s mantra of “not enough” and “never enough”. Recognize that true abundance is inherent in everything in this life that we have been blessed with. Celebrate that abundance, seek it out, drink it in.
Understand more about how your nervous system is wired. I am a big fan of polyvagal theory ( see here, here and here) as a helpful framework to better understand these patterns. Become aware of old survival strategies that are no longer serving you. Survival strategies keep us in an upregulated nervous system state that does not allow us to experience safety. Find ways to rewire your nervous system with cues of safety and connection. For everyone this will be different. Set boundaries. Prioritize self care. Don’t engage in activities just because you “think” you should. Figure out what feeds and nourishes you, what brings you a feeling of greater embodiment, joy, connection, present moment awareness and contentment.
Focus on a whole foods diet that includes plenty of plant foods. See the food chart. Include phytoestrogen balancing foods such as legumes and flaxseeds. Include foods that support estrogen metabolism and the liver - such as beets, artichoke, dandelion and other greens, turmeric, rosemary, citrus zest, the cabbage family, the parsley family and sulfur containing vegetables like the onion family and mushrooms.
Supporting the liver is one of the most important things we can do to support our bodies through menopause. This is especially important if you experience a lot of hot flashes. My previous post on estrogen discusses ways we can support the liver. We will be delving further into this topic in the coming weeks.
Integrate the use of supportive herbs that help with the regulation of the orchestra of our hormonal balance, including herbs that can support us as allies in learning to rewire our nervous system to safety (including lemon balm, motherwort, vervaine, rose), as well as herbs that can help build up our reserve energy.
You may choose to include phytoestrogen containing herbs as needed. This can be in the form of teas, tinctures or extracts. Some that I have found most helpful over the years include Trifolium pratense (red clover), Humulus lupulus (hops), Pueraria mirifica (kudzu), Rheum rhaponticum (rhubarb root). Some of the most common additional supportive herbs that are often found in formulas geared to menopause may include Salvia officinalis (sage), Turnera diffusa (damiana), Angelica sinensis (don quai), Vitex agnus castus (chaste tree berry), Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s wort), Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh) , Leonurus cardiaca (motherwort ). Eventually there may be enough research to warrant a post about phytoprogesterone rich foods and herbs.
Depending on your situation, you may want to consider the use of bio-identical hormone therapy. For many women, the use of topical natural (bio-identical) progesterone may be sufficient as this addresses the underlying deficiency brought on by the effects of chronic stress. Natural progesterone is very different from the synthetic progestins that are most commonly prescribed. Synthetic progestins have concerning side effects. Natural progesterone is available through your family doctor and can be taken as bio-identical progesterone cream, or oral micronized progesterone, or under the trade names of Prometrium and Utrogestan. To learn more about why progesterone is preferred over estrogen see this article. For a further discussion on the topic of hormone therapy in menopause, see this post.
Over the coming months, we will explore numerous topics in more depth to offer further support to help improve our overall health. Many of these diet and lifestyle supports can also be helpful in easing the transition into menopause. Future topics will include drainage, elimination and detoxification, microbiome and gut health, bone health, the benefits of fasting, balancing blood sugars and delving further into the topic of how to best support sleep.
You’ve got this. You can get through this challenging time and come out renewed, with a greater sense of how you want to live the second half of your life in a way that is aligned with your soul’s purpose and deepest longing.
See the book by Libby Weaver called Rushing Woman’s Syndrome.